Art and Politics in Chicago

A happy delirium swept over my friends and me after Wednesdays Presidential debate. Our candidate was strong and reassuring, unflappable in his temperament, focused in his delivery and coherent in his thoughts. Who could ask for more from a youthful, dynamic, sensible, pragmatic Democratic?

Chicago awaits me in November when I fly out to the Windy City in hopes of shaking Obama's strong hand on Super Tuesday. Coincidentally, I've been hired to shoot several unrelated art exhibits that can be easily viewed as political.

World renown conceptual artist Jenny Holzer is famous for her short statements called ‘truisms’. My favorite famous phrases include ‘freedom is a luxury not a necessity’ and 'any surplus is immoral' and 'grass roots agitation is the only hope.'

I'll be helping document Holzer's brilliant installations at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. While there I'll be checking out Chicago's famous lakefront, Grant Park and Millennium Park, ethnic neighborhoods and the English Gothic-style Chicago University in Hyde Park.

I cast my ballot early, absentee-style, just in case I'm swept up in the political madness and forget to board my flight home.