Client: Chicago Public Library - Ausin Irving Branch

Location: Chicago, IL, United States

Completion date: 2007

Artwork budget: $8,000

Project Team

Artist

Jason Messinger

Public Art Agent

Allyson Murphy

Chicago Public art Department

Overview

Ceramic, glaze, wooden frame backers. 5' h x 8' w x 2″d. Chicago Public Library, Austin Irving Branch. One of two murals commissioned for the library – celebrates the branch location's strong Children's and Young Adult collection.

Goals

Two beloved classics of children's literature inspired "Alice", Victorian British author Lewis Carroll's famous children's novels Alice in Wonderland, and Through the Looking Glass. Each tile of the mural appropriates words or phrases from the books. The red & white and black & white tiles represent Alice in Wonderland, referencing the theme of playing cards. The black & silver tiles illustrate words and phrases from Through the Looking Glass, in honor of the book's twin themes of chess and mirrors. The use of topsy-turvy graphics conveys the playful inversions in words and ideas integral to Carroll's works.

Process

Commissioned through Allyson Murphy, City of Chicago Public Art Consultant

Additional Information

To further enhance the learning relationship with the mural, artist developed an interactive worksheet for children of varying ages.