Everybody Takes the CTA to Work (Even the Living Statue, Covered in Silver Paint)

Sitting down on the inbound Blue Line train this morning, I looked up and happened to see this guy. Just a regular dude, taking the CTA in to his day job. Just a regular dude, covered head to toe in silver paint.

He was very still, and didn’t really try to make eye contact with anyone the whole ride. Which I guess makes sense, if he’s getting into character or something. At one point, I saw him lift up his eyeglasses and seemed to freeze in place. I got pretty excited in seeing this, as I thought he was spontaneously breaking out into his “living statue” routine… but then I realized he was just checking his cellphone for messages.

I felt a little odd taking his photo. While I’m pretty sure I was within my rights to take a picture on the CTA, I still felt like I was stealing money from the guy – in a way. I’ve paid performers whenever I’ve photographed them specifically for the blog, but I wasn’t sure what the protocol was when they were in transit.

At a certain point, some CTA workers hopped on board… and I couldn’t resist taking another photo. So many of us on the train, moving in a similar direction but inevitably parting ways to greet our respective days. I love having a blog so that I can record little moments like this.

With the weather in the 90’s, and him wearing pants, a coat, and with most of his skin covered in paint… I am not envying his day job. Good luck out there, guy.

// Edit: I wonder if it’ll be another seven years, before I see him again.

Related:
A Man and His Tiger: Jackson Blue Line Stop, Chicago
Portrait of the Artist, Seven Years Apart
For Anyone Who Thought Being Immortalized Through a Statue Was Cool