Environmentally Friendly: 32nd & Urban questions the notion of “natural” in its new exhibit
The so-called “greening” of everything—from fashion to automobiles to children’s toys—is a response to the new desire to start living in a more “natural” and sustainable manner. In the past year, the idea of “going green” has ballooned into more than a simple trend. It is an idea that informs not only a reconsidered lifestyle, but a real, critical question: is sustainability just a healthy progression, buoyed by our own interest in what is offered to us, or is it an attitude towards nature that changes our entire relationship to it? An answer to this question may be found beyond the greening of simple, commercial goods and perhaps in the ecology of art.
A new exhibition in Bridgeport questions what is “natural”—the way we act, the materials we use, and our own domestic space and bodies. If becoming more “green” means becoming more natural, the show seems to ask: where did we get that idea in the first place? “Act Natural,” which runs through May 3rd, is a group show that collectively examines and discovers the parameters of the natural. While some of the works are made with “natural” materials, many of them explore, instead, the natural aspects of function and form—the organic synthesis available in different kinds of human behavior and belief.
“Act Natural” is hosted by the year-old 32nd & Urban Gallery/Space, which hosts some of the most eclectic and interesting art on the South Side. The gallery, which describes itself as “urban contemporary” in style, attempts to explore the concept of contemporary city life. It shows work of many genres and attempts to create, through a collective approach, a certain message about the many facets of art and life in Chicago, and perhaps the rest of the world. A former barbershop, with vintage tile floors and a high tin ceiling, the gallery offers an example of how such an “urban contemporary” style might look.
On Fridays, when new shows open, the 922-square foot space is always packed with people—so packed, in fact, that viewing its exhibits becomes a lesson in crowd navigation and spatial manipulation. The gallery cultivates its community with a live DJ, generating a kind of excitement that doesn’t always exist at stodgier, more pretentious galleries. The gallery owners also gather ideas through everything from portfolio reviews to word-of-mouth to the web. These practices lead to a sampling of material that is fairly diverse—vases and benches can be art, as well as things that hang on the wall or dangle from the ceiling.
Some of the work in “Act Natural” employs the materials and swooping organic patterns of graffiti-style art. The show features a chair by artist Andy Hall, made from “maplex, felt, butyl rubber, aluminum posts, [and] walnut.” It looks both strikingly futuristic, like an item from a catalog in a decade or so, but also very familiar. Whimsical quilted work that reflects the human digestive system is hung beneath a series of light fixtures made from white umbrellas. Steve Haulenbeek, who designed the “Cumulous Light Canopy,” explains that the umbrellas in his work are used to “create a playful light rather than reference a dark and dreary day.” The light fixtures hanging from the gallery’s black-painted ceiling create a dramatic effect, but also seem somewhat precarious—while the “clouds” cast light, they are also looming. Another strange project is the “living canvas” by Michael Repkin, whose work focuses specifically on growth and development. The “canvas,” which features plants growing in panels on the wall, is one of the more obviously “natural” pieces. He writes that, through his art, “We are able to reconnect with the living world.”
All of the work hangs together on a somewhat conceptual level, with a diversity of interpretations and approaches confronting the very standards of what “natural” could mean. But in the relatively small gallery space, the work seems to press against itself. When we ask how we can improve our relationship with nature, perhaps submersion is the answer. Rather than trying to “go green,” we can always investigate what “green” means.
32nd & Urban Gallery, 3201 S. Halsted St. Through May 3. Thursday-Friday, 5-9pm, Saturday, 12-6pm, or by appointment.
