As his 22 years in office come to an end, Mayor Daley is getting a retrospective. “Chicago A.D. (After Daley)” at Wicker Park’s Jackson Junge Gallery, is a collection of paintings about Daley’s reign, and about what might be coming next.
Owner Chris Jackson put out a call to artists after Daley announced his retirement last September.
“I wanted to do a current-event themed show,” Jackson said. “I didn’t want to do the Daley Show. It’s already happened. I wanted the artists’ vision of what would the city be like after he’s gone.”
Nonetheless, many of the paintings comment on Daley’s most controversial decisions, especially his sale of the parking meters. “Mile A Minute Weed,” by Judith Gries, depicts a 22-year meter, with the red “Time Expired” tab popping up. And “This Meter Remains As A Courtesy To Cyclists,” by Brian Morgan, is a portrait of Daley wearing that well-known sticker on his lapel.
Interestingly, when Ward Room visited the gallery, Jackson had an orange parking ticket envelope on his desk. One of Wicker Park’s super-aggressive parking goons (“they come down this street every 30 minutes”) had ticketed Jackson while feeding the meter. He was planning to challenge the citation.
The opening reception for “Chicago A.D. (After Daley)” is from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. tonight at Jackson Junge Gallery, 1389 N. Milwaukee Ave. The artists will be inside. Representatives of Chicago Parking LLC will be outside, so be sure to feed your meter.
