Artist’s multichannel video installation, THE GIVERNY SUITE, will be jointly owned by the three institutions, allowing national access to the powerful artwork The Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL; the Hammer Museum at UCLA; and the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC, will jointly acquire the multichannel video installation The Giverny […]
Read moreThe Block Installation “Crew” in Quarantine – A Digital Project
When the Spring 2020 exhibitions could not go forward as planned due to COVID-19 closure, The Block Museum and its scheduled installation team found innovative new ways to make meaning together. No exhibition installation period ever feels like standard procedure even in routine times. There are unique problems to solve and troubleshoot; plans that go […]
Read moreOn the Real Film and Sixty Inches Explore the “Up Is Down” Installation Process [Video]
This fall, Art Design Chicago is illuminating the legacy of art and design that’s embedded in Chicago’s history and culture through a full calendar of exhibitions, events, and other programs across the city. Art Design Chicago partnered with the digital Chicago arts journal Sixty Inches from the Center to elevate the stories of Chicago’s lesser-known artists, designers, […]
Read moreThe Block Museum presents Paul Chan’s Happiness (finally) after 35,000 years of civilization
Media artwork exploring philosophy, pop culture, and war on view July 17 – November 4, 2018 The Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University announces a new exhibition highlighting a significant gift of media art to its permanent collection. From July 17 through November 4, 2018, the Block Museum devotes its first-floor gallery to the […]
Read moreThe Timeliness and Timelessness of Carrie Mae Weems: Ritual and Revolution [Audio]
The Block Museum was thrilled to serve as one of many partners for the 2017 Northwestern University Black Arts Initiative conference “Black Arts International: Temporalities and Territories (October 9-13). This week-long event focused on art and scholarship of the black diaspora around the world. Conference presenters considered notions of time, space, and place and the ways in […]
Read more120,313 Nails Illustrate a Weighty American History [Video]
Thousands of visitors to the Block Museum of Art this Spring have had the opportunity to add a nail to the large scale installation The Nail That Sticks Up the Farthest… by artist Kristine Aono. This major project was mounted to coincide with the 75th anniversary of Executive Order 9066, which ordered the war-time internment of more […]
Read more“Tracing the Building” with Walter Kitundu [Video]
Walter Kitundu is a multimedia artist and MacArthur Fellow whose practice ranges from building instruments to photographing wildlife. His original musical instruments navigate the boundary between live and recorded performance. He has also made hand-built turntables that interact with the wind and rain, fire and earthquakes, birds, light, and the force of ocean waves. An internationally recognized artist, […]
Read moreOtto Piene’s “Grand Rapids Carousel” at Northwestern Arts Circle Celebration
“He was a developer and a discoverer, so many of his ideas are relevant today, from project-oriented work, to discussion-led thinking, to the ephemeral; all of that is now commonplace. That is a central contribution of his work.” – Joachim Jäger, New York Times Saturday, June 4th Inflation of Otto Piene’s: Grand Rapids Carousel 9AM, Arts […]
Read moreSpring opening highlights exhibition on capital punishment
“Food is social.” Last Saturday, this idea rang true at the Block Museum’s Opening Day Program for The Last Supper: 600 Plates Illustrating Final Meals of U.S. Death Row Inmates, an installation by Julie Green. In this exhibition, food highlights the human dimension of one of our nation’s most polarizing issues: capital punishment. Green, Professor […]
Read moreMark Dion: Illuminating Explication of Complex Peripatetic Endeavors
On November 1, 2013, Mark Dion, a visiting artist in the Department of Art Theory & Practice, spoke at the Block Museum about his work, which examines how dominant ideologies and public institutions shape our understanding of history, science and environment. Listen now (audio, 1 hour, 5 minutes) This program was supported by the Myers […]
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