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On & of Paper: Selections from the Illinois State Museum

  On & of Paper: Selections from the Illinois State Museum   

ESSENTIAL PAPER: 100 WORKS/ 100 artists (+ or - a few)
AT THE ILLINOIS STATE MUSEUM CHICAGO GALLERY

CHICAGO, IL—From October 18, 2010 through March 11, 2011, the Illinois State
Museum Chicago Gallery will present a new exhibition: On & Of Paper: Selections from
the Illinois State Museum Collection
. Uniting the 99 works by 84 artists is the use of a
paper as core element--used as a creative contributing element or as a foundation for
their chosen technique. Media include: prints, photographs, paintings, and multi-media
constructions. Works are from the ISM Springfield collection. Jennifer Jaskowiak of the
ISM Lockport Gallery is the curator. The public is invited to a reception October 22,
5:30 P.M. to 7:30 P.M. in our second floor galleries in James R. Thompson Center,
Suite 2-100.

Paper has been used for centuries as a versatile, readily available, and relatively
affordable material for the artist. Folded, molded, painted, torn, glued, or otherwise
altered, it becomes an element in the creation of a finished piece. Its texture, weave, and
color contribute significantly to the final image. It also serves as a support material. By
offering a surface on which to sketch and test an image, it holds a critical and
fundamental role in the creative process.

The word “paper” comes to us from the Latin papyrus, referring to the ‘paper’ made from
slices of the papyrus plant that flourished along Egypt’s lower Nile River that were
layered, pounded, and sun-dried. Mayans and Pacific Islanders developed similar
processes. The paper that we use today is traced back to a process invented in A.D. 104 in
China. Paper production traveled along the Silk Road, through the Middle East into Spain
and Italy. By the 12th century, it was used across Europe, eventually, replacing animal
skin (vellum and parchment). While drawing has always played an important part in the
work of artists, it was not until the Renaissance that drawing became works of art in
themselves, not merely studies.

The exhibit reflects the many artistic uses of paper by historical and contemporary artists
as reflected in works from the Illinois State Museum collection. Artists Include: Gertrude
Abercrombie, Nicholas Africano, Ivan Albright, Harold Allen, Emil Armin, Ralph
Arnold, Don Baum, Rainey Bennet, Vera Berdich, Roger Brown, Walter Appleton Clark,
Warrington Colescott, Cosmo Campoli, Patty Carroll, Eleanor Coen, Melissa Jay Craig,
Barbara Crane, Charles W. Dalgreen, Henry Darger, Julie de Diego, David Driesbach,
James Garret Faulkner, Michelle Fedor-Nadoff, Edward Loyal Field, Stephen Scott
Robnet (aka Jonathan Flew), Horatio Forjohn, Margaret Ann Gaug, Minneta Good, Jim
Goodell, Samuel Greenburg, Helen West Heller, William P. Henderson, John
Himmelfarb, Margot Hoff, Bertha Evelyn Jacques, Mary Jones, Sandra Jorgensen, Max
Kahn, Rupert Kilgore, Misch Kohn, Gatotei Kunisada, Paul LaMantia, Gregory Lang,
Dean Langworthy, Ellen Lanyon, Clare Leighton, Nathan Lerner, Robert Lostutter, Louis
Lozowick, Patricia MacLaughlin, Matti Maldre, Ben Mahmoud, Michael Markowski,
Ethel Mars, Michael McGuire, Bert Menco, Joan Moss, Bea Nettles, Margaret Patterson,
Abbott Pattison, Ed Paschke, Michael Rubin, Alice Shaddle, Rebecca Shore, Flora Itwin
Schofield, Hollis Sigler, Aaron Siskind, Nicholas Sistler, Ethel Spears, Buzz Spector,
Eleanor Speiss-Ferris, Nancy Steinmeyer, Lynn Swigart, Elizabeth Shuff Taylor, Bob
Thall, Julia Thecla, Ruth Thorne-Thompsen, Adrian Troy, Charles Turzak, Helena
Chapellin Wilson, Karl Wirsum, Charles Turner, Joseph Yoakum, and Claire Zeisler.

On & Of Paper is part of Chicago Artists’ Month, an annual program celebrating the arts
in the city. The Illinois State Museum Chicago Gallery is presenting two free events in
October as part of this celebration in our second floor gallery in the James R. Thompson
Center:
1) October 20: Jennifer Jaskowiak, Curator of Art at the ISM Lockport Gallery
and curator of the exhibition On & Of Paper, will give a Gallery talk, City
Roots/Routes to Inspiration. The talk will emphasize the contemporary Chicagobased
artists in the exhibit who have gone into their studios to create art after
finding inspiration in specific sites in the city environment. The talk will begin at
noon.
2) October 28: Jane Stevens, Associate Curator of the Illinois State Museum
Chicago Gallery, will give a demonstration/workshop on the pinhole camera. The
pinhole camera is a simple, light proof, often hand-made camera, with no lens and a
single, tiny aperture, that utilizes light and photographic paper. The public is
invited to bring samples of their own work with pinhole cameras.

The Illinois State Museum Chicago Gallery, located at 100 W. Randolph on the second
floor of the James R. Thompson Center, has free admission and is wheelchair-accessible.
Hours are Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm. The Gallery is closed state holidays.
Call for information on guided tours.



Tuesday, September 21, 2010

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Illinois State Museum
Founded 1877
The Illinois State Museum promotes discovery, learning, and an appreciation of Illinois' natural, cultural, and artistic heritage.
General Information: (217)782-7386
Director's Office: (217)782-7011
Interim Museum Director: Michael Wiant
Press Contact: michael.wiant@illinois.gov

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