When I was a kid, my mom took me to the mall a lot. Outdoor, 70s-type malls that were bigger than 90s strip malls. And a lot of them had public art. The art was pretty contemporary, and “out there” and often, fake paranormal exhibits, or Rube Goldberg machines. I LOVED these things. I remember the day they took the magical moving rock away. You could see the wires left bare, and the magical moving rock sign was still there. It was like finding out there was no Santy Claus.

My favorite art mall was the Cermak Plaza in Berwyn, IL. It had car pelts…..flattened cars hung like bear rugs. It also had this AMAZING landfill commentary sculpture made of old household appliances. It was torn down when I was a kid. But the biggest, most spectacular piece was the car spindle.

You might know it better from Wayne’s World. But it’s really in Berwyn, not Aurora.

The parking lot of where the car spindle is was probably the last place I ever drove a car (in driver’s ed), ironically. I have taken many people there over the years, and the longer it stands, the more I wonder, “Cars were really that big? Why?” The last time I went there, we were in a Honda Civic. It looked miniscule! Using consumer trash and cars for art in the parking lot of a suburban mall is ballsy, and far more meaningful than putting it in a museum.

I love public art. I love contemporary art. I love controversial art. I really dislike cars. I really don’t think our culture (including me) thinks enough about how much technology we throw away needlessly. I can’t help but think that these very core beliefs I hold as an adult had nothing to do with some of my happiest memories as a kid with this art.
And now they are tearing it down.

To build a Walgreens.

There’s already a Walgreens IN THE MALL.

If you live in Chicago you will understand the true irksome nature of this. Chicago has a Walgreens every 5.8 feet. You know, in between the hot dog stands and the banks. Seriously, I have never seen more drug stores than in Chicago. I guess you need a lot of Tums with the hot dogs.

There’s not a lot of current news that I can find, but if we can still do anything, here are some links. My brother saw it up on November 3, and there’s a Flickr photo from Nov. 17. I hope it sticks around another month so I can go see it one last time. Critical mass did a ride to it:

When’s the last time you saw Critical Mass protecting cars?

Anyone “on the ground” have some news?