"everything in...'

Found at Milwaukee/Halsted/Grand intersection, which gets allot of play by a certain type of wise guy Zen philosopher artists. Some says it's the proximity to Richards Bar.

On Milwaukee just north of Grand, south side.

I like the red.

Dead Man's Corner

In June a fellow hiker spotted a body floating in the Chicago River near the Division Street bridge [at Ogden St.] in 'Dead Man's Corner.'

Police at the scene explained the river currents were such that floating objects weighing two-hundred pounds or so always find their way into this corner of the bridge's base.

Every summer, what a cynical officer referred to as the 'drowning season,' one or two bodies wash into Dead Man's Corner.

A special plea: when crossing the river always check for floaters.

Mad Preacher Fights Satan

This image and its three or four variations are old news. They began appearing last spring.

And yet...they are worth noting for several reasons: the illiterate rantings of a biblical madman, the spooky faces of 'missing' young women, and the sheer number that went up over the course of a few weeks. Multiple repetitions on Lamp poles, bridge abutments, abandoned storefronts.

They seem to gain power as they slowly disintegrate.

The boys behind this 'appropriated-outsider-art' were hopped up mightily. May the outraged Lord have mercy on their souls. Double click the image and read the 'message.'

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Meet Fat Head

This is another serial image that's been appearing for a few months now. It's hand drawn, cut-out and pasted on walls. A fresh Fat Head on construction plywood.

Fat Head isn't crying.

He looks startled, worried and round. Fat Head is what Humpty Dumpty would have become had he been born in 1960--maybe a coddled Baby Boomer who never had to take that fall...now worried about retirement.

Fat Heads don't last long. The paper is thin, the glue is cheap.

Hip Rat Stencil

I promise--this is the last rat related post ever. But dig this guy--he's got the cigarette, he's got the shovel, he's got that weird shit on his back. I'm convinced there are two images in there, but I can't untangle the second.

Also--it is stenciled in a most untraveled area, at the base of a lamp pole [about six inches off the ground] on the east side of the Augusta/90-94 off ramp walkway.

Got that? It's a sidewalk that parallels the northbound off-ramp and leads to a landscaped no-mans-land between the highway and X Street. Trees are planted there, homeless folks camp out deeper into the sloping triangle of highway land. A couple of times over a summer you'll see a guy on a good size riding mower cutting at a dangerous angle. It's a benign pubic space associated with the highway.

And there is a street light just past the off-ramp and entering the 'landscaped' area. The trees are all the same municipal make and model; same height--about fifteen feet.

Two cast aluminum pieces are bolted at the streetlights base. They are trim pieces with a purpose. Should one put the five minutes it would require to separate the square base covers, you'd find the electrical.

For some reason and by God knows what hipster-artist, this stencil was left. Whoever he is, I want more in this style, nearly hidden.

Rats Be Warned!

This will be my first and only rat post. As an urban hiker these beasts are common, skeazy and of no particular interest. They pose no danger to the urban hiker wearing quality footwear.

Except when a dead rat is covered in some sort of poison dust that makes it look like someone's getting ready to deep fry it. Then it might be of note.

The signs are courtesy of the City's Rat Patrol, an elite unit of wild life experts.

Salvation Under Foot

Another soul saving stencil found on Milwaukee Avenue up near Damen Street.

Note three additional crucifixes, no doubt added by eternally damned late night partying souls.

Unlike the disciplined "JESUS" SAVES [see below] stencil, this wilding Christian laid paint all up and down the street. But only this one had the additional crosses, depicting a more accurate Skull Hill on that fateful day 1,977 years ago [approx. (if Jesus was thirty)].

Big Lips, Bad Hair

This smiley guy has begun appearing in the Wicker Park area in various guises. Small, tiny, and in this case, large [about 4'x3']. It's glued to an unused brown door, inset from the face of the building.

I like the shirt strings.

Clean & Dry Hobo Bedding

Along the fence separating civilians from the local superhighway, in the bushes and (almost) out of sight, is the bedroll of an urban outdoorsman.

A standard black trash bag, a dry piece of cardboard and what looked like a very clean and dry quilted blanket. Not really appropriate for the predicted rain later today, but comfy enough for the moment.

2,007 Year Old Classic

A spray painted stencil on the sidewalk crossing the Chicago Avenue bridge over the North Branch of the Chicago River.

Note the quotation marks around "Jesus." Yes, the old King of Kings has been saving souls for a couple thousand years. Are they irony, sarcasm, or simple evangelical zealotry? Difficult to riddle out.

Also of note is the vandals self-discipline. Usually a stencil, a can of spray paint, a massive urban canvas would result in "JESUS" SAVES being found all over town. But not this time. One single reminder at the foot of a sixty-year-old draw bridge is just the right amount for whomever laid it down.

Lone Yellow Tree Mars Dead Church

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Dead Kitten Shrine

A guy down the street found a dead kitten in the space between his storm door and his front door about a year ago. He and his family use the side door almost exclusively. One day his eight year old daughter discovered the remains of a small gray kitten trapped in the space--no one has come up with a good theory as to how it got there.

The shrine is still up and looking a little faded. But as my friend says; 'that kitten showed great American spirit in somehow squeezing into an impossible situation. That's why I put the flag up."

Bridge Art

Along the many bridges in Chicago you'll find small acts of art.

Sometimes it's a sticker on a pole, like the smart-ass hand made cheerleader statement found on the Chicago Avenue overpass or the weird honey comb-head-guy on Milwaukee Ave (below) above the Kennedy Expressway.

Or the Fish Face on the Ogden Avenue overpass of the same expressway a few blocks away. The fish took considerably more time and skill, it was an original color drawing done in sharpie.