Chicago Walls, 1980-1983

In the early 1980s, I lived in Chicago while I attended graduate school at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Building upon my previous work, I continued photographing walls, further exploring my interest in written marks and notations. On the streets of Chicago, I was initiated into gang tagging graffiti, which I had not experienced in the Seattle walls of the late 1970s. Just like the faded advertising and amateur notations I had previously documented, the autobiographical marks on these Chicago walls have social significance, telling the story of a place through layers of paint and decay.

I began using photo mural paper instead of photolinen which meant I could print larger, referencing the scale of the walls. I continued hand-coloring black and white abstractions of the walls, but now I returned and temporarily taped my image back to the walls from which they originated. I then rephotographed them with color film. This continued my interest in returning a documented photograph back to its original environment. I spray painted the edges to reference the spray painting that was now so common in tagged and graffitied walls.

Many of the urban walls I photographed in Chicago and elsewhere no longer exist, speaking to the impermanence of structures that seem impermeable. One of my favorite Chicago walls that I visited and photographed frequently was at North and Clybourn. It was mostly covered with the colorful names of boys who played basketball in the courtyard. I enjoyed talking with them. All of those walls have since been torn down, replaced with an upscale shopping center.