“Out in Chicago”

“Out in Chicago”
Chicago History Museum Exhibition.

I took some time out of this past Friday to check out the “Out in Chicago” exhibit at the Chicago History Museum. The exhibit explores the fact that Chicago has been the crossroads for a variety of cultures. Many people have moved to Chicago to seek a better life and to build new communities.
In the past 150 years, Chicago has created a strong community of surviving, thriving, and struggling gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Chicagoans. The exhibit analyzes an array of diverse content including clothing, literature, bars, important documents, stories, and unique individuals that relate directly to Chicago’s LGBT history.
The exhibit itself lets you step into Chicago’s past, which makes the present more understood in the LGBT community.

"Chicago’s LGBT history is not just a story about one group of people in one neighborhood. 

It’s a history that has happened throughout the city and over time."
 — Jill Austin, co-curator

Flickr Gallery of Exhibit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chicagohistory/sets/72157626233034306/detail/

-Emily

Jennifer Cronin

       Each month the Fine Arts Building, located on Michigan Ave., holds Open Studio Nights. This month, I had the honor of going to help Elephant Room, Inc. artist Jennifer Cronin set up and entertain for her work. She showcased many new science inspired pieces, some still in progress, along with a more recognized painting, "Pink". This young artist is charming and inspiring to all those creators out there. Paintings and Postcards by Cronin can be found in the shop!

Check out more of Jennifer Cronin's work at http://www.jennifercronin.com/

"Pink" by Jennifer Cronin

This Will Have Been: Art, Love & Politics in the 1980s

This past Thursday I visited the Museum of Contemporary Art located off the Chicago Red Line stop. One exhibit that stood out above the rest was This Will Have Been: Art, Love & Politics in the 1980s. On display from  February 11th- June 3rd 2012, the exhibit covers the period from 1979 to 1992. 


From the birth of MTV, to the rap/hip-hop scene emerging, to the former US President Ronald Reagan and everything in between; this exhibition attempts to make sense of what happened to the visual arts in the United States during this tumultuous period.


The artists represented in this exhibit answer the questions "what is the role of the visual arts? How can artists make images that either compete with or counter the powerful images produced by advertising and Hollywood?"


Each room of the exhibit has its own central theme "The End is Near," "Democracy," "Gender Trouble," and "Desire and Longing."


Although I was born in 1990, I still was influenced and captured by some if not a lot of the artwork represented in the exhibit. This exhibit not only brings entertainment to the public but also brings awareness. 


Go to the MCA when you have time and check it out. It's definitely different than your average exhibition. 

http://mcachicago.org/exhibitions/featured/twhb/exhibition/overview