Artist Jeff Pak's pink tiger mural is 'loud' – and celebrates his heritage

Thanks for subscribing to the Murals and Mosaics newsletter from the Chicago Sun-Times! Each week, we

View this email online Thanks for subscribing to the Murals and Mosaics newsletter from the Chicago Sun-Times! Each week, we showcase some of the Chicago area's most interesting pieces of public art – as well as the stories behind them. Today's edition was compiled by Sun-Times reporter Robert Herguth. Follow him on Twitter here and on Instagram here. Reach out to murals@suntimes.com with tips and comments.

Good afternoon! Anyone who's seen "The Pink Panther" comedy-mystery films may recall an exchange in one of the movies between the bumbling Inspector Clouseau (actor Peter Sellers, sporting a thick French accent) and a pipe-smoking clerk in the lobby of a hotel. "Does your dog bite?" Clouseau asks as he happens upon a cute little pooch on the floor. "No," responds the clerk. As Clouseau reaches down to pet the animal, it attacks. He turns to the man and says, "I thought you said your dog did not bite?" "That," the clerk says, "is not my dog." When I first saw a photo of a mural of a pink-headed cat in Andersonville, on a rail viaduct at Ravenswood and Bryn Mawr avenues, I thought, "A pink panther!" With my mind following naturally to the films and the aforementioned dog-bite scene. Turns out it's not a pink panther in the painting, but a tiger. And it has zilch to do with Sellers' franchise. Rather, it's a statement on artist Jeff Pak's Korean heritage, as well as the embodiment of his artistic philosophy: "to make really dope and weird stuff."

Jeff Pak's tiger mural in Andersonville, done this summer. | Provided

And the image also conveys a little humor. Next to the tiger is a text bubble with "야" – Korean for "Hey!" Pak, 34, says that's a joke aimed at his mother about how often she yells at him. "It's a loud representation of a Korean American person," Pak says. Click here to read more about Pak and his painting. It's this week's feature in our ongoing "Murals & Mosaics" series.

Chicago artist Jeff Pak. | Provided

Pak was born in Chicago. His parents are from South Korea. He says he meant for the mural to pay homage to his Korean heritage. Tigers are often found in stories of Korean folklore and history. Pak says that, at one point, he "didn't really care" about representing that culture artistically. But he noticed how little Korean art can be found at museums. "A lot of Korean art history has been lost," he says. "It's either been destroyed, stolen or there's no real history of it." Pak, who also goes by "JPAK," says, "Now, I understand it is something I should take into more consideration because it is part of who I am regardless of if I think it is or not." But creating art for pure aesthetic pleasure is still his main motivation. The mural was part of a beautification project that friend and fellow artist Rubén Aguirre was also part of, and that was curated by artist Justus Roe and supported by Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th). Why is it pink? It's Pak's favorite color. Also, he says, "I just want to make sure that you can never ignore the stuff I make."

CAVE DWELLING

What does our columnist Neil Steinberg like about Chicago artist Nick Cave's exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art? In a recent write-up, which you can read here, Steinberg says "what really struck me is how Cave takes ephemera, the kitsch you see sold on a blanket on city streets, and assembles it into tableaus of significance."

Artist Nick Cave shown in 2021. | Sun-Times file photo

An intriguing description. "Look at 'Untitled,' his 2018 work, a few dozen wooden souvenir heads of Black people, set on a table," Steinberg continues. "Add an American eagle that looks like it's deciding which eye to pluck out next, and suddenly you've got something meaningful."

"Untitled," a 2018 work by Nick Cave. | Neil Steinberg/Sun-Times

"The show presents a series of dramatic Cave bronzes, juxtaposing body parts with found objects. Look at this opened hand surrounded by a U of vintage beaded flowers. You instantly see that the hand is positioned as if holding a gun, except the gun isn't there. The payoff is the title of the 2016 work, 'Unarmed.' Not only beautiful, but with a clear message. It's a piece of art you can talk about, and should." The show, called "Forothermore," runs through Oct. 2, when it then heads to New York's Guggenheim Museum.

OUTSIDE THE CAVE

There was a recent article in what we'll call "that other newspaper in town" that's worth a mention, and a link. They explored sculpture gardens in the Chicago area, and the larger Midwest. The Skokie Northshore Sculpture Park was among them, which can be checked out here.

A sculpture called "Fairy Circle" at the Skokie Northshore Sculpture Park. | Provided

This might be a good spot to mention that we've begun to add photos of statues, sculptures and monuments to our interactive map that's part of the Sun-Times' "Murals & Mosaics" project. The map has until now been, well, murals and mosaics. But we're adding (albeit a little slowly) other forms of public art.

FINALLY ...

Thanks for reading the Murals & Mosaics newsletter! Check out other newsletters from the Sun-Times ranging from general morning news to high school sports here. Got a mural or other piece of public art you'd like us to look into? Send an email to murals@suntimes.com and we'll check it out. Wanna share with others how to subscribe to this free weekly email newsletter? Here's the link to sign up. Looking for something to do this weekend? The Ravenswood ArtWalk on the North Side is going on. Here's a link with details. Have a great day, and a great weekend. Robert Herguth, Sun-Times

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By Robert Herguth A weekly look at the murals, mosaics and public art in Chicago's neighborhoods, and the stories behind them. Tweet     Share

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