Morbid Curiosity

For months now the Chicago Cultural Center has been my go-to place to discover new art in Chicago.


From its free music, to free dance and theater events- the art exhibitions I have seen have been unforgettable.


Maybe it's the beautiful, sophisticated architecture of the building. Or the wide, spacious walls that allow my thoughts to ponder back and forth.
Whatever it may be, it has kept me coming back for more. 

Since January 28th of this year, Morbid Curiosity: The Richard Harris Collection has been on display at the Chicago Cultural Center and will be till July 8th.

I had just visited this exhibit last week.


What took me so long to check it out? Well. Let's just say I get squeamish at the thought of death or anything dark-themed. Whether it's in movies, books, or in this case, art... I tend to look the other way sometimes.


However. I had finally mustered up the confidence to check out the exhibit with a friend of mine.






Shockingly, I didn't shut my eyes and run the other way. I was pleasantly surprised. 


Yes, I felt a little bit drowned by the large number of skulls and skeletons that surrounded me. But, I was more-so intrigued. 


Harris's collection explored several underlying themes-- not just death. Themes like vanity, war and the contrast between living and death popped out throughout the various sculptures, paintings, photographs and drawings of the collection. My favorite piece was a chandelier made out of hundreds of bones. 




A lady who was also exploring the exhibit and followed closely to my friend and me, helped shed a little light on the collection. She said, "Don't look at them [the skulls] as just a symbol of death. These have been used symbolically throughout centuries and across cultures. To one person it may mean one thing, but to another it could mean the opposite. Be creative."

There's about 5 weeks left to check out The Richard Harris Collection before it leaves Chicago. 


Chicago Cultural Center
78 E. Washington Street


Oh! And admission is FREE.

Vinyl Records

Instead of chucking out those retro, out-of-date vinyl records in the trash or at a local garage sale, Ebony Leaks, a college student designer and stylist, used her creativity and put them to better use. 


Ebony uses old vinyl records to create jewelry-- and her specialty? Earrings. 


Ranging from colors like black, to yellow, to turquoise, to maroon with a hint of pink, Ebony says each piece is "named after a positive expression to show the uniqueness that it has." Each piece is hand-made to fit any style, from retro to modern.

Since the fall of 2011, these vinyl records have caught my eye. Since then, they have been sweeping the South Loop of Chicago. 

Whole or Half? 

"Vinyl Expressionz was first a way for Ebony to express herself stylistically, and as time progressed her desire became for everyone to take part in this expression that was developed through her love for creating jewelry," as explained on her website. 

To me, it's astonishing how deep people dive into their imagination and get lost in their creativity. And for some people, they don't even have to dive that deep. It comes naturally.  I never would have had the thought in a million years to take old records, cut them and craft them onto wires made to hang from earlobes. 


Let's take this piece of junk and transform it into something beautiful!


But hey, one man's trash is another man's treasure, right?


Amazing.


What would have been tossed out in my bag of "garbage" was instead carefully crafted into fun, colorful and unique jewelry. Earrings that have gotten me several compliments and double-takes. Now it's one of my favorite pieces of flare.  


AND! According to her website, she will have new Vinyl Record earrings in honor of Whitney Houston (my favorite...RIP) featured soon. 


To check out more of Ebony's "Vinyl Expressionz" and maybe order a pair for you or your friend, you can visit www.vinylexpressionz.com 


- gail

"Stranger Than Family"

I've recently checked out Matthew Avignone's body of work entitled "Stranger than Family." This series is currently up at the David Weinberg Photography gallery in the gallery district. Matt describes his work as a documentation of "a typical family who has gone through extraordinary circumstances."

Matt, along with his four other siblings, are all adopted by his parents; two from India, two from South Korea.  Matt present his work as "capturing that fleeting which is a spit second." Along with family portraits and photos, viewers are also presented with documents and snapshots from the family's past.  These include the adoption papers from himself and siblings.  Pictures of when the children first met their adoption parents are included, as well as family photos from years past.

Through "Stranger Than Fiction," Matt is able to provide a glimpse of how strangers can become a family, no matter the circumstances, with time, love and perseverance.

Matt is a recent graduate from Columbia College Chicago's photography program.  He has being recognized with many awards such as the 2012 Baum Award for Emerging American Photographer.  His handmade signature sewn book titled, "An Unfinished Body," is in the permanent collections at George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography and Film, Rochester, NY and the International Center of Photography, New York, NY.

"Stranger Than Family" will be up through May 26th.

MatthewAvignone.com

"A Century of Progress"

          Morris Topchevsky takes his political views and transforms them onto canvas. In his painting, "A Century of Progress", we see the contrast between the fair's utopian theme of advancement and the sorry reality of out-of-work Americans. The painting arose due to the oppression of the Jews in Topchevsky's native home, Poland, where four of his siblings died. The group of six men huddled with a newspaper that reads "Daily Workers" represent the hard working men who were forced to become homeless. Sitting beside them are trash and forgotten furniture along with the fair sitting in the background. This shows a world apart from the despaired men. This piece by Topchevsky can be found at the DePaul Art Museum located in Lincoln Park.

http://museums.depaul.edu/

"A Century of Progress"
by Morris Topchevsky

“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