Really Rad in the Windy City

Lloyd Dobler Gallery is pleased to present 'Really Rad Videos', a curated
screening of work by Nathan Baker, Lew Baldwin, Justin Berry, Lucas
Brunelle, Julia Hechtman, Greg Stimac, Jeremy Somer, H. David Waddell,
Ryan Fenchel, Diego Leclery and many others.

'Really Rad Videos' will take place this Friday, June 22nd, there will be
two identical hour-long screenings at 8pm and 10pm at Lloyd Dobler
Gallery. The work focuses on an array of intriguing, thought provoking
and just plain awesome videos by emerging and established artists from
all over the country. Content ranging from bike culture, music videos,
turning disco balls, sculpture documentation, your favorite video game
characters and obtrusive clay penises.

Teacher's Pet link and pics

Scrapbook time y'all! My friend Nancy
at www.artloversnewyork.com attends
tons of openings each weekend and
we were lucky enough to have her
swing by. Check out her site as
well as the rest of the pictures of
Teacher's Pet. The show closes
June 30. So swing by if you get
a chance.

Teaching Magic to Mercer at Katzen Arts Museum

"Teaching Magic to Mercer" by Susan MacWilliam appearing in Resolutions: New Art from Northern Ireland

by Max Perry

Hidden within the various pieces that make up the show Resolutions: New Art from Northern Ireland ,at the Katzen Museum, is a 13" television which sits atop a small pedestal. It is accompanied by two small drawings. The piece is called "Teaching Magic to Mercer."

I have found The piece "Teaching Magic to Mercer", by Susan MacWilliam to be absolutely fascinating. The piece consists of a video of a child drawing at a kitchen table while responding to an unheard voice. The voice, however, is seen by the viewer in the form of subtitles which appear at the bottom of the screen. The subtitles interact with the child in the form of strange tales about people with supernatural powers. The piece retains the viewer's interest because it can be interpreted in several different ways and because it is completely dependent on the viewer's own belief system as to its meaning, making it both mysterious and engaging, as well as highly interactive.

One of the pleasant things about the piece is that it is unclear who is teaching the child because of its construction. The "voice" at the bottom of the screen simply functions as "teacher". The subtitles suggest another's presence without giving away who or what that presence is. Were it not for the occasional look to his right which suggest another in the room, the viewer could interpret the subtitles as their own thoughts while reading or as the thoughts of the child's imagination, as he draws.
Regardless of the speculation involved with the mysterious subtitles, the piece is effective in its display of teaching magic. At no point does the child reject the possibility of the phenomenal. He embraces more at every turn. Thus tapping in to his own imagination which is the real magic referred to in the title.
As Mercer interacts with the voice, so must the viewer ask the question "what do I believe?"

Academy 2007

Congrats Graham Childs!

Academy 2007, The BFA/MFA Survey show
at Conner Contemporary has just been announced.

July 6- August 18th

Corcoran friends launch site

June 22nd
@ Church + 14th Street

come celebrate Corcoran's new online art magazine.

www.ArtCadeMagazine.com

more infomation to come.

Hopefully we can work together in the future.

Diseno Shakespear at the Katzen

Max Perry

Perhaps one of the more, at least on the surface, "off-beat" shows that has appeared at the Katzen museum, Diseno Shakespear includes various c-prints and prototypes created by the Argentinian design firm.
The show which achieves at least one of its apparent motives-- to highlight the similarities between the slick pop art of the latter 20th century and graphic design through symbol-- also turns out to be a lot of fun. Of the many examples throughout the show, at its best instances, is able to use color and symbol to transcend the written language. Examples of this abound-- the graphic digitized stork holding the bag which appears within the hospital, the large multi-colored "buttons" which suggest which subway train approaches, and the ever present street sign all function simply yet effectively, pointing the way for the casual onlooker to follow.
By placing these objects in the setting of an art gallery however, the context is changed. One is forced to view them in a different way, including the aesthetic, and dynamic qualities they possess as objects. If you take away the objects function, does it therefore function as being more artistic? It is an interesting question.
Do they hold up? Some do and some don't. Certainly the more sculptural pieces, the ones that go beyond mere photograph, seem to hit the mark better than the c-prints. They bring the outside world inside and reference the readymade object in a way that the two dimensional photograph can't seem to do -at least not in this setting. This is not to say that the photographs aren't good, they just don't quite hit the same level as the three dimensional objects. They come off more as if this is a firm pitching an idea in a "suppose we did this" sort of way that seems to work against the uniformity that the other pieces suggest.
Over all it is a fun show and one that is worth seeing.

C'mon c'mon

Come support our friends, writers and above all, talented artists. Geoffrey Aldridge, Cory Oberndorfer, Lily deSassure, and Graham Childs work available at Meat Markets Auction.

This Friday, 6-9 at Meat Market