Visual arts of Chicago
Visual arts of Chicago refers to paintings, prints, illustrations, textile art, sculpture, ceramics and other visual artworks produced in Chicago or by people with a connection to Chicago. Since World War II, Chicago visual art has had a strong individualistic streak, little influenced by outside fashions. "One of the unique characteristics of Chicago," said Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts curator Bob Cozzolino, "is there's always been a very pronounced effort to not be derivative, to not follow the status quo." The Chicago art world has been described as having "a stubborn sense... of tolerant pluralism." However, Chicago's art scene is "critically neglected." Critic Andrew Patner has said, "Chicago's commitment to figurative painting, dating back to the post-War period, has often put it at odds with New York critics and dealers." It is argued that Chicago art is rarely found in Chicago museums; some of the most remarkable Chicago artworks are found in other cities.
Early days: before the War
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago was founded in 1879, from the remains of the Chicago Academy of Design, an earlier school founded in 1866. Early students and faculty were conservative and derivative in their tastes, imitating popular European models. Arthur B. Davies, a former SAIC student and one of "the Eight" was considered a disappointment for being a member of a radical group of urban modernists. In 1913, SAIC students held a protest with costumes and bonfires against the Chicago showing of the Armory Show, a collection of the best new modern art; the newspapers described the students' activity as a riot.Only a year later the African-American realist Archibald J. Motley, graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; he kept his modern, jazz-influenced paintings secret for some years after.
For many years the Art Institute of Chicago regularly held annual exhibits of local artists, but these ended decades ago. Mary Agnes Yerkes,, was an American Impressionist painter and one such exhibitor at AIC from 1912-1915. Born in Oak Park, she studied at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, where she also taught, and then at the currently named School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is noted for her plein-air painting while camping the American West and its National Parks.
Interbellum: Chicago arts between the World Wars
The time period between the World Wars witnessed an outpouring of artistic creativity in Chicago, led by artists of the caliber of Stanislav Szukalski, Todros Geller and Albin Polasek.The Chicago art scene was not strictly an all-boys club however; Sr. Maria Stanisia was able to overcome the patriarchal attitudes both within early 20th century Chicago and the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church to become acclaimed as one of the greatest painters in the field of religious art. Another woman artist Gertrude Abercrombie who like Stanisia attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, sold her surrealist paintings in art fairs that took place near the Art Institute of Chicago.
1940s
Early evidence of Chicago's unique style came with Ivan Albright, with his "excruciatingly detailed surfaces depicting things in states of decay." Eldzier Cortor documented African-American life for the WPA. Vera Berdich, an influential surrealist printmaker, taught many future Chicago Imagists at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.1950s: individuality, realism, surrealism
was born in Sweden and only spent a few years in the 1950s in Chicago, but he sold his first works here, 5 pieces at the 57th Street Art Fair for $25.Post-War art in Chicago was more figurative and less abstract than the New York fashion dictated, and was largely ignored by New York dealers and critics. Chicago artists rejected the abstract aesthetics of New York modernists, preferring strong surrealism, "following their own vision," and "savage political satire."
1960s
, a pioneering fiber artist, switched from weaving to large, free-standing fiber sculptures which "redefined the art form". And inspired many fellow fiber artists during the 1960s and beyond to create textile work that challenges the conventional and bridges the divide between art and craft. Zeisler has shown numerous works throughout her long and notable career at the Art Institute of Chicago and beyond Chicago's city limits. But her legacy of experimentation was defined by this seminal period of artistic creation that was galvanized by her experimentation with fiber as sculpture in the 1960s.The Chicago Imagists
In the late 1960s, a group of former students of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, many of whom had been mentored by teacher-artist Ray Yoshida, organized a series of exhibits at the Hyde Park Art Center. Their art was notable for its surrealism and cartoon-influenced grotesques.Strictly speaking, they were three different groups: The earliest was the "Monster Roster", which included Cosmo Campoli, Leon Golub, Nancy Spero, and Karl Wirsum; then the "Hairy Who", which included Art Green, Gladys Nilsson, and Jim Nutt; and finally the Chicago Imagists, which included Roger Brown, Ed Paschke, and Barbara Rossi.
According to Imagist Ed Paschke, the Imagists felt liberated by a lack of critical coverage. "There was a sense that no one much cared what we did here. We weren't going to get a whole lot of national attention. We could do what we wanted to do." After Paschke's death, in 2004, a New York critic infamously said that Paschke's "contribution to the art of his time was somewhat obscured by his distance from New York." At that same time, Chicago artists Tony Fitzpatrick and Wesley Kimler and art consultant Paul Klein stirred outrage when they reported that not a single Chicago museum had any of Paschke's work on display.
In 1972 the Chicago Imagists were given recognition in a show at the Museum of Contemporary Art.
The Chicago Surrealist Group
Under the leadership of Penelope and Franklin Rosemont, the Chicago Surrealist Group came together with both artistic and political ideals. In 1976 the group played a major role in organizing the World Surrealist Exhibition at the Gallery Black Swan.1970s
Chicago produced several photorealists, including Arne Besser, and Richard Estes. Many photorealists were collected by Morton Neumann "against the grain of the prevailing critical thought at the time", and exhibited at Chicago's Terra Museum of American Art.Chicago artists internationally
Over the last few decades, many contemporary Chicago artists have become internationally successful. A persistent problem for the development of art scenes in Chicago has been the fact that, in the past, a large number of artists began in Chicago, but had to relocate elsewhere before gaining attention. Curator Robert Cozzolino sees this positively, stating that we must "recognize a powerful Chicago diaspora." Such artists include Claes Oldenburg, Elizabeth Murray, Richard Estes, Robert Indiana, Joan Mitchell, Georgia O'Keeffe, and many others.File:Ahava.jpg|left|thumb|Ahava, Cor-ten steel sculpture by Robert Indiana, 1977, Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel
Although no overarching theme or style characterizes Chicago's contemporary art, many contemporary critics contend that institutional support has favored Neo-Conceptual work almost to exclusion. Chicago art is nevertheless diverse and pluralistic, as is art in general. Contemporary Chicago artists continue to explore personal styles. Although abstraction has never been as strong in Chicago as in New York, there are noteworthy Chicago abstract artists, such as William Conger, who paints brightly colored, sprightly designs, and Rodney Carswell, whose work is more formal and cooler; and conceptual artists such as photographer Jeanne Dunning and installation artist Kay Rosen. Chicago's other notable contemporary artists are too numerous to name; but a few who would make any list are Kerry James Marshall, Dan Peterman, Gregg Bordowitz, Julia Fish, Wesley Kimler, Tony Fitzpatrick and Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle.