“Willis Tower: Look Up, Look Down, Look Around”

Willis Tower Lobby
233 South Wacker Drive Chicago, IL
October 8th - November 16th 2012
Exhibition of 25 large-scale color photographs

No other city can claim a skyline like Chicago’s. To look across Chicago is to see gem after gem, titan after titan, all eras and all styles, rising and stretching from one end of the city to the other in complete symphony. Yet no single building has defined Chicago’s skyline more than the Willis Tower.

Willis Tower: Look Up, Look Down, Look Around is Chicago architectural photographer Mark Ballogg’s exploration and celebration of Willis Tower, its relationship to its urban context and its status as an icon. The exhibition is a mix of photographs commissioned by Willis Tower and U.S. Equities and Ballogg’s personal photographs. It features three kinds of images: Interiors of the Willis Lobby documenting previous exhibitions, views of the surrounding area from the Skydeck, and exterior views of the building’s architecture.

Photographs of the Willis Lobby taken over a two-year period document the work of several sculptors, including Dann Nardi, Jean-Jacques Porret and the internationally renowned Richard Hunt. Ballogg’s photographs taken from the Skydeck capture what draws approximately 1.3 million visitors a year: the singular perspective on Chicago afforded by Willis Tower’s great height and ideal position.

The centerpiece of the exhibition is the collection of architectural images of the Tower itself. Willis Tower’s dominant height renders it visible from 50 to 60 miles outside of Chicago, creating unique photo opportunities from vantage points in several different cities. Long intrigued by Willis Tower, Ballogg has photographed it since the 1990s, making this portion of the exhibition retrospective

When Ballogg photographs Willis Tower, he sees “a beacon that shines consistently in Chicago’s skyline. In spite of the multitude of architecturally significant buildings in Chicago, Willis Tower remains the icon that defines the city.”

To inquire about the, “Willis Tower Look Up , Look Down, Look Around” exhibition or to purchase one of the Willis Tower photographs contact:
Mark Ballogg at 312.735.5114.

Artists Statement

My photography illustrates my need to find order in chaos, representation and interpretation held in precarious balance. I’m always looking for a way to go beyond documentation, to elevate the image to a new level of emotional and intellectual vibrancy, to arrange and distill complex disparate elements into a dynamic whole.

I consider myself a traditionalist who embraces technology, and the move from analog to digital has been liberating, creatively. After decades of experience as a professional architectural photographer, I have learned to recognize the light that best renders the subject and my intent. More importantly, my sustained exploration has nurtured a core intuition that helps me pre-visualize the final image and capture compositions that blend grace and simplicity with visual complexity.

Every image has a point at which its full expressive quality is realized, and I strive to reach that point. When I’m successful, the resulting image is transformative, the photograph is no longer just a document, but a new and surprising reimagining that transcends the captured subject.