Absolutely, positively, should not be writing this write now, as... well... I am in architecture school and I have other things to be doing...
but...
With a recent opening last Friday at the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Department of Urban Speculation...now makes fine art? oh yeah! Headed by our fearless, heroic leader,Alex Lehnerer, the Department has transformed the "12x12" gallery space into something very DeptUS-esque, (unfortunately, I personally did not have as much to do with this one ) Here is the write up from the MCA...
"Alex Lehnerer is a Chicago based architect and urban designer. In 2009, he established the Department of Urban Speculation (DeptUS) in Chicago. This quasi institution was set up to create a link between Lehnerer's work as practicing architect and urban designer and his academic role in the same fields. According to Lehnerer, the Department's main interests can be summarized by four central themes: the belief in speculative and constructed urban consistencies, the necessity to adopt our cities' (former) public domains, the acceptance of abundance, and the possibility to adjust control in urban design.
For his UBS 12x12 exhibition Lehnerer and DeptUS presents a project titled Roadside Attractions that looks at such ubiquitous and abundantly available urban elements, or "attractions" that are perpendicular to the road: doors, roofs, windows, lobbies, stairs, or walls. The exhibition examines how these can become protagonists, which, if exaggerated, over-extended, or misused, can form the urban between structure and situation. The project materializes as a three-dimensional relief along the walls of the 12x12 space creating a consistent, yet constructed urban reality."
The exhibit will be up from April 1 to May 1 and there will be a talk on Tues. April 12 at 6pm(that will be the part II)
In other DeptUS related news I have finally edited a short produced to document our last exhibit, Another Six Endlessly Open Cities. This was shot on the second of two gallery nights for this project. Both interactive the first involved participants (passersby) to make a small Endlessly Open City on a small foam ball. The second (which this video Documents, was a collective effort to cover a 5ft dia. glove with a diverse Endlessly open City. This Exhibit ran from November 2010 - January 2011 in the Podmajersky ShowPods in Pilson, Chicago. An older post on this subject.
full screen it for face melting HD.
Thanks for reading and watching
ciao
matt
An in-depth look at the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois Chicago. The People, The Happenings, The Projects, and the Discussion.
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