The Art Institute

A series of thoughts I had while touring The Art Institute of Chicago.

ONE

have you ever noticed that many artists were born in one place 
but traveled far away to live?

do you think it’s because they had to go somewhere
a place where their medium, their materials, their inclinations were
encouraged and enriched?

sometimes we have to leave the limits of what we know 
in order to discover unlimited potential, freedom, and comfort. 

TWO

are we supposed to be quiet in here?
(i’m whispering this in my brain because it feels like even if my thoughts are too loud, someone will hear)

THREE

i would give just about anything
to be a person who owns an original painting
by an artist who everyone knows
so when they see it hanging in my Home (My Museum)
they say, “you own a ______ (insert well-known artist’s name here)?!”

FOUR

My Happiest Place
is Here

FIVE

“You’ve got some nerve coming here,” 
the Radiohead song is singing in my ear 

I whisper back,
“This is my Home.”

SIX

i want to live in a city 
that loves art this much (stretches arms to show approximate measurement)
like as much as i do 
so every weekend i can come to an art museum 

hell, may even become a season pass holder

SEVEN

in a life
i exist 
and live
on Vincent Van Gogh’s “The Poet’s Garden”
1853-1890
and i speak Dutch

EIGHT

(there are three yellow chairs in this exhibit)

If this was our Home
This would be your chair
Because of the detail and color and composition

The second, mine
For all the same reasons

And the third, for our guests
Because we want to make sure they know how extra we are 
When it comes to yellow chairs in this Home

Come in, take a seat
In the Yellow Chair Home