Work of the Week: In Free Fall
POSTED BY Carl K., ON January 18, 2013, Comments Off
Jets have complicated lives, too.
From first flight to plane graveyard, commercial jetliners have long careers with more than just figurative ups and downs. I’m a confessed airliner enthusiast, so Hito Steyerl’s In Free Fall (2010) piqued my interest because it lays out the life, death, and reuse of a Boeing 707. The moving-image work is separated into three chapters: Before the Crash, After the Crash, and Crash. When we join the main character, Boeing 707 4X-JYI, it’s in pieces in Mojave—the place where planes go to die. We’re told that 4X-JYI started its life at the glamorous airline TWA ferrying the trendy jet-set. The plane descended to serving utilitarian functions for the Israeli military in the 1970s, made an explosive cameo in the 1994 film Speed, and then was sent to China as scrap—its fuselage chewed up and, presumably, turned into products like pirated DVDs of American action films.
The story of the classic jetliner is told through appearances by Hito Steyerl, actor Imri Kahn, and even the cameraman. The production of In Free Fall also plays a role. So essentially, it’s telling the story of the airplane, but it’s also telling the story of telling the story of the airplane. Follow me?
Regardless, the plane’s many lives, shown in the immersive environment of the Donna and Howard Stone Gallery for Film, Video, and New Media, offer a visually compelling look at the processes of production, consumption, destruction, and reuse. This exhibition is on view through January 27.
Image Credit: Hito Steyerl. Still from In Free Fall, 2010. © Hito Steyerl. Courtesy of Wilfried Lentz Rotterdam.
A Look Back at a Brilliant Year
POSTED BY Carl K., ON December 31, 2012, 2 COMMENTS
An election, an Olympiad, and Gangnam Style: 2012 was a momentous year, especially for the Art Institute. Blockbuster exhibitions, shiny new galleries, and big technology updates were the talk of the town.
One of the biggest happenings of the year was Roy Lichtenstein: A Retrospective, which brought together nearly 170 iconic works like Brushstroke with Spatter (1966) and attracted nearly 350,000 visitors.
The new Mary and Michael Jaharis Galleries of Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Art also took shape around McKinlock Court. Designed by wHY Architecture, the new sun-drenched galleries now hold over 550 works from 4,000 years of life in the Mediterranean region. The location of the galleries—right at a crossroads in the museum—is definitely fitting considering the huge influence of the Greek and Roman world on Western art.
The Art Institute continued to go high-tech in 2012. Members can now show their member card on an iPhone, over 133,000 people like us on Facebook, and LaunchPads—specialized iPads chock full of info and fresh new perspectives on works—are now in two spaces (the Jaharis Galleries and the European Decorative Arts galleries).
As usual, the curators presented shows worthy of a blizzard of superlatives. Here’s just a small sample of the exhibitions that filled the galleries in 2012:
Rarely seen Renaissance and Baroque drawings showed the creative spark behind the work of prolific Italian painters.
A photography exhibition took a deeper look at the groundbreaking work of two highly influential surrealists.
1:1 scale copper replicas of pieces of the Statue of Liberty filled Pritzker Garden.
Moving, moving-image works by prominent artist Steve McQueen went on display in an innovative presentation in Regenstein Hall.
And exhibitions explored the cutting-edge designs of fashion houses Bless, Boudicca, Sandra Backlund; as well as the impressive accomplishments of Chicago architect Jeanne Gang.
Yes, it’s been a big year for the museum, but 2013 promises to be even more grand. More news in the New Year, but for now, we’re off to toast a great year and to ring in the next. Happy New Year!
Image Credits:
Roy Lichtenstein. Brushstroke with Spatter, 1966. © Estate of Roy Lichtenstein. Art Institute of Chicago, Barbara Neff Smith and Solomon Byron Smith Purchase Fund.
View of the Mary and Michael Jaharis Galleries of Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Art.
View of LaunchPad technology in the Mary and Michael Jaharis Galleries of Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Art.
Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, called Il Grechetto. The Creation of Adam, late 1640s. The Art Institute of Chicago, gift of an anonymous donor; restricted gifts of Dr. William D. and Sara R. Shorey, and Mr. and Mrs. George B. Young.
Installation view of Entre Nous: The Art of Claude Cahun at the Art Institute of Chicago, 2012.
Danh Vo. Installation view of We The People (detail), 2010–2013.
Steve McQueen. Installation view of exhibition Steve McQueen at the Art Institute of Chicago, 2012.
Installation view of Fashioning the Object: Bless, Boudicca, Sandra Backlund at the Art Institute of Chicago, 2012.
Studio Gang Architects. Installation view of Building: Inside Studio Gang Architects, on view at the Art Institute of Chicago September 24, 2012–Sunday, February 24, 2013.
A Vote for Better Design
POSTED BY Carl K., ON November 06, 2012, Comments Off
Lizard people (ahem, Minnesota), butterfly ballots, and hanging, swinging, pregnant, and dimpled chads (here’s looking at you, Florida)—voting in American elections always comes with a healthy dose of anxiety. But as I voted this morning here in Chicago, I found myself reassured by the ballot before me. Easy-to-follow directions, an understandable layout, and readable text—the ballot let me focus on making important decisions rather than navigating impenetrable blocks of letters or deciphering a baffling design.
Ballots in Cook County are a great example of how graphic design can serve the common good. After voting debacles in 2000, the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) launched a project called Design for Democracy, which aims to make the process of voting easier and more efficient. AIGA worked with Cook County and the state of Oregon to revamp voting materials and in 2007, Marcia Lausen published Design for Democracy: Ballot and Election Design (University of Chicago Press/AIGA), which has become an invaluable toolkit for citizens and officials who want to make voting as straightforward as possible.
Displayed at the Art Institute this spring and summer as part of the exhibition Rethinking Typologies, Design for Democracy: Ballot and Election Design includes suggestions (that might seem obvious, but aren’t embraced as often as you might think) such as:
– Prioritize voter directions over administrative requirements
– Present concise text
– Use upper- and lowercase sans serif typefaces with left alignment for readability
– Don’t use all caps
– Print text in 12-point font or larger
– Use universally recognized icons
– Utilize color and contrast to highlight important information
Election administration is up to states and municipalities, so even though there are model cities, counties, and states, many polling sites around the country still have atrocious voter-experience. Voting is an important part of maintaining democracy (duh), but making the process easier, clearer, and less prone to electoral dysfunction is vital in reinvigorating our democratic institutions.
If you haven’t already, go vote! And if your ballot leaves something to be desired (we’re talking graphic design, here, people), talk to your local election officials about making better design happen in your community.
Political Animals
POSTED BY Carl K., ON September 14, 2012, Comments Off
The summer is over and I can’t help but notice that everyone is talking about barnstorming, slinging mud, and too-close-to-call dogfights. It’s not a fight at a farm or zoo—it’s an explosion of animal-related metaphors describing the election. Yep, the general election is here and donkeys and elephants are charging, but eagles (the American Independence Party) and bull moose (Theodore Roosevelt’s Progressive Party) are sitting it out.
Horse racing seems to be the number one source of inspiration for political analysis. Just like a day at the horse races, in our first-past-the-post system, whoever comes in first takes it all.
For politicians, it’s a long run from exploratory committee to election day. Some candidates can be slow out of the gate and never recover. Others simply don’t have the stamina or staying power to remain in the lead.
Just like ponies, some politicians are closers—excellent at sealing the deal in the final days—while other, underrated candidates emerge as, you guessed it, dark horses that threaten to upset the odds-on favorite.
As we head down the home stretch, I’m sure we’ll see and hear a flurry of negative ads. And, come November 6, we may see races end in a recount-worthy photo-finish.
So who’s up and who’s down in the polls? Who is going to cross the finish line first? Regardless of who wins and loses, it’s a great time for handicappers, armchair analysts, and even art museums to trot out animal imagery to explain one of the most exciting processes in our democracy.
Image Credits:
Edgar Degas. Horse with Jockey; Horse Galloping, Turning Head to the Right, Feet Not Touching the Ground, modeled mid-1870s (cast before 1951). Bequest of Brooks McCormick.
Édouard Manet. The Races, 1865–72. Through prior bequest of Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson Collection.
Jacques Callot. The Horse Race at the Pitti Palace, in Florence, from The Caprices, c. 1622. Mary S. Adams Fund.
Lichtenstein of the Week
POSTED BY Carl K., ON August 31, 2012, Comments Off
The dots are rolling out after an unforgettable summer at the Art Institute. Over the past several months, we’ve come to see Roy Lichtenstein as far more than the creator of comics-inspired paintings such as Whaam! and Ohhh…Alright… We’ve discussed the artist’s wide-ranging explorations (Chinese landscapes, American presidents, and Art Deco-influenced sculpture), told you what the dots are made of, and heard from a very tough critic. But, as Roy Lichtenstein: A Retrospective enters its final days in Chicago, we return to the iconic War and Romance paintings for which Lichtenstein is best known.
Oh, Jeff…I Love You, Too…But… captures a generic-looking blonde in a melodramatic moment. The painting succinctly conveys the anguish of that phone call, albeit in a distant, matter-of-fact way. While from a distance it may look mechanically produced like many comic panels, a closer look reveals just how much thought and skill went into hand-painting each line and benday dot. The painting seems to be both everyday and timeless, familiar and entirely new. These qualities—familiarity and surprise—are not unique to this piece, but are characteristic of many of the works we’ve discussed the past few months.
For those of us who’ve had the pleasure to be a part of the Art Institute’s presentation of this exhibition, we feel conflicted like the blonde in the painting: we love works like Oh, Jeff…, but we know it’s time to share Lichtenstein with the rest of the world.
Roy Lichtenstein: A Retrospective closes on Monday.
Image Credit: Roy Lichtenstein. Oh, Jeff…I Love You, Too…But…, 1964. © Estate of Roy Lichtenstein. Collection Simonyi.