Chicago Architecture Biennial exhibit at Joffrey Ballet seeks to resurrect famed "All of Mankind" mural painted over in 2015
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The fifth Chicago Architecture Biennial is underway, and while the event's art displays are new, one of the installations seeks to bring back a piece of Chicago history.
High above the hustle of State Street is a starling display. On the windows of the Joffrey Ballet are the names of people killed throughout history under the question, "why were they crucified?" The names include Malcolm X, Anne Frank, and Emmett Till.
"It's a list that will ever forever be incomplete," said Chicago-based artist Jan Tichy, who created the mural. "This type of work is asking us to think, 'Who are the innocent people who that are being killed every day around us?'"
The mural is reminiscent of something Chicago has seen before. Its words were part of a mural titled "All of Mankind," painted on a church near Cabrini-Green in 1972.
Tichy – who used to visit the mural – took pictures of the names painted on the bricks around four figures in the mural.
The mural was considered an important piece of public art from artist William Walker, but Tichy said it was painted over in 2015.
"It was heartbreaking," he said.
Tichy was crushed.
Months ago, he had an opportunity to create a piece at the Joffrey Ballet for the Chicago Architecture Biennial.
"Jan came in pretty succinctly, and was able to connect to a project me and him have been thinking about for some time as well. We both have this kind of obsession with this 'All of Mankind' mural," said Faheem Majeed, one of the curators of the Chicago Architecture Biennial, a citywide art festival that happens every two years. "We said, 'Hey, we should just … I want to bring this … a portion of this in as a way of connecting it on this longer journey of how we're trying to resurrect a mural."
The biennial ends in February, but the mission of Tichy's piece goes beyond the glass at the Joffrey Ballet.
"For passersby that just look up and see these names, I think it is about figuring out who is missing? Who is missing to us today, to each of us?" Tichy said.
The Chicago Architecture Biennial continues through Feb. 11.