Tall Buildings

I attended a lecture on the history of architecture in Chicago. Covering 201 years in an hour and a half, it was extraordinarily brief, but the eighty-something woman giving the talk proved most lively and it was a highly enjoyable lecture. The lecture focused most heavily on skyscrapers, which are widely (although not universally) considered to be a Chicagoan invention. I sat next to Professor Buenger, who teaches my course in twentieth century Italian art. Professor Buenger, who I suspect to be about 50 years of age, and I were probably the two youngest people in the room, which was comprised mostly of friends of the library. A gentleman gave a brief introduction on the matter of the recent book sale the library held to raise funds, and he added a comment that they always encourage donations to the library, especially from young folks. Of course he was looking right at me as he said it, and we all had a good chuckle.

After that lecture, we swept over to the Elvehjem Art Museum to catch the end of a lecture on Xu Bing, a Chinese artist who is currently being featured in the Elvehjem with a gallery of his work and a special year-long installation in the main room. This makes two evenings in a row with the good professor: a new record for a non-major undergrad perhaps?