When the Chicago Bears won the Super Bowl in 1986, lights in the windows of three downtown skyscrapers–the CNA, Prudential, and Amoco buildings–spelled out “BEARS #1.”
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Fitz started staging “public installations” in 1984. His most infamous work was in 1991, when he commemorated the 120th anniversary of the great fire by projecting images of a fireplace from inside the upper windows of the Latino Chicago Theater Company on Damen Avenue. The event unfolded while a performance took place inside. It was accompanied by smoke, alarms, and flashing lights, and was so convincing, Fitz says, “that a man actually came into the crowded theater–a converted firehouse–yelling, “Fire!’ And the Fire Department showed up.”
His most ambitious collaboration, “Radius: A Sculpture and Video Event,” opens Saturday night in a temporary space in River North. The exhibit–organized with Lance Kinz, who runs the gallery Feigen Incorporated–includes sculpture, installations, and videos by 33 Chicago artists. It’s timed to coincide with Art 1995 Chicago, the international art fair at Navy Pier, which starts next Thursday.
