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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

Carrera De Los Muertos

img_2126©2019 Michael Priorie. All Rights Reserved.

Carrera De Los Muertos is a 5k race that is held annually in Pilsen on or around Halloween. The United Neighborhood Organization (UNO) supports Hispanic communities by organizing events like this one as a catalyst to improve wellness and prosperity in neighborhoods such as Pilsen. Dia De Los Muertos (The Day Of The Dead) is annual holiday  celebrated in Mexico that is more of a celebration of life than a somber remembrance of the dead.

Scenes From Pilsen #2

img_1273img_1237©2019 Michael Priorie. All Rights Reserved.

These are a couple more great murals that I found walking around Pilsen last year. There are some really incredible artists here. To cover these over should be a crime. These works of art really capture what Pilsen is all about.

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