Hamza Walker, Image courtesy of the School of the Art Institute
On February 5, it was announced the $100,000 Ordway Prize would be awarded to Hamza Walker, the Director of Education and Associate Curator at The Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago. In 2001, The New York Times named him one of the most influential American curators. The New Museum describes the prize as, "acknowled[ing] the contributions of a Curator/Arts Writer and an Artist whose work has had significant impact on the field of contemporary art, but who has yet to receive broad public recognition. Nominees for the Ordway Prize are midcareer talents between the ages of forty and sixty-five, with a developed body of work extending over a minimum of fifteen years." Walker curated a solo show of Chicago-based photographer Anna Shteynshleyger which is on view at The Renaissance Society until this Sunday, February 14.
Stephen Daiter Gallery recently moved to 230 W. Superior and the first show in their new space features the amazing Martin Parr. Parr's supersaturated color photos with blazing flash can be slightly grotesque. Photos of food or tourists or fellow Brits, Parr's camera always seems to tease its subjects a bit. Some of Parr's work will also be featured in the Art Institute's In the Vernacular exhibit, up until May 31. Jeriah Hildwine has some good photos on Art Talk Chicago.
Hollis Sigler's Expect the Unexpected opened on January 30th at the Chicago Cultural Center, alongside relative newcomer, Angel Otero's Touch with Your Eyes. The side by side Chicago artists allow viewers both pride in the past and anticipation for the future of the Chicago art scene.
Sigler, who actually began her artistic career in strict realism, grew into her own with the striking colors, scratchy strokes, and child-like rendering of reality, evident in this sixty work series from 1981-2001. Her style was evidently impacted by Chicago's Imagist movement- a "faux naïve" craze that gripped the city in the 1960's, starting with Jim Nutt and his clan of Imagists. Sigler's crude depictions of femininity, life, and death, allow the viewer to experience her frustration and anguish- primarily relating to her fight against breast cancer. Sigler passed away in 2001 after battling her disease since diagnosis in 1985. Her work stands as a testament to her strength in the shadow of suffering, and her rapturous ability to incite discussion around the issues she addressed.
Hollis Sigler's Expect the Unexpected can be viewed through April 4th in the Sidney R. Yates Gallery of the Chicago Cultural Center.
This Saturday, recently relocated OhNo!Doom gallery hosts the 'Torn Pages' group show, a series of artist/writer collaborations focusing on imagined children's tales and the illustrations they've inspired. I spoke with art blogger and show curator Josh Lucas, and we touched briefly on the themes behind the show as well as Chicago neighborhoods, fairy tales, and the trials and rewards inherent in running a large group show.
"The Following are Pages Torn from our Most Favorite Imaginary Books", takes place on Saturday, February 13th, 2010, and runs through the end of the month. OhNo!Doom gallery, 1800 N. Milwaukee Ave., 6-10pm.
What's the Torn Pages Show all about?
The Torn Pages show is about a few things. Bringing people together who don't normally work together. in the creative world people tend to congregate together in what they do. writers will have readings, artists have shows, etc. but they rarely do things together. I believe the things that connect people are more powerful than the things that make them different. The creative process, and act, is a very beautiful and personal thing. And at the core, it's that feeling, and need to do so that every artist understands.
It's also about that feeling you got reading a story as a child. And wanting to get back to that place. The full show name expresses this "the following are pages torn from our most favorite imaginary books", it's about that story you always had in your head, or maybe just an image. But it was yours and now we get to share those things with the public.
How did the idea/theme happen? How were the artists picked?
The idea for the show was just a quick thought at first. My girlfriend was telling me about a story she was working on, and as she was telling me about it I saw it in my head, illustrated by a friend of mine. So i sat on it for a month or so and then started sending out emails to see if it would work. And it just kind of evolved from there.
The artists and writers were picked from names I'd seen around, and a few people I already knew. My girlfriend suggested some great people. I also got some help from Jason over at "Orange Alert": http://orangealert.net/blog he sent me some great suggestions. I got really lucky with the people who are now the lineup for the show.
Chicago-based photographer Adam Eckberg's show, In the Between, closes today at Thomas Robertello Gallery but if you missed it, don't worry. Eckberg's work is also featured in the Elements of Photography exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art and Bad at Sports has posted a great interview with him.
The Flat Iron Artists Association and the Wicker Park/Bucktown Chamber of Commerce kicked off their 2010 Inaugural season of First Fridays with Now You See It, Now You Don't. The concept involved using the walls of the Flat Iron Building at 1579 N. Milwaukee as canvas and then ceremoniously painting over them with white paint. This spectacle speaks to idea of art as something that come and goes, evolves and doesn't last forever. Some artists involved with the mural were Sebastian Napoli, Kelly Jensen, Matthew Morgan and George Berlin. The opening reception began last night at 6pm and the murals were painted over 10pm. Visitors were invited to wander in to all the studios housed in the Flat Iron Building and treated with the familiar cups of wine and veggie plates. I spoke with artist Scotie Cousin who mentioned this would not be last time this performance would occur.
The studio of an artist is a visceral, messy and sometimes chaotic fortress of solitude. It's what one would imagine another's inner-most covert thoughts to be, personified into empty paint buckets of brushes, heaves of ripped canvas, macabre pilings of wooden figures, twisted mannequin body parts and presumably meaningless sketches and blueprints. It's horrifying. It's flawed. It's humorous. It's one of those "whoh buddy, too-much-information" moments. But above all it's human.
Production Site: The Artist's Studio Inside-Out is the Museum of Contemporary Art's latest exhibition connecting the artist with the observer. Here, running February 6 through May 30, it's not the product of an artist's endeavor being presented, but the studio as subject matter. Curator Dominic Molon lead the media preview of the exhibit featuring large installations, films, video projections, photographic light-boxes, life-sized fabrications of artist's studios--some literally ripped off their studio walls, sculptures, performance pieces and evolving canvases explained the display as a being a timely exhibition during the current economic downturn, a "reorientation of our celebration of conspicuous consumption that we've seen as a more central topic of aesthetic discourse [and that it] shows a deeper and more serious consideration of production."
While the exhibit displays numerous artists' studios from all over the world and many from Chicago, here are some of the highlights of Production Site.
Vermeulen's "Moby Dick: Standing the Mast-Head," image courtesy of Packer Schopf
Timothy Vermeulen's new paintings are based on specific texts from Moby Dick, and currently showing at Packer Schopf Gallery. Tim's figures, and his use of perspective that is just off enough to keep you just unsettled, is reminiscent of the early Northern Renaissance painters, think Hieronymus Bosch and Giotto, but very contemporary. There are lots of things about Tim's work that make each piece not only inviting but engaging, one is his understanding of color and how it effects mood, another is his odd sense of space, as each painting seems to open up to the room. The way he skewed the perspective in the piece made me feel as if I were being enveloped and the paintings became much bigger than their modest 13.5 X 17.5 size.
Each piece was part of the Moby Dick narrative but Tim would place himself in these paintings, participating and exploring as both an onlooker and a participant. His presance in the paintings allowed me to involve myself in the storytelling, reexamining my place in a world in flux. Tim's paintings are brave and confident and this show is not to be missed, unfortunately you only have until February 13 to see it.
There will be a special reception for the College Art Association Convention on Friday, February 12, from 5 to 8pm, which will also host a book release of Words for Paintings by Jason Lahr, whose paintings are also currently on view at Packer Schopf. Don't forget to visit the downstairs gallery while you are there, ventriloquist dummy portraits by Gene Hamilton tie this three person show together quite gracefully.
Almost every day I discover a new cellphone artist. It started with the iPhone Therefore iArt show last month, and hasn't stopped since. Remember when people were complaining about how digital photography allows "just anyone" to be an artist? Now, cellphone cameras allow anyone to be an artist, at any time, without even requiring the forethought of bringing a camera with you when you leave the house.
The artistic process can be a private, personal journey for many, taking place in a closed space shut off from the outside world until the masterpiece is revealed. But The Museum of Contemporary Art hopes to re-examine the location where a piece of work is toiled over, a place that may ultimately turn up in an artist's work--the studio. In their newest exhibit opening this weekend, the Museum of Contemporary Art wants to reveal to viewers how the studio has played a role in many works of art. Production Site: The Artist's Studio Inside-Out will be comprised of many mediums including multi-channel video projections, photographic light boxes and installations, and life-sized fabrications of artist's studios.
To celebrate the opening, the museum is throwing an Artist's Studio Party tomorrow night, February 4, at 6 p.m. The event will be a three-floor fundraiser honoring the artists, with live music, food, artist guests and interactive entertainment. For members, tickets cost $35, and for non-members it is $45. Children under 12 are free. The party runs from 6 to 9 and is open to all ages. Buy tickets online or call the box office at 312-397-4010.
If you follow me on FourSquare you'll already know I was at the leet speak filled M155 4m3r1c4, or Miss America, last night at Noble & Superior Projects. I had never been there before and thought it'd be a hoot, and it was. Leet Speak refers to elite speak, because it is encoded, and there are plenty of variations to keep people, not in the know, busy for some time.
Noble & Superior Projects hosted what might have been more of a film screening than an art show, but either way I enjoyed the video. Patrick Bobilin was the Filmmaker of the pair of artists that made up M155 4m3r1c4. Patrick did an excellent job with his, part documentary part fictional self-portrait. It was a linier journey for the most part, although it utilized some wonderful symbolism and imagery to make social as well as cultural commentaries mainly revolving around cause and affect. For those of you that might be interested, you also have the opportunity to look at documentation collected during recording and referenced in the video.
In the kitchen of Noble & Superior Projects was a corresponding show, or a rider to Patrick's video and documentation, of Cara Anne Greene's curated culinary creations. That was cool too.
It's a relaxing way to spend your Saturdays: Chicago Gallery News leads a free tour every Saturday (rain, snow or shine) through various River North galleries and every sixth Saturday (the next taking place on Jan. 30) they host a guided West Loop gallery tour.
So that means this Saturday, there are two tours to choose from--or do both.
Do you know what your alderman looks like? Mine has a mustache. Ever had the urge to make a painting of your alderman? Now is your chance. Johalla Projects is putting on a show, titled 50 ALDERMAN/50 ARTISTS, which is pretty much what it sounds like. 50 artists from across Chicago (you could be one of them) will choose one alderman to feature in a 16″x22″ portrait, using their media of choice. There is a point to this -- participating artists will be required to interview or at least attempt to interview the alderman they are depicting. The idea is to use art as a vehicle for learning about the people who represent us at city hall -- to foster an understanding of local politics and more involvement in our communities.
In Pilsen, there used to be place called the Whale. It was actually just a residence, but it represented much more because it was the base of operations for a society of creatives and intellectuals (but not the hoity toity type) called the "Order of the Lamprey." People from every imaginable background would meet there to enjoy the finer things in life-- mostly art making, pig roasting, doohickey inventing, cold beer, and heated discussion.
Now the Whale is gone, and everything in it, because it burned down on December 17. Kenneth Morrison, Michelle Faust, and Nat Ward, the trio who started the Order of the Lamprey and lived in the building, lost all of their posessions. Since the fire, though, an astounding number of Chicagoans have stepped up to the plate, coming together in support. A Facebook group has been started which serves as a vehicle for recovery, or at least the first step, helping friends of the Whale connect with each other. Check it out, join the group, and if you have any money left over after helping out the Haitians, help these guys out too by donating to their Paypal account. (The email address to use to donate to them through Paypal is natmichellehideout@gmail.com.) Also, Bridgeport's wonderful Co-Prosperity Sphere is hosting a benefit party for the Whale on February 5. Check out our listing in Slowdown for the details.
This article was submitted to us by Amy Ganser, a freelance writer in Chicago.
"Comedy is tragedy plus time," said Carol Burnet. The hodgepodge of characters gathered for the Bavarian comedy The Wedding may not sport lederhosen but are tragicomic figures at heart. Tuta Theatre presents the 1919 Bertolt Brecht classic (whose work is performed throughout Germany more often than Shakespeare) with a modernized approach featuring original music by Jesse Terrill (and a smidgen of Brittney Spears) mixed with flapper-style evening wear and tailored tweed suits in homage to the roaring 1920's bourgeoisie. The wedding party includes a contemptuous mother of the groom played by Laurie Larson who compulsively instructs her son which piece of fish to choose for dinner.
Throughout the 70-minute performance her dismal gaze and pathetic longing for her grown son reach the audience beyond the limits of comical one-liners. The groom's friend (Andy Hager) instigates a kind of sexual chess game among all guests, married or not, beginning with a hilarious and remarkably not exaggerated scene where Hager's character randomly pleasures a female wedding guest beneath the dinner table. As the wine flows ("It makes the conversation better!") the antics remain impressively understated with the casts' brilliant use of movement, expression, and time in this highly overstated satirical take on German bourgeois society.
The Wedding runs now through February 14 at Chopin Theatre Studio, 1543 W. Division. Tickets are $20 for students and seniors, $25 for everyone else.
Chicago writer James Kennedy's 2008 young adult fantasy book, The Order of Odd-Fish has not only gotten a lot of attention lately, it's inspired a slew of fan art. The artistic mediums seem to be just as creative as Kennedy's story, from a Belgian beer named after the villian to a cake depicting a fish vomiting out a high-rise. There are also a bunch of lovely cut-paper illustrations by high-schooler Max Pitchkites-- one for every chapter of the book, in fact.
Kennedy is so impressed with all the fan art he has decided to organize an art show/costumed dance party to celebrate and exhibit it, in collaboration with Collaboraction, which he says will most likely open on April 17. People will dress up as gods and do battle-dancing in the Dome of Doom, and then the fan art as well as the elaborate installation itself with stay up for a while. If you'd like to make something to be included in the show, you're in luck-- he's accepting submissions through March 1. Visit his incredibly entertaining blog for more information about submissions as well as the multitude of interesting anecdotes and Odd-Fish-related events going on around Chicago over the next few months.
I went to my first Peregrine Program opening, which happened to be only their third, to see ChicagoLand, a show that consisted of work by Daniel Lavitt. After seeing it I found it difficult to talk about this show to others, because I wasn't sure what it was to be honest. It was kind of a series of sculptures, but it was also utilizing electronics. One piece in particular was an homage to the late Roger Brown-- a house sculpture, which was hung on the wall. When you interacted with the door, the lights in the windows went on.
The whole show apparently has a technology theme dealing with the electronics of these lights that are part of the pieces. It is set up so that you can view the work in an ascending order of the artist's technological prowess. The final piece in the show, the most advanced technologically, really caught my imagination. It was part of a house sticking out of a wall, like those damn baseballs people put on their car's rear window, and the lights in the house are on until you approach it. This is where the advanced technology comes in, although not extremely advanced in the grand scheme of programming, the lights turning off as someone approaches, has a lot to say. Actually, I spoke to the artist about this and the house was a replica of his first apartment in Chicago, and because he didn't like his room mates, he would often pretend not to be home by turning off the lights as they would approach.
I left a bit unsure if it was a sculpture show, that had some electronics, or an electronics show that used sculpture as a vehicle. In the end I guess it doesn't matter but what might matter is that we have a new space in Chicago called PEREGRINEPROGRAM, and although it is only a 13" X 23" box, the owner Edmund Chia is showing what he likes and I am always excited about new spaces showing new things.
The way we define art over centuries of iconic masters and their worldly masterpieces can take an army of art history professor's their life's work to explain-objectively or subjectively. So, what better place to learn then from the perspective of the most visited museum in the world?
Lemaistre will lead the lecture in three critical themes: the changing historical and cultural definitions of a masterpiece (in paintings, sculpture, decorative arts and drawings); authenticity and connoisseurship (what makes an expert); and the evolution of taste and scholarship (the changes in adoration over time).
The event is followed by a vin d'honneur (reception in French).
Tickets for the Thursday, Jan 21st lecture can be purchased for $10 (for non-members) at the Alliance website. The 6:30pm
event will take place at the Alliance Française de Chicago's 54 W. Chicago Ave. entrance.
"I'll start with the sixties."
"Fine. You were probably more interesting then. I understand everybody was."
-From Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins
Art Shay's footprint on Chicago photography is colossal. Shay's (unbelievably) first color exhibition opened at Thomas Masters Gallery on North Avenue in Old Town last Friday. The homey vintage space with creaky floors made Thomas Masters a perfect host for this show.
Shay shot for Time, Sports Illustrated and was a Chicago-based photojournalist for Life. In the entrance is a list of quotes from celebrities like Roger Ebert, Hugh Hefner, Studs Terkel, and David Mamet who said "I have one of Art Shay's pictures over my desk. It reminds me every morning of my Chicago roots. Art photos, like me, have the Chicago accent, which is to say he's telling you the truth."
The show is packed with recognizable faces like President Kennedy, Andy Warhol, Johnny Cash, Jimmy Hoffa, and a few wonderfully moving pictures of and about Martin Luther King, Jr. After the assassination of King, Shay talked his way into the building across from the hotel and snapped a photo of the murderer's handprint on the wall, highlighted by police fingerprint dust. It took my breath away.
It would be easy to spend a good hour in Thomas Masters, wandering from each photo to the next. There is a description or anecdote from Shay under every photo, which heightens that magical feeling of finding dusty boxes of old magazines in your grandma's attic and experiencing nostalgia whether or not you lived through the sixties.
Letinsky's "Untitled #19" courtesy of Monique Meloche Gallery
Before Laura Letinsky's opening last Saturday, I hadn't been in Monique Meloche's new location on the west side of nightlife mecca, Wicker Park. I assumed it would be a giant space that showcased her stamp on the art scene, especially when I looked in from the outside and saw the 10 by 25 foot, psychedelic mural by Assume Vivid Astro Focus in the window that certainly didn't suggest modesty. However, I was baffled when I realized Letinsky's show was comprised of only five photos. Five! I am so impressed by Meloche's confidence and ability to surprise.
Letinsky is a still life photographer. But these photos are not Cezanne's apples and pears. They are delicately morbid, always suggesting something slightly depraved has taken place just before the photo was taken. The pictures involve objects like fruit, eggs, oysters, birds, and unidentifiable furry creatures, all gutted or skinned. However, Letinsky's meticulous placement of these objects indicates care on the artist's part and ere on the side of quixotic rather than gore.
This show is titled The Dog and the Wolf which partly refers to the French phrase L'heure entre chien et loup--the time when both dog and wolf are seen when dusk becomes night. Unlike Letinsky's last photos, set in daylight, these have a beautifully melancholic atmosphere when set at dusk. Almost always, there lies a wrinkled white tablecloth beneath the objects, adding texture and shadow. Dead flowers and wine stains add a nostalgic and romantic approach to these photos as well. Letinsky also has an unsettling talent for skewing perspective, shoving the table to the very foreground and leaving an uncomfortably large, grey background or giving the tables an apocryphal lack of depth.
Exhibiting only five photos invited in depth analysis of the photographs that perhaps a larger show would not have afforded. Letinksy's work is both inviting and confrontational and simply put, really really good. The show closes on March 13, 2010.
Most theater companies define themselves by what they want. Jeremy Menekseoglu, artistic director of Chicago's Dream Theatre Company, knows exactly what he doesn't.
No fourth wall. No superfluous roles. No poor roles for women. No living rooms. No boundaries of realism. By articulating these rules, Dream Theatre is more efficiently able to arrive at what it is they do desire, a destruction of the barrier between actor and audience.
It began in Russia. As students at the Moscow Art Theatre in the late 90's, Menekseoglu and three friends started the company to explore this tricky relationship.
"We wanted a theatre in which the audience became a part of the story," Menekseoglu says. "A real part."
Originally dubbed the Theatre for Humanity, the company was interested in personal psychology over politics. In the midst of his struggle to find a common ground, a place where everyone could relate, Menekeseoglu had a dream. It turned out to be his revelation. "No matter who we were or how different we were, we all could relate to one another in our subconscious."
Bill Boyce is a sculptor and metal fabricator that has an uncanny sense of how things could go together. His work flows, and organically comes together so consistently beautiful that I would say it is remarkable. Bill will be on a follow up interview on ChicagoArts Live on Tuesday January 26 at 7:30pm. You are invited to participate by asking questions or making comments about Bill, his work or the interview.
I do not normally do this but this one is from the heart, as they say. I found out less than an hour ago that someone I know died in Haiti. I have never been, nor did I have any inclination to travel to Haiti, but many people that I know have done just that. Two in particular were in Haiti during the recent earthquake.
Sue Frame, who I had lived and worked with for a number of years, thankfully survived although Flo McGarrell did not. I did not know Flo well enough to feel comfortable speaking about him too much, but I will say he was one of the strongest people I knew, and although I may not have spent long hours getting to know Flo, I do know there is an absence in the world without him.
Sue and Flo were in Jacmel, Haiti, building an artist's center. The last I heard was that there was trouble getting the container of tools they had collected past customs. That school has fallen down the priority list, now that things like fresh water have been added to the list of needs of the Haitian people.
In response to this loss of a Chicago Area artist, there is a small group of Chicagoans starting an art raffle to help give back to those giving to Haiti. If you are an artist, artisan or anyone willing to donate items to this raffle, please upload images and descriptions to this flickr page. Every $5 donated to Doctors Without Borders between Wednesday the 13th and Thursday the 21st will buy you one raffle ticket; just send your confirmation letter to AlexPolotsky@gmail.com. For more information, visit haitiaidraffle.wordpress.com/. Thank you.
On February 26 and 27, threewalls gallery will host Chasing Two Rabbits as part of a two week animation festival featuring animation programs curated by local and national artists. Chasing Two Rabbits is a special event curated by Sonia Yoon and Shannon Stratton that pairs animators with live performances by sound artists and musicians.
Inspired by the experimental films of Norman McLaren, who combined abstract imagery (including scratching and painting into the film stock in earlier work, as well as paper cut-outs and live action and dance) with imaginative music and sound, Chasing Two Rabbits acts to pair artists in both genres to produce a unique event with sound and vision illuminating each other.
Currently threewalls is looking for proposals from both animators and sound artists and/or musicians who would like their work to be matched up with each other's. Pairings will be chosen from submissions, with animations provided to musicians and sound artists to review and score for live performance in February.
Animators can submit pieces for sound, no longer than 10 minutes in length, on DVD. Sound artists can send audio files (mp3, aiff, wav) on CD to Chasing Two Rabbits, c/o threewalls, 119 N Peoria #2D, Chicago, IL, 60607 or can send files or links to Shannon and Sonia c/o rabbits@three-walls.org. Materials must be submitted by this Friday, January 15.
Pearl Art and Craft is closing several stores across the country, and the Chicago store is among them. Everything in the store is 50% off, so deals are to be had even with furniture and easels. How often can you pick up a solid oak easel for half off?
Pittsburgh artists Susanne Slavick had a show open Friday, January 8 entitled R&R(...&R) in the northern most of the Cultural Center's Michigan Avenue galleries. Susanne works with photographs she finds on the internet of war, desolation and/or destruction. After finding the images she wants to work with, she often digitally manipulates them, but that is far from the beauty that is her artwork. Her poetic images come from her painting over these found photographs with gouache. Her use of contradiction and the way she hints at the unknown is uncanny and attracted me immediately.
The piece that was getting a lot of attention while I was there was "Remorse: White Curtains." This piece was based off a photo of a building in which Susanne had painted thin white curtains billowing from its windows. The delicate way in which she painted the curtains and the obvious lack of people made the work eerie and have an overall feeling of desolation or desertion. These sorts of desolate feelings were not consistent throughout the show thankfully; part of the show also consisted of a series of desert landscapes in which Susanne painted this welling up of water from holes in the ground. These works read as hopeful. The style in which she painted these and most of her other pieces were derived from Persian masters.
Three interesting shows of paintings and drawings open tonight at Packer Schopf Gallery. Jason Lahr shows DEATHMETALHIPPIEKILLER, Tim Vermeulen shows Moby Dick, and Gene Hamilton shows Vent Figure Fun! (Ventriloquist Dummy Portraits).
According to the press release, "Jason Lahr's [work] integrates darkly comic texts with appropriated images, creating shifting narratives of working class male identity as influenced by popular culture." In other words, you might say he makes "dude art." He might be a masculinist! (Yes, it's a real thing.) Either way, I'm intrigued. Gene Hamilton-- an artist, actor, and ventriloquist, presents us with very creepy and strangely hilarious dummy paintings. Tim Vermeulen is showing Moby Dick paintings-- small, figurative, autobiographical work, inspired by the epic novel, addressing giant themes of existence and consciousness. Although the subjects are heavy, the paintings appear lighthearted and are fun to examine. The aesthetic is similar to the Hamilton paintings in their detailed, colorful, almost "outsider" rendering, but the heady subjects seem very insider.
This show looks like it will be colorful-- literally and figuratively-- and good enough to warrant trudging through the snow this afternoon to attend the opening (from 5-7pm). Have no fear, though, if you miss the opening you've got until February 13 to check it out. Packer Schopf gallery is located at 942 W. Lake Street. Visit their website for more information about the show and the gallery's hours.
Gene Hamilton at work, photo courtesy of Packer Schopf and the artist
The Zhou B. Art Center, a rather new art studio in Bridgeport, has high expectations and even deeper ambitions in stake for Chicago's contemporary artist community.
Gallery owners and brothers, Shan Zuo and Da Huang Zhou's latest exhibition celebrates young artists from all over the United States, featuring recent MFA (Masters of Fine Arts) candidates and recipients working in the medium of contemporary painting. The National Wet Paint Exhibition, a reference to the collective of fresh artists, starts January 15 at the 87,000 square-foot gallery--a gallery that houses several exhibition spaces, artist studios, a café and even an art store.
Think of Wet Paint as a representation of contemporary art graduate programs across the country, seeking to display resulting innovations in painting materials, techniques and methods. There's even a free multimedia iPhone app to keep patrons up to date on the artists and their exhibitions.
Technology has done wonderful things for art. One of my personal favorite new tools is the cell phone camera, as I have never been in the habit of carrying a camera around, and I used to miss priceless photo opportunities on a daily basis. Now, when I see a car on fire, a porch with 15 tricycles on it, or a girl peeing in the middle of the sidewalk in Wicker Park, I whip out my phone and capture it instantly. When I do, I amuse myself by deeming it art, and apparently I'm not the only one.
The Chicago Art Department has organized an exhibition of new art made with iPhones, most likely because there's so darn much of it. Plus, if you think about it, we are in the midst of an incredible technological revolution and iPhone art is a symptom of this distinct moment in time (whether you like it or not). And that's pretty cool.
The show, amusingly titled iPhone Therefore I Art, is the culmination of a class led by CAD artist Mike Nourse, in which ten local artists met weekly, working towards a completed project in the forms of photo, digital sketching (finger painting), animation, sound, and video--all made with iPhones, of course. For this exhibition, in addition to local artists, Nourse brought in iPhone artists from as far away as Russia, Norway, Spain, France, and Germany. The end-result is a comprehensive investigation and celebration of this fancy new tool. iPhone Therefore I Art addresses issues dealing both the identity of the artists using iPhones and the identity of art itself. Check out the show to see how the ubiquitous iPhone has worked its way into contemporary art, and to imagine where it will go next.
iPhone Therefore I Art opens this Friday, January 8, at Chicago Art Department (1837 S. Halsted). The public reception is from 6-10pm.
"Weatherbee's Revenge," a solo show by California-bred New York artist Mark Mulroney is opening at ebersmoore gallery next Friday. The work, though "dirty" in nature, has a clean, pop sensibility that makes it massively appealing. You must admit, Mulroney makes reliving the horrors of adolescence kind of fun.
The press release for the show opens with Mulroney explaining how a book about puberty scarred him as a child. He describes how his youthful imagination completely misconstrued the information given him: "My theory was as follows...If you are ever to shower with another boy this giant sperm would erupt from your stomach, fall to the floor of the shower and lay there wet and smiling all the while whistling a little tune."
Recently, trends like the Renegade Craft Fair and the Slow Food Movement have shown people are recoiling from today's mass produced, dehumanized, and automated way of doing things. On the heels of this trend is the Apostles of Beauty exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago. Much like today, the Arts and Crafts movement stemmed from an anti-industrialist mentality that placed an importance on thoughtful design and handmade artifacts. The exhibit is vast and varied and what is truly fascinating is every piece of art came from private collections in the Chicago area.
Although most people were huddled around the pictorialist photography portion of the exhibit, the most "wow" inducing segment was the Japanism display. By the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, Japanese style and woodblock prints were wildly popular (Frank Lloyd Wright was an avid collector). A Japanist-style Tiffany Lamp brilliantly glowing against the wall is hard to miss. Its dragonfly shade and mosaic base detail is breathtaking.
This is a nicely curated show, especially for those interested in interior design, architecture, and Chicago history. It closes January 31st.
Organized by the Philadelphia Museum of Art and now on display at the Art Institute of Chicago, James Castle: A Retrospective is an exhibit that would be a shame to miss. Lynne Cook of Artforum named this show one of the best of 2009. The show closes on January 3rd so don't waste any time.
Castle was born in Garden Valley, Idaho in 1899, deaf and mute. Even though he went to a school for the blind and deaf, he never even learned sign language and remained illiterate. He was a self-taught artist whose only real communication and form of self-expression was through this art. He made a seemingly endless collection of drawings made from only his spit and charcoal as well as small books and paper and string constructed sculptures.
The drawings have a certain density and surprisingly precise yet imperfect perspective skills. Castle's work is centered on observations of home: drawing over the pages of his school books, drawings and paper sculpture of different porch doors, and studies of his home where his parents ran a local post office. It was in this post office that Castle took inspiration from newspapers, mail-order catalogs, and magazines. Although he never left Idaho and had almost no communication tools, he was able to interact with the outside world through his reappropriation of these commercial images.
As museum-goers wandered through the many rooms housing this huge retrospective, I caught the words, "Child-like." Castle's work could be considered "Outsider" or "Folk" but these terms have become problematic and condescending precisely because of descriptions like the ones overheard in the museum. It is impossible to create from within a vacuum. Perhaps Castle was never professionally trained or wouldn't be able to name artistic influences but he created for himself as a way to express and communicate. The best way to view this show would be to leave the labels behind and listen to what Castle has to say.
Starting on January 26, UIC's Gallery 400 is hosting The Free Store, a nomadic, temporary store full of free stuff that moves around the city. It only works, though, if it has stuff in it. If you've got something to get rid of, perhaps a Christmas fruitcake or an ugly sweater, drop it off so it can be art for a little while. Then, if it's lucky, someone will take it home and love it in a way you never could.
Items can be dropped off at Gallery 400 during open hours beginning January 5. Pick-ups can be arranged for some items or larger collections on a case-by-case basis. For questions on what items and services are acceptable, or to try and arrange a pick-up, you can contact The Free Store directly through their website or by calling 773-562-1428. They want anything and everything except people, animals, toxic stuff, and illegal stuff. Gallery 400 is located at 400 S. Peoria.
I met street artists Viking and Goons for an interview a few weeks ago at a dive in Logan Square that is adored by loyal locals for its warm, Cheers-ey spirit. Viking is probably best known for his skulls and anthropomorphized wind-blowing clouds. Goons is known for his stylized, teethy portraits. Their work is scattered all over the city, much of it rather large and very detailed. Viking and Goons are sort of second-generation street artists, hailing from a tradition popularized by the likes of Basquiat, a grassroots art movement, not to be confused with graffiti. Grafitti is more complicated in the sense that it involves more street politics and violence, and less complicated in the sense that it is basically a spray-painted human version of a dog peeing on a fire hydrant.
If you've never been to I Space Gallery in River North before, go see "Architecture of Crisis" before it closes this Saturday along with the gallery itself. "Architecture of Crisis," co-curated by Beat Steuri, Julie Larsen and Roger Hubeli with the help of U of I architecture students, rethinks how to use existing housing materials to benefit the environment. This reexamination is important considering there is a potential surplus of 22 million vacant homes due the housing bubble and economic crash in the coming months.
In yesterday's Sun-Times, Hubeli said "In America, standard construction is harmful to the environment on so many levels. Not only do we use cheap materials that are not sustainable, but we also have created an illusion of value."
The show is a bittersweet elucidation on the current state of real estate that coincides with the closing of the University of Illinois' I Space Gallery in River North. In October, I spoke with Mary Antonakos, the gallery's director since its opening 18 years ago. With all the budget cuts, she explained, they just couldn't afford to run the gallery anymore and they were out of solutions.
The show and gallery's last day is Saturday, December 19th. It is free.
The non-profit artist's alliance organization, Chicago Urban Art Society (CUAS) is rolling out their annual DIY Silk Screening 101 Workshop beginning Jan. 9, 2010. The two 3-hour courses cost $75 and include all the materials a budding silk screen-printer might need, including "takeaways," and will be located at Bridgeport, 37th & Morgan St. The workshops will run from 11am to 2pm with three groups. (Here are photos from last year's workshop.)
Group 1 starts Jan. 9 & 16, Group 2 starts Jan. 30 & 6 and Group 3 starts Feb. 20 & 27. For more information visit their website, call: (773) 318-9407.
Influenced by the ever-changing urban contemporary art movement, Chicago Urban Art Society (CUAS) located at 1048 West 37th St., offers Chicago's visual artist community representation, learning opportunities and forums for conversation. For a listing of further events, visit http://chgourbanartsociety.carbonmade.com/.
CUAS is also accepting exhibition proposals and artist portfolios to be considered for their new gallery space. They're asking for artist's info to be sent by email in no particular format.
It's been described as reading like "poetic time capsules," remnants of societal cast-offs.
Juan Angel Chavez's "Dragging the Leash," at Linda Warren Fine Art Gallery, 1052 W. Fulton Market, opened Dec. 4 and will run through Jan. 16, 2010. This is the first solo exhibition of an artist so thoroughly invested in Chicago's community art scene you'd be hard-pressed not to have seen his work.
The exhibition is Chavez's personal representation of the "urban jungle of Chicago" comprised of collages made from carefully foraged "rescued artifacts." The objects, sculptures, assemblages, light boxes and instillations were cultivated by the Mexican-born, local artist and former School of the Art Institute student.
Chavez, as a member of the Chicago Public Art Group, has been commissioned by the city to paint murals for the Chicago Park District, the CTA, the Sun-Times, and the Toman Branch Library, among many others and has been exhibited at the MCA, the Mexican Fine Art Center Museum (where he was once an intern) and the Hyde Park Art Center.
An opening reception with Chavez and artist, Shannon Kerrigan--also represented at the gallery--will be on Friday, Dec. 11 from 6- 9pm.
Hey, check it out, it's winter in Chicago during a shaky economic time. How many of you can recall a time when there have been so many vacant storefronts in your neighborhood? Have been downtown recently and seen the spaces waiting for some enterprising boutique, or another Starbuck's to move in? I can recall when all of Fullerton from Halsted to Pulaski was boarded up, but that was a long time ago, long enough in fact that we don't just board everything up anymore. Pop up galleries are the new busy bee board up, the idea is too keep the building viable, while owners can find suitable tenets.
Artists around the country are benefiting from these vacant store fronts by being able to show work in high traffic areas. The Chicago Loop Alliance, who a few years ago brought us Looptopia is now offering Pop Up Galleries one which features the work of Sara Schnadt (who we interviewed last year). "Inspired by the idea that we simultaneously live in a real and virtual world, and that the virtual is infinitely expansive, Network uses large quantities of electric yellow twine and mirror to suggest a virtual network landscape cutting through an otherwise ordinary space." Sara's Pop Up Gallery is called Network and can be seen throughout December at 220 South Wabash.
For a guy who doesn't even have a Wikipedia page, Gregory Battcock had a very interesting life, and an equally interesting death. Born in 1937, Battcock was a painter in the early 1960s who found his way into several of Andy Warhol's films (he starred in "Horse" and "Drunk"), and later he became a critic with eclectic interests--he wrote about minimalism and performance and video art as well as the aesthetics of ocean liners. He lived a short life, though, and was found dead on Christmas day in 1980 on the balcony of his San Juan condo. He was stabbed 102 times.
Funeral is the third and final installation at the temporary alternative art space, Garage Spaces. Perhaps you remember the last one, Stolen, which received a lot of press. Funeral opens tomorrow, Friday, December 11 at 5pm and closes the same night at 10pm.
For Funeral, artists and curators Mike Bancroft and Evan Plummer will complete the series with a performance that poses a dialogue on the culture and commerce of death in contemporary America. Garage Spaces will be recreated as a funeral home/parlor to mourn the death of Garage Spaces. Viewers can participate in the performance, if they want, by communally mourning their losses in life.
Garage Spaces is located at 1337 North Maplewood Ave. Admission is free. Call 773-216-5580 for more information.
Angel Otero is Chicago art's most precious baby bird. He graduated from SAIC with an MFA last spring, was released into the wild, and has since been included in the MCA's Constellation show and won a prestigious Leonore Annenberg Fellowship grant. He has a giant solo show coming up at the Cultural Center (opening January 29,) and his first solo show at Kavi Gupta Gallery opens this Saturday (December 12.)
His paintings are colorful and textural, oscillating between representation and abstraction. They often incorporate unusual elements like dried oil paint skins and lacy lines of silicone, somehow squeezed onto the canvas, resembling the decorative icing on a birthday cake. His work is deeply intuitive and often quite personal, reminisces of his childhood in Puerto Rico, beautiful amorphous glimmers of memories.
Otero has achieved impressive, yet well-deserved, notoriety for a painter who is not yet thirty. I look forward to growing up in the art world with him and watching his work evolve over the next few decades.
It's not easy shopping for the artistic type, and sometimes thinking outside the box goes beyond the time-consuming holiday shopping list. Don't worry; we've done the leg work at various artist-centric gift shops around the city--and of course, online--along with a few ideas to motivate an eclectic shopping spree:
This mini shop of student art from Columbia College carries quite impressive photographs, unique stationary, stylish dresses, eclectic fashion accessories and bags, interesting silk-screen prints (I found one with a squid fighting a polar bear), and a plethora of art of various media. The shop, which opened a little over a year ago, is an opportunity for students to make money off their art year-round. While the online shop isn't set up yet, the shop on campus is like an art-instillation in itself, with a claw-machine of t-shirts and vending machines of buttons.
It's that time of year again. Redmoon's Winter Pageant is already well in session, and is proving quite popular with critics and kids alike.
This annual celebration of the seasons is surrealistic and unconventional, in the Redmoon tradition, and promises to entertain folks of all ages.
The show is running through December 27 at Redmoon Central: 1463 W. Hubbard. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for seniors and kids under 10. Call 312-850-8440 for more information or visit Redmoon's website.
Co-Prosperity Sphere is hosting Seeking Art Bargain Basement, a quasi-conceptual art sale just in time for the holidays. According to their website, "In a world of simultaneous surplus and exclusion, the Bargain Basement seeks to raise issues inherent in today's art market including the accessibility of art, the practice of limiting dispersal to drive up value, the economy of art objects (and art non-objects), the speculative nature of the art market, and whether there is a stigma for artists to exhibit or sell in certain venues."
In other words, strapped-for-cash-artists are seriously discounting their work, and those of us who are looking for unique Christmas gifts are in luck.
The Art Bargain Basement has hundreds of works by almost 50 local, national, and international artists, all for sale at $200 and under (with a lot in the $10-$75 range). The best part is that all proceeds from the sale go to the artists. The sale is open Saturdays from 1pm to 6pm or by appointment through December 19 at Co-Prosperity Sphere: 3219-21 S. Morgan St. Contact Ed Marszewski at edmarlumpen@gmail.com to make an appointment. Contact huimintsen@gmail.com for more information.
Last night was the opening for Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley's photomicrographs at the Carl Hammer Gallery. Bentley was the person to discover no two snowflakes are alike. The photomicrographs on display are small (only 3"x3.5") so you'll find yourself bent over, face inches away, examining the first photos ever taken of snow crystals. This show makes for a perfect holiday-themed outing without any of the commercial cheesiness so prevalent this time of year.
Bentley, a farmer, captured these images by adapting a microscope to a bellows camera in 1885. He took pictures of over 5,000 snowflakes in his lifetime. In 1925, Bentley described the wonder of snowflakes, "Every crystal was a masterpiece of design and no one design was ever repeated. When a snowflake melted, that design was forever lost. Just that much beauty was gone, without leaving any record behind." This show is up until January 30th, so stop in while snow still seems beautiful because by February it will have lost its wonder for any Chicagoan.
I attended my first PechaKucha night at the Hackerspace known as Pumping Station: One, last night. If you are anything like I was before I went to this, you will have no idea what any of that means, and that's okay.
Lets start with PechaKucha; the name is based on the Japanese word for "chitchat", it was originally devised in Tokyo as an event for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public. It has evolved into what almost seems like a party game for the both creative and tech savvy, although neither of these are prerequisites. PechaKucha is essentially a speaker series, for instance, I saw seven different speakers talk about things ranging from the history of metal music to geology. Presenters have to follow some simple guidelines that limit their time, and the way they might decide to present, mainly, 20 images x 20 seconds. Each talk is then limited to 400 seconds (6 min 40sec) and hilarity ensues as the speakers try and fit, and fill information for each image.
Next we tackle the age old question what is a Hackerspace. These are community-operated places, where people can get together to work on projects, simply stated a hackerspace is a geek headquarters. Pumping Station: One, on north Elston, is Chicago's hackerspace, and I encourage you to check out an event at some point, especially if you are someone who has projects. Word of warning, this is not your typical stitch and bitch.
Pumping Station: One is a member based non-profit, but that non-profit status seems to only ensure that there is a space to house something as unique as this is. Okay it might not be a unique as all that, but I do have to say that within an environment such as this it is hard to imagine most people having this sort of experience.
Production is infectious and PS One, having 40 some odd active members, is a snowballing mountain of productivity. That sort of environment can make a huge impact on a person, even a single visit by a less than inspired tinkerer may yield a lifetime of change.
Allan Sekula's current solo show at the Renaissance Society, titled Polonia and Other Fables, was executed over a three-year period and is comprised of 40 photographs and related text. Also on display in the gallery is an older piece of his, an installation of a slideshow, titled "Walking on Water."
Motifs such as the hammer and sickle, May Day parades, black sites, music, and the artist's family are repeated throughout the exhibition. We can tell that Sekula is definitely trying to say something about geopolitics, and perhaps something about heritage and assimilation, but it's difficult to figure out exactly what without extensive research. The subtly snarky title of the show, Polonia and Other Fables, is the clearest indicator. For interested viewers who want to try to piece together the puzzle, Sekula, who is an accomplished writer in addition to a photographer, has provided extensive texts both on the walls and in laminated folders on tables within the exhibition. The writing in the folders reads like spontaneous memoirs. Quotes spur rants and elicit memories, which are often vague and poetic. In this sense, the writing mimics the photographs, but I'm not sure how much it adds to the photographs. It almost seems like the photographs should be supplementing the text, instead of vice-versa.
Yesterday, the Tribune had a story about "The Ghost of Daniel Boone," which is the permanent installation of murals created by 54 Boone Elementary students. The murals, to be finished next week, will be divided among three floors of the school and incorporates a story written by the fifth-graders. The story is part historical, part fiction, and the whole project is conducted by Deb Sokolow.
Sokolow's work is currently being shown at "Heartland" at the Smart Museum and has previously shown at the Museum of Contemporary Art's "12x12" Series in 2005. Her quirky and imaginative illustrations seem to rub off on her teaching style. Lauren Viera from the Tribune offers examples of the student assignments such as "Chair Sketcher, Ghost Recorder, and Smell Recorder"
The article doesn't mention if the murals will be on view to the public but it would be great if they hosted a spooky exhibition opening complete with ghost stories.
Studio Chicago is a year-long Chicago art community project beginning in January, designed to build and strengthen networks between artists and arts organizations. The deadline for applying for the first round of Featured Programs (Jan - Mar 2010) is tomorrow, December 1.
Featured Programs pose new ways of thinking about the artist's studio, serve as forums for exchanging solutions, or reflect on the practical realities of working in the studio. All programs must address any or all of these questions:
How and why does the studio matter to art and artists today?
What is the artist's studio today?
What infrastructures are needed to sustain thriving art practice, and what role does the artist studio play within this infrastructure?
The book is the first major monograph about Edgar Miller (1899-1993), who was internationally heralded for his organically modern reinterpretations of Victorian-era Chicago buildings beginning in the 1920s. In his transformations, Miller used painting, glasswork, woodwork and other fine art techniques to construct wholly new environments.
I want to make sure that everyone knows how awesome AREA Chicago is. AREA is a local art/research/education/activism organization that is manifested in both a biannual magazine and a series of sponsored events. For the past four years, since AREA was created in 2005, they have focused on producing and strengthening networks among grassroots practitioners and given a voice to underrepresented Chicagoans and Chicago issues.
I got an email from them on Friday, letting me know that they've just received a $6,000 MacArthur grant for being so awesome. Check out their website, read some articles, go to some meetings if you want, and bathe in the awesomeness yourself. In such a segregated city, it is important that we reach out and stay connected with fellow Chicagoans so we know what's going on around us and so we can network with and support each other.
A little over a week ago I went to the press opening for the new Italics: Italian Art Between Tradition and Revolution show at the MCA. The guest curator, Francesco Bonami, who is also a curator of the 2010 Whitney Biennial, led a tour through the show, displaying an almost maternal pride. Italics presents the work of over 80 Italian artists who were active during the past four decades. The work is varied, some the art on display pays homage to Italian tradition while other work breaks entirely away from it. To someone who is not familiar with Italian identity politics, the show can be enjoyed simply as a display of contemporary art that most of us have never seen before, by artists who many of us have never heard of before.
It's that time of year again: when holiday lists, coupons and gift ideas jotted down on post-its fill your desk. But sometimes, shopping at department stores just doesn't cut it for your more eclectic, arty friends. So, for those unconventional one-of-a-kind gifts, you may want to hit up the School of the Art Institute this weekend.
Photographs, paintings, sculptures, ceramics, prints, drawings, jewelry, fashion accessories and handmade paper designs crafted by students from one of the most influential independent art schools in the country will be sold on Friday Nov. 20 (11am- 7pm) and Saturday Nov. 21 (10am - 5pm) at the MacLean Center Ballroom, 112 S. Michigan Ave.
Who knows, you could be investing in a piece by the next Walt Disney, Grant Wood, Edward Gorey or Jeff Koons. Visitors will also have the opportunity to chat with some of the art students before taking home a piece of their work.
The school's 21st Annual Holiday Art Sale is also a chance for the starving art students to luck out as well: 85 percent of the individual art sales' proceeds go directly to the artist -so think of it as a gift that keeps on giving.
For more information on the event contact SAIC Campus Life at (312) 629-6880 or student_life@saic.edu.
If you are reading this I can assume you go to art shows often enough to warrant reading an arts blog. Whether that is true or not, I am sure Tipping Observation at the Mars Gallery would be one of the most shiny show you would come across in, and for, quite some time.
Syndy Ziegenfuss' work consists of painting, collage, I am sure some printmaking as well as other sorts of mark making. What seems to separate Syndy's work from other collage/mixed medium works is partly their size, all of these works are 50" X 50". In their presence you are almost enveloped, an illustration that was once only 3 inches now looms, life size, in front of you, kind of both creepy and kitschy.
Now on to the shiny part. These large collages are covered by a thick blanket of resin, poured by Syndy's wife, it is like the tables at Lazo's on Western. This resin covers everything, and at first being in front of these works is fun and playful. That doesn't last however mainly because of the standard quality of each piece.
We often find ourselves in front of paintings or prints or even collages and the surface quality changes. Maybe not within the same piece but between works there are usually some changes in the surface, but not in this case. There are numerous studies about how when you eat something, with a distinct texture, your mouth gets tired and bored quickly. I would use that same analogy about my eyes in an art show that utilizes the same exact surface quality throughout. Individually, or part of a group show these works would stand out because of their approachability and surface, unfortunately those qualities do not stand up in this case.
The directors of Home Gallery, in Hyde Park, have an exciting and interesting pilot event coming up called the Op Shop. The name refers to Opportunity Shop, and the idea here is to open a temporary space where artists can bring their work, as well as services and ideas, in order to barter, sell and openly exchange. I don't want to give the impression that this is a just retail space, although that is one aspect of what will happen within this space. Artists are being encouraged to be a part of this event organically, utilizing the space to create a dynamic and evolving installation. All mediums are welcome, so artists may host a workshop, lessons, or performances as well as sell paintings or sculptures.
Another aspect of this pilot project, which, if all goes well there will be more of, is to work in conjunction with property owners, bringing attention to their vacant spaces while helping to keep the Op Shop's costs down. This will also attract new consumers to an area and will aid in revitalizing neighborhood shops that may have seen a drop in sales over the past few months. This Op Shop will be located in a vacant space currently owned by Mac Properties in Hyde Park at 1613 E. 55th St.
If you are interested in participating in The Op Shop, you should contact the Laura Shaeffer immediately. They are also looking for people to donate time to help run the space during its open hours.
Maker of those now-iconic neighborhood typographic prints, Ork Posters will be opening an exclusive holiday shop which will feature their own typographic t-shirts, prints, postcards and posters as well as artwork from other various artists.
Ork World Headquarters is hosting a grand opening for their shop on Nov. 14, set to run through Dec. 23, in West Lakeview, 3759 N. Ravenswood Ave, Suite 133.
What started out as Chicago-import Jenny Beorkrem's search for a neighborhood poster with clean typographical design in 2007, has led to a print design sensation sold in a growing number of framing and print shops, such as Lakeview's Foursided, 2939 N. Broadway St., among other locations. Today, there are more than a dozen different designs featuring many cities or locations (Boston, Brooklyn, the Great Lakes, and even a map of the human heart and brain).
Artists being featured include Yellena James, Andy Pratt (who creates colorful watercolor prints of city skylines from Manhattan to Hong Kong), Frank Chimero, local printer/designer Starshaped Press (who can be commissioned to create stationary, invites or custom illustrations), The Little Friends of Printmaking, and many other spectacular prints begging to be hung in your apartment.
Roadworthy, paintings by Kevin Sonmor, opened on Friday Nov 6th at Addington Gallery, luckily for everyone who didn't get to the opening night it will be up through Christmas. Kevin's work is a delight to behold, and I mean that. These paintings are breathtaking, Kevin is hinting at landscape while utilizing abstract expressionistic movements to create meditative spaces. His use of space allows the viewer to search the painting and study his technique.
His ability to render is obvious, but his exploration of the paint is what is incredible. Thick passages of rich red paint, cover the majority of the paintings. So much so that it may be surprising that the show demonstrates an overall feeling of calm. Kevin has been painting, and has been recognized for doing so, for a long time now, this show proves why and really should not be missed.
I'll be honest with you. I don't exactly know what the hell is going on. I just found out about this. It sounds pretty darn awesome, though. Apparently what is happening, right now, is a 24-hour decentralized art show all over our wonderful city, ending at midnight tonight.
The show is called "Something New." It was organized and curated by Nikola Tosic (an internet artist and poet based in Serbia) and Sarah Weis (multi-media artist, performer and creative director of i^3 hypermedia.) Check out this webpage to find out exactly what artwork is being shown today and where. The idea is basically to turn the whole city of Chicago into an art viewing space for one day, a sort of choose-your-own-adventure concept, relying heavily on the participation of the audience.
Making your own stencils for artwork and decoration is a relatively easy thing to do -- it just takes a bit of time and patience. A stencil is a form of template used to draw or paint identical shapes and patterns and is usually made of a thin sheet of material such as wax-coated paper, cardboard, vinyl or mylar. What is perhaps most important about the material is it does not allow moisture to pass through.
There are several ways to make stencils, as well as different uses for each. Here, I'll cover how to make my favorite one-time-use and reusable stencils.
Last Friday, SAIC opened its doors to the public for their annual graduate open studio night-- an opportunity for every single MFA student to display their newest work amidst their personal collections of sketches, magazine clippings, sofas, mini fridges, and wacky ephemera for all to see. Hundreds of people weaved like ants through endless corridors of little white studios, armed with little plastic cups of soda and fistfuls of leftover Halloween candy, creating some pretty epic gaper's blocks. I went alone this year, a good move, I think, so I was able to efficiently weave through the crowds, spending at least a few seconds with every single piece of art on view.
The experience of seeing that much new work in so little time is mindnumbingly stimulating and inspiring. Even if some of the work is a little lame, there is plenty of amazing work to make up for it-- too much, actually. Which is why, for today, I am only going to share with you some highlights from the painting and drawing studios. Sculpture, photography, performance, etc, will come soon. Upon viewing these images and the accompanying artist's websites I think you'll find that painting is alive and well, and abstraction, either gooey or op-arty, is super hot right now.
Today's front page of the Sun-Times features a story about Pedro Bell. He wrote many of the liner notes and drawings for George Clinton and the Parliament Funkadelic. Sadly, he has never received any compensation for his work. Living in the "shabby" Hyde Park Arms, he is practically blind, living with a wound on his ankle that won't heal, receiving dialysis three times a week, and battling eviction orders.
His work was featured in the Museum of Contemporary Art's traveling exhibit, "Sympathy for the Devil: Art and Rock 'n' Roll since 1967," but other than that has received little recognition and no money for this art. His younger brother, Maillo Tsuru says, "We're just looking for collectors at this point. There's no reason a world-class artist shouldn't have patrons."
Chicago experimental musicians Haptic have paired up with video artist Lisa Slodki to present the Museum of Contemporary Art's latest exhibit that is part of the monthly UBS 12x12 New Artist/ New Work series.
The exhibit runs until Nov. 29 and features a live performance as part of the MCA's Free Tuesdays. The exhibit, and in particular the live performance, explores the relationship between sounds and images. Slodki manipulates these images in response to Haptic's audio. Haptic, in turn, changes, adjusts and manipulates their audio contribution to the exhibit.
Live performances start at 7 p.m. on Nov. 10, 17 and 24. The artists will also lead a gallery talk at 6 p.m. prior to the Nov. 10 performance.
The Torn Pages Show is a Chicago collaboration of artists and writers teaming up to write and draw "pages torn from our most favorite imaginary books": eleven children's stories of their own invention. Artist-writer pairs include Joe Meno & Cody Hudson, Amy Guth & Pea-Be, Zach Dodson & Allison Dunn Burque, and more.
The show is set to open at OhNo!Doom Collective in early 2010, but curator Josh Lucas hopes to immortalize the original tales in a small, full-color book. Like many other creativetypes, he's using Kickstarter. Help the Torn Pages show reach their $2,100 goal by December 5th -- they're currently a little under halfway there.
Donate here. Preview images and excerpts from the show after the jump.
Age 81 and still taking pictures every day, Barbara Crane's career retrospective, Challenging Vision, at the Chicago Cultural Center (CCC), hardly scratches the surface of her incredible body of work. She has shown in 170 group exhibitions, 75 solo exhibitions, and her work is included in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Museum of Contemporary Photography. Crane also taught at the School of the Art Institute for 28 years, making Chicago a central player in her canon of work.
The historical CCC, "The People's Palace," is an excellent home for this show. Nestled among Chicago skyscrapers is the most fulfilling way to view Crane's graphic explorations in her Chicago Loop Series, 1976-78 or her photos of Chicago commuters pummeling the viewer in her Commuter Discourse, 1978. Chicago Beaches and Parks, 1972-78 captures Windy City summers with glossy, bikini-clad bodies that look like stills from a multi-racial version Beach Blanket Bingo.
Crane never stopped exploring images or how to capture them.
The key to viewing this exhibit is time. This is Crane's life's work in which her constant curiosity is deeply evident. Viewers should explore this retrospective the way Crane would--contemplate each photo and allow every to subject reveal its individual narrative.
The show is up until January 10 with gallery talks held November 19th with Crane essayist Abagail Foerstner, December 17th with curator Whitney Bradshaw, and on January 7th with the artist herself.
One would not usually consider a silver teapot or a reclining chair to be art. A wooden wine cabinet seems more appropriate in a furniture store than an art museum. But what if it's a teapot from acclaimed manufacturer Christopher Dresser, or a chair designed by Frank Lloyd Wright? Now that is art.
Arts and Crafts are daily labors that integrate art with everyday life. This idea is what the newest exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago attempts to show. Apostles of Beauty: Arts and Crafts from Britain to Chicago features nearly two hundred objects in a wide expanse of media, from ceramics to stained glass, woodwork to embroidery.
On Thursday November 5th the Uncommon Ground at 1401 W Devon, in Edgewater, will officially unveil their new exhibit. On display until February 1st, this exhibit features the work of the director of the Chicago Printmakers Collaborative, Deborah Maris Lader. Don't be fooled by the whole printmaking thing, the actual amount of prints in the show are fairly scarce, the bulk of the work are described as mixed media photographic paintings, this just means she uses an array of mediums which involves photography to create the work.
Family members can be the hardest to love, but the easiest to hate, and performance pieces in The Happy Family Series explore those "harmonic antagonisms." Presented by The Magpies, the pieces all take their cues from P.T. Barnum's controversial American Museum exhibit, The Happy Family, originally sold as "a miscellaneous collection of predators and prey, living together harmoniously in one large cage, each of them being mortal enemy of every other, but contentedly playing and frolicking together, without injury or discord."
Curated by Shawn Reddy and emceed by H.B. Ward (aka "The Tamer"), the lineup showcases more than 30 artists in three weeks. Performances range from multi-media monologues to cabaret and country music to good old-fashioned acting. For a detailed list, click here.
Shows are Fridays and Saturdays at 7pm and Sundays at 3pm, Nov. 13 through Dec. 6 (except Thanksgiving weekend). Tickets -- $12 each or three shows for $30 -- are available from The Viaduct or at 773-296-6024.
A collection of Gary Cialdella's photographs of an area that begins in southern Chicago, and ends somewhere in Northwest Indiana, has just been published in a new book. This book of photographs took me a long time to digest, mainly because I know the Calumet region and was not very familiar with this sort of documentary photography. I don't know the area quite as well as Gregg Hertzlieb, editor and contributing essayist for this book, but I have spent enough time in the area to be familiar with the subject matter. It isn't easy to look at photograph after photograph of things you've seen before, all taken in black and white from a six foot eye level. It becomes monotonous and tiring after a while, but I am beginning to understand that there is a lot more here than was originally able to see.
The new show at Home Gallery of the works of Casey Roberts and Deedee Davis I think will appeal to a wide audience. Casey's cyanotypes, and the layered glass works of Deedee, at first seem to contrast each other fairly harshly. This, for me, ended up being just an initial reaction, because upon a second look I saw that the playfulness and mystery between the two styles complimented each other quite well.
As I approached the entrance to Three Perspectives and a Short Scenario, Liam Gillick's new survey at the MCA, I noticed a man in front of me amble up to it, pause at the edge of it, and stick his head in, quickly accessing the room to make sure there was nothing worth actually entering the room for, and abruptly turn and walk away.
If you have more patience for contemporary art than him, you will actually enter the room, spend a few minutes with the work, a few more minutes reading the wall text, and likely walk out confused and disappointed.
Floating World Gallery had its inaugural show today, with a wonderful display of mezzotints by Yozo Hamaguchi. Yozo was an oil painter until meeting E.E. Cummings in France who mentioned that his drawings would look great as prints. The rest is history as they say, Hamaguchi returned to Japan and studied printmaking. The prints on display at Floating World are from many stages throughout Yozo Hamaguchi's career. With such wide variety of work it is easy to see the progression of skill Mr. Hamaguchi achieves within the process.
A Mezzotint is done in one of two ways, additive or subtractive. Hamaguchi utilized the former, although the later has historically been more popular. You can easily see that this is the case, because along side of the prints at Floating World are the plates, which is rare for a gallery to put on display. Only adding marks where he wants the ink to print, these plates are inscribed with millions of tiny dots and line to create vast areas of even tones and gradations. His ability to manipulate the tools in creating these prints are on display for all to see, and his mastery of this technique unquestionable.
The one thing that did overshadow the Hamaguchi exhibit though, was the opening of the Floating World Gallery itself. This huge space dedicated strictly to the art of printmaking was astonishing. As a sometimes printer myself it is a joy to know that Chicago, which has a deep history with printmaking, has another stellar venue, for not only showing and selling, but for educating people on prints and the printmaking processes. With an intimate showing space upstairs and the large open gallery down, this space it sure to attract, as well as create, print lovers of all sorts.
Forgive me if this is old news, but I've just discovered the goldmine of videos on CAN TV's website. This is especially exiting because I don't have cable, so I don't get CAN TV on my television, which seems ironic somehow, but whatever. Money doesn't grow on trees.
Anyway, check out the great videos they've got on there. The local events videos are super interesting, and they have a pretty awesome collection of art-related stuff. Like this video documentation of a recent Artists at Work forum about how to make money outside of the white cube.
Several Chicago-based art institutions have banded up to form Studio Chicago, a year-long collaborative project, focusing on all aspects of the artist's studio. Through various exhibitions and events around the city, working artists and their sites of creative production will be celebrated and investigated from historical and contemporary perspectives.
Studio Chicago launches with an Artists at Work Forum at the Cultural Center on Oct. 29th, and will go on for a year, manifesting itself though various exhibitions, talks, publications, tours, and research.
This should be fun- the folks down at The Hideout are putting on their own, probably even more twisted, version of Little Shop Of Horrors, produced, directed by, and starring Hideout staff, friends, and family. I am particuarly exited to see local poet and incredible soul/funk/Americana singer Marvin Tate play Audrey II "The Plant."
There will be six showings, one every evening Oct. 22-25th, and 3pm showings on the 24th and 25th. Tickets are $15. The Hideout: 1354 W. Wabansia. 773-227-4433. 21+
Golden Age, an innovative and niche bookstore on west 18th Street, has and interesting show of works opening on Saturday Oct. 17th. The show consists only of works previously published by Medium Rare. Founded in 2008 by Milano Chow, Medium Rare works with young emerging artists to publish works in an affordable and accessible format.
Mike Bancroft is an interdisciplinary community artist from Chicago and the founder and executive director of Co-op Image, a Non-Profit youth arts organization.
Gapers Block interviewed Bancroft at the site of his newest art installation, Stolen, which re-creates the claustrophobic space of a pawnshop out of a 3 car garage, executing a caustic aesthetic with ill installed faux wood paneling, low dropped ceilings, and mismatched fluorescent lighting.
The signature event is an opportunity for the approximately 130 works crafted by Marwen students, alumni, staff and teaching artists of various media to display and sell their work and is quite literally an investment in the future of Chicago artists.
The suggested donation on opening night is $20 and will be hosted with not only food, cocktails and music but a reflection with artists who will be present to discuss their work. The Art Fair exhibition will continue until Nov. 13. Hours are Saturday, Nov. 7, 12- 6pm and Mon.-Fri., 9am-6pm. Prices of the art work range from $50 - $1000.
Every good play should have sex, drugs, and timeless moral lessons. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom has all three, plus good jokes and even better music.
August Wilson's 1984 play, part of his Pittsburgh cycle, describes the plight of the black musician in depression-era Chicago. The story is masterfully directed by Ron OJ Parson and equally well executed by a small team of talented actors. Wilson's story is a quintessential drama, simultaneously timeless and modern, drawing from traditions of storytelling that go back to biblical times, and building up to an explosive ending.
I got to see the opening night of Binary, a show curated by Lauren and Francesco Levato, over at The Near Northwest Arts Council. The art show was nothing to rave about and I won't be doing that here although you can check it out through November 7, 2009. On the other hand the "Wetware Render Machine" was a hit with everyone.
This project, if you want to call it that, was an effort to create collaboratively. It unfortunately included all this writing about CGI computers, sampling and on off binary gibberish. The thing that actually took place at St Paul's Cultural Center they called "Wetware Render Machine," this was a live model session with artists, writers, students, parents, and all sort of people drawing and interacting in an open creative and active environment.
Lauren Levato actively invited people to draw, and create their own work on paper that was provided, or contribute to a number of works that were already started or even considered finished. This particular evenings event was not about one person effectively seeing through an idea or vision, although some may have seen it that way, but it was about a collective vision. That's what all the computer sampling talk was about, and although it makes sense, it made understanding the process difficult, and these days I would rather see art simplified than made overly complex. The Wetware Render Machine was as simple as it sounds complex and if you didn't get a chance to experience it, you have until the 7th of November to see the remnants of a great night of active, interactive and expressive art making.
I would like to add that there may have been a pay off for all the CGI talk that I was not there for but regardless I had a great time and bravo to both Lauren and Francesco.
The Art Institute of Chicago is hosting the first comprehensive museum exhibition of artworks by the late, self-taught artist, James Castle. Deaf since birth, Castle never adopted speech, sign language, lip-reading, writing, or any of the usual modes of communicating with other people. Instead, he communicated through his art, which, as a result, is charming and enigmatic.
The retrospective opens on October 10th and will run through January 3rd.
Tony Wight Gallery is very quiet right now, like the stark silence after a tornado passes through, but the scene is much less cluttered. In the front room, Robyn O'Neil's giant graphite drawings hang on the walls, floating in clean, white frames, with plenty of breathing room between them. They depict post-apocalyptic scenes, which, without a familiarity with her previous work, might just look like textural investigations of hair and water. In the back room, her small drawings continue the same style and theme, but more intimately, and an upside-down ship and a cluster of pyramids are added to the mix.
The exhibit focuses on three American abstract artists from the 1940s through the 1980s.
Members of The Seldoms will accompany the pieces with three new dances that respond to the vibrant, abstract works.
The Oct. 9 reception starts at 6 p.m. and includes a post-show discussion and "Paint with a Dancer" that includes cocktails provided by the Violet Hour.
Tickets are $30 for the reception, which starts at 6 p.m. at the Loyola University Museum of Art at 820 N. Michigan Ave.
Mark your calendar for two other performances: Oct. 24 at 3 p.m. and Tuesday Nov. 3 at 6 p.m. Tickets for those are $6 and include museum admission and a post-show discussion. Visit www.theseldoms.org for more information.
Renee Prible Una talks with ChicagoArts about how Teaching and her meditation practice inform her art making and had become an integral part of her process.
On Monday October 12th Renee will be doing a followup interview on ChicagoArts Live you will be able to ask questions and participate on UStream.
You can find out more about Renee on her website, and don't miss her shows in November at The Noyes Cultural Arts Center in Evanston and at Perimeter Gallery in Chicago.
Let me begin by saying October is the beginning of Chicago Artists Month, so there will be no shortage of art events, or wine and cheese for the next thirty days. Having said that, this weekend you will want to check out the Ravenswood Art Walk or RAW. You may have seen the crow logo on red posters around town, but if not don't worry, I will fill you in on the haps right now. 180 artists converge on the Ravenswood Corridor Saturday and Sunday from 11am - 6pm. There is a mapped route, and if you are inclined, the starting location is 4256 N Ravenswood (west side of the Metra tracks). This is the Central Gallery, and here you will be able to see one piece frome every artists involved in RAW Throughout the event you will also be able to participate in the GREAT ART RAFFLE featuring over $3,000 worth of art by some of our talented and most generous artists. There will also be FREE trolley service.
Don't forget to come to 4147 N Ravenswood to see the special exhibit: The Blago Project which is housed in Blagojevich's former offices (Where the FBI wiretapped and eventually raided!!) This project was open to anyone involved in the Ravenswood Art Walk and consists of artwork made to the theme of Rod Blagojevich.
If you were at the West Loop gallery openings on Sept. 11, you may have noticed a girl walking around with a dead cat on her head. As it turns out, the girl is an artist, an MFA student at UIC, and her name is Rebecca Beachy. The cat hat is one of her new pieces. I paid her a studio visit last week, and we talked about her work.
Kelly Reaves: Did you know that if you google "West Loop gallery openings," one of the first things that comes up is Alicia Eler's post on Chicago Now about you and your taxidermied cat hat?
Rebecca Beachy: Yeah, I saw that but I didn't know that it comes up when you google the art openings.
KR: Yep. You were at number three the first time I checked it but today you've moved up to the top. And your hat was also mentioned in an article on Art Talk Chicago about the openings. So I think it was a hit. How did you come up with the idea to make the hat?
I just got home from a remarkable show, so remarkable in fact, it kept me from going to the Gapers Block meet up this evening. Tonight, at the Co-Prosperity Sphere, was the opening of Tales from the Bubble, new work by Berry Sanders.
Now, I know what your thinking: retired running back Barry Sanders is making art now -- how awesome is that? And, as much as I would like to tell you that was true, it is just too good to be so. Berry Sanders is a painter from Eindhoven, in the Netherlands. He is in Chicago participating in a residency program at the Co-Prosperity Sphere.
These works are all large, black and white, oil paintings on a prepared paper, you "prepare" paper because otherwise you would get unsightly stains from both the turpentine and the oil. With the smallest dimension of every piece being 55 inches, these do demand a bit of attention. The imagery is obviously narrative, and in the statement for the show they address that calling the pieces "stories". These stories do have a lot to tell, although it is ultimately left to the viewer to decide how much and what.
Screenprinter Phineas X. Jones of Octophant takes us behind the scenes of the creation of a recent poster, showing how he built up "Mr. Spaceman" and his scantily clad victim from scratch.
See art by Jones and many more at the opening of My Kind of Town at Rotofugi's gallery, 1955 W. Chicago Ave., tonight from 7pm to 10pm.
Western Exhibitions is hosting a free gallery talk with Paul Nudd, creator of the playful and intricate, if slightly repulsive Vomitromiton painting show that is currently living in the gallery. The discussion starts at 6pm this Thursday, Sept. 24th. Western Exhibitions is located at 119 N Peoria St., on the 2nd Floor.
I got the opportunity to sit down with Paul Sierra and talk with him about being an artist. I find it very inspirational to do studio visits with artists, especially ones that are 20+ years my senior.
From Chicago, to Detroit, to Omaha, to Kansas, the curators of the Heartland exhibit journeyed throughout the Midwest to find contemporary artists who have reshaped the way they see the world. Their works of art have been organized at the Smart Museum of Art with the help of Van Abbemuseum, one of Europe's premier contemporary art institutions. This exhibition offers a distinctive look at the inventive forms of artistic creation found in the interior region of America.
The exhibit features site-specific installations and performances, drawings, photography, and videos by a diverse group of artists. Along with the art showcased at the museum, Heartland includes a series of lectures and programs which will challenge the ideas of community, place, and contemporary art in the world.
This is the first time this exhibition will take place in Chicago. It was previously on display in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, from October 2008 to February 2009. The goal of that show was to expose outsiders to the reality of the Midwest and scrape away the stereotypes that so dominate the European image of the American Heartland.
Now, this exhibit comes home to the place it was initially inspired by. Heartland opens at Smart Museum of Art on the University of Chicago's campus on October 1, 2009, and runs until January 17, 2010. For more information call (773) 702-0200, or email the museum: smart-museum@uchicago.edu
CAN-TV has just posted a video of a panel on making a living as an artist, featuring those who figured out a different solution to the art/money conundrum.
Compiled with Chicago Gallery News' gallery listings and their September 11th schedule, here is a map of the day's openings with their adjacent trolley stops to help ease transit tension.
A theme of examining identity through multidisciplinary infusions will take the Museum of Contemporary Art's stage this season as forthcoming core performances were recently announced.
The self-examining premise could also be reflected off-stage as well this year as the MCA continues efforts to advance performances, exhibitions and educational services by converging digital media.
"We hope to draw people's native interests in music, dance and theater while at the same time crossing interdisciplinary work: infusing music with dance, film with music, [etc.]," said MCA Director of Performance Programs, Peter Taub. "By and large we are living within this multidisciplinary world--so, why do we have to think of [performance] in discipline categories?"
Here's a preview of the MCA's highly anticipated multimedia performances--which will you attend?
If you've ever considered taking a continuing education course in the arts (or simply miss the hitting-the-books, cramming-for-tests collegiate rush) take note: Loyola University of Chicago has just announced their Continuum Fall courses.
The non-credit series of courses, lectures and workshops offer students of any age or interest more than 70 different options, many of which for a less than $300 tuition.
While also offering courses in professional development, sustainability studies and communications, here are some humanities courses--from art and architecture to history and literature--worth checking out, with their schedules and cost.
Reader Seth writes, "Seeing these by crosswalks all around the loop. Cool, because the paint used is the same as crosswalk and traffic line paint. Any info on the artist or explanation? Inquiring robots want to know."
As a matter of fact we do. They're the work of a New York-based street artist known by the moniker Stikman or Stickman. His stuff is all over Brooklyn and the rest of the city, and apparently he recently visited Chicago to lay down some work.
If you're interested in Chicago's thriving street art community, check out the Chicago Street Art group on Flickr.
"Blue Mountain," by Clare Rosean, is the fifth in a series of five works to be featured during Chicago Week, a collaboration between Gapers Block and the Rockford-based arts purveyor Wall Blank. Each image will be available for one week as a limited edition print through Wall Blank. 10% of the proceeds of all sales will benefit the Chicago Artists' Coalition. Check back every day this week for a new piece by and interview with a Chicago artist.
"Blue Mountain," oil paint on canvas, 2009
"Blue Mountain" is an illustration from a series of drawings Clare Rosean did for her picture book, "The Poet." It is about a woman who is afraid to leave her house. "Blue Mountain" illustrates her love for solitude.
"Isolated Building Study 42 (Chud's)," by David Schalliol, is the fourth in a series of five works to be featured during Chicago Week, a collaboration between Gapers Block and the Rockford-based arts purveyor Wall Blank. Each image will be available for one week as a limited edition print through Wall Blank. 10% of the proceeds of all sales will benefit the Chicago Artists' Coalition. Check back every day this week for a new piece by and interview with a Chicago artist.
"Isolated Building Study 42 (Chud's)," digital archival print, 20" x 13" inches, 2009
"'Isolated Building Study 42 (Chud's)' was taken on the South Side of Chicago in March 2009. I was out shooting for another project when the storm clouds broke and revealed the late afternoon sun -- I had to stop. Like so many buildings on South Ashland, this building has been converted into an automotive supply shop.
"The photograph is part of my Isolated Building Studies, a series exploring neighborhood change through the association between form and perception. Subject buildings are consistently framed to emphasize their relationship with their surroundings and to draw attention to the tension between their urban form and the absence of neighboring buildings. Examination of that tension is the starting point for a conversation about urban history and social change."
"Untitled," by Mark Hansen, is the third in a series of five works to be featured during Chicago Week, a collaboration between Gapers Block and the Rockford-based arts purveyor Wall Blank. Each image will be available for one week as a limited edition print through Wall Blank. 10% of the proceeds of all sales will benefit the Chicago Artists' Coalition. Check back every day this week for a new piece by and interview with a Chicago artist.
"Untitled," acrylic and oil on canvass, 62.5" x 47.5", 2009
"In 'Untitled,' I am acknowledging my direct references to architecture, the grid and hand painted signs. By working with the themes of slipping, breaking, tension and gravity, I am interested in manipulating form and space as a means of blurring the line between object and abstraction."
"Like an Asteroid," by Sharon Parmet, is the second in a series of five works to be featured during Chicago Week, a collaboration between Gapers Block and the Rockford-based arts purveyor Wall Blank. Each image will be available for one week as a limited edition print through Wall Blank. 10% of the proceeds of all sales will benefit the Chicago Artists' Coalition. Check back every day this week for a new piece by and interview with a Chicago artist.
"Like an Asteroid," ink on paper, 2009
"This piece was inspired by a recent New York Times article discussing the likelihood of sending a manned shuttle to the Moon. Not very likely! I thought it strange that NASA may be asked to shift its focus to something else, like an asteroid."
"O'Hare Staging Area #10," by Dmitry Samarov, is the first in a series of five works to be featured during Chicago Week, a collaboration between Gapers Block and the Rockford-based arts purveyor Wall Blank. Each image will be available for one week as a limited edition print through Wall Blank. 10% of the proceeds of all sales will benefit the Chicago Artists' Coalition. Check back every day this week for a new piece by and interview with a Chicago artist.
"O'Hare Staging Area #10", gouache on paper, 13x9 inches, 2009
"O'Hare Staging Area #10" is from a series of paintings done on site at the O'Hare Taxi Staging Area while waiting to be dispatched out to the terminals to pick up fares.
This beautiful image is a collaboration between artists Joseph Finn and Madeline Carol Matz, and is based on a photo taken of a little girl touching "Cloud Gate" in Millennium Park. It's available as a print on Etsy.
After months of delays, Zaha Hadid's proposed Burnham Plan Centennial Pavilion is due to officially open on Tuesday. If you can't wait to see it until then, the Trib has a sneak peek.
Local artist Joseph Lappie is offering 50-70% discounts on his work until Aug. 1. The fire sale on paintings, prints, drawings and etchings will help his move to Iowa, plus lighten his load a little. If you like what you see, check out a blind art auction he is hosting at his place of residence (2538 N. Central Park) Aug. 1.
In a metropolis of neighborhoods it's easy to feel trapped in your comfort zone--which may seem like an oxy-moron until visiting friends in Wicker Park equates to traveling abroad. And the city's way too big to truly appreciate commuting back and forth from Wrigleyville to the Loop.
That's why the Chicago Office of Tourism's Neighborhood Tours feels like you're discovering an entirely new, self-sustained city a mile or two from your apartment. OK, I know what you're thinking, "But I'm local, those tours are for those tourists who take pictures of themselves in front of Harpo Studios or wait an hour to get into Giordano's." The Neighborhood Tour guides know exactly how you feel--they don't even tour the Loop; or Wrigleyville for that matter. So why not venture a tour of Kenwood and Hyde Park or further South to Pullman's Historical District--two of the most popular tours among Chicagoans.
Here are just some of the tours, suggested by the Office of Tourism, for locals.
If you're like me, you love the way some things look more than they taste: cotton candy looks like sugar-spun clouds of heaven but leaves an unfortunate residue and makes the molars tingle. If you're not like me, you can still have it both ways with local crafter Steff Bomb's plush, a poly-filled array of sweet, vegetable, and occasionally Krylon-wielding delights.
About a month ago, Lindblom Math and Science Academy students placed a series of art installations in and on vacant buildings and adjacent lots in Englewood neighborhood.
"I Approved This Message" is a collection of site-specific sculptural objects that address a myriad of topics ranging from the culture of violence that is tragically taken the lives of 36 Chicago Public School students to homelessness. Some of the works will be driven by texts created by the students for installation on the viaduct while others will create large-scale installations in a variety of media using the public space as a billboard to express their growing concerns about society. Media range from vinyl on abandoned buildings to stickers to stenciled imagery.
The one-of-a-kind artworks were created through a partnership with The Museum of Contemporary Art, 35 students from Lindblom, teachers Nathan Diamond and Zack Linderman, and artists Mike Bancroft and Amanda Lichtenstein.
You can check out a photo gallery of the project here.
Chicago visual artists are invited to submit their work to a competition sponsored by Gapers Block and the Rockford-based arts purveyor Wall Blank.
The four winning artists will be featured on Gapers Block, and their work will be offered as prints for sale on Wall Blank during "Chicago Week" in August 2009.
Are you an artist who identifies yourself (or your work) as LGBTIQ? Ever wish for some grant money to put toward your projects? Chances Dances, the popular monthly dance party that seeks to brings together the varied LGBTIQ communities of Chicago and create a safe space for all gender expressions, could grant you this wish--in the form of $500. The Critical Fierceness Grant provides financial assistance to queer artists in order to foster "personal exploration, community development and radical change through art." The application is available here, and be sure to apply soon! The deadline is June 30.
Catch Chances Dances on the third Monday of the month at the Subterranean (2011 W. North Ave.), as well as the spin-off dance party, Off Chances, on the second Tuesday of the month at Danny's (1959 W. Dickens Ave.).
Email chances.dances[at]gmail.com for more information.
The Art Dealers Association of Chicago, composed of fine art dealerships ranging from the antique to the avant-garde, has added a second round of gallerys to their weekly Saturday tours in River North. Beginning July 18th and taking place every 6-8 weeks, the ADAC will take groups through the burgeoning West Loop art community. Stops on the tour include Peter Miller Gallery, Andrew Rafacz Gallery, Carrie Secrist Gallery, and McCormick Gallery. For more information about the new West Loop tour and their longstanding River North tours, see the ADAC website.
Photo of Kim Keever's "Wildflowers," from the Carrie Secrist Gallery website. Click on image for spectacular full-size version.
Peter Jones Gallery is hosting a huge rummage sale this weekend. Its lease is ending, and the members of the family-run operation are moving on after a quarter-century of (cheaply) housing Chicago's fledgling arts and performance projects.
A few years ago, the first time I stepped into the gallery, I took a sidelong glance back at the door I'd come through: to make sure I hadn't accidentally pulled an Alice-in-Wonderland. The gallery seemed like a parallel universe -- full of color, light, creativity, plant life, and I swear, someone strumming an acoustic guitar.
Stop by this weekend to snag cool finds, and read more on the gallery and its closing.
Speaking of Studio Gang, the firm earned new accolades for a Chicago residence known as the Brick-Weave House. The residence makes use of 30% of the existing structure, including a carriage house, and incorporates a garden into the front section of the building. Doing all of that on a relatively tight budget earned its inclusion on Architectural Record's Record Houses 2009 list.
(((christopher))) took this photo of local artist Gabe Lanza's robot sculpture. Check out Lanza's website for more information and photos of his other pieces.
Merging nature and culture with characteristic fluidity, Olafur Eliasson's Take Your Time demonstrates the artist's ability to use water, color, space, and light to envelop the viewer. The exhibition is the first comprehensive survey in the U.S. of Eliasson's work, spanning 15 years of his career, and it includes sculpture, photographs, and "immersive environments" inspired by the artist's native Scandanavia. Organized by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Take Your Time: Olafur Eliasson will be on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art from May 1 through September 13. Eliasson talks to the public about his work on Tuesday, April 28, at 6 p.m. at the MCA. Advance tickets are sold out (due, no doubt, to a cascade of interest), but you can still get on the waitlist.
With all of our recent posts about the Art Institute's planned price increase, we thought it might be nice this week to showcase this photo of two patrons enjoying the art and atmosphere of the museum. Thanks to icecreamcastles for sharing it.
From April 4-15, 2009, Mess Hall will host "Brains, Brilliancy, Bohemia: Art & Politics in Jazz-Age Chicago," an exhibition featuring counterculture documents and art from the Chicago hobohemian era, as well as audio from a rare interview with Studs Terkel.
The exhibit will make use of documents drawn from the Newberry Library and other sources, particularly those related to the Dill Pickle Club and its affiliated artists and activists.
This drawing caught our eye and led us to discover Uncle Fun's new Artist in the Window series. Uncle Fun's is looking for artists to, in their words, "sit in one place making art for 8 hours for no pay whatsoever...(It's just like what you'd do on a weekend anyway, only you'll be gawked at by passersby!)" Thanks to qtouch for clueing us in to another excellent reason to visit Uncle Fun's.
Chicago screen printer Mat Daly posted some great new stuff on his website, including an art print called Waterloo Bridge, a nine-color cityscape of London featuring--yes--the Waterloo Bridge. The image will appear on the cover of a new poetry collection by Wendy Cope called Two Cures for Love, forthcoming from Faber & Faber. Created from hand cut stencils, this limited edition print is available for sale on Daly's website, along with two new rock posters.
It's not too late to check out the 2009 Snow Days competition in Grant Park. Participants from all over the Midwest created the 15 ice sculptures on display in the Spirit of Music Garden this weekend and a winner (determined by viewer votes) was crowned on Friday. Now the large ice sculptures loom until they start to melt. With highs in the low-40s predicted for Tuesday, the city's special events website is listing the exhibit's closing date as Monday, Feb. 16.
Check out some photos from the exhibit on Uncommon Photographers here and here, or view the original sketches and proposals for the sculptures on the city's website.
It's not every day -- or ever, really -- that a truckload of Chicago musicians trek across the country to celebrate an inauguration, and today Jay Ryan, who runs the screen print poster workshop Bird Machine, is offering up his limited edition Big Shoulders Ball poster for just $20. There are only 450, and you can buy one here.
If you're keen on owning a piece of Chicago history, dropping a Jackson on this print is probably a better way to go than buying an overpriced newspaper on eBay.
Among cultural centers dramatically affected by the economic downturn, the Hyde Park Art Center (HPAC) has been particularly affected. In anticipation of even rougher times, the Board of Directors has reduced its budget by 15% for 2009 and four employees -- a quarter of the staff -- have been laid off. In response, the HPAC is holding a public forum tonight in which they "want your questions, reactions and suggestions to changes at the Center." The event starts at 6pm in its 4833 rph space, 5020 S. Cornell.
Curtis Mann will be the featured in February's UBS 12x12 exhibit of local artists at the Museum of Contemporary Art, beginning Feb. 7. Mann was profiled on Gapers Block last March.
Mann re-shoots and enlarges found images of countries in conflict such as Israel, Lebanon, Palestine and Iraq on Flickr and other photo sharing sites, then erases and destroys portions of them with nails and caustic substances such as bleach.
Large sections of the images are replaced with an ambiguous white void or are reduced to ghostly monochromatic washes of yellow and red. The original landscapes and context of the anonymous travel and family photos are severely altered and intended to reflect on the large-scale violence occurring in the photograph's setting and the fragility of the photographic image.
Mann will lead a gallery talk about the exhibit on Feb. 17 at 6:30 pm.
Editor's Note: This is a guest post from Lakeview resident Amy Karatz.
Tuesday night a crowd packed the largest room at Ann Sather's on Belmont to hear the City of Chicago Curator of Public Art, Elizabeth Kelley, talk about the new permanent art installation at the renovated Belmont El stop. Ms. Kelley carefully explained the 11-step process for acquiring art for a public setting, from choosing the site, to picking participating artists, to installation. The CTA worked from a database of several hundred artists, then gave each of the six finalists $500 to develop a submission.
On-site requirements included filling a 6 feet tall by 20 feet wide wall space with a tile mosaic. Two columns several feet in front of the wall would be similarly tiled. The artists were asked to reference this work to an orange steel sculpture that will sit outside the station. They were also specifically asked not to create a baseball/Cubs theme.
The crowd, aged 7 to 70, enjoyed viewing large illustrations representing ideas from the six artist finalists. Each individual idea was carried through the room while Ms. Kelley read the artist's inspirations and intentions, so all present were easily able to see each idea. The audience were not given artist's names, and later, artists in the audience were asked not to comment.
It would be foolish to describe the art, because words would not do it justice. The six entries included sweet cartoons, fantasy images, abstract thoughts, and even classical references. More than one included samples of finished mosaic tiles.
When solicited for their opinions, various audience members spoke in favor of all but one of the six. The vast majority of comments, however, praised the work of David Csicsko, whose work had been seen in the old station. His mural presentation, showing wonderful characters on a train car, had a life and energy that wowed. Close up, his sample tile revealed multi-colored striped faces with raised eyes that seemed to pop. He also proposed a mosaic of three giant stylized eyes on each pillar -- a perfect image for their placement.
When the audience was asked for opinions, particular attention was paid to two small girls, each of whom spoke up in favor of Csiscko's ideas, because those were the citizens who would be using the station for the next 20 years. Noteworthy was the audience member who remarked that while all of the entries would work for several of the CTA stations, only Csiscko's was perfect for Belmont. A common audience theme was that his entry embodied the essence of the Lakeview neighborhood.
katherine of chicago uploaded this photo of fans paying tribute to street artist Solve, who was murdered in Logan Square this summer. For more on his work, read this interview Gapers Block conducted with him and other street artists in 2007.
Skoff has gained a following via Facebook and Craigslist with his "free art hunts." He deposits above-the-couch-size paintings in public places in Chicago, then lists their location for fans to seek and acquire, free of charge. All he asks in return is a picture of the artwork in your place. He also sells plenty of affordable art, and has been on a bit of an Obama kick lately. Ah, but who hasn't?
Fourteen years ago Flora Doody, a teacher from Lane Tech High School, made a call to the Chicago Conservation Center (CCC) about a school mural that was detaching from a wall. What CCC head conservator Barry Bauman found when he arrived to examine the painting was not just a damaged fresco, but a massive collection of Works Progress Administration and pre-WPA-era murals -- 67 in all -- many of them badly in need of repair.
After a conservation proposal was made to restore three of the northwest side high school's murals, Doody began fundraising to conserve the remaining 64, conducting student docent tours and bake sales. Her grassroots effort paid off: the CCC launched a sweeping campaign to track down, analyze and restore many of the city's WPA and pre-WPA-era murals, beginning with works that had been whitewashed -- literally buried under two layers of white paint -- at Lucy Flower High School, and eventually expanding to 38 additional schools.
AREA Chicago recently connected with dozens of mover/shaker artists in Chicago to discuss socially engaged art, and pinpoint where art and politics collide to form action. Check out in-depth interviews with folks from Mucca Pazza, Theater Oobleck, threewalls, Experimental Station and more.
The MCA upped the hip a notch recently by adding folktronica duo The Books to its Spring 2009 performance schedule. The May 3 concert, co-sponsored by the Empty Bottle, is part of the ongoing MCA Stage program, which expands the museum's reach beyond visual art and into the realms of theater, music, dance and other media.
The Books' multimedia performance includes an Artists Up Close pre-show talk with members Nick Zamutto and Paul de Jong.
Your $20 ticket gets you one free museum admission on the performance date or any day during the following week. And heads up students: tickets are $10 with valid ID.
"I dig the the goons. They are like off-brand, Third World Sesame Street-like characters from a show that you could only pick up on a scrambled channel." -- jugheadjones, via Flickr
From 5:30 to 8pm at the MCA's Puck Café, knitters and hookers (crocheters) will be getting together with guest artist Karen Reimer to share techniques and stories and some good wintery bitching.
Check out more of Reimer's conceptual fiber art including embroidery here, here (LOVE the Equal packet and crossword puzzle) and here.
The overpass at Grand Avenue and the underpasses at North Avenue, Sacramento Boulevard and Logan Boulevard and 90-94 have some new residents: dozens of piñatas stuffed with emergency blankets. They're part of "a one-time community based sculptural installation organized in collaboration with arts organizations throughout Chicago, a high school art classroom on the South Side, and a number of Chicago artists."
It aims to draw attention to the issue of homelessness in Chicago and the spaces that used to act as shelter before they were fenced off/in. The piñatas are the output but are far less important than the community and awareness brought about by the process of manufacturing. Over 60 Chicago area youth, more than 30 community members, and numerous artist volunteers provide a large scale and social context.
...
The piñatas are made of materials reclaimed from the Center for Green Technologies dumpsters and trash piles alike throughout Chicago. The paper mache pinatas are %100 biodegradable and are stuffed with emergency space blankets in case some of the underpasses are inhabited. Production began at the factory nearly two years ago in a makeshift workshop on Chicago's West Side. Demand increased as the fences went up and now we are out of space.
In this collapsing economy the factory could no longer afford the high cost of storing the piñatas or feeding the volunteers. Labor conditions also began to deteriorate as temperatures fell and it became evident that it was time to release these recycled beasts to the streets from which they came. So come on down to your nearest underpass to see if the menagerie is in your neighborhood (bring a plastic bat and a ladder if you need a blanket).
More photos of the piñatas' construction and installation here.
Tangible World has created some great gocco prints, as well as t-shirts and posters, worthy of giving to your Chicago-obsessed friend this holiday season. I'm a fan of the simplicity of this one.
And speaking of holiday shopping, Blue Buddha Boutique is hosting a holiday show tonight from 5pm to 9:30pm, featuring its own chainmaille designs as well as art, jewelry and crafts from a variety of local artisans, including the Chicago Craft Mafia. Worth checking out.
Red Tape Theatre is sponsoring a gathering of fringe artists in January. Artists of all media are encouraged to submit a proposal. The goal: conversation and networking amongst artists -- it's lonely out there on the fringe.
According to Red Tape:
The theatre will be transformed into a series of intimate spaces that have interactive activities, art and are great for lounging. Guaranteed to be a fun, sexy, and kind of grungy event, performances will flow in and out of each other throughout the night.
The Contemporary Art Workshop mounts its final exhibition this Friday, Dec. 5, with a reception from 5:30pm to 9pm celebrating the opening of "The End" by Matt Davis and John Lyon, and honoring CAW's 60-year history. The exhibition runs through Jan. 23; the Workshop remains open until April 30.
32nd and Urban, a street art gallery at 3201 S. Halsted in Bridgeport, is closing due to the down-turning economy and the opening of a new police station across the street. "Our new neighbors are making it difficult for us to continue what we do," owners Peter Kepha and Lauren Pacheco said in an email. They are searching for a new space, but in the meantime will be throwing a $5 fundraiser/closing party this Saturday, Dec. 6, from 10pm to 3am, with DJs and live art
installations. Should be a fun, bittersweet time.
There will be a memorial show for artist Patrick W. Welch this Saturday from 6pm to 9pm at 1407 E. 54th Pl. in Hyde Park. The show will exhibit his micromentalist paintings from 1997 to 2007. Call 773-363-5935 for more information.
Each year, the art education nonprofit Marwen produces a set of holiday cards based on paintings and drawings by its students, such as Dusk on Michigan Avenue by Danielle Scardina, shown here.
The cards can be purchased either blank or with a personalized greeting inside, and are available in bulk as well as in assorted sets -- so if you're thinking about what cards to use for the company greeting card mailer, here's a good place to start.
The Criterion Collection releases an expanded version of Wes Anderson's debut film, Bottle Rocket, next Tuesday, Nov. 25. The packaging features artwork by Chicago illustrator/artist Ian Dingman. "Which, as a lot of people know, is a departure for Anderson since he has always used his brother to create the art," GB reader Bryan Barker notes. Love the hand-drawn Futura.
Buy the new edition on Amazon in ether DVD or Blu-Ray format.
From November 22 to December 6, Scott Projects presents new and previously unseen works by web-based art collective gOODdraWERs. This online community was created to accommodate the free exchange of Internet-based drawings and dialogue.
Now various Good Drawers are displaying works in the real (not cyber) world. Showing video, photographs, painting, sculptures, and "kinds of installations that don't work on the Internet," contributing artists include: Korey Vincent, Justin Swinburne, Maxfield Hegedus, Mikie Poland, Natalie Labriola, Sarah Elliot, Billy Kang, Arvid Wretman, Jake Sheiner, Johan Stenbeck, Maggy Vincent, and Pierson Vincent. Additionally, Michael Thibault presents a new publication of writings, ANTI-MUSIC.
Works Not on the Internet goes live on Saturday, November 22, with an opening reception from 6 to 10pm. Come and browse.
gOODdraWERs: Works Not on the Internet / November 22-December 6
Scott Projects (next to Heaven Gallery) / 1542 N. Milwaukee Ave., #3
The Trubble Club is a group of local artists -- Al Burian, Lilli Carre, Ezra Claytan Daniels, Anya Davidson, Lucy Knisley, Rachel Niffennegger, Burnie McGovern, Onsmith, Laura Park, Aaron Renier, Grant Reynolds, Becca Taylor, Jeremy Tinder, Marco Torres and others -- who get together once a week to create collaborative comics, with each one contributing one panel. The result is often beautiful and almost always utterly surreal.
The Trubble Club recently produced a comic book collecting a bunch of their strips. It's available at Quimby's for just $3.
The Chicago Humanities Festival co-presents Train Time: A Sound Installation at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion. The installation evokes the lakefront's former life as a train yard and incorporates the sounds of past, present and future railroading. The clank of wheels over rail ties, the hiss of boilers and diesel engines, and the call of train whistles are just a few elements of this sound portrait by Experimental Sound Studio. Composed by Olivia Block, Shawn Decker, Ryan Ingebritsen and Lou Mallozzi, Train Time: A Sound Installation ran last weekend and will be on schedule for November 8th and 9th from 10am to 10pm. It's free to the public.
Coconut Bill uploaded this photo of The Grocer's local street art. Maybe it's a pumpkin dressed as an orange for Halloween? Or maybe it's just an orange. Anyway, stay safe and have a Happy Halloween!
There's a cool video about the Busy Beaver Button Company on a Sun-Times blog this month. Busy Beaver makes custom buttons on demand and also places gumball-style button vending machines around town at places like Atomix Cafe and The Neo-Futurists theater. Their headquarters, tucked away in the basement of a Logan Square walk-up, is a button-lover's paradise, and the video gives a quick tour of all its indie glory.
On October 15 at UIC's Gallery 400, art puts biology under the microscope. As part of a group exhibition called Biological Agents: Artistic Engagements in Our Growing Bioculture, three artists--Brandon Ballangée, Caitlin Berrigan, and Natalie Jeremijenko--take a closer look at what it means to be human, to be animal in an increasingly complex world.
Curated by Christa Donner and Andrew Yang, these works explore biological agency in a time of genetic modification and climate change. But the curators assure that the creative approaches to these issues aren't all serious. Rather than (according to a press release) "simply reinforcing the fear and fetishization of biology found in many popular conceptions of science," the works are playful and constructive.
Biological Agents opens October 14 and runs through November 22. An opening reception will be held on October 15 from 5-8 p.m.
Gallery 400 / College of Architecture and the Arts @ UIC 400 S. Peoria St.
On October 10, an exhibition called You Rule Me: A Show of Power opens at Scott Projects, a new art space adjacent to Heaven Gallery in Wicker Park. Curated by Brieanne Hauger, this show features work that questions authority (or at least the concept of authority), namely: Who or what rules whom?
Artists speaking truth to power include: Kelly Allen, Lucas Blair, Scott Cowan, Melissa Damasauskas, Christa Donner, Rob Duarte, Grant Ernhart, Maggie Haas, Michael Hunter, Katy Keefe and Frank Van Duerm, Thomas Macker, Todd Mattei, Mollie McKinley, Tristan Perich and Kunal Gupta, Montgomery Perry Smith, Robert Snowden, Margaret Taylor, Andreas Warisz, Sarah Beth Woods, and Nicholas Wylie.
The opening for You Rule Me happens Friday, October 10 from 7-10 p.m. Hauger gives a gallery talk at 6 p.m. The show will close on October 30 with a reception (also from 7-10) featuring performances by Margaret Taylor and Doug Rosenberg.
You Rule Me / October 10-30
Heaven Gallery, 1550 N. Milwaukee Ave, 2nd Floor
The Bridgeport art scene has been called many things--e.g., "fledging," "emerging," and "the community of the future." In 2006, the New York Times Travel section described the scene as "art where you least expect it." But regardless of how developers and residents and journalists depict it, the neighborhood is home to plenty of new and established art spaces worth checking out.
In celebration of Chicago Artists Month, Bridgeport is showcasing some of these venues as part of a free, self-guided art walk. On October 24-26, a variety of galleries and artist studios will be open to the public, including: Zhou B Art Center, 32nd & Urban, The Co-Prosperity Sphere, MN Gallery and Studio, East Bank Artist Lofts, 33 Collective Gallery, Mutherland Gallery, and Bridgeport Coffee House. These spaces will be open from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. each day of the art walk, and on Friday, DeLaTorre Fine Arts will be open from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Rotofugi has one of the cooler things I've seen in awhile: Frank Kozik's "Ludwig Van" bust. They've got the fluorescent yellow version (only 50 of each colorway have been produced) for $200.
The 77th edition of New American Paintings, a juried exhibition-in-print, is all about the Midwest, and features twenty-one Chicago and Illinois based artist including installation artist Michael Genorese, currently MCA Chicago's Winter Artist in Residence and most recently of the Pedway Project. Other artists of note include Steve Amos, Molly Briggs, Sari Maxfield and Jeff Mueller.
Adding to their weekly Saturday tours of the River North gallery district, the Art Dealers Association of Chicago (CADA) is now adding a new tour of the West Loop gallery district to their docket. CADA's new tours of the West Loop gallery district are scheduled for every 6 to 8 weeks, with the next tour slotted for Saturday, September 27 from 1:30 to 3:00pm.
Thomas McCormick, who is the director of the McCormick Galleries, will lead the River North tour through the Rhona Hoffman Gallery, Walsh Gallery, Carrie Secrist Gallery and to the McCormick Gallery. Both the River North and West Loop gallery CADA tours are free and open to the public. Reservations are not required. For more information visit CADA's website or call 312-649-0065.
DvA Gallery is closing its Lincoln Park location after five years, and merging with Rotofugi Toy Store & Gallery. David van Alphen will be taking the position of Gallery Curator at Rotofugi in order to devote more time to caring for his son Jack, diagnosed with Down Syndrome. David's other venture, Slingshot! Press, a source for limited edition affordable prints, will continue to bring top notch underground artists to your collection. DvA Gallery's Going Away Party will be held Saturday, September 13th from 6-9pm, and the last official day will be Sunday, September 28th. Be sure to stop by and say hello and goodbye to one of the more interesting underground artist galleries in Chicago.
DvA Gallery is located at 2568 N. Lincoln Ave.
Rotofugi Toy Store & Gallery is located at 1953-55 W. Chicago Ave.
Spread your own version of holiday cheer this year, and create a Christmas tree that says more than "I bought these cheap-ass decorations at Target". The Neo-Futurists, the Chicago theater company best known for Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind needs your help to decorate its lobby for its holiday show, A Very Neo-Futurist Christmas Carol. They're looking for three visual artists to create unique trees that speak to a theme of Dickens' famous tale. The show's creator, ensemble member Kristie Koehler Vuocolo, says the show is "equal parts deconstruction of the Dickens story, new and political takes on the original, and gripping personal tales that relate to its themes."
So pitch in. Propose your vision of a tree for the lobby.
When not performing music under the name Lucky Dragons, Los Angeles-based artists Luke Fischbeck and Sarah Anderson run a drawing collective called Sumi Ink Club. Wielding brushes dipped in ink, they lead group art-making sessions to create intricately detailed, collaborative projects (drawings, murals, wearable art). Anyone and everyone can attend these meetings. According to the collective's official website, Sumi Ink Club is non-hierarchical--open to "all ages, all humans, all styles"--and uses group drawings "as a means to open and fortify social interactions that bleed into everyday life." In other words, pick up a brush and you might just keep, keep bleeding love.
On Sunday, August 31, Sumi Ink Club will host a free group drawing meeting at Golden Age in Pilsen. The lazy Sunday afternoon art session starts at 1 p.m., and Golden Age encourages interested participants to bring "friends, brushes, brains, ears, eyes, and positive attitudes." Afterward, you can catch a Lucky Dragons show at Berry UMC in Lincoln Square. Visit the Lucky Dragons website for more info.
Walking by St. Paul's Cultural Center on North Avenue, it's hard not to notice the steady stream of bike messengers decked out in brilliantly pink attire flowing in and out of the cathedral basement. Ducking in, a voice booms out from the back:
"WELCOME TO PINK! ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH OUR SERVICES?"
Created by Austin artist Jaclyn Pryor, Pink: A (Love) Courier Service is a community-based, interactive art installation that encourages Chicagoans to share their love with one another through hand typed, hand delivered love letters delivered around Chicago by an army of pedaling volunteers.
"I wanted to create something that engaged people in an unexpected way," says Pryor, who first began the service as a public art project in 2006. "People go to museums and decide they want to see this or that, and it's very one-sided. I wanted to get people involved without their knowing it, as well as to encourage communication and expression."
The expressions are loud and clear: participants sending off their love letters hook their messages up to a revolving clothesline and, with the aid of a jumpsuited "Lovefactory" worker, scream out "LOVE ON THE LINE!" as their typed letter is sent down to be bottled, bowed and biked out to its lucky recipient.
The 85 volunteers who keep Pink running work in full view of the visitors, hand sewing tags and mapping out routes as the Lovefactory churns along. "I wanted people to see the process behind the product," says Pryor, who is known as Heffi McHefferson while on duty. Core members work about five days a week, though residing at the Cultural Center can make it difficult for factory workers to remove themselves from the environment. "We checked out sixty poetry books from the Chicago Public Library," says Pryor, "but now there are only fifty-seven...we really needed to get ourselves some movies."
"It's pink everywhere, always," says messenger Tuesday, nee Emily Jantzen, part of the core Austin group working and living at the Lovefactory. "I love it, though. I've gotten some interesting reactions from people, going out in my jumpsuit trying to find local businesses willing to support us. Riding in elevators in these outfits has been particularly fun. Chicago's been pretty receptive to us, though. It's been great."
With only one day left before the Lovefactory closes up shop, Pink was still taking on volunteers, training newbie Untitled 2008 (Whitney) at 5:00pm on Thursday afternoon. "They found me at the farmer's market in Logan Square," she says, pulling on a hot pink vest and smiling for her courier headshot. "All I could think was, oh, I want to do this."
Pink: A (Love) Courier Service will be open from 11am - 10pm tomorrow, after which it will close its doors to Chicago - but not before a massive potluck dinner, to which any and all are invited. Bring a dish, open your heart and share the love as fast as you can - Pink is here to help you put your love on the line.
Pink is stationed at the St. Paul's Cultural Center, 2215 W North Ave. Hours at 11am - 10pm. Potluck dinner will take place on Friday, August 15th. Bring a dish, share the love.
Local artist Jeff Zimmerman's Living Art series adds a rare element of audience interaction at the Ravinia Festival's annual summer concerts. Zimmerman's specialty is in interactive art----specifically in murals that require observers to actively influence the art itself. Tanishq, a jewelry retailer in Schaumburg, sponsors Zimmerman in the next two events of the series. Tanishq and Zimmerman hope to meld their creative spirit with that of the concertgoers by communally creating a mural before the concerts begin. The first communal event featuring Zimmerman and Tanishq takes place on Saturday, August 16th from 5pm to 7:30pm. Their time together continues during the Tony Bennett concert on August 23rd.
Earlier this year, Finestra Art Space -- a 125 square-foot exhibition and installation space that overlooks the elevator lobby of the fifth floor in the Fine Arts Building -- invited artists to conduct "visual research" by posing a hypothesis, then responding to it. Finestra's featured artist for August, Barbara Koenen, came up with Muse: an installation in which she explores what she perceives as the "sudden and simultaneous popularity of pomegranates in the U.S., and the declaration of the War on Terror."
Pomegranates, Koenen points out, are an ancient symbol of fertility, as well as the source of the word "grenade." ("The word for 'grenade' and the word for 'pomegranate' are the same in Hebrew, French, Spanish, Italian, Indonesian, and Russian," she adds.) They're also native to Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran -- all countries with whom the U.S. government has had "issues" in recent decades. Koenen's installation includes imagery involving both the flavor-bursty fruit and its body-bursting namesake, in an effort to to attain her hoped-for result: "I hope I'm wrong."
On a related note: The War on Terror isn't the only newsworthy connection between pomegranates and conflict. Last month, POM Wonderful won a $1.5 million verdict in its suit against Purely Juice Inc., whom POM had accused of false advertising and misleading marketing. According to the opinion handed down by the U.S. district court in Los Angeles, Purely Juice had been trying to pass off impure (i.e., sugar-sweetened) pomegranate juice as "pure."
Opening reception 5-9 p.m. Through Aug. 30. 410 S. Michigan Avenue, Suite 500. Open Wednesdays from 5-7 p.m., Friday-Saturday 2-6 p.m., and by appointment.
Lakeview has a new place to shop for interior accessories, Homeboy. Promoting only Chicago-area artist and designers such as SODA by Amy, Circa Ceramics and Susan Volk, this is just the place to find that unique one-of-a-kind item for any home.
Homeboy is located at 3327 North Broadway Street, and is open daily 12 noon to 7pm Monday thru Saturday, 8pm on Thursdays and 5pm on Sundays. 773-472-0548
ThreeWalls just announced a talk with sculptor Michael Jones McKean on Saturday, August 1 at 3pm. Hey, if he's asking "What is the proper tenor between dissonance and harmony?" and "What lies amidst the physically experienced and that which our brain grasps and calls knowledge?," that sounds pretty good to me. His show "Brown gold braid and field and plant life" closes on August 2, so if you've been wanting to see it, seize the day.
Photography fans, take note: From now through Aug. 8, the Co-Prosperity Sphere hosts Hic et Nunc_(Here and Now) A Survey Of New Guard Photography, a show featuring work by Columbia College graduates. Photogs Nathan Baker, Jon Gitelson, Jason Lazarus and Brian Ulrich are the "veterans" of the bunch, having attended Columbia at the turn of the millennium. The four are friends, and have all gone on to have their works featured in galleries and museums, or sold to buyers. Meanwhile, Claudia Burns, the team of Terttu Uibopuu and Sarah Mckemie, Sean Fader, Aron Gent, Mandukhai Kaylin and Tealia Ellis Ritter have all just recently graduated from art school. The show is supported by the nonprofit Public Media Institute.
3219-21 South Morgan St. Hours by appointment.
Walk into Three Walls Gallery right now and you'll wonder if the insurance agent has been by yet. A fallen oak tree with a treehouse in it fills the space, seemingly dropped there by some magical tornado.
The installation is the work of Material Exchange, entitled The way things drag their futures around. Although it looks like the tree is intact, F News' Untitled blog reveals that it was brought in in pieces and carefully reassembled, with bark hiding the seams. The piece is on display through Aug. 2.
The Art Sign Project is one man's quest to erect 1,000 "ART" signs along Logan Blvd. In addition to raising awareness of the presence (or absence) of art in our lives, and promoting a community dialog, project coordinator Gene Pellegrene is challenging the literal meaning of the word "art." To participate, either make an 8x10" sign out of Lucite or Lexan and send it to Pellegrene, sponsor a sign for $30, buy a sign, or help out with the installation, tentatively scheduled for Sept. 20.
Performance and installation artist Sara Schnadt -- whom we featured in a March 2008 Q&A -- has been invited to show her piece "Connectivity" at the Sea Arts Festival at the Busan Biennale, held Sept. 6-Nov. 15 in Busan, South Korea. Schnadt will install and perform her piece during the first two weeks of September.
On Friday, July 25, those non-elitist kids at the Country Club Chicago play host to GLOW, a show organized by local button makers Busy Beaver and featuring glow-in-the-dark buttons for their Button-o-matic button vending machine. Contributing artists include Bird Machine poster artist Jay Ryan, pattern designer Julia Rothman, Angry Youth Comix artist Johnny R., Chicago painter Derek Erdman, California painter Jacob Magraw, artist Alex Jovanovich, illustrator Kevin Hooyman, L.A.-based design collective Quietlife, Chicago rain-cloud street artist Sonny, and Milwaukee poster makers Little Friends of Printmaking. This show only lasts two days, so don't be lackadaisical in planning to attend. 6-10 p.m. 1100 N. Damen.
The Art Institute of Chicago, in a press release, has announced that the opening day of the Modern Wing will be May 16, 2009. The addition, designed by Renzo Piano, will allow the Art Institute to greatly expand its display of Modern and Contemporary artwork. Admission will be waived for one week following the opening which will not only welcome the new gallery space but the Nichols Bridgeway, Griffin Court and several other public and education facilities. Paired with the new installations from the museum's permanent collection will be the inaugural exhibit Cy Twombly: The Natural World, Selected Works 2001-2007.
The mammoth 264,000 square foot, three story addition will feature works from European artists after 1900 on the top level. The second floor will house the permanent collections of Contemporary artists such as Andy Warhol, Gerhard Richter, and others. Additional second floor space will be given to Institutes collection of architecture and design. On the lowest floor will be photography exhibition spaces as well as a space for new media works, referred to as a "black box".
As Piano's brilliant building begins to be finished, check back here for images and information.
Wed., July 30 marks the kick-off for the BCD Collaborative's Atomic Sketch Event: a new, monthly evening of live art-making by both established and emerging artists of various disciplines, held at Wicker Park nightspot Evil Olive. As the evening passes, finished works go up on the sale wall and remain there until the next Event. And even if you're not in the panel of six-eight artists featured -- this month's panelists are Melanie Lieb, Thomas Sinnamond, Ethan Hutchinson, David Johnson, Kyle Francis Harter and Ivan Mihov -- you can still drop by with your art supplies and make items to hang and sell.
"With Atomic Sketch, we're hoping to help demystify the art-making process for beginner artists as well as collectors," says BCD Collaborative co-founder Brian Hofmeister. "We're also interested in building a community in the Chicago art scene that's based on having fun." Fun indeed -- most pieces will cost for less than $100, which means you can buy some art without breaking your beer budget.
Somehow all images look more nostalgic on Polaroid instant film. Yet, with digital cameras and the age of live blogging, Polaroid's instant isn't quite up to snuff. Now that Polaroid is ceasing production on their instant film by the end of 2008, it’s time to commemorate this special kind of celluloid before it’s history in its own right. “Death + Extinction: A Polaroid Exhibition” is a collaboration between six Chicago artists and six New York artists who came together one weekend this past June to create a Polaroid project addressing “Death/Extinction.” The exhibition, which is to be held at the Chicago Art Department, opens August 2nd and runs through September 1st. Call KS Rives at 773-852-1717 for more information about the show.
The world needs peace. You need a haircut. Artist Genevieve Erin O'Brien will give free buzz cuts during a "Peace Salon" at the Museum of Contemporary Art this week to folks who want to show their commitment to peace. O'Brien also designed a postcard you can download and send to George Bush himself, where you state your own personal pledge of what you're willing to do for peace. Stop by the MCA on July 18th and 19th from noon to 4pm, rain or shine, for your own buzz.
In anticipation of the 25th anniversary of its installation, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs has announced that it will be restoring the sculpture located at the triangle intersection of Ohio, Ontario, and Orleans. The work, entitled "Being Born," was moved to that location in 1996 from the corner of State and Washington. It was the first piece of public art installed as part of the Chicago Gateway Green program which aims to spruce up the oft-ignored gateways and expressways into the city.
The Ukrainian Village art gallery Medicine Park needs a new home, after resident and co-owner Amy Cargill received an eviction notice over the weekend. The gallery's receptions -- the most recent was Friday night's opener for painter Ruth Ann Borum -- have stirred up a few complaints about noise from neighbors, making the current site at 2659 W. Chicago unsustainable as a commercial venue. Cargill and Med Park co-owner Jackie Keothavy aren't ready to call it quits on the gallery, however -- especially given that they have shows booked through the fall. "If anyone knows of anything, any space, any wealthy patrons of the arts, or grand ideas of collaboration, let's talk!," Cargill says.
The School of the Art Institute (SAIC) announced that its fourth president will be Wellington "Duke" Reiter, an internationally recognized architect and artist who has taught at MIT and Harvard. Also in the "not too shabby" department, his urban drawings are in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and San Francisco MOMA. School spokespeople say that Reiter's appointment will strengthen the SAIC's attempts to reach across all disciplines -- and keep making waves nationally and internationally.
The Stone Summer Theory Institute, a week-long seminar on contemporary art, comes to the School of the Art Institute from July 13-19. Each year the series brings more than 30 top scholars, critics and artists to the city, and the entire event is transcribed and published in book form. This year, the institute asks participants to dwell on the bedrock of art-making: "What makes visual objects different from written ones? What are images? What are pictures? The art world depends on these ideas, and yet they are rarely theorized."
Several lectures and roundtable discussions are open to the public, so art-smarties should get out their calendars and pencil in talks like, "What Does Seeing an Image Mean?" More info here.
Pilsen's very own National Museum of Mexican Art kicked off a new exhibit on Independence Day, entitled "A Declaration of Immigration." The thought-provoking exhibit features work by more than 70 artists who address immigrant issues through everything from traditional narrative quilts to contemporary multimedia installations. The museum is open 10am - 5pm Tuesday through Sunday. Admission is free.
Thirty-four teams have been selected for this year's Red Bull Flugtag, a competition in which mechanically inclined quirkyfolk design, build, and fly human-powered aircraft. Visit the official Flugtag Website to scope out the blueprints for this year's designs, including a wok (Stir Fly), a piece of deep-dish pizza (Pie in the Sky!), and an ear of corn (Team Iowa). Or, for more detailed description of the preparatory process, check out Red Hot Flyer II, which documents the construction of local designer/developer/artist/technician gReGo's 28-foot, hot dog-shaped biplane. Five years ago, gReGo built the Red Hot Flyer I, which came in at a respectable fifth place. The Flugtag takes place Sept. 6 at North Avenue Beach.
Homeless bodybuilders, high school students, heroin addicts, newlyweds: Since May 1, artist Mike Genovese has given all of them, and many others, opportunities to participate in his artistic process through his in-studio project, a program of the Chicago Cultural Center. (And you, dear reader, can also participate by stopping by Genovese's studio today for a special Gapers Block happy hour from 5-7 p.m.; 78 E. Washington St.) By working seven-to-nine-hour days, six days a week -- and accepting help and contributions from the public -- Genovese has nearly completed four projects:
• Black, red and white aluminum panels coated with enamel, upon which he has engraved his own designs, then invited others to contribute their own drawings and messages.
• Elotes carts that he fills with fruit, candy and snacks, then offers to a random street vendor in an intimate negotiation process that he documents through photographs.
• A giant sign featuring the Zora Neale Hurston quote, "All My Kin Folks Ain't All My Kinfolk," done up in Mexican black lettering (created at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art, the piece will be installed on the South Side as public art).
• And, to advertise his in-studio, green "showcards" designed to look like the city's bright "no parking/street cleaning" signs. Genovese asked the Department of Streets and Sanitation's vendor to print up the signs, which he then tied to poles across the city using the same type of twine and knotting style used by city workers.
The Chicago Artists' Coalition has online galleries of some of their members' work. Searchable by artist, media, subject and technique, they're a gorgeous way to wile away an afternoon and find a few new favorite artists while you're at it.
Last October, Sighn of Multipolar Projects and the brand-new Believe Inn gallery began cutting out the word, "It's OK," from bass wood, and has since created about 2,000 pieces. In order to speed up progress toward his goal of producing a "limited edition" of one million pieces (which he estimates will take 50 years), and to "push [him]self to extremes," Sighn will embark on a 24-Hour Cut-a-Thon starting at noon on Thursday, June 26, during which he will produce about 500 ITSOKs from 1/4" bamboo.
Bamboo is an eco-friendly choice for ITSOK, which Sighn says creates a fair amount of waste. To further lessen the project's environmental impact, he has also arranged for one tree to be planted by the Arbor Day Foundation for each piece purchased. Sighn keeps the opposites of each piece, and says he will soon have to rent a storage space for them. Anyone willing to donate an empty garage to Sighn for the next five decades should give him a call.
Matthew Schommers has owned the same deck of old-timey, paper playing cards since he was a little kid. Six years ago, he began transforming the cards into a series of art works – the results of which were on display Friday night at AllRise Gallery on N. Milwaukee. The most striking aspect of the series was the variety of lines Schommers used: Some portraits were raw and choppy, while others – particularly his portraits of women, and decapitated characters of both sexes – showed smooth, rounded curves. And a few drawings drew inspiration directly from pin-up posters of the 1950s. Schommers' show was the last at AllRise’s current location; the gallery's first show at its new location at 1370 W.Grand Ave. will feature the works of Chantala Kommanivanh on Friday, July 11.
Say hello to the Believe Inn: a new gallery with a focus on experimentation and an uplifting, optimistic name. Believe Inn presents its premier exhibition this Saturday, June 21: Chris Kerr's "Neo Country," described as resembling Twitty City, the amusement park developed by Conway Twitty for his many fans. Anything that involves country music, speech bubbles and recreated gift shops has got to be a smorgasboard for the eyes, so head on over and check out Kerr's work. 6-10 p.m. 2043 N. Winchester.
It's already time to apply for the annual Around the Coyote Fall Arts Festival, to be held from Oct. 10-12 (not to mention the Oct. 9 opening party). This year's fest includes a $2,000 prize for the Best in Show. Think of what you could do with that money: Buy tons of supplies, or take a trip to Bali, or get a Gremlin electroplated in 14K gold. OK -- stop dreaming about Gremlins, and get that application in before July 21.
Artists featured include:
Hiroshi Ariyama, Karl Bethke, Doug Gapinshi, Alan Lerner, Nichole Maury, and others.*
Free ice cream, of course, is on hand for your eating pleasure.
A free t-shirt printing workshop occurs from 3pm-5pm. Bring your own shirt, or purchase one at CPC for $10.
CPC is also kicking off a new class, "BLAST into Screenprinting," taught by Alan Lerner, Sundays, June 29-August 3, 11am-2pm. The 5-week class costs $195. A $25 deposit is required to hold a spot. To register, drop off or send a check made out to Chicago Printmakers Collaborative, along with a registration form. Download a form here.
But please, if you get a hankering for some clay antics a la Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze in Ghost, do us all a favor – leave it out of the screenplay and go take a wheel-throwing class at the Hyde Park Art Center instead. Also begins on June 23.
If you prefer Titanic to Ghost, there are some models at the Drawing Workshop that would be happy to have you draw them “like one of your French girls, Jack.” Every Sunday and Wednesday they have a drop-in figure drawing session.
So they’re not the jewels of the Titanic, but the Fletcher Farm School is offering a silver fabrication class beginning on June 30 that will teach you how to saw, solder, and file your way to some new jewelry.
The Art Institute's Modern Wing isn't slated to open until next year, but Blair Kamin got an exclusive walkthrough with the building's designer: Renzo Piano. By the way, I really want those blue foam mock-ups of the Brancusi sculptures.
Chicago ranks among the top three cities in the country for working artists, according to a new study by the National Endowment for the Arts, based on the U.S. Census. The other top cities were, predictably, New York and Los Angeles, with Washington, D.C. not far behind.
The Art Institute of Chicago opens its newly christened Richard and Mary L. Gray Wing this Saturday, June 14. The wing is the north section of the museum's original Allerton Building on Michigan Avenue, and is named after major major donors to the Department of Prints and Drawings, which is housed in that part of the museum. Richard Gray is owner of Richard Gray Gallery in the Hancock Center and is a trustee of the museum. Mary Gray is the author of A Guide to Chicago's Public Sculpture and A Guide to Chicago's Murals, and is a member of the Friends of the Parks advisory board.
The wing opens with the inaugural exhibition "Collecting for Chicago: Prints, Drawings, and Patronage," featuring works acquired for the Art Institute by various Chicago families, many of which now have galleries named after them (the exhibition is mounted in the new Jean and Steven Goldman Prints and Drawings Galleries, for instance). The new galleries were designed by Kulapat Yantrasast of wHY Architecture in Los Angeles.
"Night Sky #2," a 18"x21½" painting by Vija Celmins owned by the Art institute of Chicago, was slashed by a contract security guard while on loan for a show at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh.
His alleged reason? He didn't like it. That's some pretty harsh art criticism.
Museum officials are now determining whether the painting, valued at $1.2 million, can be restored.
The David Leonardis Gallery will be showing and selling a collection of hand-made postcards created by Mark Mothersbaugh, the frontman of Devo (yes, the "Whip It" Devo). Mothersbaugh has been creating postcards every day for the last 30 years as a sort of personal diary, hence the title of the exhibition. He estimates that he’s created more than 30,000 cards, many of which have now been scanned and made available as larger-scale limited edition reprints.
Mothersbaugh’s website offers a preview of many of the postcards that will be on display. It’s worth checking out not only to get a sneak peek of the show but also to view some of his other work, especially the manipulated photo series “Beautiful Mutants” and his earlier postcard exposition.
The exhibit opened last week, but this Friday the gallery is hosting an encore reception from 6-11 pm at its River North location. Gallery information and regular hours can be found here. "The Postcard Diaries" will be in Chicago through July 2.
Interested in art? Revolution? Head to the InCUBATE space this coming Saturday for a conversation between Vienna, Austria-based art theorist Gerald Raunig and Chicago-based artist Dan S. Wang. The two will discuss art and activism, using Raunig’s book, Art and Revolution, as a jumping-off point.
The book was translated into English last year and reflects Raunig’s preferred areas of study (which, I must say, read like a kind of poem): art theory, political aesthetics, cultural politics, and the politics of difference. Mostly though, Art and Revolution seems like a radical call to action. Political activism! Artistic engagement!
This event is cosponsored by the Midwest Radical Culture Corridor and Continental Drift. It’s hosted by InCUBATE (Institute for Community Understanding Between Art and the Everyday), an innovative Chicago-centric organization dedicated to new models of art funding, research, and advocacy. The group has a storefront space on Rockwell—around the corner from the Congress Theater—where they host community events and an artist-in-residency program.
This Friday more than 20 Chicago-area galleries will be holding receptions to open new exhibits. Chicago Gallery News has an alphabetical list and maps of who and what will be shown across the city. If you can’t pick just one to visit, Art View in Lakeview also takes place this weekend and gives you the opportunity to be shuttled from gallery to gallery to sample art and wine all for the amazing price of nothing. Not to be outdone, Saturday and Sunday offer the 61st annual 57th Street Art Fair.
It's time for the Illinois Recycling Association's annual Illinois Recycling and Solid Waste Conference & Trade Show, and the festivities include a Recycled Art Show featuring works by local artisans and crafticians. Organizing the show is Solid Waste Agency of
Northern Cook County (SWANCC) Graphic Designer/Marketing Coordinator Cameron Ruen, who says artists' response to the show is not what she was hoping for, "especially from all the research and soliciting I tried to do." Ten artists are participating, including Cranky Pickle and Art Gecko, Ltd. "I hope everyone sells a lot of stuff," Ruen says.
Tuesday, June 10 from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. Sheraton Hotel, 3400 West Euclid Ave., Arlington Heights.
Remember those learn-to-draw books with step-by-step instructions for sketching dogs and ducks and stuff? Lame. Artist/blogger Joel Kimmel gives the play-by-play on how he created an illustration for Time Out Chicago of hip-hop's very own Flavor Flav.
The Green Lantern, a Chicago-based gallery and press, worked with Intuit and the American Museum of Folk Art in New York to publish a Henry Darger-centric issue of its journal. I've yet to get my hands on it, but an e-mail announcement says it features original passages by Darger, essays on Darger-related topics and three different letterpress covers with lists of objects in Darger's room, courtesy of Intuit. Also, the Henry Darger Room Collection is up at Intuit through June 28, 2008.
Visual artists living in Cook County can receive up to $15,000 by applying for a grant from Artadia, a national organization that gives unrestricted money to artists in selected cities each year. (Last year, 40 Chicago artists received support.) Apply by August 29th to be considered. Cash in, eat a cheeseburger, and send everyone else a postcard from prosperity.
submitted by Leah Pietrusiak, occasional correspondent
In April, the Cool Kids from Chicago popped into the Coat of Arms vintage streetwear shop in NYC and picked up some threads for their show—including a championship Bulls sweatshirt from back when. And now the Coat of Arms shop is popping up in Bridgeport tonight armed with a table of threads for an art show and magazine release organized by The Upset, a group of graffiti artist and photographers from Chicago and New York. You know you've always wanted an (other) old-school Starter jacket. And if you don't, go there for the reason the event is really going on: The Upset is celebrating the first edition of their magazine, which they started online as a blog.
The International Museum of Surgical Science in the Gold Coast might seem an unlikely place to attend an art show, but on Friday you can do just that, as artist Christa Donner exhibits recent works among the giant kidney stones and antique forceps in the museum’s collection. Titled “ExtraSensory,” the show is part of the “Anatomy in the Gallery” series, a rotating exhibition program featuring medically themed art.
Lest the phrase “medically themed art” makes you think of sterile skeleton sculptures and hanging mobiles made of say, IV bags (as it sort of does for me), fear not: Donner’s work is much more imaginative and much less high school biology course. Using drawing as “both her microscope and her scalpel,” she thoughtfully fuses art and science—examining, dissecting, and re-envisioning human anatomy. In particular, “ExtraSensory” explores body image and the power of sensory experience.
The show includes new works on paper and what Donner calls a “wacky sculptural drawing on the floor,” as well as zines, photographs, and collage drawings from a collaborative project with teens from rural McHenry County, Illinois. The show opens tomorrow with a reception from 5–8 p.m. and runs through July 18.
The International Museum of Surgical Science is located at 1524 N. Lake Shore Dr. (inner drive).
In keeping with the company's goals of inspiring "new perceptions of movement," Inaside Chicago Dance has created an evening of dancing inspired by the drip period of Jackson Pollock's artwork. In the Painting will be a "multimedia dance experience," beginning with a short film by Pedro Brenner (Inaside's photographer and award-winning film director) about Pollock's life and art, and continuing with choreographed works that include a multimedia element.
May 2 @ 8:00, May 3 @ 2:00 & 8:00. Ruth Page Center for the Performing Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn. $20 general ($15 student/dancer/senior). Purchase tickets at the Ruth Page box office (312.337.6543).
Jay Ryan has produced a beautiful set of posters for "The Blue Planet Live," a film/concert series in the UK. Each poster, which features animals living in or above the world's oceans, is available for $50, or you can buy the full set for $300.
If you’ve been down Michigan Avenue lately, you may have noticed the return of “Communication X9,” a work by Israeli sculptor Yaacov Agam that has been undergoing renovations for the last three years. The artist, who is less than pleased with the changes, is hinting that he may file suit against both the restorer and the management company that hired him alleging that the work done was not a restoration but rather an unauthorized reproduction.
The Tribune provided an update Friday on the conflict that has been going on since the fall. For more in-depth reporting on who did what to whose paint samples, check out the Reader article from November of last year which explains the dispute in detail.
The Swedish American Museum and Andersonville Chamber of Commerce are seeking artists to create original works based on pieces in the Swedish Museum's permanent collection. Pieces go on display during Andersonville Arts Weekend in the fall. More info here.
Check out the blog of local fiber artist Marcy Sperry, who creates eclectic and striking art from repurposed clothing, found objects and the like. Her blog, thankyouforyoursubmission.com is a peek into the mindbendingly exhausting task of making it as an artist. In one recent post, she rails against a Daily Northwestern article that calls her pieces "New Age quilting". Her work is on display at Northwestern's Dittmar Gallery, displayed with another artist in a show called Domestic Sunshine.
The Coffee Studio, my favorite new Andersonville coffee shop, is now accepting submissions for BIKE LOVE, a graphic celebration of the the bicycle -- a gallery of two-dimensional, cycle-inspired art that's part of Andersonville's annual Bike Week festivities. Submissions are due May 1, and accepted pieces will be displayed from May 10-June 9 at The Coffee Studio. More details.
If you're the kind of person who walks by municipal garbage cans piled high with empty Starbucks cups and winces at all the waste, then Monument, a new dance theater work by local multidisciplinary arts collective The Seldoms, is for you. The 50-minute work, which combines dance, music and video, addresses our culture's apparent addiction to consumption and waste, in which the landfill has become an "accidental social sculpture." Recently Monument choreographer Carrie Hanson took a few minutes out of her busy schedule to answer some questions about the performance, which runs April 10-12 at 8pm at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn. (For more info, call 312-328-0303.)
How did the idea for Monument develop?
The Monument project has been developing for over a year. The idea began broadly: The initial choreographic, sonic and imagistic impulses emerged from a consideration of the acts of preservation, creation and destruction. We started from several points of inquiry: in balancing concerns for short-term prosperity/survival with long-term prosperity/survival, what do we preserve? What are the economic forces and cultural ethos that influence our behavior and decisions as consumers? What tensions exist between our dual identities as consumer and citizen, and between private goods and the public good? And finally, what are the personal, social, and environmental effects of our collective and individual acts of production, consumption, and disposal?
As we began our research before going into the dance studio, we easily found a lot of information relating to consumption and waste. The facts, offering mind-blowing figures about the quantity of plastic bottles and tons of refuse, were impressive and daunting, but weren’t readily imaginable. It wasn’t until Doug Stapleton, The Seldoms’ artistic associate, found an article about the immense Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island that our understanding moved from statistics to a physical reality. The article stated that the landfill is visible from space, which helped us to grasp the scale, impact and monumentality of our collective practices of consumption and waste. The work’s title – Monument – makes reference to the landfill as accidental monument.
Through June 29, the Chicago Cultural Center hosts Dean Sharp: Photographs of the Chicago Picasso, a free exhibition of black and white photos on display at its Michigan Avenue Galleries. Curated by Assistant Curator of Exhibitions Sofia Zutautas, and organized by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, the exhibit displays photos that Sharp took in 1967, while he was a student at the Layton School of Art in Milwaukee. In wrapping up his final project, Sharp paid a visit to Chicago and was struck by the facial expressions of people who passed by the then brand-spanking new Picasso sculpture in Daley Plaza. Camera in tow, he began photographing the faces he saw. His work both documents human nature and serves as a commentary on the role and impact of public art. On Tuesday, April 17, at 12:15 p.m., Sharp will appear at the Center for a free talk. (Viewing hours are Mondays through Thursdays, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Fridays, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturdays 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Center is closed on holidays.)
Kt Andresky, the coordinator for Press/Play, is seeking documentarians to contribute a five-minute piece on the Chicago art scene. Check out the details at Justseeds.
Wanna teach what you love while the city picks up the tab? The Department of Cultural Affairs is now accepting applications for its "Neighborhood Arts Program Teaching Artist" grant. Applications and more info are available at Chicago Artists Resource. Also, learn how to navigate the red tape of a city grant by attending the info session:
Monday, April 14, 3-5pm; Chicago Cultural Center
78 E. Washington Street - 5th Floor
Peot's sculptures are typically a combination of readily available construction supplies and highly machined, custom-designed aluminum and metal components. The last component is always light — the ephemeral shadows and light-play through the sculptures are integral in his work. I own one of his Installation Kit: Series 1 pieces, and although I haven't taken full advantage of the ability to reconfigure it, it remains a delight in my home.
The show opens with a reception next Friday, April 4, from 6pm to 9pm. Navta Schulz Gallery is at 1039 W. Lake St.
From now until June 1, the Museum of Contemporary Art is featuring Recent Acquisitions, an exhibition showcasing works by artists such as Dan Flavin, Gillian Wearing, and Gary Simmons. Several pieces are on display for the first time. This exhibition represents Part Two of a two-part presentation; Part One featured past and present Chicago-based artists. Remember -- Tuesdays at the MCA are free.
The Humboldt Exhibition is a collaboration of several young Chicago artists who organize all-night art shows for Chicagoland artists. Triplicate, which will take place on Saturday, May 17, is the third show to feature fine art, music, film projection, screen-printed t-shirts, beer, and more. The organizers invite all types of Chicagoland artists to submit their work for display in the show. Artists retain 100% of sales. Send your snappiest jpeg or pdf samples of whatever you do to humboldtexhibition@gmail.com by Friday, April 18. (Sending work-in-progress is fine as long as the work is completed one week before the show.)
Hopper and Homer would make fantastic names for a pair of hamsters. For now, they make an excellent combination in the halls of the Art Institute, which has been hosting a major Hopper and Homer show since February. On display are dozens of Homer's watercolors and sketches, which reveal his preoccupation with capturing light. Boats on the water, Civil War scenes, and landscapes form the subject matter of many of the exhibited works, all portrayed by Homer in a straightforward, unsentimental manner. Meanwhile, the Hopper exhibition marks the first time in 25 years that any museum outside New York has presented such a comprehensive display of works from his 70-year career. Hopper was a master of making the quotidian seem monumental and mysterious (what were those Nighthawks doing together, anyway?); his imagery will make you nostalgic for a time when you could visit a cafe without having your train of thought derailed by a ring tone. Through May 10.
The Museum of Contemporary Art's 12x12 series highlights the work of Craig Doty this month. Says Art Daily, "Doty's highly orchestrated, yet realistic tableaus are filled with stark color contrasts, visual disruptions in time, and stolen emotional experiences." He's a BFA graduate from the Art Institute, and went on to get his MFA at Yale University School of Art. The exhibit opens this Saturday, March 8.
David van Alphen, the man behind DvA Gallery has a new venture, Slingshot! Press, a weekly release of limited edition prints for only $50 each. The prints are gallery quality printed on 100% archival acid-free velvet cotton rag paper with archival inks, signed and numbered by some of the top underground artists around. If you've been looking for a way to start a collection of contemporary and modern artwork, this is a great and affordable way of starting. Slingshot! Press releases new editions on Wednesdays around 2pm, and each edition is limited to 50 prints, so once it's gone, it's gone.
Most theater companies define themselves by what they want. Jeremy Menekseoglu, artistic director of Chicago's Dream Theatre Company, knows exactly what he doesn't. No fourth wall. No superfluous roles. No poor roles for women. No living rooms. No boundaries of... Read this feature »
Local publishing house 
The 
Reader Seth writes, "Seeing these by crosswalks all around the loop. Cool, because the paint used is the same as crosswalk and traffic line paint. Any info on the artist or explanation? Inquiring robots want to know."
In a metropolis of neighborhoods it's easy to feel trapped in your comfort zone--which may seem like an oxy-moron until visiting friends in Wicker Park equates to traveling abroad. And the city's way too big to truly appreciate commuting back and forth from Wrigleyville to the Loop.
Curtis Mann will be the featured in February's 
On-site requirements included filling a 6 feet tall by 20 feet wide wall space with a tile mosaic. Two columns several feet in front of the wall would be similarly tiled. The artists were asked to reference this work to an orange steel sculpture that will sit outside the station. They were also specifically asked not to create a baseball/Cubs theme. 
From 5:30 to 8pm at the MCA's Puck Café, knitters and hookers (crocheters) will be getting together with guest artist Karen Reimer to share techniques and stories and some good wintery bitching.
Each year, the art education nonprofit 
Walk into 
If you’ve been down Michigan Avenue lately, you may have noticed the return of “Communication X9,” a work by Israeli sculptor Yaacov Agam that has been undergoing renovations for the last three years. The artist, who is less than pleased with the changes, is hinting that he may file suit against both the restorer and the management company that hired him alleging that the work done was not a restoration but rather an unauthorized reproduction.
David van Alphen, the man behind 
