Archive for the ‘Boots Updates’ Category

Boots Director Gives Talk at SAIC

Saturday, October 24th, 2009

SAIC talk

On October 12th SAIC’s Professor and Executive Director of Exhibitions, Mary Jane Jacobs, invited Director Juan William Chavez to give his second talk at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for the MFA seminar course.  In his talk “The Constant Evolution of Being an Artist,” Mr. Chavez discussed Boots Contemporary Art Space, the fundraising and board development process, and the duality of being both a gallery director and a practicing studio artist.

Mary Jane Jacobs currently has a major program at Sullivan Galleries entitled “Living Modern Chicago,” a collaboration between the school, Mies van der Rohe Society/Illinois Institute of Technology, and other cultural institutions in Chicago.  Its centerpiece exhibit, entitled “Learning Modern,” explores the history of American modernism in Chicago and how it affected education in the mid-20th century.  The exhibit will investigate the interactions of all contemporary practices within the city, using Chicago itself as a living laboratory.  The exhibition will run from September 26 to January 9, 2010.

Living Modern Chicago

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Holiness: in 3 parts Exhibition

Saturday, October 24th, 2009

install

In addition to the performances on opening night, Holiness: in 3 Parts is also an installation. The minimalist sculptures in this show are what Theaster Gates calls his “backyard esthetic”. The work hanging on the walls were constructed using materials literally found in his back yard. The evidence of their previous use gives them a beautiful and austere quality. The staircase in the courtyard behind the gallery combines these ideas of sculpture and everyday object.

install

There are two shoeshine chairs that are also apart of the installation. The chairs have the same roughhewn quality that the sculptures embody. One is constructed from found lumber and the other covered in mismatched vinyl and alligator hide.

installinstall

These objects are tied together by the video projected on the wall in the corner of the gallery near the floor. The screen is split, on one side the camera is focused on a pair of black boots being shined. On the other, a man is constructing an object out of plywood. A charismatic preacher singing, “Shine on me” occasionally interrupts this action. Over the video is the sound of monks chanting a prayer.

The combination of the video and sculptural objects creates a psychic space in which the viewer can meditate on ideas of the urban and spiritual.

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New Website

Sunday, October 4th, 2009

Picture 4

We’ve rebuilt the website from the ground up. Kept the same feel and information but within a new framework that we hope will be easier to navigate and search.

If you encounter any problems accessing any information please drop us a line at boots@bootscontemporaryartspace.org.

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