Illinois, halfway between Busey and Lincoln

------Illinois, halfway between Busey and Lincoln

Second of five installments on one of my last and best weekends in the soon to be gone and missed Urbana Champaign.

FUBART: for you by artists restoring-interest together. Public art is one of the strongest, expressive, outspoken, and controversial art that exists. Done correctly it can inspire, raise questions of yourself and your surroundings, speak out, and put a smile on ones face or a thought in ones head. If you have never heard of him I suggest you look up Banksy. He is one of the most controversial public art producers there are. However for every frown, or spat of angry words thrown his way there are countless more supporters and lovers of his creations.

Over my five years at the university of illinois, years that went far to quickly, I found it appealing to see the rise in good, thought invoking, visually tasteful public art. A friend and I had the idea to start a second 'art project' from an idea which we had originally seen high above the streets of the University District in Seattle, WA....

A shoe tree. All the fun of throwing your shoes onto the telephone wires minus all the gang affiliated hub bub that follows along with the territory marking.... and the slight risk of electricution. Something that can transform with the seasons much like the tree which they occupy. On top of it all, it is something in which the entire public can enjoy and participate in. (which is starting to take place)

One can only hope that eventually after different classes of Urbana house party hoodlums gaze up into the limbs of the behemoth red oak tree. High above a lonely light post which illuminates the dangling shoes like ornaments on a Christmas tree. Will the limbs eventually be filled with hundreds of shoes from all the local flavor Champaign Urbana has to offer.

Reading: (Finishing up) Evidence of My Existence (pretty amazing book)

Listening to: The Mountain Goats, Idylls of the King