Chicago Art Magazine’s Week in Review by Kathryn Born
July 16th, 2010
Hi Everyone, it’s Kathryn from Chicago Art Magazine, starting off with breaking news we haven’t put on the site yet – NEA dollars are coming into Chicago. In this instance, $250,000 of NEA money will go to “initiate the Cermak Creative Industries District, where four historic industrial buildings will be converted into an arts district, providing affordable and sustainable spaces for creative businesses and work spaces for the arts.” Read the whole story here and stay tuned. We can do a name-the-new-art-district contest, like when there’s a new baby animal at the zoo.
Outsider art is on my mind again – Reverend Howard Finster at the Cultural Center – http://www.explorechicago.org/city/en/things_see_do/event_landing/events/dca_tourism/HowardFinster_StrangerinParadise.html – he’s the grandaddy of Evangelical Folk Art – it’s so passionate it’s downright psychedelic. The trick to seeing art at the Cultural Center is to go up to the security guard, and nicely have him/her circle all the art galleries on the map of the building. There are always a half-dozen art exhibits shows going on there, and people don’t always realize that. If you like Outsider Art, I’ll also recommend Steffen at Intuit, and words by our resident Japanese outsider art friend, Elias Martin.
Now, I always like to destroy some normal person’s life by making them watch Performance Art. It’s my thing and … I can’t even say it’s an acquired taste, I think you have to be cut from a oddly-shaped genetic cloth to enjoy it, but if you want the starter kit (the more approachable works, which still aren’t very approachable) the you should go to Here/Not There . It’s in the midst of a 5-week extravaganza at the MCA.
Then the other big, thing I should be tackling in the magazine, but just haven’t gotten around to it, is Pop Up Art Loop. The thing has gotten more marketing push than an army of mules could give. Every nanosecond, I get notices about an abandoned Loop storefront that has a cutting-edge art display. I’ll look into it more, but for now I can point you to the map and the current stuff on display.
That’s the news. Summer rolls on.
Kathryn is the Editor-in-Chief of Chicago Art Magazine, which includes a network of additional websites about arts and culture. She is a conceptual artist and writer, whose work has appeared on Chicago Public Radio, Time Out, RedEye and Chicago Tribune. She has three books due to be published, the first being The Lovers, the Death, and the Crimes, published by StepSister Press due for release on September 23, 2010.
Share This!
Follow me
