“Bachor” at 4362-4398 W Cullom Ave, Chicago. August, 2015
Photo used with permission from Jim Bachor
Chicago resident and artist, Jim Bachor, breaths new life into art form in the streets of Chicago. Some call him a guerilla artist, but he considers himself just an artist. Bachor was a designer in the advertising business for twenty-five years. In the late 1990s, Bachor took a trip to Europe and fell in love with the ancient art and the history behind it. This was the trip that sparked his interest in mosaic artwork. This newfound passion led to Bachor traveling back to Europe more and more, ultimately leading him to Pompeii, where he learned about how glass and marble don’t fade over the years, forever leaving its artistic permanence in time.
In 2013, Bachor found himself annoyed with a pothole in his neighborhood and since the side streets of Chicago don’t get fixed that often, he took it upon himself to fix it. This was one of the many of the Chicago flag themed pothole pieces that caught Chicago’s eye. Many publications like the Reader, Chicago Tribune, Colossal Art Blog, amongst many more, took wind of the story and went with it. Every year, Bachor creates a new theme for his series that he uses for the potholes. However, there is criteria that he follows when finding what he calls, “the perfect pothole”. There are specific dimensions that he must follow; a certain depth and width, along with location needs to be considered.
When asked about one of the greatest things that he’s accomplished thus far, he answered with a smile, “In June 2014, the Nike Town Commission had asked me to create a 4x6 foot pothole piece for the store”.
“RUN CHI” Glass & Marble. 4’ x 6’. 669 North Michigan, Chicago, Illinois. 2014. Commercial retail space Photo used with permission from Jim Bachor
His work appears in many different neighborhoods in Chicago, ranging from Downtown area, West Loop, Pilsen, Jefferson Park, Noble Square, etc.
Photo used with permission from Jim Bachor.
He studied and learned in Italy about the double verse method, which is a 1,500-year-old method that give the artist ultimate control over the piece. It allows the artist to temporarily put the glass and marble pieces into a bed of lime putty, where the glass and marble pieces can be placed and moved around until the final idea of the piece is achieved.
With every trip to Europe, his love, passion, and technique strengthened. Bachor began creating pieces on the side, until August of 2011, when Bachor was laid off from his job, and this is when he took on his artwork full time.
Finding the perfect pothole, creating the piece, and then transferring the piece into the ground takes time…and money. Making artwork is not easy or cheap. He is able to fund his work and campaign by the support of art fans, the kickstarter website, and his website. His campaign on the KickStarter website states, “About 15 years ago I learned the ancient art of the mosaic in Ravenna, Italy. The permanence of the art form is what drew me to it first. Marble and glass do not fade. Mortar is mortar. An ancient mosaic looks exactly as intended by the artist who produced it over two millennia ago.”
If interested in contributing to his pothole campaign, visit: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1940114350/the-2015-pothole-art-installation-project
If interested in buying screen prints of his pothole installations, visit:
http://www.bachor.com/