Installed on the façade of the Chicago Architecture Center (the middle bank of windows to the left of the main doors) view from February through mid-March is a monumental mural by the Chicago artist Langston Allston. This work takes inspiration from Jacob Lawrence’s series of “Builder” paintings, as well as the monumental murals of Diego Rivera, to represent a world where communities have control of the built environment surrounding them, to maintain and reuse in ways that suit their needs. A world where design protects and elevates people in innovative and empathic ways.
The mural uses the façade of the now demolished Michael Reese Hospital in Bronzeville as a backdrop. While the original structure is gone, there is still value in preserving its memory, both as a work of classic Chicago architecture & as the site of numerous globally significant advances in medicine. Michael Reese Hospital was created with the intention of serving all people through charity care and medical research.
This mural will be up through mid-March, and will be removed ahead of the River Cruise season and the opening of the new “Reframed” exhibition (April 6). The CAC will also display Langston’s original 30” x 40” painting within the Center, exact location TBD.
For more information on the CAC’s suite of programming around Black History Month, please visit https://www.architecture.org/learn/resources/black-history-month/
See more of Langston’s work:
- On his website: http://www.langstonallston.com/murals
- On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/langstonallston/
View the inspiration:
- Jacob Lawrence’s Builder Painting: https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/the-builders/WgFB0U2PNZEzVQ?hl=en
- Diego Rivera murals: https://www.diegorivera.org/diego-rivera-murals.jsp
- Michael Reese Hospital: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Reese_Hospital