This was written last week, but it didn’t save correctly, so here you go:
I spent my afternoon enjoying the many takeaways that I held in my head from my morning walk in Chicago’s Millenium Park. With an empty afternoon in a foreign city, I headed back down Michigan Avenue for more pleasant strolling. I walked and walked until I stumbled upon the Art Institute of Chicago Museum, which, many people would consider to be a destination, but I just let it spring up as if it was a commonplace Starbucks. Idiot Hez. Anyway, my eyes managed to decipher the words of a banner waving in the wind which was advertisting the return of Chagall’s America Windows. I immediately knew what to do with the two hours I had to kill before my date with a deep dish pizza.
Though my limited amount of time in this magnificent establishment hindered the possibility for optimal enjoyment, I made the best of it with my map of the museum and sneakers in tow. This organized method of touring allowed me to experience something a bit peculiar in the room where Bruce Nauman’s 1967 “Art Make-Up” video was displayed in such a way that it was hard to be anything but mesmerized, relaxed, and uncomfortable simultaneously.
Art Make-Up, though having obvious meaning of masking yourself to create identity also is a recorded piece of boredom. It’s a bit erie to watch, but it was much more bizarre to be watched while watching the videos. Not just watched, examined, by a museum gaurd who enjoyed chewing bubblicious watermelon gum in the silent room. This woman caused me to leave the museum feeling a little bit strange and questioning if she was hired to make people feel uncomfortable, because that’s how good she was at it. I don’t think I’ll ever know the answer to that question.
