Buy Tickets >

329 Cubes Found
 Haven't found one yet?
Make Your Own

Please wait for your upload to complete.

This should only take a moment, but larger files can take some time, we appreciate your patience.

When this window closes, you're ready to submit!

We're sorry, there was an error uploading your file. Please try again. If this continues, please e-mail .

Close
204

Love note cube

Ah, love—fiery, frivolous, maddening, energizing. Inspired by François Boucher's Are They Thinking about the Grape?, write a love note to someone on one side of your cube. Ask them to write one in return on another side. Continue until all 6 sides of the cube have been used, then bring it in to the information desk at the Art Institute. Your cube may appear in a special display at the Art Institute.

#1 James Catalano completed the task.

Found at Edgewater branch library at Broadway & Elmdale.

flagged

#2 Mary commented on 12/6/2009

James- what did you write?

flagged

#3 James commented on 12/7/2009

Nothing. It just automatically put "completed the task" when I put in the first post about finding the cube.

flagged

#4 Mary commented on 12/7/2009

But aren't you supposed to write a love note to someone?

flagged

#5 James commented on 12/8/2009

Yes. But I'm currently single. So there is no special someone to write a love note to or get a love note from.

I have a idea for a variation that uses the theme of the subject. But no "love notes" will be written.

flagged

#6 Jamie commented on 12/8/2009

James...I'm single, why don't you write one to me? :)

flagged

#7 James commented on 12/8/2009

Now Jamie, why would I write a "love note" to someone I don't even know?

flagged

#8 James commented on 12/8/2009

Wish my cube had a better art project to it. So many other cubes with cooler projects connected to them. Oh well...

flagged

#9 Jill commented on 12/8/2009

Why not ask people you know to write a love note to their significant other or about their love story? Then you would have a cube of six great loves.

flagged

#10 Zack commented on 12/8/2009

James, you could always, I don't know, be creative and just come up with one :)

flagged

#11 Susan - Finder of #Niner commented on 12/9/2009

James,

I agree with Zack....be creative. I believe there is a REASON you found Cube 204.

amore amore

flagged

#12 James commented on 12/9/2009

Well Susan, I like to think the reason I found the cube is that I always like to be aware of my surroundings. While it's amusing to imagine, I doubt finding Cube 204 will lead me to find the "love of my life". Would be a interesting way to meet someone, but I doubt it.

flagged

#13 Susan - Finder of No. Niner commented on 12/9/2009

James..

Check out the parallels with my found Cube No. Nine!!

meant for me to find

flagged

#14 Susan - Finder of No. Niner commented on 12/9/2009

Hey, James...

Also I was thinking you could write a love note to a family member that is/was loving and kind to you.

a good friend too

flagged

#15 Zack commented on 12/9/2009

James, you won't with that attitude. Gotta turn that frown upside down. The sun also rises!

flagged

#16 James commented on 12/9/2009

For Susan: Nope, no family members or friends that I'd care to write a "love note" to.

For Zack: I'm being realistic. This is not a dating site. I doubt any women who come to this site are visiting here to look to date someone. Chances of that are like a snowball's chance in hell. Zip, zilch, nada, none. Not being a downer, just being realistic.

flagged

#17 Claudine commented on 12/9/2009

Pass the cube on to me and I'll do it! [email protected]
:)

flagged

#18 James commented on 12/9/2009

I still have the option for a variation of art on the theme. But no love notes will be written or used on the cube for the concept I have in mind. Just have to find the time to design & draw the stuff up. Got lots of other stuff going on.

flagged

#19 James commented on 12/10/2009

For Claudine: Sorry, even if I don't get the time to do the project I'm not going to give up the cube. Makes a nice collector's item with only 500 made.

flagged

#20 closetology commented on 12/10/2009

Looks like you've got a lot of time to me.... hmmmm.

flagged

#21 James commented on 12/10/2009

The cube is low on my things to do list. Until then, the cube serves as a nice paper weight.

flagged

#22 Kaleena commented on 12/11/2009

James,

Why don't you write the love note to your past self or future self. If that doesn't work you could always think of some literary couples that you could write as. Whatever works....

flagged

#23 James commented on 12/11/2009

To Kaleena: While your idea is interesting (like the past / future self concept - shades of Dr. Who), I feel writing to myself is kinda corny. Anyway, as I mentioned before, the idea I have, when I get around to doing it, won't involve any writing of love notes or letters as the original project calls for. Just graphical art.

flagged

#24 Jennifer commented on 12/13/2009

Boo...Participate. Engage. Step outside of the box. Have fun. Smile. Complete the darn task....

flagged

#25 James commented on 12/13/2009

What's the big deal, why the rush? It'll get done when ever it gets done.

flagged

#26 paul commented on 12/16/2009

c'mon, people! let's show a little spirit here! James, it would be lovely if you could complete a task and pass the cube on to someone else who can also participate. Can't wait to see what you do!

flagged

#27 Jean commented on 12/17/2009

Guess this sounds like a Love Not
instead of a Love Note. Y'all are wonderful
people to try to get James to the positive side.

flagged

#28 James commented on 12/17/2009

For Paul: As mentioned before, being single, there is nobody to send love notes to or get love notes from. And I don't have the time currently for the variation I had in mind.

So for now, Cube # 204 is a dead project.

flagged

#29 James commented on 12/17/2009

For Jean: I am positive. But I am also realistic. Can't get love notes if there is nobody to send them to or get them from. Yet people are beating the subject like a dead horse. But, as I stated in the last post, this is now a dead project. So I guess this is the end of the thread. But the Cube is still a nice paper weight.

flagged

#30 It's not dead! commented on 12/17/2009

Sending some love to cube 204!

flagged

#31 James commented on 12/17/2009

Hahaha. Very amusing. There you go! Use the fake paper cube #204 to write love notes on. Then drop it off at the info desk at the Art Institute. Good, project is done and over.

flagged

#32 Heazer commented on 12/17/2009

I think it's not dead's picture is beautiful. Thank you for keeping the spirit alive. I am sorry that cube 204 is a paper weight now and could not be released. You guys rock in your efforts to release it.
Even if cube 204 is held hostage, that does not mean that the love note cube project is dead as claimed by it's finder.
so if no one can write on cube 204, how about we write here on cubid 204 another 5, 50 or 500 notes. We can start and finish the project. We can just write the notes here, or include a picture of the note on a red paper and uploaded and it will be a side of the cube. And since cupid 204 cube is as big as love, it has indefinite sides.
if you like to paticipate, write your love notes or put picture of it written on a red paper.
include the # of the note.

flagged

#33 Heazer commented on 12/17/2009

I am Trying to upload the picture the cube. Hope you get it.

flagged

#34 heazer commented on 12/17/2009

Here it is.

flagged

#35 Heazer commented on 12/17/2009

one more time.

flagged

#36 paul commented on 12/18/2009

you know, paul, you could leave the cube someplace for someone else to find... if the cube project is "dead" and all. c'mon... let someone else do it. this is such a cool program from the AIC, it would be a shame for this project to be "dead" as you say.

flagged

#37 James commented on 12/18/2009

Well, interesting to watch the paper clone # 204 cube get a following. Anyway, Paul wasn't the finder of the cube, so he wouldn't be able to release it. I won't release the cube because with only 500 made, it's pretty much a unique collectors item, if only now being used as a paper weight. Heck, if I get tired of it, I can always put it up on eBay. But that the real cube # 204 is "dead" is no big deal. There are 499 other cubes for people to enjoy.

flagged

#38 Julie commented on 12/22/2009

Wow...this is one of the most depressing conversations I've read in recent history. James, way to squash the spirit and enthusiasm that could have gone along with this project for you. Congratulations on your collector's item, I hope it makes you very happy as it sits empty collecting dust on your bookshelf.

flagged

#39 James commented on 12/22/2009

For Julie: The cube serves well as a unique paper weight / book end. Best use for it, as I don't have time for the idea I first had in mind. But the paper clone cube #204 looks like it's doing a good job carrying on the original project.

flagged

#40 Heazer commented on 12/23/2009

Not to validate the notion that Cube 204 with crossed 500 on it ,or the cubid 204 are not what this project represents; But 204 belongS to ART Institute. And it is part of a great project of expression of modern art. If it is going be put on eBay, it is going to represent nothing. Here is a love note #2 to cubid 204.
"Peace this Christmas." Offcourse some alcohol might be needed to get along with some members. PEACE.

flagged

#41 sarah of chicago commented on 12/23/2009

I think James's refusal to participate is an artistic statement unto itself. Very subverssive. Good job James!

flagged

#42 James commented on 12/23/2009

Cube #204... Now serving use as a bookend. Oh yes Sarah, if you mean my "artistic statement" is to draw sarcastic comments from idiots, well, guess in your case I completed the task.

flagged

#43 sarah of chicago commented on 12/23/2009

I didn't mean it as sarcastic at all, James. I've enjoyed following the different projects people have done with their cubes and even though you didn't do something originally intended, it was still original.

flagged

#44 John commented on 12/29/2009

Red is the color of a cube that was found,
a cube labeled 204 and was anything but round.
It represented more than the task at hand,
something for someone, somewhere in Chicagoland.

Red is the color for anything you want it to be,
for it is just a light spectrum at a certain frequency.
As far as the box and its shape physically,
everyone knows it can prop up books, obviously!

The big problem with modern art
is that it's left up to interpretation based on our heart,
especially if someone has to do their part,
you simply end up back at the start.

flagged

#45 James commented on 12/30/2009

Red cube number 204 is dead and no more, left to collect dust on a bookshelf above the floor, yada yada yada, something something something darkside.

flagged

#46 sarah of chicago commented on 1/8/2010

James, we refuse to accept the early demise of Red cube number 204. How about if we buy you a bookend? I will even decorate it, as i am a Painter.

flagged

#47 Cube Wrangler commented on 1/10/2010

James, you've probably noticed by now that the weight of the cubes makes for a bad bookend. Is there anything we can offer to release the cube for someone else to write love notes?

flagged

#48 Coco commented on 1/14/2010

James,
I hope someday that cube comes off your shelf because you finally have someone to write a love note to. It might be a great conversation piece with a new date. Finding a Red Cube is a piece of good luck, so be open to more when it comes along.
Wishing you love!

flagged

#49 Heather commented on 1/20/2010

This is the most 'modern' interpretation of all the tasks. I love it! I love that everyone is getting upset that James won't complete the task, and yet this is one of the most talked about cubes on the website. Sounds like James was a very successful artist in this project! Good job. 204 isn't dead as long as everyone keeps talking about it. Awesome twist.

flagged

#50 mogl commented on 1/20/2010

Heather - I agree. I love checking up on the progress of this cube - and this cube certainly is generating a lot of "love notes" in the form of posts. Therefore, James and everyone else - mission accomplished in an unconventional and modern way!

flagged

#51 James commented on 2/5/2010

Wow, amazed to see people still going on about this silly cube when there are 499 other cubes to bother with. For Heather: Yeah, for people to get upset over one ignored cube is silly and stupid. I mean really, don't people have other more serious things to worry about in their lives? For Coco: Amusing... Now I've got Conan O'Brien going on it about my cube. No, I know you are not THAT Coco. I just had to go there with the "I'M WITH COCO" thing. But yeah people, give it a rest and move on to worrying about something more serious than this silly cube. Go worry about the cut backs to the service on the CTA, or no fireworks at Grant Park. Cube #204 is still "dead" and sitting on the bookshelf. But hey, if you guys want to waste time talking about cube #204, then go for it.

flagged

#52 James commented on 2/5/2010

To Sarah and Cube Wrangler: Sorry, no dice. What I'd want to give up this silly cube would cost more than the cube is worth. More than the near $50 I see another cube was going for on eBay. So yeah, no dice. The cube remains on the bookshelf to collect dust.

I would put a list of items I'd give up the cube for any one of, but I know nobody would be serious about it, so I'm not going to bother. It would make for a nice game: "What Would You Give For My Love (Cube)". But again, I know nobody would be serious about it.

flagged

#53 SarahM commented on 2/8/2010

Wow. Just reading this after hearing about all their missing cubes.

So, James, you don't think you could spread love or reach out to one person in your life? Call me silly or superstitious, but I DO believe you were supposed to find that cube. Even if it's just a smile for a stranger. You won't bring love into your life until you are able to give freely of it. I'm not trying to lecture, just encourage.

Hording the cube IS the antithesis of what it was intended to accomplish, but someone made the astute point that because of the way people have responded to #204, it has accomplished its goal in a very abstract way. Artistic, indeed. James, did you realize that you were such a modern artist? Very avant, sir.

Well, perhaps #204 was to bring YOU love, if you need some in your life. Hopefully it will remind you of the potential that exists for finding love, while it sits there holding your books for you.

report this post

#54 SarahM commented on 2/9/2010

Ok, I think maybe this is how it should go now, James.

Because you found the Love cube and have no love to give, that must only mean you are meant to be the recipient of the love note. So here goes, in a language that perhaps will mean more to you:

Dear James,

You have occupied my thoughts since we first met. I imagine you sitting in your (study?) surrounded by your 'Ideas and Opinions', perhaps dreaming of space travel and the possibilities for future exploration. Did you know that the little red cube that now dutifully holds 'The Dark Matter' from 'Ptolemy's Universe' traveled 7 miles to find you? Ptolemy, seems a rather self centered individual, albeit, a great mind, to believe that the universe was centered around us here on Earth. But as your shelves are stocked with all manner of scientific theory, I believe you possess the ability to see beyond yourself. Quite far beyond, actually. For a mind so introspective and quizzical, the notion of universal elements relative to one another and the influence they can have must surely be one you entertain.
Planets have not minds. Galaxies have not hearts. They are propelled by an unseen force to spin. If the planets possessed the cognitive ability to decide to not move, would we even exist? Would you be allowed to wonder, in solitude, about these forces, if there were none?
The little red cube that you now posses is, in itself, a small and possibly insignificant thing when held up against grand and vast solar systems. But that 'red matter' was created from love, from the desire to keep spinning and see what is possible, and with the hope that its energy would be passed along. Can you see that you have inherited the universe, my love? Surely, there is some particle of that to share.

Fondly,
Sarah



ps. Please don't take me for crazy as I'm just having a bit of fun... Hope you will, too.

report this post

#55 Jack commented on 2/9/2010

SarahM = crazy; :) at least someone's offering love

report this post

#56 SarahM commented on 2/9/2010

@Jack - haha, yeah probably



report this post

#57 M commented on 2/9/2010

Love seeketh not itself to please,
Nor for itself hath any care,
But for another gives its ease,
And builds a heaven in hell's despair. - William Blake

report this post

#58 s.b. commented on 2/13/2010

it seems a shame that the cube did not inspire it's finder. i know many people that really wished they had found one. bravo to the other posters that were inspired by #204

report this post

Post a Comment





Please Select One


500 Ways of Looking at Modern

Coming Events

Exhibition Highlights

  • Coming soon: Matisse: Radical Invention, 1913–1917
  • In the Vernacular
  • Modern in America: Works on Paper, 1900–1950s
  • Four Followers of Caravaggio
  • Full Listing