Jeff Todd, COO of Prevent Blindness America with
Hugh R. Parry, President and CEO of Prevent
Blindness America for the unveiling of the “Eye.”
CHICAGO— Spex, a 14-unit retailer based here, has partnered with the Chicago Loop Alliance (CLA) to sponsor the inaugural Art Loop 2010 public art project from visual artist Tony Tasset in the city’s Pritzker Park.

The art installations, “Eye” and its supplemental piece “Cardinal,” were unveiled on July 7 and will be up through Oct. 31.

Spex’s general manager Boyce Moffitt told VM of the partnership: “A three-story eyeball helps us draw attention to what we do as well as continue our support to the public art in Chicago. The Spex brand has become known for supporting public radio and art projects in the city and this fits the mold of becoming involved in a city-wide project; it’s great to put our name to that.”

This is CLA’s first commission for a public art installation and Spex is lending financial support to the project as a premier level sponsor. The retail chain will also be involved in various eye-health initiatives and programming throughout the summer and early fall of 2010.

“Supporting the eye is a natural extension to be able to lend our resources to supporting Chicago’s creative capital in a larger way and it’s something we’re proud to be a part of and happy to do,” said Marilyn Frank, Spex’s marketing director.

Moffit went to say that the installation is “definitely the talk of the town” and has received media coverage in local publications and blogs as well as Crain’s Business News. “It’s interesting to see clients who encountered it or heard about it. It’s been in all the media, all the press. It’s a very striking sculpture and our clients are connecting us to this type of project, which is very important to our brand.” He added, “It creates a lot of conversation in the store, that’s for sure.”

“Our hope is that our clients realize that we not only care about the health of their eye but also about returning our money to our local involvement and that in turn we’re very family-oriented company when it comes to our clients and we have a lot of return customers because they know we care about the neighborhood. It’s important for our brand to be seen supporting these initiatives on such a large scale,” Moffit said, admitting that the company hopes to bring in new clients as a result of this project.

Spex is also using the art installation to draw attention to the more serious matter of eye health. In an interview with VM, Moffitt explained that Illinois law insists that children have an eye exam before entering kindergarten. Having done some fundraising for Prevent Blindness America (PBA) in the past, Spex is once again partnering with PBA. “We’ll be doing quick vision acuity screenings at the site of the ‘Eye,’” he said. Additionally, they have a partnership with CIBA Vision to pass out plush eyeballs to people who purchase sunglasses with their contacts.

In fact, the retailer has a long history of supporting local art in the Chicago area. In Feb. 2008, Frank started the Art+Vision at the Highland Park location, a series through which Spex houses and promotes the work of local artists for anywhere from six to eight weeks throughout their Chicagoland locations. “Artists can sell their work and they get involved with the clients themselves. We support them and promote them but we don’t take any proceeds from the artist,” Moffitt said.

“From an eyewear standpoint, the exposure is great,” Frank said, adding, “It’s our way of giving back to the community that we’re in. We have very supportive and loyal customers and this Art+Vision program has been a way to show our appreciation. In a way, it’s been a community effort.”

Spex will be continuing their involvement in community art with Pop-Up Art Loop, a project which finds empty businesses in downtown Chicago and uses their space to support local artists. Moffitt told VM that they just opened a gallery for featuring work of past Art+Vision artists.

 

L to r are Spex’ Rob Rich, CEO; Alice Arteaga, manager of East
Madison location; Boyce Moffitt, general manager; and Kiki
Labros, optician at the East Madison location.

 

The “Eye” is located in Pritzker Park.

 

At three-stories tall, the installation was modeled after artist
Tony Tassett’s own eyeball.


»Take a look at a video of the installation being assembled on VM WebTV.