Tuesday July 3rd, 2012 – Chicago, IL
The longer I live, the more I realize how much of a tiny speck I am in the universe. We all are. It doesn’t do much for the ego, but it sure puts things into perspective. There should be NO time or energy wasted on anything but the very best of whatever we choose. The good thing is, we do get the ability to choose most of the time. I finally feel like I’m starting to make better choices.
Today I visited the Art Institute of Chicago, and as far as I can tell it was the first time I’d ever seen it. I can’t believe that in all the time I’ve lived in or near Chicago (which is decades); I have never taken even one day to see one of the most spectacular displays of human genius anywhere.
I’ve seen a lot of diverse and unique attractions in my day, but for whatever reason I’ve just not found my way to this one, and I’m embarrassed. I’ve seen the Field Museum and the Museum of Science and Industry several times and loved them both. I really enjoy most museums and tourist attractions of any kind, but this took it to a whole new level. I was blown away by the creativity.
Of course I’ve heard names like Monet and Renoir and others, but they were just names. I can’t believe I’ve never become familiar with their work, and seeing samples of it firsthand today was a stunning experience. One after another, those paintings jumped off of the wall and spoke to me.
My grandfather used to take me to museums, but we’d never been to this one. We did go to the Milwaukee Art Museum, but that was when I was a kid. Quite honestly, I don’t recall if I liked it or not. Sometimes Gramps would take me places I didn’t enjoy then, but as an adult I’m SO glad he did. He opened up my mind to new things I might not have tried on my own, and I’m grateful.
I have to believe Gramps would have loved The Art Institute. I know I did. There was a display of work from an artist named Roy Lichtenstein, and I’m ashamed to say I had never heard of him before today. I just never paid much attention to the world of art, so he never entered my radar.
Quite honestly, I wasn’t a huge fan of his work. He was very prolific though, and carved out an incredible niche. His work reminded me of popular music or comedians or other entertainment of any kind that strikes a chord with the public. Roy Lichtenstein was like Adam Sandler on canvas, at least in my opinion. I wonder what other artists thought of his work, even if the public liked it.
That doesn’t mean I don’t respect either of them. I might not like Adam Sandler’s movies - and I totally don’t - but they’re not made for me. He’s found his customer base, and serves them with the exact product they seem to want. Good for him. I hear he’s a very nice guy too, so I’m happy for him. Lichtenstein’s work didn’t thrill me either, but he apparently has a large group of fans.
What did thrill me was the experience of being able to be turned on to something ‘new’, even if most of it is actually very old. Roy Lichtenstein died in 1997, and most of the others I discovered today were gone before I was even born. That completely fascinates me, and maybe if I’m lucky something I do can entertain, educate or inspire someone else after I’m gone. That gives me a lot of encouragement to keep doing what I’m doing, even if I think nobody notices that I exist now.
I went to the Art Institute with Jeff Schneider, my partner on ‘The Unshow!’ podcast. Actually, he’s the one who came up with that name and it started as a radio show on a low power station in Pittsburgh where he lives. He owned the Funny Bone Comedy Club there with his brother Keith, and they owned the Funny Bone in Milwaukee where I cut my teeth in comedy back in the ‘80s.
Jeff came to town for a few days to hang out and visit both me and some other people he knew from when he lived in Milwaukee. He sat in on The Mothership Connection radio show Sunday night, and yesterday we drove up to Milwaukee to take a tour of the town twenty five years later.
We drove past the Funny Bone location on Farwell Avenue which is now Shank Hall. We also drove past the house he used to live in on Kenwood Boulevard on the East Side, and it brought a lot of memories back. I spent Thanksgiving there one year with Bill Engvall and others, and Jeff had completely forgotten about it. It was surreal to go back and see it all a quarter century later.
In many ways, Jeff and I are very similar. We’re both polarizing personalities, and people tend to either really like us or really not. He was always known as being a club owner first, but he has the soul and spirit of an artist and a performer and those who got him like I did were able to plug into his wavelength. Quite a few people didn’t get it, and still don’t. I can relate to that as well.
Jeff is very intelligent and has a broad range of subjects on which he can expound. That’s why it’s so much fun to do the podcast. He knows what he’s talking about concerning current events, pop culture, art and a lot of other things and he has strong opinions as do I. I don’t always agree with all he says, but that’s ok. He makes me think, and we can disagree without being hateful.
One thing Jeff is very good at is knowing what’s funny in a comedy sense. He booked his own clubs for years, and I have to say he had excellent taste and not just because he booked me often. He got it when it came to putting shows together with acts that complement each other well, and VERY few people who book shows ever do that. It’s refreshing to know of someone who does.
He used to use a lot of Chicago comics, and he was smart to do so. Pittsburgh and Chicago are very similar in attitude, as is Milwaukee. They’re blue collar rust belt towns, and tend to laugh at a lot of the same things. Comics like Tim Walkoe, Larry Reeb and myself tend to do well in rust belt towns because that’s the essence of who we are. Jeff knew that, and used to book all of us.
After the Art Institute today Jeff and I got on a train and met up with Tim Walkoe, who took us to a wonderful pizza joint called ‘Marie’s’ on Lawrence Avenue. Larry Reeb lives a few minutes away, and he joined us along with Bill Gorgo for a round table reunion of Chicago comedians.
What a great time we had exchanging comedy stories and enjoying some of the best thin crust pizza I’ve ever had. I felt like I was really in show business, and we were all in a good mood the whole time. Special moments like this are what life is all about, and it was perfect in every way. Just one of these events would have made it a great day, but the Art Institute and dinner together put it over the top and made it a grand slam home run. This is exactly how life should always be.
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