"Politics as Usual: A Group Exhibition of Politically Charged Artwork"
2003-07-18 until 2003-08-23
Aron Packer Gallery
Chicago, IL, USA United States of America

Aron Packer Gallery presents an exhibition of artists whose work ranges from narrative woodcut printing, to video, to sculptural garments. The pieces in this exhibition vary in media and specific subject matter, but all of them strive to get their viewers to reexamine both their notions of what our current cultural context truly means as well as their individual roles within that context.

Though social awareness and art are never at great length from one another, politically charged artwork is returning to the forefront of the art scene in abundance. A new surge of this genre of work emerges in an equally politicized landscape. At a crucial political turning point for both the United States and the rest of the world, this resurgence is not only a comment on current events but an exploration into our collective political history as well as an insight into the future.

Brian Dettmer- Through the use of sound technology, Dettmer alters the prerecorded words of George W. Bush in order for the audience to reexamine the messages behind the voice of our current leadership.

Tom Huck- Huck’s woodcuts combine complex composition and dark humor to satirize American culture, often specifically the culture of his hometown of Potosi, Missouri.

Sean Sorensen- Self-named as “a cynic that owns a television,” Sorensen uses traditional Middle Eastern garments (burqas) made from American materials (denim) or embellished with American symbols (i.e. McDonald’s logo) in order to comment on the increasing Americanization of the Middle East.

Freise Undine- Undine’s large scale installation using propaganda style portraits of world leaders addresses the nature of power and leadership in contemporary international politics.

Artist List-

Jim Bachor, Matthew Cox, Mark Crisanti, Laura Davis, Brian Dettmer, Gary Dobry, Hank Feeley, Lora Fosberg, Vesna Grbovic, Hannah Hagstrom Hagman, Michael Hernandez De Luna, Fredrick Holland, Tom Huck, Jung Eun Lee, Tom McDonald, Adam Pincus, Erin Riley, Jenny Roberts, Doug Smithenry, Sean Sorenson, Michael Thompson, Friese Undine, Ron Villani, Bill Woolf

IMAGE:
Sean Sorenson
McBurqa

Related Links:

Indepth Arts Resources for the State of Illinois

Other Important Exhibitions in Chicago