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The Big World
by Kristen Carter
The Chicago Cultural Center
78 E. Washington St., Chicago, IL 60602
April 25, 2009 - August 30, 2009
Today, the market for Chinese art is widely reported to be among the fastest growing in the world. The country’s growing mega-cities and booming economy are reasons for a dynamic and thriving contemporary art scene worth noting and seeing.Gregory G. Knight and Tereza de Arruda, co-curators of “The Big World” at the Chicago Cultural Center, have put together a show featuring twenty artists that critically explore urban life, the human condition, and the collective ideology of people living within a large, diverse, and transforming world. The show features works in a range of media, from conceptual photographs, to figurative paintings, to installations and video. The artists selected are emerging and not widely known; making this show an exciting and fresh discovery of both talent and a country I know little about.
 Xiong Yu. Falconer, 2008. Oil on canvas. Courtesy of Chinablue Gallery.
(top image: Wang Qingsong, The Glory of Hope, 2007. Courtesy of Chinablue Gallery.)
Posted by Kristen Carter
on 6/29
| tags: figurative painting video-art installation
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Here I Am
by Kristen Carter
The Chicago Cultural Center
78 E. Washington St., Chicago, IL 60602
June 1, 2009 - July 5, 2009
The notion of “the gaze” has become somewhat of a catchphrase with art and has seemingly become inextricable in the discussion of art, its analysis and art theory. However, in these austere yet powerful portraits of blind children in Mexico City, Jed Fielding, a Chicago-based photographer challenges this very concept. This is the last week to see Fielding's "Look at Me," the exhibition closes July 5th.
These black and white photographs complicate the role of the viewer and ultimately what we see and how we see it. Through the exhibition’s statement we are informed immediately that the figures are indeed blind, yet looking at each photograph and the sometimes haunting, sometimes endearing figures within each of them I slowly became more and more aware of my position as viewer, and the differences and similarities of our worlds through a slow, but definite awareness that my gaze is not being met.
The camera is the mediator here, a metaphor for human vision, which forces us as viewers to directly confront what we as a society would not otherwise. We’ve all heard the expression that "the eyes are the windows to our souls," but after experiencing Fielding’s photographs, I would argue otherwise. Rather, the character of each figure is revealed through their interpersonal interactions, and their genuine facial expressions that is emphasized by Fielding’s straightforward, intimate and simple perspective.
It’s an eerie feeling peering into the eyes of someone you know can’t see, but one that is powerful and incredibly poignant, one that resonates with all of us in the contemplation of something many of us take for granted.
--Kristen Carter
(top image: Jed Fielding, Mexico City, 2000. Courtesy of the artist.)
Posted by Kristen Carter
on 6/29
| tags: figurative photography
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Facets' Night School
by Robyn Farrell Roulo
The weather has finally hit 80°, the rain has subsided and it seems that the summer has officially arrived in Chicago. Lake Shore Drive, North Avenue Beach and sidewalks of every restaurant in town are packed with eager Chicagoans ready to soak in the few warm moments of summer. One of my favorite things about summer in Chicago is the outdoor film screenings that take place throughout the season. Unfortunately, Mother Nature is not always so accommodating. For a visually engaging experience without the risk of humidity or rain, check out Facets Night School, running every Saturday night this summer at midnight.
Located at 1517 West Fullerton Avenue, Facets Multimedia is a bastion of foreign, independent and eclectic film. The visual arts venue is a mainstay in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood and features special lectures, premiere screenings, classes, lectures and events as well as an approachable storefront where commercial and obscure movies are available to rent. The Night School should not be confused with the summer school of your youth. It is the rebellious offshoot of Facets' established film school program. The Facets' crew has taken lengths to provide a fresh and fun approach to learning and entertainment. Lectures are conceptualized and presented by Facets' staff and film enthusiasts. These late night gatherings are more than school, they are happenings of visual art complaints with giveaways, grand house trailers and post-screening discussions. This series however, delves into the dark and peculiar genres of cinema examining the celebrated cult classics of the 20th century. The features are provocative, insane, absurd and frightening.
Session One of the Night School closed on June 27th, with George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead (1978). Session Two will begin July 11th with Sergei Eisenstein's Ivan the Terrible and an accompanying lecture from Brian Elza. Although the complete second series is not yet finalized, films set to screen may include: Viva Las Vegas (George Sidney, 1964) and Harold and Maude (Hal Ashby, 1971). At five dollars per class, it is a summer school that should not be skipped.
"Romero's sequel to Night of the Living Dead ups the zombie action, violence, blood and nihilism to follow a quartet who find refuge from the flesh-eating undead in an abandoned shopping mall. Or do they? Phil Morehart dishes on this landmark horror masterpiece, from its bleak satire of American consumerism, comic book action and groundbreaking gore FX to its impact upon the horror genre and regional independent filmmaking."
--description from Facets' website
For more information please visit www.facets.org.
-Robyn Farrell Roulo
(above image courtesy of Facets)
Posted by Robyn Farrell Roulo
on 6/19
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