cow 1 n. The female of domestic cattle and of some other animals, as the elephant.
cow 2 v.t. To overawe; intimidate; daunt.
(International Webster's Comprehensive Dictionary)
"Cow" has different meanings in Chicago this summer (1999), certainly not only female, and certainly not frightening.

Famous for its Loop Sculptures, this year Chicago has an invasion of colorful cows. Cows stand and lie on the sidewalks, cows peer down from roof tops, cows munch in the median gardens, cows climb ladders, cows cause pedestrian jams. This is a new twist on Chicago's long association with bovines; from Mrs. O'Leary's cow which supposedly kicked over a bucket and started the infamous Chicago Fire in 1871, to the famous basketball Chicago Bulls, to "Chi-cow-go", a fiber-glass cow brightly decorated with a map of downtown Chicago.

"Chi-cow-go" is part of the "Cows on Parade" exhibition this summer. Every summer Chicago has a Public Art exhibition, and this was inspired by the one last summer in Zurich, Switzerland. Matt Cane, whose parents live in a northern Chicgo suburb, said "At first some people were sceptical about this exhibition. Why cows, after all? But it's turned into a phenomenal success." My husband, Rod Mackie, thinks that " It's not the cows themselves that are so successful, but what they've done with the cows. The key is the clever combination of the decoration and the descriptive name. Each cow has a message and each is painted to reflect that message."

Each lifesize fiber-glass cow has a patron and is painted or decorated by some business, shop, individual or art school (such as "Art", "Theater", "Dance" and "Music" sponsored by Chicago Academy for the Arts). They are bright whimsical creatures, making everyone smile. Lots have humorous titles and ideas ("Moo-net" decorated with Monet-style water lilies on a pale purple background), some are ecologically oriented ("Mudder Udder Earth", decorated with a world map), some advertise a certain product in the broadest possible way ("Diamonds are a Cow's Best Friend" outside a jewellry store). It's a fun idea, and great to see groupings of colorful cows, or see a bright red one unexpectedly appear in the median garden out of the plants, or descending a ladder on a store front roof. Some have fabric, metal, leather or mosaics as well as paint: the one inside the Chicago Cultural Center is covered in jelly candies. Outside Rooseveld University is a cow with delicate blue and white tracery, called "Blueprint", and "Holy Cow" on North Michigan near the Tribune Building has big tunnels through it - a tribute to the late Chicago Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray. Everyone grins at that one. The Swissotel has "Yodelling Cow", "Double Moo" has two heads, "Hey-diddle-diddle" has a cow jumping over the moon, and "Cow Udder Construction" sports a hole and a toy crane on its back.

The streets of Chicago ring with comments like,"Oh, wow! This is amazing", "How cute", "This one is spectacular", to "This one is my favorite" or "I like the 'How Now Brown Cow' best". People pat the cows, lean on them, sit on them, pose with them, and many are on a 'cow search', trying to find them all.

There are 300 cows on display along Michigan Avenue, in the Loop and River North, near museums, in Grant Park, and on the museum (Moo-seum) campus. They will continue to enthrall visitors until October 31, 1999, when selected cows will be auctioned and proceeds donated to charity. The Chicago Sun-Times is sponsoring a weekly cow scavenger hunt, and the Chicago Tribune has a cow website. If you want to track down all the cows, use the cattle-log "Where the Cows Are", put out by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, available at the Cultural Center, corner of Michigan and Randolph.









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Chi-cow-go This Summer