{"id":220,"date":"2014-06-12T12:38:03","date_gmt":"2014-06-12T16:38:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.picturemosaics.com\/blog\/?p=220"},"modified":"2025-04-29T14:33:05","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T18:33:05","slug":"mosaics-fill-the-potholes-of-chicago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.picturemosaics.com\/blog\/mosaics-fill-the-potholes-of-chicago\/","title":{"rendered":"Artist’s Mosaics Fill the Potholes of Chicago"},"content":{"rendered":"

After the winter season, city streets\u00a0can wreak on your car. Winters in Chicago can be especially harsh: a recent pothole count reached the 600k mark<\/a>.\u00a0Sometime in 2013, Chicago artist Jim Bachor<\/a>\u00a0decided to rectify this problem with the art of handmade mosaics. While we tend to keep our focus on photo mosaics, we like\u00a0to keep our ear to the ground with a wide range of mosaic projects. This project in particular really caught my attention.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Maintaining a\u00a0centuries-old mosaic tradition, former ad designer Jim Bachor uses his\u00a0mosaics to\u00a0capture snapshots of modern\u00a0culture<\/a>. For the past year, he’s been literally taking his art to the streets. By filling and covering potholes throughout the city of Chicago with\u00a0handmade mosaics, he’s attracted quite a bit of attention. He’s even been awarded a commission from the Chicago Transit Authority.<\/p>\n

\"Jim<\/a><\/p>\n

Bachor uses the double reverse method<\/a> to build\u00a0his mosaics. This allows him to spend a minimal amount of time in the street during the installation. For safety purposes, he sports a reflective vest and orange construction cones, sometimes he’s\u00a0mistaken for a city employee. Measuring roughly 16″x22″ and made of Murano glass, his simple design, similar to the flag of Chicago<\/a>, keeps his costs relatively low – around $50 per mosaic. He hopes to one day cover these potholes with designs similar to his own original artwork.<\/p>\n

\"One<\/a><\/p>\n

While the mosaics have very similar layouts, their text can vary. Some plainly state “POTHOLE” while others have a random serial number or the phone number to a local auto repair shop. Bachor’s subtly humorous comment on the high\u00a0number of potholes that plague Chicago’s\u00a0streets. These mosaics serve a far greater purpose than just something pretty to look at. I’m hoping I can make it out to Chicago sometime soon to see them firsthand.<\/p>\n

Photos from Hyperallergic<\/a> and Treehugger<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After the winter season, city streets\u00a0can wreak on your car. Winters in Chicago can be especially harsh: a recent pothole count reached the 600k mark.\u00a0Sometime in 2013, Chicago artist Jim Bachor\u00a0decided to rectify this problem with the art of handmade mosaics. While we tend to keep our focus on photo mosaics, we like\u00a0to keep our […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":238,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[16,35,7,36],"tags":[19,39,37,9,40,38],"class_list":["post-220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art","category-jim-bachor","category-mosaics","category-street-art","tag-art-2","tag-chicago","tag-jim-bachor-2","tag-mosaics-2","tag-potholes","tag-street-art-2"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nArtist's Mosaics Fill the Potholes of Chicago - 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