Block37 of downtown Chicago will be taken over by students in the Columbia College Chicago Interdisciplinary Arts and Media MFA and Interactive Arts and Media BA programs for a public art installation this month. Titled For Public Consumption, the show will transform the storefront on the corner of State and Randolph into a public art gallery, featuring a rotation of media pieces that play on the theme of living in a public environment.
“This prominent downtown storefront seems like an excellent place to showcase the work of students who are developing ways of engaging passers-by in looking, tweeting, and/or moving in relation to one another and their own enhanced reflections,” explained Professor Annette Barbier. “This is a tremendous opportunity for students to test ideas and to receive immediate feedback on what draws people in. It gives the public the opportunity to see dynamic, provocative work in a space normally reserved for commercial purposes.”The video, animation and interactive art installations focus on what it means to live a public life, in a world of social media, video cameras and constant communication. Public art and public life combine in these exhibits by nine talented students. Each art piece will be live for two days, allowing passers-by a new outlook on the theme for two weeks.
Above: Eyesight Surveillance Window by Leo Selvaggio
The schedule is as follows:
- April 15: Scott Dickens (MFA ’14): Please Use the Revolving Door, a celebration of the less tangible qualities of the revolving door.
- April 18: Graham Heath (BA ’13): and Adrienne Canzolino’s (MFA ’14) Magnetic Tweets, where users tweet to an account that displays on the Block37 windows. The tweets then “follow” the viewers in front of the screen.
- April 22: Dennis Burke (MFA ’14): The Twelve Labors: Chapter 2, a compilation of publicly and privately uploaded videos regarding masculinity.
- April 24: Leo Selvaggio (MFA ’14): Eyesight Surveillance Window, in which pedestrians can interact with and manipulate a live feed of themselves that is inserted into the pupil of a giant human eye.
- April 26: Justin Botz (MFA ’15): and Tom Ruiz’s (MFA ’14) Symbiotic Bodies, a piece that explores the relationship between people and computer, tracking pedestrians, and projecting an aura around their image on the windows.
- April 28: Greg Browe (MFA ‘14): Boy in Woods, an animated video of a young boy in the woods that challenges the viewer to try to understand his path from tree to tree.
- April 30: Folleh Tamba (MFA ’14): Portrait of Chicago, an experimental video art installation that explores the diverse faces of the city, looping together portraits from inhabitants of many of the neighborhoods of Chicago.
