The mystery vintage Chicago mural that wasn't
So, back on Thursday morning (Chicago time), Curbed Chicago reported something that sounded pretty exciting. The recent demolition of the historic Osborne & Adams Leather Co. building in downtown Chicago exposed a mysterious mural.
Where did it come from? Nobody knew - though Curbed had theories.
Right now we can only speculate on the age of the artwork. It is also unclear what artist is responsible for the mural. Curiously, the image shares many characteristics of work by Austrian symbolist painter Gustav Klimt who rose to prominence in the 1880s and 1890s. Thanks to images provided by an anonymous tipster, we can see that the mural's stylized depiction of women among wide-eyed dragons is reminiscent of the 7-foot high, 112-foot long Beethoven Frieze rendered by Klimt in Austria circa 1902
Suffice to say, this got people talking. A mysterious mural nobody even heard of, a mural that may have been painted by a famous artist, only to be forgotten? That's some Burnham Society stuff right there.
Yet it wasn't long before people in the comments suggested a much less dramatic possibility. The mural could have easily been part of the demolished building's basement wall. And back in 2002, it was home to the Super Lounge night club. The commenters linked to photosets from Chicago Scene magazine archive - and I had to admit, two pictures in particular had something in the background that sure looked an awful lot like the mural.
Because Curbed has good journalists, they followed up on that.
Nightclub owner Dion Antic has confirmed that the mural was a part of his Superlounge club from 2002-2003. Unfortunately, this mural is not a long-lost Gustav Klimt, instead Antic tells us that a friend and artist Kristin Swain painted it sometime around 2002. Antic did confirm that Klimt was the inspiration for the design and style of the mural.
Antic even sent along some pictures of the mural from that time.
So there you have it. The mystery mural turned out to be not so mysterious after all. And yet... What would've happened if no one in the comments recalled the mural? What if the Chicago Scene archives didn't stay up. While there is talk of the magazine's revival, it hasn't published an issue in years. The site could've easily gone down. Just ask Clubline Chicago, or Image Chicago.
Earlier today, my mom took svollga and I to see a special exhibit on Ancient Greeks at the Field Museum. As I looked at ancient pottery, jewelry and weaponry and read about how archaeologists tried to piece together clues. What it this mural was discovered centuries from now, even thousands of years from now. Would there be any online traces Super Lounge? Would they even know where to look?
And this mural would be a great, unsolvable mystery.
Where did it come from? Nobody knew - though Curbed had theories.
Right now we can only speculate on the age of the artwork. It is also unclear what artist is responsible for the mural. Curiously, the image shares many characteristics of work by Austrian symbolist painter Gustav Klimt who rose to prominence in the 1880s and 1890s. Thanks to images provided by an anonymous tipster, we can see that the mural's stylized depiction of women among wide-eyed dragons is reminiscent of the 7-foot high, 112-foot long Beethoven Frieze rendered by Klimt in Austria circa 1902
Suffice to say, this got people talking. A mysterious mural nobody even heard of, a mural that may have been painted by a famous artist, only to be forgotten? That's some Burnham Society stuff right there.
Yet it wasn't long before people in the comments suggested a much less dramatic possibility. The mural could have easily been part of the demolished building's basement wall. And back in 2002, it was home to the Super Lounge night club. The commenters linked to photosets from Chicago Scene magazine archive - and I had to admit, two pictures in particular had something in the background that sure looked an awful lot like the mural.
Because Curbed has good journalists, they followed up on that.
Nightclub owner Dion Antic has confirmed that the mural was a part of his Superlounge club from 2002-2003. Unfortunately, this mural is not a long-lost Gustav Klimt, instead Antic tells us that a friend and artist Kristin Swain painted it sometime around 2002. Antic did confirm that Klimt was the inspiration for the design and style of the mural.
Antic even sent along some pictures of the mural from that time.
So there you have it. The mystery mural turned out to be not so mysterious after all. And yet... What would've happened if no one in the comments recalled the mural? What if the Chicago Scene archives didn't stay up. While there is talk of the magazine's revival, it hasn't published an issue in years. The site could've easily gone down. Just ask Clubline Chicago, or Image Chicago.
Earlier today, my mom took svollga and I to see a special exhibit on Ancient Greeks at the Field Museum. As I looked at ancient pottery, jewelry and weaponry and read about how archaeologists tried to piece together clues. What it this mural was discovered centuries from now, even thousands of years from now. Would there be any online traces Super Lounge? Would they even know where to look?
And this mural would be a great, unsolvable mystery.