Chicago Baseball
Chicago Baseball asserts its physical and political weight through material use and forged signatures. The ball was cast with 50lbs of concrete and features signatures from key political players at the city and county level cut from “ballpoint blue” vinyl tucked between red yarn “stitching”. At the time of casting, the 2019 Chicago mayoral election was underway and sparked the idea of political movement and action as a “team sport”— complete with a commemorative game ball. Chicago Baseball is a live ball with more names being added to it as the city’s political landscape ebbs and flows.
The photographed version displays the following “players”:
Rahm Emanuel, 55th Mayor of Chicago
Eddie Johnson, Superintendent of Chicago Police Department
Frank Clark, former Chicago Board of Education President
Ed Burke, Alderman of the 14th Ward
Daniel Solis, former Alderman of the 25th Ward
Bill Daley, former White House Chief of Staff and third place candidate in the 2019 Chicago mayoral election
Richard M. Daley, 54th Mayor of Chicago
The Ricketts Family, owners of the Chicago Cubs
Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Board President
Tom Dart, Cook County Sheriff
Dorothy Brown, Cook County Clerk of Circuit Court