The Pilsen Project: art

Showing posts with label art. Show all posts

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Farewell Slideshow...

-Still photographs of urban artwork provided by Monica Macellari

Thank you, Pilsen!!

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

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Art in Other Forms: Dance (Part 2 of 2)

Scope out these awesome videos of Pilsen flamenco dancers from the Clinard Dance Theatre.

Amanda B.

Friday, March 2, 2012

Art In Other Forms: Dance (Part 1 of 2)

Over the past four weeks, we have been introduced to the thriving Pilsen art community and have talked to artists working with every medium imaginable.

Whether working with a paintbrush, a camera or simply their own body, these artists have shown us that art is not easily definable to one way, shape or form.

We've also learned over the course of the last few weeks that the art community in Pilsen is highly connected and supportive of one another's work.

Local Clinard Dance Theatre is no exception.

In 2010, Clinard Dance launched a community outreach program that brought together many Pilsen artists in the communities' parks and integrated the flamenco style of the theatre into the parks' landscapes.

From the Pilsen tradition, Clinard invited a muralist to draw their performance at Harrison Park and danced as matadors for the community to see.

Clinard Dance Theatre is a contemporary dance company with flamenco roots. They offer dance classes for flamenco firsts to those more advanced. The Winter Session is on now through April 7th.

For more information, check out: http://www.clinardance.org/

Amanda B.

Art in Other Forms: Music (Part 2 of 2)

Part of Pilsen’s appeal to local, independent musicians is its sheer number of recording studios, stages, and other venues for meeting musicians, producing, and playing music. The community's openness to new sounds, and its tight-knit DIY vibe makes this the ideal place to meet and work with like-minded folks in the music industry. Below is a sampler of some of those places. Check out the map for more listings!

ApeTrax Recording Studios--Located on the corner of 18^th and South Peoria, ApeTrax is a recording studio which caters to a wide variety of sounds. While their web page has not been updated recently, the images of their newly updated studio are impressive, as is their list of past clients. ApeTrax specializes in “providing artists with excellent quality audio in an affordable and relaxed environment.”

Mariachi Mexico Vivo—formed in 2005, this Pilsen-area group of eight gives a nod to the neighborhood’s Mexican roots. As their name suggests, Mariachi Mexico Vivo specializes in traditional mariachi music, an energetic and upbeat style native to Mexico. They have played for a number of events and at concerts, including a 2008 appearance with Gloria Trevi, a Mexican pop-rock musician, at the Congress Theater.

Miller Street Studios--Specializing in urban music and hip hop sound, Miller Street Studios heralds itself as offering the “highest quality recording capabilities for the lowest rates in Chicago.” They are active in social media, and their blog (managed by the owners and interns) is used not just to promote artists at the studio, but to discuss musical genre, aesthetics, and what makes "good" sound.

Click on the map below to see more studios, stores, and music venues!

Katherine H.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Art in Other Forms: Music (part 1)

It goes without saying that the term "Art" is not just limited to paintbrushes and sculpting clay. In the last few weeks alone, the Pilsen Project has profiled artists who use everything from cardboard to live-action sports to children's games as part of art. And now, we will look at art that is pleasing not to the eye, but to the ear: music!

Pilsen is no stranger to music. Take a walk down any street through the neighborhood's center and chances are you will hear it drifting out of any one of the establishments that line the sidewalk. It's an interesting blend of sound and culture: the myriad lyrical sounds of Pilsen's Mexican heritage mixed with the punk and jazz of present-day Chicago. It is a sound that embraces old and new, tradition and the modern.

In October of last year, during Chicago Artist's Month, WBEZ's Catalina Maria Johnson wrote a profile on Pilsen's vibrant and thriving indie music scene, which was prominently featured in Pilsen's ninth annual 18th Street Pilsen Open Studio s. Open Studios got its start in 2004 as an artist-run series of events which showcased artists and musicians from the Pilsen area and beyond.

In the article, Johnson's interviewees--including musicians, producers, singers, and art gallery curators--credited the neighborhood's willingness to come together, as well as their openness to newcomers, with the success of the indie music scene (and indeed the arts in general) in Pilsen.

Visual artists and musicians often work together to promote each others work, whether sharing space for shows or collaborating on combined visual/audio projects. Music has grown up alongside visual art in Pilsen and, in many ways, the two have influenced each other.

One artist and musician, Victor Montañez, said it to Johnson best: “Pilsen is not a geographic location, it’s a state of mind, it’s a state of heart, it’s a state of art."

Katherine H.

Artist Snapshot: Alvaro Sahagun (Part 2 of 2)

(interview with Sahugan continued.....)

3.) What do you appreciate about the Pilsen art community?

I love Pilsen and its art community. I enjoy its urban environment, the cultural richness in the environment it’s around. When I was a young boy I had a lot of family in the little village / Pilsen area. I would love to spend weekends there and be around the liveliness of the community. The murals and overall ambience for me as a child was very welcoming. I love the abundance of art galleries and their Friday exhibits. I love the art work that is displayed as well, it’s great community that fosters growth for young artist that are at the beginning of their careers. The freshness and “cool” (contemporary style) artwork is fascinating to me.

4.) What galleries has your work been featured at?

My artwork has been featured at Union Street Gallery, Visual Arts Gallery, Moraine Valley College Art Gallery and at the Governors State University Library.

5.) Any upcoming shows??

Yes! My artwork Naturalized Citizens was just accepted to a National exhibition at Union Street Gallery (http://www.unionstreetgallery.org/) by Juror Elizabeth Whiting curator for the Union League Club of Chicago. I was also invited to display my art at the same location for an exhibition in April of 2012 titled Threshold. Threshold will provide me with 13 feet of wall space where I may display my art, it’s intended to highlight beginning artist. I will also be in a student exhibition in May 2012 where the judge will be Jeff Zimmerman, Chicago muralist artist.

For more information about my artwork please visit.

http://www.wix.com/lsahagun2/artanddesign

http://ispeakart.blogspot.com/

Twitter: @lsahagun2

-Monica M.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Artist Snapshot: Kate Bowen

Kate Bowen: "It's easy to become a slave to your artist statement. I think it is just as important to chase mystery & see where it takes you."

1. When did you first get involved with the art world?

I got involved in the arts in college. I started with the intent of being pre-med and I took classes in the art and theater departments because I had heard that a diverse education would make me a more desirable applicant when it came time to apply to medical school. Secretly, I just wanted to continue taking art and theater classes after high school and “diversifying my education” was an excuse to do so. I grew up in Eagle, Idaho and everyone in my family is an engineer so a career in the arts wasn’t really on my radar. I bounced around a lot before I gave in and became a full time art student. I basically tried to quadruple major in photo, print-making, drawing and art history. One of my professors had to tell me that it was time to graduate and move on to bigger things.

I was really involved with the arts community in Idaho, but the “art world” seemed really distant until I moved to Chicago. I went to Columbia College for grad school and worked for the Museum of Contemporary Photography as a curatorial assistant, which is when I started to have a broader understanding of what the term “art world” meant.

2. What is your preferred medium?

I hold a BFA and MFA in photography, so it’s safe to say I’m partial to the medium of photography. I use photography, video and performance in my work most often.

3. How would you describe your work?

I am motivated by a deep curiosity about the way people attempt to understand and articulate their own desires. The obsessive and relentless qualities present in the concepts of desire and longing that gets addressed in a number of different ways in my work. My current project, Almost Always Getting it Right, is situated in my hometown of Eagle, Idaho and centered on longing for perfection, which is absorbing and as such, oppressive. This year marks the 10^th anniversary of the perfect season of football at my high school, which is the only perfect season played by any team in the conference to date. Perfection, in this place, is found in broken records and physical ability. Beauty is a long run to the end zone or a perfectly executed routine. Sensuality is a pom pom that runs the length of the thigh and is followed by ahead flip when it reaches its destination. All of which is surrounded by a wide-open landscape that meets mountain ranges that hold you in, and protect these ideals and values. When I am making work I am looking for the things and people that are still in a process of becoming, or moving on. I like to think about the optimism of a cheerleading routine and the frustration of attempting to recapture greatness.

4. What upcoming projects are you working on?

Almost Always Getting it Right is a relatively new project and I plan to continue working on it for a while longer. I particularly like to continue working with the cheerleaders, they are really wonderful to watch, and I want to work with some of the other football stars from my high school. I have also renewed my fascination with sports aphorisms and clichés in general while working on this project, which is where several of my titles come from. It’s a way of soothing ones own disappointment with a security blanket of words, so I might try to work with some of these phrases more.

5. Where do you see your art going after you receive your MFA?

I received my MFA this last May. The working process for the post MFA period is a strange one. It feels very exciting, energetic and lonely at the same time. One of the more surprising things that I have discovered after grad school is that it feels good not to have all the answers, all the time. Depending on your program, you get used to talking about your work at length and being able to answer every possible question that may come up about your work. While I do believe this is good practice, it is easy to become a slave to your artist statement. I think it is just as important to chase mystery and see where it takes you.

Don't forget to check out Almost Always Getting it Right TOMORROW from 4-8 PM.

Amanda B.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Art in Schools Part 2 of 2

After years of pushing to improve their standardized test scores drastically reduced the time spent on art classes, elementary schools are once again trying to bring those subjects back up to strength. Unfortunately, the grim economy has made it difficult to find the funding to hire new instructors, create new spaces for art classrooms, or provide sufficient supplies.

This is where the art community has stepped in to fill the gap.

Local nonprofits, museums, and community centers are partnering with schools to provide in-school instruction and after-school programs that provide art education students would otherwise not be able to receive.

In Chicago, there is extra emphasis not just on the importance of teaching children about art, but ensuring that they all have access to it, regardless of age or socioeconomic status. Organizations like Prosarts Studio, Marwen, the South Chicago Art Center and Gallery 37 provide space, materials, and classes for children and youth at low or no cost.

One organization in particular has taken the mission of providing quality art education to youth too heart.

A girl works on part of a mural | photo courtesy of Yollocalli

Yollocalli Arts Reach, a youth art initiative associated with the National Museum of Mexican Art, began in 1997 with the vision to provide “equal access to communal, artistic, and cultural resources” to area youth who might not otherwise be able to afford costly extra-curricular art classes.

Yollocalli does not just serve students who want to pursue a career in the arts, either.

“Most of our students just simply enjoy making and learning about art and do not have many opportunities to explore it on their own,” Vanessa Sanchez, Yollocalli’s program director, said in an email. Sanchez said that the students who came in to Yollocalli ended the program feeling confident about their abilities not just to create a work of art, but effectively communicate with each other about their work, art in history, and their future goals.

“Our young people are given the space to create art based on their own stories and lifestyles,” Sanchez added. “We focus on giving the youth the tools necessary 'to realize their own vision'.”

Making clay art for animation | photo courtesy of Yollocalli

In 2009, Yollocalli was awarded the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award, recognizing the organization for its dedication to the young people in the community.

Yollocalli is not alone in Chicago. There are many schools, organizations and groups tapping into the city’s vibrant art culture to bring art and youth closer together, serving as a reminder that art is as vital a subject as literacy and science to a young person’s education.

Katherine H.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Art in Schools: Part 1 of 2

If you grew up in the 1990’s or earlier, chances are you took an art class as part of your elementary school curriculum. You may have dabbled with water colors, lamented covering your school uniform in oil pastels or—if you were lucky—got to spend a few coveted minutes on the oh so awesome pottery wheel. For many kids, art was a normal part of the school day, allotted as much time as science, language arts, or math.

Today, though, art’s place in school curriculums is sliding lower and lower on the priority scale. Over the last two decades, the emphasis on standardized tests as benchmarks for success (and federal funding) has fostered schools and classrooms that focus on math and literacy with laser-like intensity, while subjects like art and music quietly languish to the back burner.

But far from being an “elective” subject that children don’t really need, research has proven time and again that exposing children to the arts in the classroom helps them develop critical life skills.

A 2007 study “Studio Thinking: The Real Benefits of Visual Arts Education” pointed out skills which were important not just for art, but other fields of study as well. Skills like the ability to develop and execute an idea and the ability to learn from—and move past—mistakes, were things which art classes taught students. The old adage “think outside the box” is learned in the art studio, where children are taught to envision something on a blank page or a shapeless lump of clay.

This, the study suggested, could be carried over to science, where students could be asked to create a hypothesis for an experiment and then try to achieve that outcome; or to history, where students could apply their imaginations to understanding events of the past, and possibilities of the future.

Equally importantly, though, are the mental and emotional development benefits of art. Students are taught patience, persistence, and how to connect with each other and the world around them on a deeper emotional level.

So what are schools doing to re-introduce the arts to the classroom? As it turns out, quite a bit. Schools are partnering with organizations and tapping into their local art communities to reestablish arts programs both in school and after school. Chicago, with its vibrant art ethos, is one of the cities reclaiming art for its schools.

Check Out Part 2 for the steps organizations are taking to bring art education to children and youth in Chicago.

Katherine H.

Pilsen Murals: "Wall of Hope"

Next up...a vivid mural on the corner of 19th and Loomis in Pilsen...

Photo courtesy of madaboutthemural.wordpress.com

--Displayed on the brick facing of the San Jose Obrero Mission, a Latino nonprofit wellness shelter, lies an image entitled “Wall of Hope”. Though the project was formally headed by artist Jesús “Chucho” Rodriguez... members from the Yollocalli Arts Reach also contributed to the brilliant frieze.

--Yollocalli Arts Reach, is an initiative of the National Museum of Mexican Art (located in the heart of Pilsen), generated to promote urban youth outreach. The program works with emerging young artists to create innovative forms of artistic expression.

--Work created by the Yollocalli artists is featured all over the Chicago area....many building sites utilize artistic murals to depict social, racial, and political issues in the community.

-Monica M.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Artist Snapshot: Maggie Haas (Part 1 of 2)

Based in San Francisco, artist Maggie Haas is looking forward to a weekend in Chicago for Auntie Em's Mobile Home, an exhibition showcasing her new works that capture the "uneasiness and fragility of built environments and domestic space."

Teaming up with photographer TJ Proechel and curator Paul Hopkins, the exhibition will take place on Saturday, February 25th at SLOW, 2153 W 21st Street, Chicago 60608.

Artist Maggie Haas

The Pilsen Project caught up with Haas to discuss her art and the upcoming exhibition.

When did you first get involved with the art world?

I was very lucky to have enjoyed painting as a kid and to never have been discouraged. I grew up in a community where a lot of my friends' parents were craftspeople. In that way, it's like it's something I just fell into. But I studied at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and that experience was what put me on the path I'm on. I loved having peers who were experimenting with things they felt deeply about, succeeding and failing and trying again, and I loved the honesty of critique. But most of all I like making things with my hands. None of that has changed, even as I grow older and my interests evolve.

What is your preferred medium?

Nothing beats the directness of putting a brush to paper, but I use a lot of different materials. What they have in common is that for the most part they're materials most of us have some direct, tactile experience of using. Wood, pins, pencil, drywall and paint are all built, quite literally, into our daily lives. I'm interested in objects and materials that can draw on that physical familiarly, even if they echo it in strange ways.

Young Ones - Haas, 2009

How would you describe your work?

I hope it feels familiar. A lot of the forms I draw and sculpt are rooted in common building and craft materials and techniques, from things that feel super-handmade, like quilts, to industrial things like wood pallets. Either way, I'm most interested in how they become something more what they are intended to be: the formalities of lumber sizes, the way a textile pattern, seen in the right way, looks like an Agnes Martin painting or a blueprint or both.

Installation View - Haas, 2010

Amanda B.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Chicago Youth Art Programs

As part of a larger article on about youth art programs in Chicago (up later this week), we have been researching various institutions and non-profit organizations that are offering art programs for children and youth here in Chicago. Some of the programs are very nifty, so we decided to compile a list! Check out their websites for plenty of excellent information.

ProsArts Studio--located in the Pilsen area, this organization has been providing arts-in-education and community building services for 30 years. They work in neighborhood schools as well as run programs outside the classroom.

Yollocalli Arts Reach--another Pilsen-area organization, affiliated with the National Museum of Mexican Art, Yollocalli is a youth-oriented outreach which combines creativity, heritage, and "urban art practices" to help children and young adults become engaged and active within their communities.

Marwen--located in the River North neighborhood, Marwen provides visual arts education for Chicago youth, as well as college and career programs such as college counseling, arts and study field trips, and scholarship and internship opportunities.

The South Chicago Art Center--located in South Chicago, this free center provides in-school and after-school programs for children and teens, an award-winning Artist's Garden (created and tended by the children in the program), and field trips to art museums, galleries, and other spaces.

Art Institute of Chicago--The list would not be complete without mentioning the Art Institute's contribution to providing art programs for kids and teens. From studio workshops, to a Museology program, to the Teen Lab, there is something for everyone.

These are just a handful of the many great youth arts programs around the city.

Katherine H.