Dear Neighbor,
Do art and politics go hand in hand? Well, they did in Chicago, at least for a brief period of time. The“Chicago Aldermen Project: 50 Aldermen/50 Artists” invited 50 artists from across Chicago to choose one alderman to feature at an exhibition using the media of their choice. Nearly every alderman participated, and the artwork ranged from photographs to oil paintings and mosaics to sculptures.
The artist who selected me, Andy Resek, happens to be a videographer. He put together a nice four-minute video, which captured the flavor of our diverse urban community and in which I offer some personal insights into life as an alderman. To view the video, CLICK HERE.
The Chicago Reader this week published all 50 portraits of the aldermen. To view the work, CLICK HERE.
The “50 Aldermen/50 Artists” project was the brainchild of two Chicago artists–Lauri Apple and Jeremy Scheuch–who were interested in using art to celebrate the richness of our local culture and to bridge the gap between the people of our city and the aldermen who represent them at City Hall.
The art was on display for a few weeks only at a gallery in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood. I am told the exhibition may open again soon. I’ll try to convince them to open it here in the 49th Ward where we have a wonderful, burgeoning arts community.
I’ll keep you posted!
Sincerely,
Joe Moore