Chicago: Come for the Wind, Stay for the Crime. 2011. Acrylic on Canvas. 36″ x 48″

To me Chicago has always seemed like a terrible place to live; full of super-mean fat people with terrible accents and even worse weather [new version coming soon].  However, I have always wanted to visit- see Wrigley Field, Prairie School architecture, and the Chicago Institute of Art.  Perhaps that is indicative of the people that live there; they seem nice enough and have a cutesy accent but when you get to know they you understand just how cuttingly-mean they can be.  Chicago’s dark side, and many people say, true side, is depressed, violent, and drug-addicted.  While composing the fake civic catch-phrase I was thinking of the young boy who was beaten to death by kids in his neighborhood because he did well in school.  I also thought about my father, his friends, and my uncles, who were all robbed when they went to Comiskey Park to see a White Sox game.

The color variation of background outlining for CHICAGO separates the word into CHICA-GO, an allusion to the large number of Latinos who call the city home, especially Puerto Ricans (who knew they liked the cold?) and over 200,000 Mexican immigrants.  Chicago’s decades-long Latin influx has made the city one of the few post-industrial Midwestern cities with a relatively stable population.

The visibility of detail in the sports team logos is based on how many years have passed since the team’s last championship.

The visibility of detail is based on how many years have passed since the last championship.

Chicago White Sox (MLB – American League); Last Championship: 2005

Chicago Sky (WNBA); No Championships (grayed-out)

Chicago Fire (MLS); Last Championship: 1998

Chicago Cubs (MLB – National League); Last Championship: 1908

Chicago Bulls (NBA); Last Championship: 1998

Chicago Blackhawks (NHL); Last Championship: 2010 (2013)

Last Championship: 1984