Press Room --
From August 31 through December 30, 2009, the Illinois State Museum Chicago Gallery will present a new exhibition: The Urge to Embellish. Visitors will have the opportunity to view an eclectic array of nearly 100 objects—ceremonial, decorative, functional, and whimsical—spanning nearly two centuries. The works, made primarily by non-professional artists, reflect ways in which embellishment of objects from material culture has been guided by experimentation, learned behavior, social expectations, and tradition. Many date from the mid-to-late nineteenth century when the idiom of effusive ornamentation reached its zenith. The exhibition is comprised of two-and three-dimensional pieces constructed with beads, ceramics, feathers, fibers, hair, metal, paint, papier-mâché, porcupine quills, wood, and other materials. Works are from the collection of the Illinois State Museum. The Gallery is located at 100 West Randolph, suite 2-100, on the second floor of the James R. Thompson Center. Jim L. Zimmer, exhibition curator and Director of the Lockport Gallery, has grouped objects into categories representing home arts, clothing, nineteenth-century utilitarian conveniences, and folk art. The earliest objects in the exhibit are powder horns carried during the French and Indian war and/or the Revolutionary war. The latest, a hand-painted screen from the late 1960s, was commissioned for a Chicago theater producer. In-between are samplers, an embroidered pillowslip, a stenciled bed set, a sink screen, wreaths made of hair, feathers and plush, a piano cover, an Irish crochet coat, Native American beaded vest, beaded purses, a lace gown ensemble (with matching parasol cover), an ale bowl, butter churn, foot warmer, mangle board, whirligigs, a cigarette box, and a cigar store Indian, plus many more. On Thursday October 1, 2009, exhibition curator Jim L. Zimmer will give a free public presentation from 12:15 P.M. to 1:15 P.M. in the Gallery on the second floor of the James R. Thompson Center at 100 West Randolph. The program will include an overview of the exhibition, exploring how the urge to embellish that has been nurtured over the past two centuries, relates to our own 21st century attitudes, electronic media, and a 'do-it-yourself' mentality. This special program is held in honor of Chicago Artists Month, an annual city-wide event in October sponsored by Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs, that celebrates Chicago's vital art community. The Illinois State Museum Chicago Gallery, located at 100 West Randolph on the second floor of the James R. Thompson Center, has free admission and is wheelchair-accessible. Hours are Monday through Friday, 9A.M. to 5P.M. The Gallery is closed on state holidays. School groups and tours are welcome. Please call 312-814-5322 for guided tours.
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