Since 2013, Chicago artist Jim Bachor has turned potholes on the city streets into mosaics. At WGN9, he writes:
What got me going with mosaics originally was the durability. I visited Pompeii for the first time in the late 1990s, and a tour guide pointed out an ancient mosaic and said, glass and marble don't fade. So that mosaic that we're looking at looks just like the artist intended 2000 years ago....
I still don't know if it's legal or not, but I have had discussions with police through the years, about a half dozen, and once they know what I'm doing they don't have an issue with it.
View this post on Instagram More work in progress shots from the 6th Detroit install. “Bouquet” is located at Riopelle and Adelaide in Eastern Market. •••••• #bachor #jimbachor #potholeart #potholeartinstallations #muralsinthemarket #easternmarket
A post shared by bachor (@jimbachor) on Oct 5, 2018 at 7:20am PDT
View this post on Instagram NOT FAKE NEWS! Sadly "This is not a pothole. Anymore." is on it's last legs. Check it out before it's gone! Northeast corner of Michigan and Ohio smack dab in the middle of downtown Chicago. Sad! (Photo credit: Pat Owens)
A post shared by bachor (@jimbachor) on Jan 17, 2017 at 9:06am PST
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On Friday, Stamford, Connecticut gallerist Fernando Luis Alvarez and artist Domenic Esposito kindly installed Esposito's large sculpture of a burnt spoon outside of Purdue Pharma, developers of the OxyContin. Police calmly arrested Alvarez and charged him with "obstruction of free passage" and "interfering with police." The current group show at Alvarez's gallery is about the opioid epidemic. He had previously agreed to take the fall for the art action. According to Esposito, the spoon sculpture, titled "Purdue," was inspired by his brother who struggles with drug addiction. From the Hartford Courant:
In 2007, Purdue pleaded guilty in federal court to mislabeling OxyContin and misleading the public about the risk of addiction, and had to pay $600 million. Three company executives were convicted of criminal charges. The firm has been and remains the target of numerous lawsuits, with legal actions against it increasing since the opioid epidemic reached a critical stage...
Robert Josephson, a spokesperson for Purdue, released a statement Friday morning.
“We share the protesters’ concern about the opioid crisis, and respect their right to peacefully express themselves. Purdue is committed to working collaboratively with those affected by this public health crisis on meaningful solutions to help stem the tide of opioid-related overdose deaths.”
photos: Brian O'Neil
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