With just two busy weeks to go before the official start of ArtPrize, I simply had to see   how Jeff Zimmermann, the Chicago artist who is painting an absolutely huge mural on the side of the Kendall College of Art and Design building, is progressing.  Here are a few shots to compare with earlier photos of this mammoth installation.

Here’s what Zimmermann wrote on his ArtPrize page about his Mural

“I will go prospecting in the streets around the area of the work site and take photos of locals to later use as references in the finished artwork. The immediate environment and its inhabitants help bring gestalten to my murals. This is key to the artistic process and, for me, creates legitimacy. It’s nice to ponder things with the community, over time, through a work of art.

If a mural is successful, the public will share ideas and discoveries they’ve made with others around them, or an idea will stick in their mind. Public art already has an advantage as it’s understood to be “of the community” and therefore it’s perception comes democratically. My artwork is intended to be neutral. I do not wish to provide answers, but rather attempt to spark dialogue.”

It will be up to the public to determine if he is successful.

Here’s the artist and team hard at work.  I’ll be back in a week or so to check the progress as the countdown to ArtPrize opening day continues.