The current show at the Chicago Tourism Center brings back the familiar advertisements from Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign and places them with original advertisements from “the people,” whom, in this case, are visual artists hailing from Chicago to the UK. The show’s prevalent mediums are those most appropriate for disseminating information on a large scale; the majority of the works are prints, graphic designs, and animation. Curated by Ray Noland, Scott Thomas and Nathan Mason, the show successfully contrasts the similarities and differences between the campaign’s medium and message and that presented by individuals. The show’s “official” half, the campaign materials, simultaneously presents Obama as a larger-than-life character as well as a man of the people. (Not surprisingly, the campaign’s star is the iconic “Hope” print by Shepard Fairey, presented along with its lesser-known siblings.) The artists have more flexibility in presentation and message; they employ cereal mosaics and original drawings, depict Obama as Abraham Lincoln, an African-American history-maker and a b-ball player, to offer their own, often emotional, spin on the campaign’s sentiments. The show doesn’t attempt to elevate street art to a fine art status as the pieces are never implicitly removed from their original context. However, Obama-inspired art is beginning to blur the lines between the two; an Obama “Hope” portrait by Fairey, similar to those in “Officially Unofficial,” was installed at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington , D.C. this past January. Apparently the political canon will not be the only one challenged under Obama’s presidency. (Patrice Connely)
The Roots of Pride: A Review of Jerry Pritikin at The Chicago Center for Photojournalism The show “When Then Was Now” gives a glimpse of early LGBTQ+ life in San Francisco—Harvey Milk became mayor and gay activism was gaining momentum. Pritikin, a legend of reportage, takes us back to a time before AIDS reared its ugly head and shows us how the movement looked all those decades ago.
Fleeing Desperation: A Review of Ada Trillo at Chicago Center for Photojournalism In this heartbreaking yet visually beautiful exhibition, Ada Trillo implicates herself within her subjects to shine a light on both the hope and the hopelessness of their lives. If you are not moved by these images, surely your heart is made of stone.
Home Is Where the Family Is: A Review of Chicago Chiquito at Bridgeport Art Center This small but significant exhibition shows the history of Chicago Chiquito, or little Chicago, the nickname given to La Hacienda, a small town in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico. Its families have migrated north to find work for over one hundred years.
Into the Woods: A Review of Seung Jae Kim at Evanston Art Center Seung Jae Kim created these evocative monochromatic photographs in various wilderness areas of the upper Midwest. The images speak of his affinity for nature while reminding us of the increasingly fragile condition of our earth.
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