When Jessica Stockholder’s public-art installation Color Jam opened in the Chicago Loop on June 5, it turned the everyday intersection at State and Adams Streets into bands of bright red, blue, and green. The 76,000 square feet of colored vinyl—lining the crosswalks and sidewalks and spreading up the buildings on each corner—reflect onto pedestrians, making them part of the artwork (see this issue’s cover).

“That is one of the things I love about color; it fills the air,” says Stockholder, chair of UChicago’s Department of Visual Arts. “It’s both ephemeral and physical.” Mornings are the best time to view Color Jam, which runs through September and was commissioned by the Chicago Loop Alliance. Early in the day “it changes constantly,” Stockholder says, “with the sun’s movement and with the intersection of cars, people, and objects.”