Jo Baer (American, b. 1929), Memorial for an Art World Body (Nevermore), 2009. Oil on canvas
Image: The Brooklyn Rail
Bas Jan Ader (Dutch, 1942-1975), Piet Niet, 1974. Series of eight gouaches.
Image: artnews.org
Last evening, the Society for Contemporary Art of the Art Institute of Chicago had their annual acquisition vote. We were to vote for our two favorites from a selection of five pieces of art displayed in the galleries.
The curators did a wonderful job of explaining why each and every one of the pieces was worthy of being a part of the Art Institute’s important collection. Ultimately, I voted for the Jo Baer piece as she has such a clear and precise message of time, revolving around her histories in relation to the world community of artists. This piece expresses a very different era in her career than another piece owned by the Art Institute, thus filling out important education around the evolution of art messaging in the last 50 years.
I also voted for the Bas Jan Ader as his works on paper are so rarely found. He held Mondrian in such high esteem, and was expressing art beyond Mondrian with the diagonal lines which Mondrian would never have used. But the purity of color was a continuous theme in Bas Jan Ader’s homage to Mondrian. Very important pieces of art, certainly worthy of being a part of the Art Institute’s collection.
Kristin, from here in the office, also voted for the Bas Jan Ader, but she tipped her vote to the short animation film by Mathias Poledna. His message and appeal to the public raises important issues of race and awareness.
– SL
Mathias Poledna (Austria, b. 1965), Imitation of Life, 2013. 35mm color film with optical sound, 3 minutes, 35 mm frame enlargement.
Image: e-flux
Michael Buthe, Untitled 1989/93, mixed media on canvas
Image: Jason Mandella via Alexander and Bonin
