A Day In Chicago
February 18th, 2010
The day after the gallery opening Dave Rudin introduced me to his friend, Ted Preuss, who does wonderful Platinum/Palladium prints from his 4×5 and 8×10 format photos of nudes. His work is amazingly beautiful. It was a real treat to get to look at his lovely prints.
We started our day by going to the Art Institute of Chicago, something I try to do every time I visit the Second City. I think the Art Institute is the best art gallery in the country. Their collection is remarkable. That’s Dave R shooting a nude in one of the galleries in the new wing.
This time I got to see the new Modern Wing for the first time. It was not open yet when I was there last to see the Karsh exhibit. I have to say the modern wing is a wonderful addition to the institute. I do miss the room that used to be filled with Picassos. Seeing all those wonderful paintings all together was a remarkable experience. In the new wing the Picassos are scattered throughout the galleries, so the impact of the totality of their collection is somewhat diminished.
After the Art Institute we took a little walk around the area which, of course, included a stop at the “bean.” That’s the three of us being tourists at the bean. Well, Ted is a Chicagoite, so 
he’s too cool to act like a tourist. I love the way Chicago has developed the lake front area. It’s really a beautiful and fun place.
Next we walked across the river to visit the “American Gothic” statues and walk around the Tribune building looking at the stones from famous places around the world.
After we had gotten cold enough from all the wind (who would have thought it would be windy in Chicago?) Ted took us over to his new studio. He has just moved in and hasn’t even had time to do the first shoot in the new space. It’s a beautiful place and I’m sure he’ll be turning out some great photos from it. You can see Ted and Dave R in the new space in the
next to last photo down below.
Then Ted dropped Dave R and myself back at our hotel and went home to cook a valentine’s day dinner for his wife. We went to a restaurant that Ted 
recommended, The Green Door. It’s one of the oldest wood frame commercial buildings in the city because it was built in the very short time between the great fire and the passage of a law forbidding wood frame commercial buildings. During prohibition it was a speak easy. Today it is an excellent restaurant that proclaims with pride that the building is tilted to one side from age. The tilt is very obvious from inside.
So, that’s about it for the Chicago trip. It was a great time. I’ll look forward to my next excuse to visit there. I’m sure I’ll be up for the “Hank Carter” show that opens at the art institute in the summer…but I may well find a good excuse to make another trip before that.
One Response to “A Day In Chicago”
1Shadowscapestudio
February 20th, 2010 @ 9:01 pm
So where is the photo of Rudin riding on the green lion?
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