Block Cinema

“I invest in myself and I make my films”: Jessie Maple on breaking boundaries and filmmaking [Audio]

Director Jessie Maple is a true trailblazer: the first African-American woman to join the International Photographers of Motion Picture & Television union, she also established a long-running venue for independent Black filmmakers in her own home. New York Women in Film and Television called Maple’s work “a forerunner of the independent, minority filmmaking that would cultivate directors […]

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Block Cinema

“Something unexpected underneath the surface”: Sound Designer Gary Rydstrom on “The Elephant Man” [Audio]

On October 10, 2019 Block Cinema joined with Northwestern’s MA in Sound Arts and Industries to welcome Academy-Award-Winning Sound Designer Gary Rydstrom for a discussion of David ‘s Lynch’s 1980 classic The Elephant Man. Although noted for its evocative black and white cinematography and for John Hurt’s sensitive and powerful performance as Merrick, the film’s […]

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Staff Stories

Meet Block Museum Fellow Simran Bhalla

In September 2019 the Block Museum welcomed Simran Bhalla as a 2019-2020 graduate fellow.  Block Museum Graduate Fellowships are offered to two graduate students annually, one from Art History and one from any department within the Graduate School.  Graduate Fellows are integral members of the museum staff and support projects through exhibition and collection research, curating, writing […]

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Block Cinema

Filmmaker Talkback: Nathaniel Dorsky on “The Arboretum Cycle”

Since the 1960s, experimental filmmaker Nathaniel Dorsky has been making a distinctive and stunning body of work. His silent 16mm films are lyrical explorations of the world around him, focused on the textures, colors, and rhythms of everyday objects and movements. His sharp eye for details reveals the small moments of beauty and wonder to […]

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Exhibition Stories

Meet Mort and Millie – A Look Into the World of the Goldsholl Design Associates from Chicago Film Archives [Video]

The Block Museum of Art’s exhibition Up Is Down: Mid-Century Experiments in Advertising and Film at the Goldsholl Studio, is the result of remarkable partnerships including a collaboration with the Chicago Film Archives.  The Chicago Film Archives have been working over ten years to archive, house and preserve the films of Mort and Millie Goldsholl.  […]

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Museum News

Block Museum Named Among Terra Foundation Grantees for Art Design Chicago 2018

The Terra Foundation for American Art announced  on June 29, 2017 a broad slate of grants given in support of Art Design Chicago, a wide-ranging initiative the Foundation is spearheading to explore Chicago’s vibrant creative history and enduring influence on art and design.  Terra leadership confirmed 33 grants for Art Design Chicago projects given to 31 cultural organizations […]

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Exhibition Stories

Feast of Astonishments Opening Program: Artist Roundtable

A roundtable discussion of Annual New York Avant Garde Festivals, moderated by Hannah Higgins, professor of art history at University of Illinois at Chicago, and featuring Carolee Schneemann, multidisciplinary artist who transformed the discourse of the body, sexuality, and gender; Alison Knowles, multi-media Fluxus artist; Jim McWilliams, designer of most of the posters for the […]

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