As explored in the Block Museum 2019 exhibitions Caravans of Gold and The Leopard (Western Union Small Boats), nations around the world have long been shaped by migration. On February 28, 2019 the museum hosted a panel to examine urgent issues of migration taking place in the US, Chicago, and Evanston. Drawing upon a range of perspectives, the […]
Internationally acclaimed artist and Art, Theory, and Practice faculty member Michael Rakowitz explores culture as it is embodied in artifacts. In projects ranging from a recreation of the Ishtar Gate of ancient Babylon to selling dates in an NYC storefront, he has used both food and material fragments to recreate and reimagine cultural and personal […]
In conjunction with the Block Museum of Art’s Up is Down: Mid-Century Experiments in Advertising and Film at the Goldsholl Studio, an exhibition exploring the groundbreaking Chicago design firm that brought Bauhaus aesthetics to the American public through innovative explorations with light and film, curators Amy Beste and Corinne Granof sat down for conversation with artist […]
Renowned Chicago painter and educator Ed Paschke (1939–2004) often began his classes with the assignment to “break a rule.” A bold innovator who enjoyed disrupting conventions, Paschke mentored students for over two and a half decades at Northwestern University, continually coaching them to think outside the box. His work and his teaching were devoted to […]
The EXPO Chicago /Dialogues series features discussions and provocative discourse with artists, curators, and professionals on the current issues that engage them. On September 28, 2018. The Block Museum was proud to take part in a dialogue that included panelists Theaster Gates (Artist | Rebuild Foundation), Corinne Granof (Curator of Academic Programs, Block Museum of Art, […]
How do representations of women of color serve to “brand” TV networks and film studios? In May, 2018 Professors Aymar Jean Christian and Miriam Petty screened clips of recent critically acclaimed shows like Insecure and Queen Sugar and discussed how they fit into strategies of major media brands. The conversation was presented by the […]
On January 17, 2018, the Block Museum hosted a behind-the-scenes look at the exhibition “Paint the Eyes Softer: Mummy Portraits from Roman Egypt” with archaeologists, art historians, scientists and scholars of the ancient world. To celebrate the opening of the exhibition panelists shared their insights into the Roman past, including their discovery of what lies […]
On Tuesday, January 23, 2018, the Block celebrated the opening of the exhibition “Experiments in Form: Sam Gilliam, Alan Shields, Frank Stella”, on view through June 24, 2018. The exhibition uses works in the Block Museum of Art’s collection by Sam Gilliam (b. 1933), Alan Shields (1944–2005), and Frank Stella (b. 1936) as starting points […]
On November 29, 2017, the Block Museum was honored to host a special conversation with four contemporary Native artists. Each of the women on the panel works within a collaborative artistic practice that unites artists, community, and audience. From to participatory dance and collective narratives, to asynchronous poetry and public interventions these artists upend the notion […]