Opening: I Think We’re Alone Now May 10, 6 PM Audiences gathered at The Block to celebrate the opening of I Think We’re Alone Now, the 2018 Art Theory and Practice MFA Exhibition, featuring James Britt, Joe Cassan, Kandis Friesen, and Christopher Smith. The event was co-organized by the Block Museum and the Department of Art Theory and Practice
Tales of Art At the Block May 12, 11 AM Museums are full of stories. Audiences participated in read-aloud story zones, art-making, and a family-friendly tour of our galleries to uncover more stories hidden beneath the surface of the art at The Block. This program was geared for children ages 3+.
Branding Quality TV May 16, 6 PM How do representations of women of color serve to “brand” TV networks and film studios? Professors Aymar Jean Christian and Miriam Petty screened clips of recent critically acclaimed shows like Insecure and Queen Sugar and discussed how they fit into strategies of major media brands. This screening also included the premiere of a Chicago-made indie TV series developed by Christian. Presented in partnership with the 2018 Evanston Literary Festival.
The Art and Science of Picasso’s Blues July 11, 6 PM Earlier this year, The New York Times reported on a major discovery made by Northwestern scientists, in partnership with the Art Institute of Chicago. An interdisciplinary team had used tools originally developed for medicine, manufacturing and geology to discover hidden details in the Picasso’s paintings and sculptures. Audiences learned more about this fascinating story, which offers new perspective on the art and science of Picasso’s paintings. Allison Langley, Head of Paintings Conservation at the Art Institute of Chicago discussed how new findings shape our historical understanding of Picasso’s life and working methods, while Emeline Pouyet, Post-Doctoral Fellow in Material Science at Northwestern, addressed how she and others applied tools used by NASA to explore the rare materials and underdrawings within Picasso’s work.
Paul Chan: Happiness (finally) after 35,000 years of civilization with Curator Michael Metzger July 18, 12 PM Paul Chan (b. Hong Kong, 1973) is an American artist, activist, writer, and publisher. His work reflects a strong commitment to the relation of politics and aesthetics, philosophy and popular culture, art and grassroots activism. His first major artwork Happiness (finally) after 35,000 years of civilization presents a 15-minute looped digital Flash animation inspired by the history of utopian thought, the US invasion of Iraq, and Web 1.0 banner ads. In Happiness, Chan communicates a sense of living through a pivotal passage in history. Audiences joined exhibition co-curator Michael Metzger, Pick-Laudati Curator of Media Arts, for a lunchtime tour and discussion of the exhibition.
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