West Chicago library welcomes 'loveevenmore' sculpture by Matthew Hoffman
A 9-foot steel sculpture with a simple but compelling message - "loveevenmore" - will be installed Wednesday in front of the West Chicago Public Library.
A public dedication and reception with the artist, Chicago's Matthew Hoffman, is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the library, 118 W. Washington St.
The piece is sponsored by the city's cultural arts commission.
"This beautiful work of art conveys a timeless message that is especially needed in our world today," Mayor Ruben Pineda said. "It challenges and inspires us to keep an open heart and mind. It provides the community with a work of art that is visually striking and unique, and one that represents the values of our community."
Hoffman's message art has struck a chord with people around the globe. He began the You Are Beautiful movement in Chicago in 2003 when he printed 100 stickers with that phrase and placed them at various locations in the city. He created a website where people could order their own stickers and he received a quick and positive response, with people sending him photos of his stickers at spots across the country and then the world.
Hoffman says his stickers even have appeared in places as remote as Antarctica.
He is featured in a video created by Oprah Winfrey's Network (OWN) that documents the project for SuperSoul Sundays, and he has done large-scale public installations for Chicago, the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, the Albright Knox Gallery and companies such as Apple, Facebook and Zappos.
The commission's decision to approach library trustees about placing the sculpture on the front lawn came after much discussion about a public location where people frequently congregate and that would provide great curbside visibility and lend itself to the concept of the power of the written word.
"The library is pleased to have Matthew Hoffman's 'loveevenmore' sculpture placed on library property," Executive Director Ben Weseloh said. "This thought-provoking phrase in artistic form placed in a highly visible location has the potential to make community residents reflect on what the world, and specifically West Chicago, could be if we would all love even more. The library is excited to be a part of this project."
For more information about the art of Matthew Hoffman, visit heyitsmatthew.com.