below is a picture of the Merchandise Mart advertising its "Artropolis" event:
and here is a picture of a banner inside the actual venue, advertising the Intuit Show:
After the morning brunch I attended the C6 Symposium at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion
in Millennium Park, Chicago. The inaugural Symposium C6 THE ART WORLD IS FLAT
"Globalism—Crisis and Opportunity" brought together an international group of socially engaged artists, scientists, curators, technologists, patrons and cultural entrepreneurs who are confronting the new challenges and possibilities of our profoundly interconnected world.
To read more about the C6 Symposium follow the attached link: http://symposiumc6.com/
After attending the Syposium I headed back over to the Merchandise Mart to see the Hubbard Street Dance Company perform in a tented area outside of the mart, for one of the special events being held in line with Art Chicago.
Many individuals had private viewings of their art collections because so many people were in town for the large art event. After attending the performance of the Hubbard Street Dance Company we headed over to the house of Contemporary Artist Nick Cave who invited people over to visit his collection. It was a wonderful evening full of excitement.
About Nick Cave....
"New York Times art critic Roberta Smith wrote of Nick Cave’s solo show at the
Shainman Gallery (NYC) last November, “Whether Nick Cave’s efforts qualify as
fashion, body art, or sculpture...they fall squarely under the heading Must Be Seen to
Be Believed.�? Cave has resided as chair of SAIC’s fashion department since 2005, and
is a practicing artist who was the recipient of several prestigious awards in 2006. One of fifty-four American artists to receive a $50,000 fellowship from United States Artists, he was also named the recipient of an Artadia Award in the Visual Arts for artists working in Cook County, IL, and was given a $50,000 Joyce Foundation Award to fund the exhibition of his solo show Nick Cave: Soundsuits at the Chicago Cultural Center, which allowed for the creation of several dozen new pieces for the exhibition." (taken from http://www.saic.edu/pdf/news/pdf_files/release_saicfashion07.pdf)
Below is a sound suit by artist Nick Cave:
The night wasn't over yet though (I told you this would be a rather lengthy blog) as we headed over to another collection viewing, we ran into a protest that was occurring just south of Chicago's Soldier Field. It was the protest called "Invisible Children" in which more than 60,000 Americans Nationwide protested the horrors of Joseph Kony and his army against children in Uganda. They did this to end the enslavement of child soldiers in Uganda, who spend every night of their lives sleeping in cardboard boxes. They did this through the awareness and aggressive campaigning of the US government. One more thing to note about this event, was that children taking part in the protest spent the night sleeping in their own cardboard box houses to raise awareness in regards to the events occurring in Uganda.
Below are the images that I managed to take, it was a powerful sight to encounter:
Our last event of the night was a visit to the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Blackburn. They had an absolutely beautiful array of outsider art which included one of my favorite artists, William Hawkins. The event was lovely and a great way to conclude the evening.
Below are images of that visit to the Blackburn's home:
