Professor Creates Chicago’s Largest Public Art Project

Jessica Stockholder, professor and chair of the department of visual arts at the University of Chicago, recently turned a stark gray landscape of an urban intersection into a rainbow of colors. Professor Stockholder’s public art project bathed the intersection of State and Adams streets in bright colors. The colors covered the sidewalks and parts of the streets and climbed lampposts and buildings. Professor Stockholder said, “I wanted to break up the normal experience of walking down a street, to present people with something surprising.”

The public art project, dubbed Color Jam, was made possible by the Chicago Loop Alliance, a group of businesses that wants to enhance the downtown area. It took eight months for the alliance to secure all the necessary permits for the project to proceed. Color Jam is the largest public art project in Chicago’s history.

Professor Stockholder joined the faculty at the University of Chicago in 2011. She taught at Yale from 1999 t0 2011. A graduate of the University of Victoria, Professor Stockholder earned a master of fine arts degree at Yale University.

Here is a video that shows more of the project.