Fall Colors Just Part of the Dazzling Array at Openlands Lakeshore Preserve

October 7, 2010
Contact: Charles Mutscheller

FORT SHERIDAN, IL—Fall’s gold and crimson foliage is now joined by the blues, greens, and umbers of a larger-than-life mural, Arc of Nature, the centerpiece of a new public art initiative at the Openlands Lakeshore Preserve.

"When we opened the preserve last fall, it enabled people to explore a natural environment that had been off limits to the public for over a hundred years, including more than a mile of Lake Michigan shoreline,” said Openlands President & CEO Jerry Adelmann. “Now we’re using art to enhance visitors’ experiences and help make this a ‘learning landscape’ for people of all ages and abilities.”

Designed by Chicago Public Art Group (CPAG) artists Ginny Sykes and Augustina Droze, the 32-by-50-feet mural combines multiple media to help explain the site’s rich geological and biological histories and ongoing revitalization. CPAG artists Jim Brenner and Julia Sowles crafted the mural’s metal sculptural elements and glass mosaic tiles, respectively.

“We wanted to engage visitors in an unavoidable way as they walk down the ravine toward the lake,” explained Ms. Sykes of the scale of the piece.

The mural and other on-site artworks are meant to evoke both real and metaphoric connections between humans and nature—in ways that are honest, thought provoking, and compelling. For example, Vivian Visser’s Erode, a cascade of driftwood down one slope of Bartlett Ravine, will underscore the threat of stormwater runoff on the fragile landscape.

Also slated for installation this fall is local artist Sharon Bladholm’s The Soil is Alive, a series of highly detailed bronze-filled resin cast relief sculptures that depict microorganisms present in the soil, providing the nourishment needed to sustain the wide diversity of plant life at the Openlands Lakeshore Preserve.

According to site curator Dr. Lisa Roberts, “The public art projects at the Openlands Lakeshore  Preserve create a strong visual vocabulary that’s intended to transcend language barriers. We want people to connect with the landscape at a more affective and experiential level and expand the way they might normally see and interact with nature.”

Utilizing artwork this way also benefits non-English-speaking visitors and people with disabilities such as aphasia, a language disorder that can result in difficulty producing or comprehending spoken or written language.

About the Openlands Lakeshore Preserve

Built in 1888 by the U.S. Army, Fort Sheridan served as a mobilization, training, and administrative center from the Spanish-American War through World War II. Between 1953 and 1973, it housed the Cold War base for servicing and supplying all NIKE anti-missile systems in the upper Midwest.

Shortly after Fort Sheridan was decommissioned in 1993, the northern part of the lakeshore and critical open spaces were transferred to the Lake County Forest Preserve District. In 2006 a federal conservation agreement transferred the southern part of the lakefront and the adjoining bluffs and ravines to Openlands for permanent protection.

In 2007 two major grants—$4 million from the Grand Victoria Foundation and $2 million from the Hamill Family Foundation—jump-started the first phase of site improvements at the preserve, which focused on extensive ecosystem restoration efforts in three-quarter-mile-long Bartlett Ravine.

According to botanist Gerould Wilhelm, who co-authored the definitive Plants of the Chicago Region, Bartlett Ravine “contains an extraordinary amalgamation of plant life….It’s completely unlike any other timber tract on the planet, and it sustains a tremendous amount of biodiversity.” Today, more than 150 native plants can be found at the preserve, which is also a migratory stopover for thousands of birds every year.

Openlands raised the funds needed to open the preserve for public enjoyment. To date private sources—corporations, foundations, and individuals—have contributed $9.5 million of the $12 million required to complete the project.

Founded in 1963, Openlands protects the natural and open spaces of northeastern Illinois and the surrounding region to ensure cleaner air and water, protect natural habitats and wildlife, and help balance and enrich our lives. 

#     #     #