In 2002, artist Paul Chan was working as a member of the Iraq Peace Team, formed by the Chicago-based activist group Voices in the Wilderness (now Voices for Creative Nonviolence), which was on the ground in Bagdad to protest the imminent Iraqi war. Chan captured the calm before the storm in his “ambient video essay,” […]
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Title: Happiness (finally) after 35,000 years of civilization Artist: Paul Chan Nationality: American, born Hong Kong, 1973 Date: 1999-2003 Medium: Single-channel digital video on mini-PC, color, with sound, 17:20 min Credit: Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of Peter Norton, 2016.4.8a A writer, activist, and artist celebrated for efforts in video, sculpture, performance and installation, Paul […]
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Paul Chan’s landmark 2003 digital animation Happiness (finally) after 35,000 years of civilization draws on the themes and iconography of one of Chicago’s most celebrated self-taught artists, Henry Darger. The Block Museum presents the monumental video installation in its Alsdorf Gallery during Fall 2018. On October 4, Lynne Cooke, Senior Curator for Special Projects in Modern Art […]
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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 […]
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