Chicago Seal

For "Chicago Flag and Seal Revisited," a 2012 group art exhibition sponsored by the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, select artists were asked to create their own version of the Chicago flag and/or seal. I riffed on the seal, incorporating elements from the original and making it more contemporary, and personal. Years later, the image was chosen, among other artwork in the Cultural Center collection, to adorn an office wall in the City Hall office suite of Mayor Lori Lightfoot. I was delighted to hear that my seal was chosen to give the art collection some "humor."

The original Chicago seal

Urbs in Horto translates from Latin to "City in a Garden"

In my seal, I wanted to pay homage to Chicago's cultural diversity, vibrant musical traditions, distinctive artwork, world-class architecture, public lakefront and Native American origins. An engineered city, Chicago apparently was built on an onion marsh. Mayor Daley often expressed his dream of turning the polluted riverfront into a destination "with swans." He would be pleased to know that years later, the river is cleaner, and the riverfront is indeed a destination, minus swans. The rooster on a clam shell makes reference to the downtown Cloud Gate sculpture, as well as our longstanding tradition of electing contentious "king-like" mayors. Today, the city boasts gorgeous green spaces and a vibrant cultural life, aspiring to be a city in a garden.

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