OMG TGIF MDW sifc btw etc

Sixty Inches From Center did a feature on Exquisite Corpse’s closing reception. Thanks, Lindsey Anderson! (Check out the press page for more… press.)

It’s yet another beautiful fall day, and thus a perfect start to a big weekend for art; the annual Bridgeport Art Walk begins this evening at 6pm and runs through Sunday:

One of the walk’s stops is the buzzed-about MDW Fair, which showcases over 50 exhibitors comprised of artist-run spaces, small not-for-profits, emerging galleries, collectives, and independent curators. Founded in the Spring, the fair is currently in its second iteration and is not to be missed; this, folks, is the future—and the pure now—of Chicago art. This is the rise of the alternative and underground. I like what Paul Klein had to say about it: “MDW sets a high bar about what an art fair should be—an art experience where the exhibitors present art they believe in to an audience that wants to be welcomed, inspired, challenged, and cajoled.” (Edit: Paul just added a paragraph on Occupy Wall Street, and it’s worthy of a standing ovation.) MDW’s Vernissage is tonight 8–11pm, and continues Saturday and Sunday 12–6pm.

Of course, you can’t mention “Bridgeport” and “art” without including the Zhou B Art Center; in the heart of it all, the art center comprises 5 floors of open artist studios and galleries. At 4Art Gallery, you can view Spiritus Saltus and Opposition from Exquisite Corpse. Visit tonight 6–10pm (there will be cider!), and/or Saturday 12–6pm and Sunday 12–5pm. Admission is free.

Here’s a map of the art walk. (Some distances more walkable than others…) (Which is why it might be perfectly acceptable to just stroll around 4Art with a mug of cider in hand.) (Just sayin’.)

Roundup

Exquisite Corpse updates: shiny new menu page for the show (click on the thumbnails), more performance photos on Flickr, a new video clip of said performance, and new images at the exhibition photos page.

Photo by Andrew Roddewig, 2011.

Check out the updated virtual gallery, the new electronic abode of Spiritus Saltus—the exquisite corpse by Melbourne artists Adriane Strampp, Irene Wellm, and Kirsten Perry spotlighted in posts 1 2 and 3—and Opposition by Boston artist Gideon Ansell and Amsterdam artist Mark Pol. I will be writing more about these two works, so stay tuned. In the meantime, feel free to ask me any questions you may have about them.

You can also view Spiritus Saltus and Opposition in person at 4Art Gallery, located in the internationally renowned Zhou B Art Center. The next monthly 3^rd Friday opening reception is October 21, 6–10pm, and the annual Bridgeport Art Walk is Friday, October 21, 6–10pm; Saturday, October 22, 12–6pm; and Sunday, October 23, 12–6pm. 4Art’s regular gallery hours are Tuesday–Saturday, 10am–6pm.

And, completely unrelated to any of the above, it’s been a while since my last Sixty Inches From Center contribution, but my art scene documentarian self has risen from the ashes. Risen sixty inches from the ground.*

--

*my height†

†unfortunately

Behind the Curtain + Lifting the Veil

The tables have been turned—I’ve been interviewed by Sixty Inches From Center. Most peculiar. Read the interview here if you dare.

Irene Wellm, Kirsten Perry, and Adriane Strampp have released the following statement regarding their collaboration, Spiritus Saltus, which was revealed several days ago:

Our practice for this piece was to follow the traditional procedure of Exquisite Corpse, where each artist has no idea of what the other artist has done. Each of us found this to be a nervous experience, feeling trepidation and a sense of responsibility towards the other two artists. Yet it was paradoxically a freeing experience to not be completely responsible for the artwork’s outcome! No restrictions other than the registration marks were made, so as to allow for playfulness.

Ultimately the drawing process took over, and without predetermination, it became an enjoyable reprieve from our personal everyday practices.

The unveiling, done with ceremony, was nerve-wracking and exciting. How was this going to come together? Averting our gazes as the work was unwrapped and displayed, finally the moment was there. And what a delight and surprise it was. How strangely the three parts seemed to synch together with some strange kind of instinctual reason. Here was a hybrid creature that embodied a sense of Pan, like some mysterious and playful archetype from Nature.

When you break out of your comfort zone, you break free.

Exquisite Corpse Sneak Peek No. 4

A quick update from the last post: Australian artists Adriane Strampp, Irene Wellm, and Kirsten Perry have unveiled their exquisite corpse!

Image courtesy of Adriane Strampp, 2011.

The moment of unmasking marked the first time all three artists—like the rest of us—saw the finished piece in its entirety. Here are detailed shots of each artist’s segment before the revelation, after the jump:

Fragments and Fawning

Are all my posts from now on going to be divided between previewing Exquisite Corpse and praising Peru? Probably.

No, not really.

OK, one more.

Maybe.

The studio and home of Exquisite Corpse artist Adriane Strampp have just been featured in The Design Files. Take a look and get inspired.

Adriane and fellow Melbourne-based artists Irene Wellm and Kirsten Perry have been collaborating in the traditional exquisite corpse fashion, choosing to not reveal their piece until the very end.

Image courtesy of Adriane Strampp, 2011.

Speaking of tradition, in the last post, I mentioned how Peru embraces a mix of the old and the new. This synthesis, in keeping with the multilingual, multiethnic identity, can be seen and experienced throughout the country, from solar panels on the Uros Islands—man-made islands, made completely of reeds, floating on Lake Titicaca as they have for hundreds of years—to flatscreen monitors at the Museo de Arte de Lima that flip through artists’ sketchbooks; museumgoers can thus view each page without having to handle the original, physical items, which are displayed in adjacent glass cases. And—what were the odds—I stumbled upon an exquisite corpse reference at the museum’s Szyszlo retrospective. Photos after the jump.