“In my exhibit ‘Quest for the Cyclops Pyramid,’ I depict fantastical, otherworldly characters in their quest for this intangible force known only as the ‘Cyclops Pyramid,’” says the artist statement for 32nd&Urban’s new exhibition. This is, in fact, a true statement, for what else would conical, one-eyed, and sometimes feathered monstrosities be searching for as they traverse jungles, rivers and brightly-colored otherworldly planes? Also true: “It has been said that finding what one seeks is not as important as the quest itself.” This has, in fact, been said. Read the rest of this entry »

Historically, Bridgeport has been known both as a working-class Irish neighborhood and a home to well-connected politicians, including both Mayors Daley. However, there is another side to Bridgeport: a diverse, artistic neighborhood that welcomes outsiders without losing its strong community feel. A study, conducted by the Chaddick Institute at DePaul University, ranked Bridgeport the fourth most diverse neighborhood in the city. In addition to the Polish and Lithuanian communities that have quietly coexisted with the South Side Irish for decades upon decades, Bridgeport is now home to Chinese, African-Americans, and hipsters. Mayor Daley has moved out, and the neighborhood has moved on. Read the rest of this entry »

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. Read the rest of this entry »

The most significant modern-day landmark in Bridgeport is U.S. Cellular Field—known as “The Cell” in certain parlances—the home of Major League stalwart and 2005 World Champions Chicago White Sox. The memories from that whirlwind season still linger here, but the neighborhood which has grown in the shadow of steel and concrete is one in flux. Bridgeport’s character, as well as its physical area, fall under the stadium’s literal and figurative shadow. This is the historical home of Irish and Lithuanian blue-collar roughnecks who drink alternately silent and raucous toasts to the White Sox along the whiskey frontier lining Halsted Street. Here remains the husk of Chicago’s industrial past and the birthplace of the Daley Dynasty. Bridgeport is also simultaneously one of the fastest “browning” neighborhoods in the city and an increasingly expensive place to live. Not to mention the unique arts community—struggling to combine highbrow sensibilities with activist politics and populist sentiment—that has produced local noise and international stars. And from every street corner, the stadium in the distance looms unmoved. Read the rest of this entry »