The artifacts beckon when you're driving on McCormick Boulevard, alongside the Skokie Northshore Sculpture Park. Driving is definitely no way to see this park.
Galloping horses, houses without walls, storm-blown ships, jumbled
letters, tanks, blocks of concrete, coils of chain, frozen faces and
human arms reaching for the sky.
What does it all mean, we wondered,
as we pedaled along, tandem, trail-a-bike and all, making frequent stops, and
turning to the little plaques posted along the way for guidance. Alas,
the evasive titles made the meaning of the pieces only more mysterious
and elusive. But not any less tempting to touch, photograph and
interact with. Unlike pieces sheltered in a museum, these outdoor
sculptures are out there, exposed to the elements, curiosity, and
sometimes abuse. You can run your fingers around them, feel the rusty
metal, the cold stone, even get a splinter from the weathered wood. You
can climb inside some, and peer out, like looking through the eyes of
the sculpture itself.
It's hard to know what exactly you learn from an outing like this, except that you feel more complete and alive. Art, creativity, abstraction, warm fall weather, pedaling through a crisp fall afternoon, hunger, laughter and silliness all together create an experience that cannot be measured, duplicated or explained. Like the meaning of the sculptures, the exact value of this experience remains elusive...
A few logistical notes. Although the official Sculpture Park starts at Touhy and goes north, the trail itself, and the sculptures, unofficially begin at Devon, just west of the North Shore Channel (click here for map). The part of the trail south of Touhy is mediocre. It's really just a sidewalk, and a wide gap between the sidewalk slabs running the length of the path poses a slight hazard (not so much in broad daylight, but could be problematic at dusk). When you reach Skokie, the quality and topography of the trail improves markedly. Street crossings create stress points, although button-activated pedestrian lights have been installed at all intersection, and, in general, we found drivers of turning vehicles to be attentive and courteous to cyclists.
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