Seeds In My Pocket Exhibition Statement
Root systems grow from a radicle in the center of a seed — they expand fibrously, entangling themselves in their neighbors, their environment. They re-write the source code of the ground — expanding and contracting, combatting and receding; laying a foundation for a habitable ecosystem. Like seeds, the artists in the exhibit Seeds In My Pocket stem from a radical self. A self deeply embedded in dynamic histories and journeys.
ISIS, My Brother, and Cruelty of Sculpture
You know when you have a physical response to something someone says, and you feel it coming on (minute shaking, for instance), and it grips you with its teeth chafing at your wrists, and you have no control? That’s what I felt when I learned ISIS—an insurgent group taking over territory in Syria—had kidnapped my brother, Pete Kassig, in February 2014. But the story began way before that.
An interview with Michael Zapata
The Lost Book of Adana Moreau is a story of loss, heritage, histories, and the transcendence of storytelling. It’s a classic mystery––the main character Saul Drower launches an investigation into an old manuscript his grandfather left him––but it’s also a tale about family, exile, and the passage of time.
Art at night: Chicago gallery and open studio events
Want an insider look at Chicago’s artistic side? These open gallery and studio nights invite the public behind the scenes of some of Chicago’s most dynamic art hubs. The works of art on display cover a wide array of mediums, including paintings, ceramics, photography, sculpture, and beyond. Plus, you can mingle with local artists, enjoy live performances, and explore the cutting-edge of Chicago’s vibrant art scene.
Moon Walks
When I looked up at those silver slivers peeking through the branches on my moon walks, I thought maybe, just maybe my brother was seeing them too. Even if we were halfway across the world from each other. One in a city in the midwest, one in a desert in the middle east.
Nunum Culture’s Interview with Samuel Schwindt
“ I was really stunned by a couple books recently. One was "The Tiger's Wife," by Téa Obreht, a stunning story about a young doctor dealing with the death of her grandfather, who told her stunning stories of the "deathless man" and the "tiger's wife." It was STUNNING. I'm thinking of making some work inspired by the Deathless Man. And then "The Uncertainty Principle" by Martin Herbert, a collection of art essays.”`
Block Club Chicago Interview with Samuel Schwindt
A few months ago, the window of Rebecca Dohe’s storefront at 2139 N. Damen Ave. was bland and empty, boasting nothing except for a large “for lease” sign.
Walk past the building today, however, and your eye will undoubtedly catch a large structure of translucent cascading Fresnel lenses.
By day, sunlight shines through the artwork and illuminates the vacant commercial space behind it.
By night, man-made lighting — brake lights, headlights, iPhone screens and street lamps — beams through the piece, bouncing colorful shades of light throughout the unit.
News Briefs (Column)
Student protesters marched into the street and blocked traffic in front of the Art Institute of Chicago last Monday. They were there protesting the museum’s wealthy trustee, Ken Griffin, who has been supporting Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner as a budget crisis continues to embroil the state, threatening public universities.
6 Contemporary Native Artists You Definitely Should have Heard Of
“Pow-wow, pow-wow,” chants artist Noelle Mason into the camera. Her gaze is directed at artist Erica Lord. She continues the racist, taunting song adding in gestures to match each verse: “we are the redmen / feathers in our headband / down among the dead men / pow-wow.”
Homan Square: The Corner of Corrupt Cops, Occupy Protesters, and… SAIC?
n many ways, Homan Square — a multipurpose development in the heart of Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood — is a microcosm of Chicago.
There’s a high-performing charter school, a large community center, and various nonprofit organizations — all in buildings reclaimed from the old headquarters of Sears, Roebuck, and Co. Homan Square also houses a detention center for the Chicago Police Department (CPD), infamous for its brutal interrogation methods that have specifically targeted black men.
Making the Invisible Visible: Protesters Occupy Homan Square
Seeking respite from the blistering heat, demonstrators stand or sit under canopy tents and other make-shift shelters at the corner of Fillmore and Homan. They have been staked out here since July 22, enduring rising temperatures and turbulent storms. Across the street from the controversial Homan Square police facility (a proven black site), they are protesting not only the misconduct at the facility, but the proposed Blues Lives Matter ordinance before the Chicago City Council.
Big Tobacco Is Using You
In the mid-1990s R. J. Reynolds, one of the largest tobacco companies in the US, engaged in a marketing campaign secretly titled “Project Scum” to increase sales of Camel brand cigarettes to minority groups. The company methodically researched and targeted neighborhoods in San Francisco with high gay and lesbian populations in order to encourage those they judged “scum” to buy their products.
DePaul art professor’s work explores feminist intersectionality
A fusion of throbbing color, sliced negative space and pulsating vitality, the paintings by Zoe Nelson breathe freely in space, hanging in the atmosphere of the Cleve Carney Art Gallery at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. Liberated from the wall, the chained and hung paintings make their presence known to the viewer.