Art project

Ice Cream Dream

I used to ride the pink line to school and work every day, starting my ride at 21st and

Western. Doing so, I passed a beautiful mosaic twice a day, admiring it each time, noticing

something new every time as I did. This artwork is called Ice Cream Dream, and it was created

by a man named Hector Duarte who lives in the Pilsen neighborhood. This piece of art was

created as a contribution to the Chicago Transit Authority's Arts in Transit program in 2004. The

mosaic is full of organic shapes, with a mixture of warm, intense red and yellow colors on top

depicting the heat of the summer, and cool blue colors on bottom that represent the lake

waters: all three of the primary colors. There are so many rhythmic lines that give a sense of

movement, such as the blowing wind of the city. Throughout, we see colorful butterflies, who

are being released from the ice cream cart, flying in many directions and in various positions;

these butterflies are symbolic, and metaphorical, as is the ice cream cart, representing migrants

who travel from Mexico to the United States, as well as the many who reside in the community

and city. In the center of the mosaic is a heart, which is emphasized upon by its large size and

central position, amazingly designed with buildings of the community, a cob of corn,

skyscrapers of downtown, St. Paul church bell towers, a smoke stack of the old Pilsen coal

plant, and the pyramid of the sun in Teotihuacan: this heart represents the community as the

heart of the city, in conjunction with the Mexican culture and roots in Mexico. Upon touching

the mosaic, its texture is smooth and made of hundreds of intricately placed pieces of

porcelain. Ice Cream Dream displays the perfect balance of the many aesthetic principles of

design, from colors, shapes, and lines, to temperatures, textures, and movement.

I had the pleasure of meeting with and interviewing the artist, Hector Duarte. Mr.

Duarte is a very humbled man of his mid to late 60's, who takes great pride in his work and role

as a valued artist within the Pilsen community and Chicago's Mexican-American community as a

whole. One of his main goals in providing public works of art is to pass along the didactic value

of his work to the youth and others wanting to learn about the history and culture of the

Mexican-American community. He places many forms of symbolism throughout his many

works, whether it be cultural or political, and in many cases, both. Specifically in Ice Cream

Dream, the symbolism is cultural, and he states that the use of the Monarch butterfly is

symbolic of the Mexican migrant, as they both travel from Mexico through the United States.

While the Monarchs travel through to Canada and return to Mexico year after year, many

migrants stop and stay within the United States to never return to their homeland. Instead,

many migrants speak of returning home one day, begin to work low wage jobs, and dream of

fulfilling their idea of the American dream. The image of the ice cream cart is symbolic of the

type of low wage job that some migrants choose to work; a dual meaning of the ice cream cart

is that of its presence within the community. Duarte has resided in Pilsen since the late 1970s

and placed many staples of the community within the mosaic, specifically within the centrally

placed heart of the city. St. Paul church bell towers can be seen from far and wide through

many areas of Chicago, located on 22nd place and Hoyne, has been part of the neighborhood

since 1876. The now closed Fisk Generating Station was a coal plant located at 1111 W. Cermak,

and just like the bell towers of St. Paul church, the smokestack can be seen from far and wide

from Chicago's loop, south, west, and near north sides. The four buildings are representative of

two famous skyscrapers in downtown Chicago, as well as two very common types of buildings,

called long houses, found within the Pilsen neighborhood. The corn and Pyramid of the Sun are

both "symbols of home" as stated by Duarte. He described how he attributes acknowledging

the presence of Mexico within Chicago because it has made this great city exactly what it is, and

what it shares with his mosaic at 21st and Western: great!

Works Cited

Duarte, H. (2019). In person interview

Repowers2 (2014). A Chicago Sojourn Category Archives: building types. Retrieved from https://achicagosojourn.wordpress.com/category/building-types/

Srivastava, J. (2012). Chicago Outdoor Sculptures. Retrieved from http://chicago-outdoor-sculptures.blogspot.com/2011/11/cta-arts-in-transit-western-station-ic e.html