Media Relations Contact:
Elizabeth Burke-Dain, 312.344.8695 or eburkedain@colum.edu
Chicago, IL – Bilingual, an art exhibition at Columbia College Chicago’s Glass Curtain Gallery, presents a variety of artworks that intersect the traditional world of painting and the contemporary use of video in an art context.
The exhibit, which includes work by 22 artists; most notably William Kentridge, Jeremy Blake and Joshua Mosley, will open on November 1 and run through January 11, 2007 at Glass Curtain Gallery, 1104 S. Wabash Avenue. Gallery Hours: 9am - 5pm M,T,W,F and 9am - 7pm Thursdays.
An opening reception with a live performance by John Grant and John Hiltabidel, will be held on Thursday, November 1, 5 - 8pm.
The reception and exhibition are free and open to the public. For more information visit www.colum.edu/cspaces or call 312.344.6643.
The art works in Bilingual present some of the most contemporary ideas and dilemmas being discussed in the art world today. The language of painting and the language of new media become one, or, as the exhibition’s title suggests, bilingual. Bilingual was curated by Tracy Marie Taylor and the catalog essay was written by Michelle Grabner.
Also included as a part of Bilingual will be a lecture by Iraqi artist Wafaa Bilal on Thursday, November 15 at 5:30pm at 623 S. Wabash in Room 405.
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Media Contact: Elizabeth Burke-Dain, 312.344.8695; eburk-dain@colum.edu
Note: Images are available electronically; interviews are available upon request.
Chicago, IL (October 26, 2007) -- Sue Coe will speak about her work as an artist and social activist as part of Anchor Graphics’ Scraping the Surface lecture series. The free lecture, “The Elephant We Should Never Forget,” takes place on Thursday, November 29 at 6:00 p.m. at Film Row Cinema, 1104 S. Wabash, 8th floor. A discussion with the artist will follow. More information at 312.344.6864.
Sue Coe has long used printmaking as a means of political consciousness raising. She deliberately keeps her print prices low in order to reach the broadest possible audience. Sales proceeds from certain print editions are earmarked for causes in which Coe believes.
The elephant that Coe, one of the most important politically oriented artists living today, references in the title of her lecture, “The Elephant We Should Never Forget,” is from her 2007 pencil on paper work, Thomas Edison Kills Topsy the Elephant to Promote the Electric Chair. To reinforce the 1903 execution at Coney Island, Topsy was tied down and fed carrots laced with 460 grains of potassium cyanide before the deadly current from a 6,600-volt AC source was sent coursing through her body. She was dead in seconds. The event was witnessed by an estimated 1,500 people and Edison's film of the event was seen by audiences throughout the United States.
“If we can accept that some lives are more valuable and important than others,” says Coe, “then we can be easily manipulated by corporations into killing total strangers in wars, and slaughtering billions of other animals for no logical reason other than profit and power for a tiny minority.”
During her 4-day stay at Columbia College, Coe will lecture and spend time with a group of young women whose lives have been impacted by the sex trade. In a collaboration between the Young Women’s Empowerment Project, Columbia College’s Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in the Arts and Media and Anchor Graphics, Coe will facilitate the making of a series of prints based on the young women’s experiences. This arts project is also part of an ongoing Columbia College initiative entitled, Critical Encounters. This year’s Critical Encounters focus is "Poverty and Privilege" and the questioning of complex myths and realities that arise out of our cultural and social beliefs about those who have and those who have not.
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Media Contact: Priscilla Hunter, 312.344.7805, phunter@colum.edu
LOS ANGELES (OCT. 23, 2007) – Jeremy Piven, two-time Emmy Award-winning actor and Chicago native, will receive Columbia College Chicago’s 2007 Impact Award, which honors Windy City natives who have made an indelible impact on the entertainment industry. Piven will accept the honor on Saturday, November 17, 2007, at the Montmartre Lounge [6757 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood]. Steve Kmetko (’76), Columbia College alumnus and entertainment reporter, will host the event.
Dr. Warrick L. Carter, Columbia President, said, “Jeremy and his family have a rich history in the arts community of Chicago. The Piven legacy has produced many talented performers working in the entertainment industry today, and we are proud to have Jeremy as our honoree this year.”
Piven was born and raised in Chicago where his parents founded the Piven Theatre Workshop. It was here that Piven was first introduced to the stage, and, under his parents’ tutelage, studied alongside John and Joan Cusack, Roseanna Arquette and Aidan Quinn. Piven continues to be involved with the Workshop and returns to Chicago frequently to help keep his father’s dream alive.
Piven is presently best known for his critically acclaimed portrayal of the slick, fast talking super agent ‘Ari Gold’ in the HBO original series “Entourage,” for which he has earned two Emmy Awards and three Golden Globe nominations, among other honors.
Currently, Piven stars opposite Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Garner in director Peter Berg’s political drama “The Kingdom.” He will next be seen in Guy Ritchie’s forthcoming crime action flick, “Rocknrolla,” scheduled for release next year. Piven recently signed on for the title role in the Will Farrell-produced comedy “The Goods: The Don Ready Story,” which begins production in December.
Piven has an established presence in both film and television, having appeared in over 40 feature films including “Smokin’ Aces,” “Runaway Jury,” “Old School,” “Serendipity,” “Black Hawk Down,” “Very Bad Things,” “Singles, Rush Hour 2,” “Gross Pointe Blank” and “The Family Man.” On the small screen, Piven was a series regular on “Cupid” and “Ellen” and appeared on “The Larry Sanders Show” and in the telepic “Don King: Only in America.”
The Columbia College Chicago Impact Awards event recognizes and funds Columbia College Chicago’s premiere Semester in L.A. program, the only academic program permanently located on a studio lot. Located at CBS Studio Center, Semester in L.A. introduces students to the nuts and bolts of the entertainment business. Students are immersed in a variety of intense courses where they learn how to pitch projects to professionals in the business and meet key industry players who give their time as guest speakers. Semester in L.A. gives students a unique jump-start on their burgeoning careers in the film, television, music and entertainment industry.
Presenter, performers and celebrity guests will be announced shortly.
Columbia College Chicago Impact Awards History
The Columbia College Chicago Impact Awards (formerly the Chicago Spirit Awards) was created in 2003 to honor Chicagoans who have “made it” in Hollywood without losing touch with their roots. The award is presented annually to individuals who succeed in the entertainment industry while maintaining the work ethic and loyalty that are synonymous with Chicago. Previous honorees and attendees have included Virginia Madsen, Jim Belushi, Joe Mantegna, Dennis Franz, director Charlie Carner, and former chairman of Paramount Pictures, Sherry Lansing.
Columbia College Chicago
Columbia College Chicago is the largest and most diverse arts and media college in the nation with 80,000 living alumni, 3,000 of whom work and reside in the Los Angeles area. Among notable alumni are producer Len Amato (“Analyze This”), cinematographer Janusz Kaminski (“Schindler’s List”), comedian Andy Richter, rapper Common, Michelle Monaghan (“Mission: Impossible III”), animator Genndy Tartakovsky (“Star Wars: Clone Wars”), and producing partners Bob Teitel and George Tillman (“Barbershop” and “Roll Bounce”). Enrolling some 12,000 students on its Chicago campus, Columbia offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate programs in the visual, performing, media and communication arts.
CHICAGO, IL -- Greg Palast is the author of The Best Democracy Money Can Buy and Armed Madhouse: From Baghdad to New Orleans: Sordid Secrets and Strange Tales of a White House Gone Wild. Palast, who has specialized in reporting on electoral manipulation, the war on terror and globalization, has been called “the most important investigative reporter of our time” by Tribune Magazine.
Palast will discuss his latest investigations as well as the recent expanded paperback edition of Armed Madhouse, copies of which will be for sale. The presentation will be followed by a Q & A.
This event is sponsored by BuzzFlash.com and WCPT 850 AM, and hosted by the Journalism Department of Columbia College Chicago.
WHEN: Saturday, October 27, 6:00-7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Columbia College Chicago, 600 S. Michigan, Ferguson Theater
(SW corner of Michigan & Harrison - enter through Harrison Street doors.)
HOW MUCH: Free and open to the public
RSVP: Go to http://www.buzzflash.com/nightwithgreg and fill out the response form. Remember seats are limited – and please don’t make a reservation unless you are sure that all parties will be attending. Each request limited to 4 persons.
PUBLIC
INFORMATION: 312-474-0461
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Chicago, IL -- Vodou Riche: Contemporary Haitian Art is a multimedia exhibition presenting painting, sculpture, photography, installation, video, textiles and assemblage. Vodou Riche, art by Haitian-born artists who work within a social and political sensibility informed by Vodou, Haiti's national religion, offers a broad and inclusive view of the contemporary art of Vodou. The exhibition runs August 27 – October 16, 2007 at Columbia's Glass Curtain Gallery, 1104 S. Wabash. Call 312.344.6643 or visit www.colum.edu/cspaces for gallery hours and information.
Emerging and established artists embrace a history of appropriating imagery and incorporating found objects into art, a practice born from necessity and great invention. Haitian art absorbs and interprets visual culture so masterfully because of its foundation in Vodou, a religion and way of life that was born and survived due to its history of accommodation and inclusion. As artists embrace new artistic movements, methods and media within the art of Vodou, their work grows increasingly vital in the contemporary art world. In Haiti and the Daspora, artwork spans from artist collectives who reclaim urban spaces to create monumental sculpture to established artists who innovate traditional genres like the Vodou flag to illustrate contemporary issues.
Part of Columbia College's Critical Encounters focus, Poverty and Privilege, Vodou Riche: Contemporary Haitian Art challenges Haiti's oft-used label "the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere" by presenting the abundance and wealth of Haiti's creative output. While the country continues to struggle with serious economic and social problems, Haitians embrace their richness of art, culture and history. The work presented here, produced within the past 5 years, proves Haiti's irrepressible, vibrant and triumphant spirit.
RELATED PROGRAMMING
Vodou Tou: A Student Response
October 11, 2007 - January 2, 2008
C33 Gallery, 33 East Congress
To provide an opportunity for students to directly engage with Poverty and Privilege as well as the imagery, media and themes of Vodou Riche, [C]Spaces and our academic partners are offering a "student response" exhibition that will immediately follow Vodou Riche. The student-produced work in Vodou Tou will range from fine art and design to creative writing and dance. The exhibition will be curated, marketed and managed by Columbia College students.
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Chicago, IL – Adding to the art world’s current dialogue on feminism and art, Girl on Guy: the object of my desire at Columbia College Chicago’s A+D Gallery, 619 S. Wabash, through November 3, features 24 women artists whose work deals with the subject of women loving/desiring their male counterparts.
“Loving men and being a feminist is not a contradiction,” says Marci McDade, the curator of the exhibition. Images of men sleeping by Melanie Schiff, plaster casts of rock star’s penises by Cynthia Plaster Caster, erotic pictures sewn into cloth by Orly Cogan, comic strips by Heather McAdams, drawings of physically challenged male athletes by the artist and activist Riva Lehrer, amusing sexual role reversals by Claire Rojas, one-sided love affairs with hunky t.v. stars by Stacia Yeapanis and the dulcet tones of lovers who whisper sweet nothings into each others ipods by Dawn Reed and Carl Warnick are just of few of the artworks that attempt to tell the story of where feminist art has been and where it is today.
“By presenting positive portrayals of men made by strong, talented female artists,” says McDade, “the goal is that our collective understanding of the feminist movement (past, present and future) will benefit from some thoughtful reconsideration and invite much needed input for the next generation.”
Girl on Guy features traditional and conceptual approaches in a wide range of media and time arts. The exhibition showcases the talents of emerging, mid-career and established women artists such as Sylvia Sleigh and Jane Fisher.
Please visit the Girl on Guy blog and add your comments at www.colum.edu/girlonguy. For more information about this exhibition, including the performance schedule, gallery tours, information about individual artworks, links to art reviews and gallery hours, go to www.colum.edu/adgallery.
Girl on Guy Artists: Sylvia Sleigh; Julia Hechtman; Cynthia Plaster Caster; Keiler Sensenbrenner; Orly Cogan; Melanie Schiff; Inge Hoonte; Jane Fisher; Stacia Yeapanis; Pia Guerra; Riva Lehrer; Betsabeé Romero; Sarah Anne Johnson; Heather McAdams; Anna Fidle; Oriana Fox; Dawn Reed & Carl Warnick (collaboration); Torreyana Barley; Mary Lou Zelazny; Claire Rojas; Denenge Akpem; Stephanie Brooks; Sally Alatalo; Bruised Orange Theatre Company.
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