February 25, 2009

• field.trip

  

  This morning, instead of going right to work, my art director "Heems" and i meet at the Field Museum for the media presentation of their new pirates exhibition. I was wondering if i'd see Todd, who works here, and sure enough, he's there, leaning against a pillar by the Buddhist collection talking with another employee, a girl with dreads named Jen. (Her name is Jen; i'm not sure what she calls her dreads.)

  "I should have known you'd be here," Todd says, smiling.

  We chat for a bit, and there's a brief introduction before we tour through the exhibit. "It's a bit theatrical for us," Todd says. "You'll have to let me know what you think."

  Heems and i really enjoy the exhibit -- it's about a pirate ship that was discovered off of Cape Cod. The Wyndah was laden with the booty from 50 ships and was only 500 feet from shore, when one of the worst storms to hit that part of the world ever, swept in. The mast snapped like a twig and the ship ran aground on a sandbar, and all but two of the passengers perished, quickly drowning in the freezing water.

  The captain was en route to see his girlfriend. If he had made it, he'd be bummed to find out she had been convicted of being a witch.

  There are some fun dioramas and mannequins of the pirates, which look pretty damn real. One of the employees tells us how every time he'd come into the re-creation of the cabin, the people setting up the exhibit would have moved Capt. Bellamy into a different place, which always freaked him out. I learn that it's not so easy to hoist a Jolly Roger.

  But what's really mind-opening about the exhibit is how pirate ships were experiments in democracy. Naval and merchant ships had crappy food, strict hierarchies, enforced discipline and lousy pay. But on a pirate ship, no matter what color your skin, you got an equal share of the treasure and had the opportunity to become an elected officer. Pretty rad, huh?

  Heems and i decide that we're totes gonna become pirates.

  After the exhibit, we wander around a bit, but we're hungry, so we take some pictures in the lobby of the giant elephants and the pterodactyl and Sue, the T. Rex.

  

  "Wanna see the scariest shot i took?" i ask Heems.

  She's all, "Oh, of Sue?"

  I'm like, "Nooooooooo.....not quite," and then i sic this zinger on her.

  

  "MATTHEW!" she gasps. "I can't believe you took a picture of that baby!"

  "How could i not?" i ask.

  On the way over to Eleven City Diner, where i will consume a sandwich on rye stuffed with a ridiculous amount of corned beef and pastrami, i have us stop and take some goofy shots of the sculpture garden at the south end of Grant Park. It's called "Agora," which is Greek for "gathering place."

  

  

  

  

  

  • 5:02 pm
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