By Eva Hofmann
Greektown is open for business this summer. To celebrate, Greektown Chicago launched Hello Helios!, an outdoor art exhibit featuring 24 sun sculptures lining Halsted Street from Madison to Van Buren Streets.
These three-dimensional suns warm Chicago’s Greektown with a multicultural glow. Hello Helios! draws inspiration from Greek, Aztec, Yoruba, Japanese, and Native American cultures.
“We picked the sun because Greece is a very sunny place,” said Greektown arts chair Eve Moran. “Also because of this pandemic you want something bright and colorful and happy, and the sun is all that. As I got deeper into this, I decided there were so many different cultures that worship the sun. It turns out that we have a diverse group of artists that turn to these different mythologies.
“The sun is also a great subject for kids because they can learn sun facts,” Moran continued, referring to the student exhibits created by youngsters from preschool through high school. “It’s also a very simple thing for children to draw.”
Two of those student works are displayed in front of 9 Muses Bar & Grill at 315 S. Halsted St. and Meli Café at 301 S. Halsted St. Yianni Theoharis owns both establishments. “It doesn’t hurt to have them [the artworks] here,” he said. “In general, Greektown is doing well.”
Jeremy Vass, operating partner at Rye Deli & Drink, 25 S. Halsted St., enjoys having one of these works, A Neon Sun Sign by Victoria Martin,near his business. “It has the evil eye to ward off evil and bring good luck,” he said. “I joke and say business has gone up because of it. If you know the mythology, it’s a good story.” Vass admitted the more likely scenario for business being better is Crowne Plaza, which houses Rye Deli & Drink, finally reopening, but the sculpture makes a good conversation piece.
Three Sisters
Customers at Starbucks, 116 S. Halsted St., can view Three Sisters by Le’Ana Asherwhile sipping their lattes. Asher is an Anishinaabe/Ojibwe artist from the Keweenaw Bay Indian community. Her piece creates a visual narrative of The Three Sisters, a story found in some form among most every American Indian nation’s tales. The plant sisters—corn, beans, and squash (or melon) and sometimes a fourth sister, the sunflower, work together in a natural way to provide healthy growth, longterm soil fertility, and the essential nutrients for a balanced diet. While each sister is unique and powerful in her own right, when they work together they are at their strongest.
“I am very honored and excited to have this opportunity to make public art with such a diverse group of artists and students,” said Asher. “Making art that celebrates culture and diversity is at the core of why I am an artist. The feedback I have received has been overwhelmingly positive, and people are very excited to see my piece.”
Tower of the Son, by Takashi Shallow, Mieko Vasilou, and Alexander Hayashi, garners attention on the Halsted Street side of the Arkadia West Loop Apartments at 765 W. Adams St. The three collaborators belong to the artists collective Percent, which brings together artists with mixed heritages to explore identity through aesthetics. “There is a sculpture in Japan called Tower of the Sun,” said Shallow. “We wanted to pay homage to it in our piece because of the shared sun theme and [because] one of the members of our collective…[is] half Japanese and half Greek.” According to Shallow, the poem associated with the sculpture tells of a baby son, inspired by mythical tales of the Greek god and Japanese goddess of the Sun. “We’ve always enjoyed viewing art exhibits in Greektown, so it’s an honor to get to be a part of one,” said Shallow. “The reception has all been very warm and positive so far.”
Meanwhile Dugan’s at 128 S. Halsted St. plays host to Our Healing Power by Rebecca Zaragoza. This piece honors ancient cultures that celebrated the sun as the giver of energy and source of warmth for all living things. The sun carried great importance for ancient Aztecs, whose deities included the sun god Tonatiuh. Zaragoza’s interpretation celebrates the sun’s influence on time, life, and the human spirit. “I love the sun and have always considered it to be therapeutic,” she said. “So I was delighted to be invited to paint one for this year’s exhibit.
Uplifting and colorful
“It’s uplifting to see the colorful works dotting the streets near Halsted,” Zaragoza said. “Feedback about any of my work is always welcomed and helps me improve the next thing I do. This year, I was happy to hear someone was interested in owning it. That’s a high compliment!”
Hello Helios!is sponsored by Greektown Special Services Area #16, the neighborhood’s business improvement district, and produced by the Greektown Arts Committee in partnership with the Chicago Greektown Educational Foundation. For more information, visit greektownchicago.org.