The Art Institute of Chicago - Chicago - Things To Do Reviews

The Art Institute of Chicago is, I'm sure, only one of the reasons why Chicago consistently ranks so high in surveys about the best cities for art in the world. Among other things, it features pieces from the Renaissance, to Impressionism, to Contemporary, and ancient Asian pieces from the Old Silk Road to political pieces on the socio-political climate of the New Silk Road. Parking can be fairly expensive, but after paying $35 to park at the MOCA in LA (for 2 hours, no less), no price for parking seems ridiculous to me anymore.

On that note, I highly recommend shelling out the extra few dollars to visit the Ambroise Vollard exhibition ("Cezanne to Picasso: Ambroise Vollard Patron of the Avant-Garde). It's $17 for the ticket (and no student discounts), but as the title suggests, it features a number of highly renowned artists ranging from Post-Impressionism to the Fauves. Personally, it's always been a goal of mine to see Picasso's The Old Guitarist in person, and it was a really gratifying experience to get a chance to view it. In fact, I overheard the lady next to me saying that you could still see the figure of a woman beneath the paint, meaning that Picasso for one reason or another decided to re-use the same canvas for The Old Guitarist.

The Contemporary section is also very impressive: particularly a video installation by artists Kasmalieva and Djumaliev (Trans-Siberian Amazons), part of a collection called A New Silk Road: Algorithm of Survival and Hope (from Kyrgyzstan, a country I started getting interesting in after reading about their coup a few years back). It features a dimly lit older woman on a train, singing a Russian ballad from the 1980s by Alla Pugacheva. The screens to the left and right of her are in constant motion, depicting the wide open space and landscape of the Kyrzyg countryside, while also serving as a very tactful contrast to the static shot of the singing woman. It is undeniably nostalgic, and suggests that something about Kyrzygstan will never be the same again.

Overall, the Art Institute of Chicago is a very compelling visit, and definitely lives up to its reputation of being among the top museums to visit in the world.