Tag: Chicago

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Captain Cubbo

©2019 Michael Priorie. All Rights Reserved.

My Co-Worker Roberto is a die-hard Chicago Cubs fan. Growing up, he lived across the street from Wrigley Field on Sheffield Avenue. About four years ago, he decided to create a character based on The Cubs when taking his kids to Comic-Con. That was the genesis of what became his alter ego: Captain Cubbo. Since then, he’s appeared at many games dressed in character, much to the delight of fans. He’s even been well received at a St. Louis Cardinals game! Captain Cubbo has been spotted by TV cameras and appears frequently on La Vida Baseball podcasts.
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In Progress

©2019 Michael Priorie Photography. All Rights Reserved.

Looking back at a lot of my work from my film days of the 90’s, the word ‘gentrification’ played itself out in the many subjects I had photographed. I’ve seen many neighborhoods in Chicago undergo extreme change. While the premise of this was ideally good–to make neighborhoods safer and better–it’s outcome made it’s original residents refugees as these areas such as Logan Square became the land of developers and wealthy implants. Artists first come for the cheaper rent, the hipsters support neighborhood shops and start up new ones. But the developers and property owners are the ones who buy up the real estate, only to charge ridiculous rents in order to make the neighborhood theirs instead of everyones. This is another one of Sam Kirk’s murals, a multidisciplinary artist whose art focuses on the culture and history of these neighborhoods undergoing change.

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#Everbody In

©2019 Michael Priorie Photography. All Rights Reserved.

I’ve been a Chicago Cubs fan since I was nine years old when my mother took me to my first game. Although I would not follow baseball for many years, The 2015 season brought me back to enjoying baseball and the 2016 World Series win just topped that. I only wish my mother would’ve been around to see that happen. This mural is on 16th Street west of Halsted .

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Marlena

©2019 Michael Priorie Photography. All Rights Reserved.

The recent murder of mother -to- be Marlena Ochoa was a vile and disgusting piece of news. Without getting into the gory details, I would like to hope that justice gets served for the three persons involved and may allow the family and friends of Marlena to take solace and try to move forward from this horrible event. This is a newly painted mural in her honor just west of Halsted on 16th. Street in Pilsen. RIP Marlena.

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Holiday Club, 1997

Holiday-Club-1996-©2019 Michael Priorie. All Rights Reserved.

Around 1997, I went on a road trip to the West Coast. While in San Francisco, I stumbled upon an underground scene where Swing music was enjoying a revival. It was complete with clubs that played live big band music and cool kids who dressed in vintage 1940’s Zoot suits and poodle skirts. Fedoras were a must. The trend came to Chicago to places like the Holiday Club but it didn’t get a big as it was on the West Coast. That was too bad because I enjoyed getting dressed up in vintage clothes and seeing those big bands play. 

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6 Corners, 1995

©2019 Michael Priorie. All Rights Reserved.

In Chicago, the area of Portage Park where the intersections of Irving Park Rd., Cicero Avenue and Milwaukee Avenue meet is traditionally known as 6 Corners. Some people out there will immediately argue and claim Milwaukee/Damen/North Avenue as 6 Corners– It is not! In my forty plus years on this earth, it’s always the area on the Northwest side of the city by where the (former site) Sears is located. This photo was taken on a foggy evening in December 1995.

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Avengers

The-Avengers-Pilsen©2019 Michael Priorie. All Rights Reserved.

The Avengers by CMK Crew.  This mural is located in the 1400 block of W. 18th Street in Pilsen. Can’t wait to see Avengers Endgame. No spoilers please!

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Frida K.

Frida-K©2019 Michael Priorie. All Rights Reserved.

This beautiful piece by artist Robert Valadez is located across the street from the 18th Street Pink line station. It adorned the side of a proposed Latin themed dance hall. A proper and very colorful depiction of Frida Kahlo.

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Robin W.

©2019 Michael Priorie Photography. All Rights Reserved.

I thought of the name Urban Hues many years ago as a color counterpart of the Urban Views project. That title actually dates back to 1995 when I was still in college. I played around with different concepts over the years and nothing seemed to stick. Recently while looking back at my work over the past ten years, I discovered  that the images that drew me in were that of murals and graffiti art.
This mural literally made me stop in my tracks. I shot this very recently while walking down Milwaukee Avenue in Logan Square. It is colorful, it is detailed, and it is mesmerizing. If anything made you miss the laughs you got from the late Robin Williams, then this beautiful mural of him in front of his Aladdin character would do it.