Hidden Truths

Hidden Truths is a two-part project by artist Pamela Bannos, including site-specific and web-based components. It was funded by Northwestern University, where Bannos is a senior lecturer in the Department of Art Theory and Practice. She recently did extensive research into the history of the southern section of Lincoln Park, which is the site of the now defunct Chicago City Cemetery and the Catholic Cemetery. In the 1850s-60s the city resolved to cease interments along the lake shore, move the existing burials to "suburban" plots (now Rosehill, Graceland and Oak Woods Cemeteries) and establish a park, renamed in 1865 in memory of recently assassinated Lincoln. There are several of these painted aluminum signs around the park, commemorating historical figures and events surrounding the cemetery sites. Please check out the Hidden Truths website for tons of interesting information, interviews and images of all the signs, maps, and much more... After seeing two of the signs and reading all about the project on the website, my understanding of the park has profoundly changed. As it turns out, not all the skeletal remains of people buried in what is now Lincoln Park were removed. In fact, many remains have been found over the years in various phases of construction and renovation of the park grounds, the Chicago History Museum and the surrounding neighborhood. The awareness of this history, and of the possibility of human remains beneath my feet as I casually stroll through the park imbues my walk with a new sense of poignancy. The pristine green lawns and lush landscaping are nourished by lives long decayed and forgotten. The back yard of the city's elite still has secrets skeletons to reveal, and stories to tell. In honor of those stories, I'll dedicate my next few entries to those who remain below the ground as I focus on more public sculpture in Lincoln Park.