We went to the Cool Globes Exhibit yesterday, hoping to take a free 45-minute tour highlighting the globes, and trying to get an understanding of the artists’ interpretations of solutions to global warming. Seemingly hundreds of globes dot the Museum Campus, starting in front of the Field Museum, and zigzagging along the campus and extending along the lake front up to East Balboa Drive.

Globes on the Museum Campus

Read more »

Technorati Tags: Cool Globes, Museum Campus, Field Museum

Ingrid Albrecht, a watercolor painter, mixed media artist, and teacher, has been interested in pictographs and petroglyphs since 1987, painting her creative interpretation of these ancient images based on her own photos and sketches from her worldwide travels. As an artist as well as an innovator, she has spent the last ten years perfecting her techniques in creating monoprints and original prints from ink and paint on the surface of water. She calls her luminous technique “Creating on Water.”

Petroglyphs and Pictographs

The Ancient Herdsmen. Courtesy of the Artist

Read more »

Technorati Tags: Petroglyphs and Pictographs

The following is a statement from Olga Stefan, Executive Director of the Chicago Artists’ Coalition (CAC).

Please help us convince aldermen to OPPOSE the proposed Public Art Ordinance, up for vote on June 13th. This revised ordinance will take away voting rights from citizens in the Percent For Art program, paid for by tax-payers, and will eliminate any remaining transparency in the decision-making process regarding public art commissions. All decision-making power will be transferred to the Department of Cultural Affairs staff, with no voting opportunities from the art community or other citizens.
Read more »

Dear ArtStyle,

Early one morning I looked out the kitchen window, and my heart skipped a beat. On the grass, just below the window, there was everybody’s (here in Iceland) favorite bird, the Golden Plover, hopping around and poking its beak in the ground. One Icelandic tradition as long as I can remember is the media’s announcement of the arrival of the Golden Plover. The headlines are always the same (in late March or early April): “Lóan er komin” (The Golden Plover has arrived!) Why did my heart skip a beat when I’m not even interested in birds? That, I am sure, has to do with history, nostalgia, and a feeling of hope after a long, dark winter. The Golden Plover’s arrival means that spring is here, and bright days are ahead.

And the Plover has graced its presence in Venice as well. Iceland’s The Golden Plover Has Arrived features the work of Steingrímur Eyfjörð in The 54th Venice Biennale, opening this week. The artist, who was selected to represent Iceland this year, works with Icelandic folklore and traditions, like the one I just experienced.

Anna

Courtesy of Anna Joelsdottir

Last Friday, I attended the reception for Chicago artist Dawn Brennan at ARC Gallery, presenting her new series of figurative paintings. Familiar with her genre of the heroic male narrative, often in natural settings, I was impressed with this break-out show, depicting the female protagonist displaying the power of a woman.
Read more »

Technorati Tags: figurative paintings, female protagonist