nublockmuseum

“They said you can’t make a film like this”: Lizzie Borden on revolution, race, and radical action in”Born in Flames” [Audio]

Bynublockmuseum April 21, 2020 0 Comments

Set in an alternate-reality socialist democratic United States, Lizzie Borden’s speculative fiction Born in Flames (1983) finds the country still plagued by social injustice. This feminist classic is a low-budget, grassroots production, documentary-like in its reflection of a long-gone grungy yet vibrant downtown New York City. Made at the height of the Reagan years, it tackles sexism, racism,...

Checking in On…Madeline Hultquist, Undergraduate Research Assistant

Bynublockmuseum April 16, 2020 0 Comments

During Spring 2020 the Block Museum staff and students continue to connect online and advance the Museum's teaching and learning mission. This week, we check in on Madeline Hultquist, our Research Assistant who is funded through the Office of Undergraduate Research (shown here on screen as she works with Melanie Garcia Sympson, Block Curatorial Associate) I am currently working as an...

Collection Spotlight: Unidentified Man on Bike, Andy Warhol

Bynublockmuseum April 13, 2020 0 Comments

Title: Unidentified Man on BikeArtist: Andy WarholNationality: American, 1928–87Date: ca. 1980Medium: gelatin silver printCredit: Gift of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, 2008.1.128. © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Unidentified Man on a Bike was donated to The Block Museum as part of the Andy Warhol Photographic Legacy Program, which was developed by the Andy...

Collection Spotlight: Two Forms (Divided Circle), Barbara Hepworth

Bynublockmuseum April 9, 2020 1 Comment

Title: Two Forms (Divided Circle)Artist: Barbara Hepworth (British, 1903–1975)Year: 1969Medium: Cast bronze with brown patinaSize: 93 x 89 x 23 inchesCredit: Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of Leigh B. Block, 1988.3.3 Barbara Hepworth made Two Forms (Divided Circle) at the end of a decade in which she dedicated herself to works that incorporated the viewer....

“The Picture Is the Window”: Lynn Gumpert and Lisa Corrin on Abby Grey and intrepid art collecting [Audio]

Bynublockmuseum April 3, 2020 0 Comments

Consisting of more than 700 artworks, the Abby Weed Grey Collection of Modern Asian and Middle Eastern Art at New York University comprises the largest institutional holdings of Iranian, Turkish and Indian modern art in any American university museum. This unparalleled historical resource was amassed by Abby Weed Grey (1902-1983), a self-described “dyed-in-the-wool...

Letter from the Director: Museums have a unique role to play

Bynublockmuseum April 3, 2020 0 Comments

On behalf of all of us at The Block Museum of Art, I am writing to tell you that we are thinking of the health and safety of our campus, our regional community, and the cultural community internationally at this very difficult and uncertain time. In his recent message to the Northwestern community, President Schapiro reminded us that we all need extra measures of compassion, patience,...

“Duro Olowu: Seeing Chicago” sheds new light on Chicago’s rich collections

Bynublockmuseum March 4, 2020 0 Comments

The Block Museum is proud to be among the many Chicago collections with work on view in Duro Olowu: Seeing Chicago at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. Loans from The Block collection to the exhibition include; the abstract painting One (1970) by Sam Gilliam; Monochrome und Feuer (1961), a silkscreen triptych by Yves Klein; and the photograph Untitled (Nomsa Brath with earrings designed...

Iranian artist and filmmaker Mania Akbari brings personal new work to Block Cinema

Bynublockmuseum February 28, 2020 0 Comments

Block Museum hosts Chicago premiere of A Moon for My Father (2019) At age 30, acclaimed artist and filmmaker Mania Akbari was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy. This experience became the core of the Iranian director’s personal new work A Moon for My Father (2019), an essay film made in collaboration with her partner, the British sculptor Douglas White. On...

Scholarship in Action: Undergraduates highlight their Block research at College Art Association conference

Bynublockmuseum February 24, 2020 0 Comments

Northwestern students share their "Progressive" vision for museum exhibition On February 14th, 2020, Northwestern University students Meghan Clare Considine, Emily Rose Andrey, Nicholas Liou, and Brianna Heath presented their ongoing research in a poster session at 108th College Art Association Annual Conference. Their poster "Caravans of Gold: Making a Progressive Web App Exhibition on Medieval...

Meet Emmanuel Ramos-Barajas, Block Museum Media and Communications Coordinator

Bynublockmuseum February 20, 2020 0 Comments

This month the Block Museum welcomes Emmanuel Ramos-Barajas in the role of Media and Communications Coordinator. Emmanuel will be supporting the work of the Museum's marketing and communication department, focusing on expanding the Block's reach and growing its audiences both in the galleries and online. We sat down with Emmanuel to learn more about his media production background and interest...