All posts tagged: Contemporary Art

Earthbound Moon at Ballroom Projects

Published by Kelsey Harrison

Earthbound Moon (EbM) is a collaborative organization whose stated aim is to “terraform the Earth” by transforming its surface into a non-contiguous sculpture garden. They propose to undertake this re-purposing, or rather this perceptual shift (for their concept of “sculpture” is generous), over the course of a hundred generations. This is a radical expansion of the time-scale usually involved in evaluating the possibilities of cultural production. It is a time-scale reserved for geological histories, an ecological positioning not lost on EbM. Earthbound Moon is consistent in contextualizing their work in the history of everything. The entire show at Ballroom Projects is organized as an archive of the organization: its projects, its resources, its library, its collection, and its influences. The archive is organized as a timeline that stretches back to the Big Bang, represented as a tiny white dot on the floor protected by a haphazard masking tape square. Their work is contextualized in the large fabric of all time. They describe years in which they are working to 5 values, dating a work ‘02014’ …

People Don’t Like to Read Art || [and they’re missing out]

Published by Jenny Lam

Honestly, people don’t like to read in general. Art, specifically? From Jenny Holzer’s aphorisms projected throughout New York City to Kay Rosen’s recent Go Do Good installations in Chicago’s Loop, text-based art tends to grab viewers’ attention due to its relatively brazen nature. Contemporary art that is purely image-based is often met with objections of “I don’t get it,” or “Well, maybe the artist statement will explain this.” For those in search of a quick answer, text can provide that instant gratification. The written word, however, doesn’t always make things simpler, as Western Exhibitions’ latest show illustrates. With pieces that extend beyond the short phrases pervasive in contemporary art—guests are invited to peruse full-length novels, among other items—People Don’t Like to Read Art stretches the function of the gallery space and explores ways in which one can establish a more intimate connection with art. After attending the exhibition’s opening reception on July 9, I spoke with gallery director Scott Speh about the show and asked the artists for further insight into their works. People Don’t Like to …

The Independent Professional: An Interview with LVL3 Gallery

Published by Nicolette Caldwell

What started as a simple passion and an opportunity to showcase new and emerging Chicago-based artists turned into something more. In early 2010, artist Vincent Uribe founded LVL3 Gallery an independent gallery in Wicker Park. Studying Art History and Arts Administration,  Associate Director Allison Kilberg began assisting Vincent shortly after. From their inaugural show entitled, Maybes to recently celebrating their one-year anniversary, LVL3 is going strong and expanding the programmatic scope of things evermore. I initially met Vincent during the beginnings of Sixty, last spring. We talked about some of the tribulations that are part of creating an art space or small organization. Everything has a place and purpose in the art world—whether commercial, not-profit or independent. And Chicago is brilliantly pieced together by so many spaces (different and alike) introducing all types of art to the world. All of this is hard to follow but Sixty is taking that challenge. The list is ever-growing and adding to that list we would like to introduce, LVL3 Gallery. Tell us about the LVL3 alternative space from …

Not your average art studio

Published by Nicolette Caldwell

I’ll Cut You – but not really though. This is the name of a hair salon I stumbled into while wandering around the Flat Iron studios. I was already overwhelmed with all the studios I visited from First Fridays and the Art on Track opening reception so trying to figure out what I wanted to mention in the SIFC blog didn’t come easy. Thankfully, this studio just kept on picking at my brain all week. Originally, I was just going to post a few photographs but I just could not resist. Yes, I know this is not your typical topic to highlight on an art blog but trust me this one is exceptional and October is over a month away. Everyone needs to know about I’ll Cut You because people need their hair cut and art needs to be sold. A little about Vladmir,  he is a hair stylist who has worked in the field for about twenty years and truly gives a mean cut. All hair products are made exclusively by Vladmir except for his …