Art of Fútbol

I did attend Chicago Fire Foundation's Art of Fútbol last night, and it was a lot of fun. My only regret is not being in the show, since I did briefly entertain that idea. Apparently out of "over 50" entries, 22 were at the show, which was a bit oddly displayed at Society Art Gallery in Chicago. The judged favorite was Pick-up Game in Pilsen, a photograph of a mural by Jessica Delgado. My second pick was a photograph of Ethiopian kids playing soccer fútbol on aluminum by Jasmin Shah. The iridescent sheen and fine texture from the aluminum really made the colors stand out. My overall favorite was The Beautiful Game by Alma Malogón. This graphic illustration made very good use of typography, and elements and colors of the Chicago flag. I do tend to like design-y stuff, when its done particularly well, and it was. Among the judges was Chicago Fire's Gonzalo Segares who lives in nearby Wicker Park neighborhood. I pulled Gonzalo aside and we chatted about the art. His favorite and my two favorites won the judged and the popular. I mentioned my connection to Real Salt Lake fandom. He recalled the weather and elevation in Utah and Colorado as being difficult, and the noted the upcoming game at Rio Tinto Stadium (5/25). I also met Frank Klopas! Some of the food was particularly good, especially the shrimp ceviche from Carnivale, an Ecuadoran restaurant. I am definitely going to enter this show next year.