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By Jean Latz Griffin
The "Northolstein Cow," sits at the corner of Roscoe and Halsted
Streets in Chicago. It's named after Northalsted Street, the major
lesbigay area in Chicago, and was commissioned by the Northalsted Area
Merchants Association as one of 300 decorated cows on display in
Chicago.
She's shiny black, glistening in the sun, with almost cartoon-like drawings of two men and two women in hues suggesting a variety of races on her sides. On her back perches a toucan with a rainbow beak. She reclines on bright green astroturf surrounded by a pink picket fence.
"I think it is just beautiful," said passerby Andres Bustos, patting the head of the cow. "And I love the bird. It's like the bird is having fun with the cow. I've seen several of the other cows, and this one is really special." Csiscko would be pleased with Bustos' reaction, since the friendliness and diversity of the neighborhood are two of the elements he was trying to convey through his creation. "The two guys and the two women are hanging out together, the bird is hanging out with the cow, and they are all having a good time," Csiscko said.
The toucan with the rainbow beak is Csiscko's way of incorporating the
rainbow symbol of lesbigay pride into the work, a request of the
merchant's association.
"They wanted the rainbow flag, but I just couldn't make it work," he said. "I draw a lot of birds in my work, and I liked the idea of there being two animals sort of being friends." Csiscko said it took an entire week to paint the cow. He designed the characters on a computer, blew them up to size and drew them in pencil on the cow. Then he painted them in vibrant colors to stand out against the black. The paint is acrylic covered by a clear enamel and baked to protect the cow from the weather.
Csiscko also painted the cow in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art, a standing cow with children and an alien entitled, "Smile! It's 2000." He created the murals at the Belmont el stop, commissioned by Ann Sather's restaurant, and three brick mosaics that are embedded in downtown Evanston sidewalks as part of its $11.5 million Streetscape Revitalization Program. He has also done artwork for the Chicago Cultural Center and the Shedd Aquarium and illustrations for Chicago Tribune articles. "I truly enjoy creating public art," he said. "It's a challenge." Csiscko said he designed the Evanston mosaics, which includes one of a fish at the corner of Grove Street and Sherman Avenue, to highlight Evanston's intellectual history and lakefront location to make "the average walk through downtown just a little bit nicer." The Northolstein cow is among 300 who are gracing Chicago's streets this summer and will continue drawing crowds into early fall. Some will be auctioned off to benefit charities in October.
The white, 40-pound fiberglass cows, decorated by local artists, have created something of a mini-cow-economy within the tourism business of Chicago. There are cow T-shirts and baseball caps, cow miniatures, cow jewelry, cow toys, cow contests and, most recently, an official cow catalog. The exclusive rights to produce the merchandise are held by the parent company of the public art project, Cow Parade Worldwide. "I love the cow idea," said Micky Hornick, owner of the Chicago Diner, walking past the Northolstein cow. "Some are really far out, some beautiful. This one is a lot of fun." |
Artist David Csiscko stands behind his creation. Csiscko often uses
birds in his art, and the toucan with a rainbow beak was a natural for
the Northolstein Cow.
"Hey, now that's what I like to see on my street," seems to be the
reaction of this passerby as he does a happy double-take at the
rainbow-beaked toucan perched on the Northolstein Cow. 
© 1997-99 BEI