Walking with Giants

'Walking with Giants' is a free outdoor art exhibition on the grounds of the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, tied to the 250th anniversary of the country's founding. It features ten larger-than-life silhouette paintings of Americans who have made significant contributions to music, theater and dance, installed across the campus so the figures peek up over hills and around trees as a walking sculptural tour. Curated by Justin Witte, the exhibition pairs each portrait with information about the subject. The ten figures depicted are Jean-Michel Basquiat, Dolly Parton, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Aretha Franklin, Norman Rockwell, Georgia O'Keeffe, the songwriting team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, John Williams and Bob Fosse. The portraits were made by local artists, including Naperville artist Rich Lo, whose work depicts Rodgers and Hammerstein among the trees. The McAninch Arts Center and the Cleve Carney Museum of Art joined the College of DuPage Foundation in presenting the exhibition, which runs through October 18. The selection of subjects was shaped by survey feedback from College of DuPage faculty and the arts center community.