Bob Clark Beyond: Inspiration

latest inspiration posts

Broadway Chapter

Broadway Chapter in Fort Worth, Texas offered a special opportunity to work closely with the Near Southside community and its Art South program to offer a local emerging artist the chance to design a mural for the project’s facade. After receiving submissions from over 84 talented artists, Eric ‘Drigo’ Rodriguez was selected by the community as the winner. Drigo’s mural is titled “Cosmic Journey” and is a 5,000 square foot, five-story piece that speaks to the diversity and vibrancy of its surrounding community with its colorful imagery. Covering the southern facade of the parking garage, the mural is emblematic of a community-first approach to building and also building stronger bonds with people throughout the neighborhood. It was just unveiled in June and has added an entirely unique dimension to the project.

July’s Artist of the Month: Kehinde Wiley

This month’s featured artist is one whose paintings and growing body of work have become instantly recognizable to so many of us who are passionate about the arts. Kehinde Wiley has an incredible talent for reinterpreting past artistic styles and traditions, making them entirely his own. His use of the Old Masters as a source of inspiration has encouraged all of us to look at paintings and their subjects in a new light. Born in Los Angeles, California, to an American mother and a Nigerian father, Kehinde Wiley began his artistic journey at a young age, participating in an after-school art program to keep him and his brother off of the streets. After being selected to study at a conservatory in St. Petersburg, Russia, Wiley discovered an avid interest in portraiture and decided to continue his studies in painting. He went on to earn a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1999, and later earned an MFA from Yale University in 2001.

Shoe Dog by Phil Knight

One of the recent books that captured my attention was Shoe Dog, and if you’re also interested in reading memoirs that you just can’t put down, then look no further. Written by Phil Knight, the creator of Nike, it traces the story behind the iconic brand that has impacted our culture in countless ways, and I found it to be a powerful account of the triumphs and pitfalls that can come with building your own business from the ground up.

June's Featured Architect: Ralph Johnson

Ralph Johnson is an award-winning architect who has a deep understanding and appreciation of his hometown of Chicago. His work is instantly recognizable by many who know the city well, and he has added to a long and proud tradition of the Windy City setting new standards with its innovative architectural landscape. Born on the South Side of Chicago, Ralph Johnson was destined for a bright future in architecture, since he grew up right down the street from Frank Lloyd Wright’s infamous R.W. Evans House. He received his Bachelor of Architecture in 1971 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and he went on to receive his Master of Architecture from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design in 1973. Johnson found that by entering numerous architectural competitions in the years after graduating, he began to develop his own personal approach to design and forge his own path. It would eventually take him back to Chicago to work for a firm he dreamed of being a part of. He joined Perkins&Will after coming back to his hometown, where he has worked ever since.

May's Featured Architect: Frank Gehry

There are very few architects that are as widely celebrated and recognized today as Frank Gehry. Honestly, at this point, Frank stands alone at the top. A constant innovator, a disruptor of traditional practices, and a creative visionary, Frank has designed iconic buildings that are found all over the world, and each of them is more stunning and unique than the next. His works stand alone and are unaligned with any traditional styles, and he’s played a crucial role in shaping a whole new chapter of architecture and design. In addition to being known as a revolutionary, Frank is also famously known for being unapproachable and is often dubbed by people in the industry as being difficult to work with. In my personal experience spending some time with Frank a few years ago, I found the complete opposite to be true.

Bisa Butler: Portraits at the Art Institute of Chicago

The Princess, 2018 Bisa Butler. Art has a remarkable ability to transcend social and cultural boundaries, and it’s one of the things that I have always loved to learn more about. It’s one of the reasons that I dedicate my time to the Art Institute of Chicago’s Art Business Council and work to support artists in their endeavors and ensure that art lovers from all around the world will have the chance to enjoy the pieces at this outstanding museum in Grant Park.

Inspiration

I have always had an insatiable curiosity

What causes me to get out of bed every morning is driven by inspiration. Ever since I was a little boy, I was inspired by my insatiable curiosity, which caused me to be a reader, a thinker, and a dreamer.

I can remember being inspired by seeing Bobby Kennedy on TV and watching videotapes of Martin Luther King Jr., and being deeply saddened by their assassination even though I was only 10 years old when I experienced all of this.

As a little boy, rocket flight was a big thing. I remember being fascinated by the moon and the stars and the astronauts exploring them.As humans we are achieving remarkable things that only a handful of years before were just in the imagination.