Everywhere you go, you leave something behind
My Video: https://vimeo.com/754605400
Last week, I walked around the DePaul loop campus, and in my last writing I explained how I was near so many cool places, like the bean, the riverwalk, and other touristy areas, but had no idea. So this week, I decided to return to the loop campus and explore the places I missed last time. And within 2 hours, there would be a lot to explore.
I first started at 2:09pm from the Barnes and Noble. I walked my familiar path that I traveled last time, but this time, paying more mind to what I was looking at. I tested myself to see if there were any stores or restaurants that I remembered walking past, and studied the ones that I didn’t remember. Last time I walked by a large red sculpture in front of a jet black building. The time before, it seemed interesting, but I was too focused on following my stranger to truly appreciate it. This time, I examined it and left with many questions: Who made this? How long has it been here? What is it supposed to mean? Why this spot? I walked up to the sculpture and felt the cold, smooth metal. Actually standing next to it put into perspective how tall the sculpture was and made me feel so miniscule. After my walk I actually found the answers to my questions. This sculpture, Flamingo, was made by Alexander Calder and it was placed there in 1974. It weighs 50 tons and is 53 feet tall. And placing the sculpture in front of the jet black building was actually done on purpose in order to add color and texture. Looking at this piece, I see no resemblance of a flamingo, instead, maybe a stegosaurus. But in the article I read on this sculpture, Calder says, “That others grasp what I have in mind seems unessential, at least as long as they have something else in theirs.” Calder actually has many of his pieces in the Chicago Art Institute, and that is where I walked to next.
As I walked to the Chicago Art Institute, the chilly air pierced my skin. I walked by people bundled up in layers, some arm in arm with their friend or partner to warm up. Herds of birds crowded the side walk scavenging for any crumb they could find. They were as big as footballs and very intimidating. People had to walk around them because they were standing their ground, inspecting the sidewalk. People didn’t seem to care that majority of the sidewalk was occupied, they just carried on walking. When I arrived to the Art Institute at 2:15, the sky had turned grey and all of the buildings were in the shade, except for the Art Institute. The sun shined on directly on the Art Institute as if it were guiding me there. This time, there were only 3 people occupying the stairs, and not many people heading inside. The people I walked by turned their head once they saw the Art Institute, almost like they were thinking about going inside, but then deciding not to. Similarly, I admired the building, making another mental note to visit again, and then I said goodbye to my lion friends guarding the Art Institute and continued on my walk.
At 2:23 I walked down S Michigan Ave and walked past a scary amount of gift shops. There was one after the other, selling the same mugs, pillows, blankets, t-shirts with “Chicago” plastered on. Little boys walked out of the stores with their shopping bags in hand and huge grins on their faces. I remember visiting Chicago when I was little and thinking I was on top of the world. The busy city life excited me because everywhere I turned there was something new. I wonder if they felt like that, too.
At 2:36 I continued to walk down S Michigan Ave and admired the views. It seemed as though every building had such detailed architecture. A grey building had sculpted flowers and designs, another one had arches and columns with sculpted designs all over. They looked historic, like they were from ancient Greece, but now their use was to hold 2 star restaurants.
On my walk I also noticed how the city and nature were incorporated together. Buildings had slots to hold flowers, in between the road was grass and small trees, and vines hugged some buildings. It made me really appreciative that nature can co-exist with a city, and it seems like the buildings being made are welcoming the nature back in, instead of replacing it.
At 2:45 I found myself at the Riverwalk. As I walked down the staircase, the wind blew even harder, shaking the trees, whirling my hair, and pushing the water down the stream. There were a lot of people walking, running, and taking pictures at the Riverwalk. The Riverwalk was like the island of misfit toys with pink glasses, a green alien finger puppet, and a blue shirt in a tree left behind. I couldn’t help but wonder each objects history. Did that person have to get new glasses, was a little kid crying because they missed their favorite toy, and how did that shirt get into that tree? I continued walking and followed music coming from a restaurant. The restaurant was called “O’Brien’s”, my last name! There were people scattered around eating at tables outside in the chilly air. They huddled up next to the heaters that were provided and cheerfully stuffed their faces.
Physical objects weren’t the only things people left, though; there was graffiti everywhere I looked, and every sign was covered in random stickers. I looked down at the ground and noticed the side walk was tattooed in spray painted messages. One message read, “Money does not equal love” and the other, “Eat money, money got wings”. Very conflicting messages, but I didn’t question it.
Later at 2:58 I walked along one of the bridges and watched the boats slowly drive by. The bridge was also covered in stickers, and one read, “80 percent of these stickers are lies”. As I kept walking I saw paint poorly covering past stickers and graffiti. It made me laugh because you can still clearly see and read the messages underneath. It sort of looked like an abstract art piece.
At 3:15ish I found myself at River North. The streets were closed off and restaurants had their seating outside. Music played outside, but there was no body sitting outside to listen to it. As I walked down River North, I was greeted by these women who were opening a plant-based asian cuisine restaurant. I am vegan, so this really interested me. The ladies were so kind, asking me about my day, telling me about how they make their food, and they were just so welcoming. They had free samples, and next to it was a phone booth dressed head to toe with pink, purple, and red flowers. I took a sample of the sushi and a sample of the noodles and said my goodbyes to the nice ladies.
At 3:22 I continued my walk and started turning down roads that I cannot even remember. I just turned every time I saw something that piqued my interest. First it was the smell of kettle corn drifting from around the corner, next it was the building designed as a jungle with two large mushrooms on the side, and another time it was a matcha shop that had flowers hanging down from the door. I stopped focusing on where I was and just let myself focus on what to explore next. I walked by a brown building with vines engulfing it. This building stood out because it looked like a castle and was darker and older than the other buildings around it. Across from this building was an apartment building that had plants in boxes. But as you got closer to the plants, you could see that they were growing chillies. I was tempted to take one, but I didn’t.
At 3:34 I walked passed many homeless people asking for money, but every one treated them like they were invisible. It reminded me of the reading, Walking While Black. Garnette Cadogan says, “The streets had their rules, and I loved the challenge of trying to master them.” Ignoring the homeless seemed to be one of the rules. I walked by a moving truck where people were moving in. There were two guys carrying a couch and as I passed by they both stopped, smiled, and said hello, and let me pass. As I walked, I turned back and found their gaze was still on me. A little creeped out, I picked up my pace and turned the corner once more. Although Cadogan is talking about his experience of walking while black, and I cannot relate to that, I still connected to his quote about walking alone which states, “The city was beguiling, exhilarating, vibrant. But it wasn’t long before reality reminded me I wasn’t invulnerable, especially when I walked alone.” As a woman, walking alone can be a very dangerous thing, and women can be easily targeted. Those men staring at me were not an immediate threat, but it reminded me to keep my guard up and understand my surroundings.
At 3:45 I began to wrap up my walk and I was greeted by this message on a trash can. It reads, “There will be better times, but for now… we gotta be there for each other, wait it through, and take action(s) when the time is right.” This made me reflect on my whole walk. I found items that were left behind, and interesting stickers and graffiti. The physical things were left behind by people, leaving evidence that they were there. Little pieces of themselves are now scattered throughout the city, but no body knows whose they are or their history. The graffiti is also pieces of people that encapsulates their values. They share their perspective with strangers for free, maybe to cheer up someone’s day or to make someone think differently about the world. Whatever their reason may be, I think it is beautiful that people take time out of their day to share inspiring messages; it really makes the city a magical place. I encountered a lot of things, but what stuck with me the most was my encounter with those two ladies. They were so kind and that experience made me want to go back to visit their store once it opens up. Although I was one of the many people who stopped at their table, I know that I impacted them in some way, too. Just by walking, even if you don’t interact with anyone, you are impacting the people you walk by. They have thoughts on you, good or bad, but you may stick in a strangers mind. Wherever you go you leave little pieces of yourself behind, and I think it is so inspiring that just by walking by, you could be making a difference in someone’s life.
