Baseball Player's Vision Brings Partnership with Artist
2023-08-23
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1Ian Happ is a professional baseball player for the Chicago Cubs of Major Leagues Baseball in the United States.
2When he first started playing with the team in 2017, he was looking for pictures to hang in his home.
3From that simple desire came an idea and an unlikely partnership with a British artist.
4Happ wanted art that showed Wrigley Field, the Cubs ballpark, from a different viewpoint.
5Happ said that many fans have been to Wrigley but have never seen what the ballpark looks like from the field.
6He thought looking up from the field was "such a cool experience" that he wanted to "bring that to more Cubs fans."
7He hired the British artist Patrick Vale to create three large drawings of Wrigley from his point of view five years ago.
8Instead of having pictures to hang in his home, the partnership led to something quite different.
9Happ's view of Wrigley Field became the Through My Eyes project, in which fans can purchase prints.
10The money goes toward Happ's charity.
11The drawings by Vale became See What I See, an exhibit at Chicago's Gallery Victor.
12The show is open through August 26.
13All this started with Happ simply looking for artwork.
14A college teammate at the University of Cincinnati had become an architect in New York.
15That teammate gave Happ the names of several artists. One was Vale.
16Happ noticed the level of detail in Vale's drawings of cities.
17After talking with Vale, Happ got the idea to bring Vale to Chicago and draw Wrigley Field from a viewpoint few fans get to experience.
18The drawings would be from a player's point of view looking out onto the field and into the stands of the famous ballpark.
19Happ brought Vale to Chicago in September of 2018 and showed him around Wrigley.
20Vale knew little about the sport of baseball.
21But he understood the connection fans have with Wrigley.
22"I understand when people talk about baseball and their connections to family and family stories and childhood," said Vale, who lives in New York.
23"It's the same for me with cricket. I can remember summers in the garden with grandpa and listening to the radio."
24Happ had to explain to Vale the importance of the 400 feet sign in center field and the famous manual scoreboard and ivy.
25He had to teach him the correct positioning of the players.
26Happ also explained what it feels like standing in the field under the bright lights with a loud crowd.
27Vale took pictures and used them to help him create drawings in great detail.
28He would send rough drawings to Happ, who would mark them up in red ink, like a teacher, with suggestions.
29The drawings are mostly in black and white.
30They show everything from the faces of the fans and the people selling drinks to the numbers and pictures on the video screen.
31They show a celebration from the view of someone looking down the left-field line.
32And there is the view from the dugout looking toward third base and right field as the pitcher throws with the bright lights shining.
33"He was talking about very specific moments," Vale said of Happ.
34"The scoreboard needs to feel like the scoreboard, right? I had to respect it and the place."
35I'm Ashley Thompson.
1Ian Happ is a professional baseball player for the Chicago Cubs of Major Leagues Baseball in the United States. When he first started playing with the team in 2017, he was looking for pictures to hang in his home. 2From that simple desire came an idea and an unlikely partnership with a British artist. 3Happ wanted art that showed Wrigley Field, the Cubs ballpark, from a different viewpoint. 4Happ said that many fans have been to Wrigley but have never seen what the ballpark looks like from the field. He thought looking up from the field was "such a cool experience" that he wanted to "bring that to more Cubs fans." 5He hired the British artist Patrick Vale to create three large drawings of Wrigley from his point of view five years ago. 6Instead of having pictures to hang in his home, the partnership led to something quite different. 7Happ's view of Wrigley Field became the Through My Eyes project, in which fans can purchase prints. The money goes toward Happ's charity. The drawings by Vale became See What I See, an exhibit at Chicago's Gallery Victor. The show is open through August 26. 8All this started with Happ simply looking for artwork. 9A college teammate at the University of Cincinnati had become an architect in New York. That teammate gave Happ the names of several artists. One was Vale. 10Happ noticed the level of detail in Vale's drawings of cities. After talking with Vale, Happ got the idea to bring Vale to Chicago and draw Wrigley Field from a viewpoint few fans get to experience. The drawings would be from a player's point of view looking out onto the field and into the stands of the famous ballpark. 11Happ brought Vale to Chicago in September of 2018 and showed him around Wrigley. Vale knew little about the sport of baseball. But he understood the connection fans have with Wrigley. 12"I understand when people talk about baseball and their connections to family and family stories and childhood," said Vale, who lives in New York. "It's the same for me with cricket. I can remember summers in the garden with grandpa and listening to the radio." 13Happ had to explain to Vale the importance of the 400 feet sign in center field and the famous manual scoreboard and ivy. He had to teach him the correct positioning of the players. Happ also explained what it feels like standing in the field under the bright lights with a loud crowd. 14Vale took pictures and used them to help him create drawings in great detail. He would send rough drawings to Happ, who would mark them up in red ink, like a teacher, with suggestions. 15The drawings are mostly in black and white. They show everything from the faces of the fans and the people selling drinks to the numbers and pictures on the video screen. They show a celebration from the view of someone looking down the left-field line. And there is the view from the dugout looking toward third base and right field as the pitcher throws with the bright lights shining. 16"He was talking about very specific moments," Vale said of Happ. "The scoreboard needs to feel like the scoreboard, right? I had to respect it and the place." 17I'm Ashley Thompson. 18Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by The Associated Press. 19______________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21cool - adj. very fashionable, stylish, or appealing in a way that is generally approved of especially by young people 22charity - n. the act of giving money, food, or other kinds of help to people who are poor, sick, etc. 23exhibit - n. to make available for people to see 24teammate - n. a person who is on the same team as someone else 25architect - n. a person who designs buildings 26stands - n. the rows of seats in a stadium that people sit in when they are watching a sports event, concert, etc. 27manual - adj. doing or involving hard physical work 28ivy - n. a plant that has long stems and that often grows on the outsides of buildings 29dugout - n. a low shelter that faces a baseball field and contains the bench where the players and coaches of a team sit