ELMHURST, Ill. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The fun continues!
Back in July, we asked you if you have ever imagined playing mini golf inside of a museum. And said well, you believe it, because it's now possible in the western suburbs and a HOLE lot of fun!
Well, that HOLE lot of fun, just got more fun with a new collection of artistic holes!
The Elmhurst Art Museum commissioned an 18-hole mini golf course of playable works of art by local and national artists, designers, and architects. It was split into two exhibits: The Front 9, which ran from July 7 through Sept. 16 and The Back 9, which runs from Oct. 13 – Jan. 2, 2022.
Well now since it's October, The Back 9 is now open!
“When we opened The Front 9 this summer, we were thrilled with the response from art enthusiasts and families alike,” said Executive Director John McKinnon, in a statement. “Our mission is to enrich our community through art, and what better way to introduce the general public to artists of different disciplines than through this unusual twist on a familiar pastime?”
The Back 9 holes of Par Excellence Redux are located throughout the Museum’s galleries and feature unusual rules, surprising outcomes, and a varied collection of themes—from social justice to the occult. The exhibition includes holes with optical illusions, commentary on social and environmental issues, an exploration of the cosmos and more.
"Because of COVID, we originally had 18 holes ready and it would have been busy, but more jam packed in the galleries, so we are glad that we did nine and nine, to provide more space and provide a variety of different things, including stretching out the show," McKinnon told WBBM Newsradio back in July.
"The holes of the Back 9 were intentionally chosen to be later, because we had no idea what was coming out way with COVID, and so more holes in the Back 9 have kind of hands-on elements. There's one that's a giant pinball machine, but with a golf theme and golf balls and golf clubs and things of that nature. There are some others with a motor and moving parts."
The Back 9, on display throughout the Museum’s main galleries, includes:
• “Pinball Golf: An American Life” by Wes Baker (Valparaiso, Indiana)
• “The Idol” by KT Duffy (Nichols Hill, Oklahoma)is intended as a feminist futurist idol of the mini golf universe, rendered in neon patterns and slick acrylic surfaces.
• “Infinity Putt,” by Eve Fineman (Chicago, Illinois) takes a straightforward green and adds complexity through suspended golf balls and the use of reflection to create a unique spatial experience where the only obstacle is visual illusion.
• “Mission: Mars” by Vincent Lotesto (Chicago, Illinois) is inspired by the topography of Mars. To achieve a hole-in-one, the player must aim the golf ball up a ramp located on the southern side of Olympus Mons, the highest volcano in our solar system. The ball eventually falls into the collapsed crater on the summit and exits on the eastern side of the mountain.
• “A Level Playing Field,” by Joshua Lowe (Bloomington, Illinois) is a kinetic sculpture that demands a response to a question that local, national and global citizens are increasingly faced with, “Will we work together towards a common goal, or will we sabotage each other?”
• “Timing is Everything” by James Merz (Fort Wayne,Indiana) uses several moving elements to illustrate that timing is everything, in life and in sports. The player must navigate through the slowly rotating second hand of the clock and avoid the swinging pendulum to arrive at the hole.
• “Toad Tunnel” by David Quednau (Chicago, Illinois) illustrates the true-life difficulties faced by the American toad, an animal currently at risk of extinction. This hole illustrates the toad’s struggle to get back to its breeding pond, facing obstacles like gas stations, drainage ditches and farms.
• “A Place to Play Fairly” by Liam Wilson and Anna Gershoni (Columbia City, Indiana), is an explicit environment to express moral integrity, even during a game so often cheated asmini golf. The course is a large oval with starting and ending points placed back-to-back. The player can play completely around the circle or decide to cheat and putt the ball directly backward for a hole-in-one.
• Hole #9is yet to be determined.
The original 1988 Par Excellence exhibition at the School of the Art Institute was the brainchild of Chicago sculptor Michael O'Brien and opened to queues down the block. The exhibition in Elmhurst will pay homage to the original course through ephemera, newspaper clippings, and photos. The designer Annalee Koehn, who was one of the organizers of the original 1988 exhibit, recreated her fortune-telling hole, Determine Your Fate, which will serve as the practice hole for The Back 9. Par Excellence was likely the first artist-designed mini golf course ever created and paved the way for future artistic golf courses that would follow.
The Elmhurst Art Museum, located at 150 S. Cottage Hill Ave., is open Wednesday and Thursday from noon to 5 p.m., Friday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and every second Friday of the month from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Golf prices are $10 for adults, ages 16+, $8 for seniors, $5 for children, ages 5-15, and free for children under 5. Tee time reservations are made online and available at elmhurstartmuseum.org/golf.
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