LINCOLN SQUARE — If the term "parade float" conjures up images of giant cartoon characters wafting over Manhattan on Thanksgiving morning, Jacques Tilly is the pin letting the air out of those balloons.
The German artist has been designing floats for his country's biggest carnival parades for more than 30 years and has gained increasing attention in recent years for his pointedly political work.
Provocative images of U.S. President Donald Trump sexually assaulting the Statue of Liberty and British Prime Minister Theresa May shooting herself in the mouth with a gun labeled "Brexit" have courted controversy, drawing death threats and criticism that Tilly has taken his jokes too far.
Mission accomplished, the artist has responded.
"In carnival, the jester represents the people," Tilly said in a statement. "I have to capture what the people are thinking, what lingers in the air, but is not spoken."
Tilly is in Chicago for an exhibit of large-scale photographs of his most famous floats, "The Freedom of Humor: The Audacious Art of Jacques Tilly." He will be on hand for a meet and greet at the opening reception, 7 p.m. Thursday at DANK Haus, 4740 N. Western Ave., Scharpenberg Gallery.
On Saturday, Tilly will be the guest of honor on DANK's float during the annual Von Steuben Parade, which steps off at 2 p.m. from Irving Park Road and Lincoln Avenue and winds its way north through Lincoln Square.
DANK's exhibit of Tilly's work will be open to the public 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays until Sept. 15.
[All float images Facebook/Jacques Tilly Team. For more, click through slideshow above.]
Meet Jacques Tilly at 7 p.m. Thursday at DANK Haus. [Facebook/DANK Haus]
