Field Trip to Chicago to Art Institute of Chicago

What: Field Trip to Art Institute of Chicago
Where: Chicago, IL
When: Saturday, January 16th from 8:25 am - 7:06 pm
Why: See a great art museum, visit the NEW Modern Wing, and see the Caravaggio painting on loan until Jan. 24th.

How: We meet at the Metra Elburn Train Station at 8 am. The train leaves at 8:25 am and takes us directly to Chicago. From there, we take 1 CTA bus that drops us right in front of the museum. We tour, walk around, eat lunch, tour, then go on home. We will catch the 5:40 pm train going home.

Costs: 2 one-way train tickets: $10
Bus Fare: $4.

Parking at Elburn: $1.25

Admission to Museum: $ 12 with student ID
Lunch: pack a lunch, or buy one.
Total: $27.25 plus lunch, etc.

What else can you expect to see?
Vincent Van Gogh
Rembrant
Claude Monet
Pablo Picasso
Andy Warhol
African Art
Asian Art
Textiles
Prints
Photography
Sculpture
Contemporary
Ancient Stuff
Architecture
Foreshortened limbs
Dramatic Chiaroscuro
Awesome

Act fast. There are no Caravaggio's in the country. This one is on loan until next weekend from Europe. Caravaggio is one of the best figure painters who ever picked up a brush. Very influential. A rapscallion and a genius too. So much to see and do. Millennium Park will be visited (right next to the museum)!

I will be your guide! You will be safe, and won't be lost! Chicago is like Malta, only bigger. Come with me to see the art. All are welcome. Bring a friend.

See two previous blog entries ago for more info on the Caravaggio. We will see it all.

Free Admission to the Art Institute of Chicago all February

For the month of February, admission to the Art Institute of Chicago is FREE. If you are in Chicago this month, take advantage of this!

Otherwise, we at Kish will probably be taking a field trip to the Art Institute of Chicago and the Hyde Park Art Center on Saturday, March 20th. More info to come.

Enjoy.

Tapestry Collection on display at Art Inst of Chicago

After decades in storage, the Art Institute of Chicago will be displaying all 70 of their tapestries  from their collection, fresh after a massive go into storage for who knows how long.  Now is your shot to see them!

In the Press Release, the Art Institute explains the process of weaving tapestries, their function their use: 

"Because tapestries are made of pliable fiber, they can be rolled up and are thus far more easily transportable than framed paintings... 

Larger tapestries were hung in castles, abbeys, and mansions for decoration and to line drafty halls and rooms in an era before central heating. For major state and religious ceremonies, tapestries were also hung on the outside of buildings, suspended from balconies or attached directly to exterior walls, lining the streets... 

Painters who made the designs were often renowned artists in their own right, and the skilled weavers who translated the painted creations into woven threads went through long apprenticeships with master weavers."

Learn more about the show at Art Institute of Chicago website. The Divine Art: Four Centuries of Tapestries is up November 1, 2008–January 4, 2009.

Toshiko Takaezu: Ceramics

Artists... This is not just for ceramicists to check out.

Currently there is an art exhibition showing 20 ceramic pieces by ceramic artist Toshiko Takaezu. If there is ever a medium where the artists have to ask themselves whether they do craft or make art, is their work functional or not, it is the field of ceramics. Toshiko Takaezu is an american hero for the art of ceramics everywhere. Her work masterfully blurs the boundaries between these different classifications ceramicists have to face. Takaezu answers the question proud and gloriously.

Takaezu's work follows the traditions of functional vessel pottery, however she often conceptually closes these vessels to render them purely aesthetic. Often, her work is on such a large scale that the finished pieces are at times over 6 feet tall. Given that this woman is over 80 and just slightly over 5 feet tall, the scale of her larger work created partly on the wheel, partly off of it is all the more impressive.

"One of the first artists to explore ceramic's possibilities as an aesthetic medium, Takaezu revolutionized the field with abstract shapes, painterly glazes, and lyrical installations." A true virtuoso in clay!

This retrospective of national treasure: Ceramic Artist Toshiko Takaezu, can be seen at the Art Institute of Chicago until June 8th, 2008.

While you are in town, you can also try to see the Edward Hopper/Winslow Homer show that is on display until May 10th. If you aren't able to make it to Chicago, there is always the internet to find out more!

Check it out, and let me know your comments, reactions, questions in this blog post.