Farewell Slideshow...

-Still photographs of urban artwork provided by Monica Macellari

Thank you, Pilsen!!

--Monica Macellari, Katherine Hall, Amanda Boleman, and Irish Mae Silvestre

TPP: Some Final Thoughts And a Thank You

As my classmates Amanda and Monica have already said quite eloquently, a great deal was learned and accomplished over the past few weeks. We have had the pleasure of working with a terrific artist and his site. We have learned an unbelievable amount, not just about social media, network and producing content for online news, but about a vibrant, fun, and all-around cool community. So I won't belabor the points made by my classmates (good points all). Instead, I would like, on behalf of the Pilsen Project, to extend my sincerest thanks to Pilsen and its artists for welcoming us into their community, taking time to talk with us, and sharing with us your enthusiasm for what you do and the neighborhood you call home.

A project like this is only as successful--or indeed as interesting--as the subject matter allows it to be. As our statistics showed over the past four weeks (almost 2,000 unique views in under four weeks!) The Pilsen Project was quite successful, if we do say so ourselves. We couldn't have accomplished that without the Pilsen art community, who effectively made this project as colorful and fun as it was.

So thank you Miguel Cortez, Jeriah Hildwine, Saul Aguirre, Alvaro Sahagun, Rebecca Beachy, Kate Bowen and all the other artists who took the time to speak with us about art, about community, and the subtle (and not so subtle!) intersections between the two. We could not have done this without you.



Katherine H.

Pilsen Art Spaces

View Pilsen Art Spaces in a larger map

Here is a map of galleries and art spaces around the Pilsen neighborhood as compiled by Miguel Cortez. This interactive map will now be featured on The Pilsen Project site and can be used as a reference point for scoping out awesome local artists.

Amanda B.

New Look

As you can see, The Pilsen Project has revamped its look and now features a background with photography by Miguel Cortez and links to Art Pilsen's page, Facebook and Twitter.


Clicking this little bird --> will take you to our Twitter page and you can see a stream of our tweets running down the left side. Be sure to check out live tweets from Friday's "Short Court: Tropical Aesthetics" event at Antena.


You can also find links to each week of our project on the left hand side, which will update as we go along.


Amanda B.

Art Vibe

Check out some pieces created by ArtPilsen curator Miguel Cortez...posting and producing artwork for his local community...

 --http://tumblr.com/ZnnuayEjech_

--http://tumblr.com/ZnnuayBB_Eqp 

-- http://tumblr.com/Znnuay7hEmLo
 
 -Monica M.                                     

Art meets fashion

From kilts to pink flamingos, "Short Court: Tropical Aesthetics" wasn't short on sartorial inspirations.
- Irish S.

Tonight! "Short Court: Tropical Aesthletics" At Antena

As part of the ongoing project to highlight the art community in Pilsen, we will be heading out to a gallery opening this evening. "Short Court: Tropical Aesthletics" is having its opening night at Antena studio in Pilsen! For those of you who are interested in attending, you can find more information here at Art Pilsen (seventh entry down!) and get a full list of the artists being showcased here at Antena's website.


The theme of this show is apparently beach, beach, beach! Who doesn't love the idea of the tropics, especially right now with the weather as gloomy as it is? According to Miguel Cortez, owner of Antena, "Short Court: Tropical Aesthletics" is going to be a sporting event and an art show all in one!

The gallery opens at 6pm and the opening will last until 10pm. Among other things guests will be able to do, there will be a chance to challenge some professional volleyball players (yep, inside the gallery!) to a game, sample some delicious tropical drinks, and take in the art showcased by Chicago artists. I am told there will even be sand!


Project Pilsen will be speaking with some of the artists, taking pictures, and hopefully (fingers crossed that technology is on our side) live-tweeting the event through our Twitter @projectpilsen. Keep an eye on this blog for a full review of "Short Court: Tropical Aesthletics"'s opening night later on.

Cheers!


Katherine H.

Q&A with Art Pilsen's Miguel Cortez (Part 3 of 3)

(continued) 


If you were picked up by a larger organization would you want to be part of a larger site?

I kind of like the independent way of doing things. I also run a gallery out of my studio where I have shows every month.

The next show is taking place this Friday, February 17 by a group called Tag Team. They’re a group of local Chicago artists and [while] they’re going to have the paintings on the wall, they’re [also] going to have a volleyball court in the center of the gallery where professional volleyball players will be playing. People can walk around and look at the artwork.

Pilsen is such an up-and-coming arts community. Have you noticed a certain theme in the art that you’ve seen?

Right now there’s a community of contemporary galleries west of Ashland and what they mostly show are installations, sculptures and videos.

Do you think it’s beneficial for an artist to experiment with different media rather than sticking to one medium?

I think it’s important because you grow as an artist by experimenting with different medium. If it doesn’t succeed then you move on to the next one – you don’t get pigeonholed into just one type of work like abstract art, murals or commercial stuff that’s in people’s houses. That really has no soul aside from just being decorative.

Irish S.

Q&A with Miguel Cortez (Part 2 of 3)

(continued)


What is your medium?

I do 2-D work, painting, drawing, video, computer prints, drawings and 3-D animation. I go from medium to medium, I don’t just stick to one.

How would you describe your work?

I’d say it’s eclectic. I don’t stick to just one style – I experiment. I studied art in high school, I went to a fine arts magnet school then I went to The Art Institute of Chicago.

Who’s your favorite artist?

I can’t narrow it down but I really like Marcel Duchamp because he did all kinds of stuff. He experimented with paintings, installations and cinema. He’s up there on my list. If he was alive today, I’m sure he would experiment with everything – the Internet, social networks, etc.

There are a lot of bloggers out there. What’s your view on maintaining Art Pilsen for free and in your own time?

I think this information needs to be shared.

(Next: Part 3)

Irish S.

The Pilsen Project - WHO: Miguel Cortez

Q&A with Art Pilsen's Miguel Cortez (Part 1 of 3)

Miguel Cortez: "My life is art."

Picture by Katherine Hall

Meet Miguel Cortez, the man behind Art Pilsen. In addition to being a full-time designer, the 41-year old artist and gallery owner manages Art Pilsen in an effort to promote Pilsen’s dynamic art scene. The Pilsen Project team recently caught up with Cortez to talk about Marcel Duchamp, volleyball and everything in between.

How did Art Pilsen come about?

I started the site in 2004. Before that my friend had a similar site, ArtPilsen.com which was a simpler website with listings of all the events. He had the website from 2002 to 2003 and then he moved to California for his graduate degree and he told me that I could take over. It’s a side project so whenever I get press releases, I post them on the blog so it varies depending on what I get. It’s updated weekly or monthly depending on the information that I receive.

Why did you feel the need to create Art Pilsen?

[The area] has been changing for many years and galleries come and go. I felt there was a need to post information on openings specific to that area. The size of the galleries varies across Pilsen from Halsted to Damen.

How did you get involved in the art scene?

I’m an artist and I’ve been living in Pilsen since 1996 – my life is art.

(Next: Part 2)

Irish S.