Chicago Featured Programs
The Terra Foundation for American Art is committed to promoting and supporting American art activities in Chicago, including K–12, public, and academic programs and exhibitions, as part of an ongoing effort to shine a spotlight on the city as a dynamic center for exploring the rich history of American art.
American Art American City
Between October 2007 and December 2008, the Terra Foundation for American art sponsored American Art American City (AAAC), a lively initiative in Chicago that promoted awareness and enjoyment of historical American art. Audiences had the unique opportunity to experience great works of American art rarely on view, including some by both well- and lesser-known Chicago artists. The project included a Web site with a searchable calendar of events and e-newsletter intended to inform Chicago residents and visitors about outstanding exhibitions, collections, and programs presented by a diverse group of 30 cultural and education organizations throughout the city (see results below). The Web site and e-newsletter were discontinued in October 2009.
AAAC Results
The AAAC initiative actively promoted more than 350 historical American art programs, exhibitions, tours, lectures, family events, and podcasts offered by 30 Chicago-area cultural organizations around Chicago.
The marketing and public relations campaign garnered approximately 60 million media impressions—approximately 38 million through marketing and advertising, and an additional 21 million through editorial media coverage. The project brought visibility to historical American art in Chicago on a level that few, if any, initiative partners could have achieved individually.
The project spawned an American Art Network comprising AAAC partner organizations and other cultural groups interested in American art. The Terra Foundation will continue to convene network members annually to facilitate the exchange of information and ideas about American art activities and resources in Chicago.
Newberry Library Seminar in American Art and Visual Culture
The newly organized Newberry Library Seminar in American Art and Visual Culture meets four times yearly to discuss works in progress in the art history and visual culture of the United States, from the colonial era to the present. The seminar provides a forum for presenting current research, as well as a venue to bring together a diverse community of local and regional Americanists for intellectual exchange, collegial conversation, and debate. The next session will take place on Friday, March 26 from 2:00–5:00 p.m. at the Newberry Library. Stephen P. Rice, Ramapo College of New Jersey, will present "Matters of Style: Art and Fidelity in Wood Engraving in Postbellum America;" and Elisabeth Ross, Northwestern University, will present "Equipment in the Picture: Looking at Political Image-Making." Peter John Brownlee, Terra Foundation For American Art, will serve as the commentator. Papers are pre-circulated to those planning to attend. For more information visit http://www.newberry.org/scholl/art09-10.html.
Lecture and Seminar with Richard J. Powell, "Bronzeville: A Work in Progress"
The Chicago Consortium for Art History will present the lecture "Bronzeville: A Work in Progress" with Richard J. Powell, John Spencer Bassett Professor of Art History, Duke University. The lecture will take place on Friday, April 2 at 6:00 p.m. at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago Ballroom.
This lecture is being held in conjunction with a graduate and faculty seminar from 2:00–5:00 p.m. also on Friday, April 2 at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago's MacLean Building - MC920. Please RSVP to Megan Shaunnessy at m-shaunnessy@northwestern.edu by Wednesday, March 17 if you plan to attend the seminar.
The Chicago Consortium for Art History is a nascent umbrella organization that brings together the Art Institute of Chicago, Newberry Library, Northwestern University, University of Chicago, and University of Illinois at Chicago to explore joint efforts in curricular development, fellowships, and lectures.
MOHOLY: AN EDUCATION OF THE SENSES at the Loyola University Museum of Art (LUMA)
Q & A with Carol Ehlers, Guest Curator
In 1937, Austria-Hungarian born László Moholy-Nagy (1895–1946) moved to Chicago to start a new design school, the "New Bauhaus." This exhibition, curated by Carol Ehlers, is a reflection of the school's important and relevant aims. Moholy: An Education of the Senses will be on display from February 11 to May 9, 2010.
How would you explain the term "Bauhaus?"?
The Bauhaus was, first and foremost, a school of art and design that was founded in 1919 in Weimar, Germany. Bauhaus artists were not tied to a particular aesthetic style but rather sought to develop a more holistic future society and concentrated on the interplay between art, crafts, and technology. They promoted wholly open-minded and radical creation as opposed to the mere translation of old art into new contexts and forms. As a key Bauhaus figure, Moholy-Nagy believed that teaching people how to explore, investigate, and be assured of their own conception of the present moment was far more important than teaching people the facts or tendencies of the past...
Translating Revolution: U.S. Artists Interpret Mexican Muralism at the National Museum of Mexican Art
Q & A with Amy Galpin, Guest curator
Following the Mexican Revolution (1910–1920), artists began to use the mural format as a platform for political or social commentary. Curated by Amy Galpin, the exhibition references original Mexican murals and displays some of the many cross-cultural works they inspired. Translating Revolution: U.S. Artists Interpret Mexican Muralism will be on view from February 16 to August 1, 2010.
Why did you decide to name the exhibition Translating Revolution?
The significance of the title is two-fold. While I was researching this exhibition, I found myself thinking a lot about the process of translation, how interesting it is that no two translators reach the exact same interpretation of a poem, for example. In a large way, the act of compiling this exhibition was a lot like translating. Because the exhibition regards such an expansive topic, I felt as though there were countless angles through which to approach the influence of murals on American art. The word "translating" is intended to reinforce the fact that this exhibition is not the only way of approaching these cross-cultural influences...
2008 Terra Foundation Lecture on American Art Now Available Online
Starting in 2005 and again in 2008, the Terra Foundation awarded two multiyear grants to the Chicago Humanities Festival in support of an annual public lecture and a "master class" on the history of American art and visual culture at the organization's annual two-week celebration of the humanities. The Terra Foundation Lecture on American Art is intended to expose Chicagoans to leading scholars and thinkers in the field of American art.
If you missed the lecture "Picturing New Deal American Visual Art and National Identity, 1933–1945" by renowned scholar Erika Doss at the 2008 festival, you can listen to it, see a slideshow, and read a transcript online at any time on the Humanities Festival's exciting new online humanities journal. This is one of the first in what will be a series of online American art presentations based on the Terra Foundation Lecture.
"Artbeat" on Chicago Tonight
The Terra Foundation has partnered with WTTW11, Chicago's PBS affiliate, to create a special series of "Artbeat" segments on American art that air on WTTW's award-winning weeknight news show Chicago Tonight. Between October 2007 and January 2008, ten "Artbeat" segments on American art aired more than forty times, with six more starting in January 2010. These "Artbeat" segments provide in-depth information and interviews about Chicago's art history, collections, and exhibitions. Each of these special segments is available online for on-demand viewing on the Chicago Tonight Web site.
Take a Closer Look
"Take a Closer Look," a campaign held in conjunction with the Terra Foundation's American Art American City initiative, highlighted the wealth of American art treasures available in the city. For the campaign, several prominent Chicagoans shared their responses to their favorite works of historical American art, on display in Chicago museums, schools, and public spaces.
Professor Emeritus Neil Harris Talks About University of Chicago's Stunning Stained Glass Window
"For many years, whenever I entered Bartlett Gymnasium (now a dining commons) at the University of Chicago, I would turn to look at the splendid stained glass window over the entrance. At first I was simply attracted by the bright colors and intricate details, but gradually I learned more about the window's subject, a pivotal scene from Sir Walter Scott's 1819 novel Ivanhoe..."
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