Back at the Art Institute, 2+ years later

I had a chance to go back to the Art Institute for free last month. Though I remain vigilant about protecting myself from COVID, I couldn't pass up the chance to do something I have been wanting to do since my nieces were born: take them to the museum so they could enjoy the art. So I went there with my mask and my face shield on. It was bittersweet, as the Art Institute is one of the last places were I spent time with my late aunt who passed away a few years ago. I wrote a little about our conversation about misogyny in modern art in my review of I Am the Night. Another sad thing was that in 2020 I had received the gift of a museum membership but I hardly had a chance to use it before things shut down.

I missed these people.

Most of these are pieces I've never seen before, but some are old favorites like the ones in the collage above. I want to start with this piece by Sam Gilliam, who passed away earlier this week. As a Black abstract artist, his work and career mean a lot to me.

 

 (For more of his work on my blog, please check out these 3 posts: Two great shows at the Smart Museum, The 2016 Expo Chicago Show, and 29+ Black Abstract Artists for Black History Month.)

Here's more artwork that I liked:

Some furniture I liked

 

I actually sat in this chair when it was being featured at a special event in honor of its designer, Linda Bo Bardi, in conjunction with NeoCon 2015. Unfortunately for me, I found it uncomfortable.

Linda Bo Bardi Bowl Chair

And as I mentioned in my post about this year's NeoCon show, Steelcase is bringing this Frank Lloyd Wright furniture back. I regret not taking the opportunity to sit at the desk when I was there this year.

 

Frank Lloyd Wright desk and chair

Luiza Prado de Oliveira Martins All Directions at Once is a show worth seeing, in person or online, that speaks to our current moment. 

When we took my nieces to the Ryan Learning Center, they had a chance to try weaving by hand on small wooden looms. I helped my oldest niece get started, but she decided she'd rather draw, so I finished it.

Maybe I will try weaving again in the future.

I'm glad I had a chance to go back to the Art Institute this summer. It continues to be a special place for aunts and nieces to spend an afternoon together.

If you don't know what this is, you do not belong here

These graphics are for everyone whose uterus and/or ovaries don't look like the drawings on protest posters. And a reminder for those who don't even understand the biology of what they're trying to legislate. If you don't know what this is, you do not belong here.

Also, I want everyone who has been so eager to urge the mass deletion of all fertility tracking apps, as well as those who find the use and existence of such apps absurd, to consider that those who have one of the conditions depicted might have something going on that requires more than just a paper calendar to document. Perhaps in the same way that someone with a heart condition may find a wearable device like a FitBit useful. It's not unreasonable to want to take advantage of such technology. Nor is it unreasonable to expect such sensitive data to remain private. 

Also consider that the conditions in the medical illustrations are just a few examples of the complexity of the reproductive system, things that medical science still doesn't fully understand. They are only a few of the many disorders that make hastily written commands to just get an IUD unsafe if not impossible for some. They are the reasons why the question of procreation is complicated, deeply personal, something that should not be intruded upon by people who don't know biology. 

Inspired by the one-way masking trend

 These are more conceptual art than prototype. 

Why? Because cloth masks aren't strong enough to protect us from the new variants. They're better than nothing, but if I created any new masks to sell, I would want them to be KF94, KN95 or N95. Still, designing them has been very cathartic.