chicago

In addition to The Bean, my brother's wedding to the wonderful Kathy Zadrozny, and deep dish pizza (which is a joke), while I was in Chicago a few weeks ago, I stopped in at the Art Institute of Chicago for what turned out to be an amazingly productive experience.

There was an awesome Kimono Exhibit, featuring wonderfully dyed

and displayed kimono. They were shown "unwrapped" so that the

full pattern was visible. I loved reading about how each pattern was

created, and on top of that there were several original mulberry

paper stencils used to apply the pattern (exciting!).

I was introduced to the work of Timorous Beasties, a design studio

based in Glasglow that produces traditional textiles and wallpapers

emblazoned with contemporary design images. I like the combination

of traditional fiber art with contemporary studio craft, with a bit of

retail-ability thrown in

I saw Martin Pueryear's Sanctuary, made in 1982. The title of this

piece is what does it for me, without the title, I think it would have

a very different meaning. But for myself at least, after seeing the

title and reading the adjacent info card, I was struck by the simple

little box (aka home) perched atop a spindly set of stalks, ready to

roll away on it's attached wheel.

Also on display was a piece by Lee Bonticou, Unititled. Just the materialness of it

attracted me. The metal substructure with sewn on canvas created this

industrially rustic sculpture. Not to mention the fact that it included an

uncomfortable sense of depth and the unknown lurking in the dark.

Alex Hay's Ground Drawing made in 1968 (of which no good picture exists

on the internet) also caught my eye. On what seems like a bland abstracted

technical drawing, he has faithfully recorded the exact dimensions of a

section of earth no larger than 18x24. He first wet the paper, plastered it

down to the ground, then traced every single bump and divet, recording its

location and angle. After completeling the disection he rewet the paper,

smoothing it out once again and viola, it's art! What an interesting way to

capture a very specific place.