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(02/21/13 10:00am)
“And upon each stood a siren, borne around its revolution.” This enigmatic title for artist Field Kallop’s installation at the newly opened ICA exhibit, Glitter and Folds, derives from book 10 of “Plato’s Republic” as explained by the artist during her installation performance on the show’s opening night. Her audience watched enthralled as she prepared her homemade pendulums, ten plastic bottles suspended from strings that are not directly attached to the ceiling but are instead connected to a horizontal network of strings. Fields is one of the four artists featured in this exhibition, all of which share an interest in rendering visible physical phenomena that are usually invisible. Fields, for example, draws inspiration from physics, and her installation piece pays homage to the forces of gravity and temporality. Like a scientist engaged in an experiment, she filled her pendulums with finely crushed glass powder and tested their rotational paths as she swung them. The pendulums, set into complex harmonic motion, trickled their glittering powder, creating finely textured elliptical forms. Another visual treat you’ll see in the exhibition is Crystal Campbell’s kaleidoscopic video, “On the Way to the Moon We Discovered the Earth.” Turn around, and you’ll confront Jayson Keeling in a video in which the artist’s body is targeted, suggesting social breakdown and urban violence. The presence of glitter and glass returns in the photographs of the fourth artist, Carter Mull, but his work reflects the look of shattered mirrors, the sense of a broken faith. What seems intangible becomes physically material in this show, so come prepared to be dazzled. If you missed opening night, then don’t miss Fields’ return to the ICA and upcoming performances on Wednesday, February 27 and Wednesday, March 13 at 6 p.m.
(02/13/13 2:57am)
Blue Cross Ice Rink
(01/31/13 7:00pm)
1. Drink Philly
(04/19/12 9:29am)
1. Barnes Foundation
2025 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy.
Opening Weekend: May 26–28
Reserve your tickets online at
www.barnesfoundation.org
(04/12/12 9:31am)
Looking for a chill, yet historically pertinent, picnic or nap location this weekend? Forget Robert Indiana’s LOVE statue and Claes Oldenburg’s Split Button — way too cliche. Right outside Van Pelt stands Peace Symbol, a sculpture with quite a history that serves as an emblem of and a witness to student activism during the Vietnam War. Designed in a 1967 collaborative project between Penn fine arts students and former sculpture professor Robert Engman, the simple but evocative sculpture served as a base camp in the late 60s and early 70s for students to unite and hold anti–war demonstrations and petition drives. They were furiously determined to change the mind of the University administration, who had refrained from taking an official stance on America’s military involvement in the conflict. Another more tragic event that occurred in front of Peace Symbol in 1996 was the death by self–immolation of political activist Kathy Change, whose site–specific act recalled the last stands made by Buddhist monks and nuns in Vietnam. The current generation of Quakers might consider peace signs to be less meaningful and hackneyed due to overuse, but the Peace Symbol on our campus has weathered the years and still retains the weight of its universal message despite its seemingly delicate structure.
(04/05/12 9:36am)
1. The ICA
Noticed the massive inflatable blow–up monkeys resting on a patio at 36th and Sansom? No, it's not a used car sale, but part of Stefan Sagmeister's "The Happy Show" that opened yesterday. Based on his half–decade exploration of happiness, during which Sagmeister has experimented with meditation, therapy and pharmaceuticals, the graphic designer's show includes pie charts and penises. He has taken advantage of every inch of the ICA, even using a Sharpie to inscribe messages in the bathrooms and the elevator. Also showing in the first–floor galleries until April 12 is "First Among Equals," a show featuring Phillly and Los Angeles artists who have used concepts of negotiation and cooperation within their multimedia work.
(03/22/12 9:51am)
Why suffer for art when you can instead eat a relatively cheap ‘stake’ dinner instead? This Sunday evening, March 25, head over to the First Unitarian Church for Philly Stake, a micro–granting program that hosts a three–course meal every few months with food sourced from local farms and prepared by volunteers. Diners pay $10–$20 (you choose!), and contributions in turn nourish creative endeavors pioneered by fellow Philadelphians. Stake invites local groups to submit project proposals that will help the Philadelphia community and that often support an artistic or environmentally–conscious cause. 10 projects, seven randomly picked and three selected by the Stake organizing team, are presented at the dinner, after which attendees can vote on which ones they think most deserve the proceeds. As Theresa Rose, one of the founders, explains, Stake champions untapped areas of potential in the city because there aren’t really any other sources where burgeoning groups can obtain the funds or platform to implement their ideas. “I kind of see everything as art if it’s done in a creative way,” Rose says, and the diversity of the proposals proves that Philadelphia has an abundance of innovative thought to offer. Previous proposals have included a lending library of musical resources for young girls, a workshop in which war veterans could create art and communicate about military trauma and an urban farm cultivated by refugees.
(02/23/12 10:23am)
Campbell’s soup cans, Coca–Cola bottles -— such quotidian treasures are the type of imagery that the name of Warhol evokes. This month, the Da Vinci Art Alliance pays homage to the pop art legacy with their exhibition “Warholized (The Silver Show),” which commemorates the 25th anniversary of his death.
(01/26/12 10:19am)
The most devoted couple on campus? That would be the Antillean Couple, a 15–foot–tall cast bronze sculpture near the entrance of Urban Outfitters. Looming like a pair of totems over pedestrians at 36th and Sansom, the Antillean Couple has quite a history. It arrived at Penn in 1999 as a gift from Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Loria, who also donated the King Solomon statue and Robert Indiana's “Love” sculpture. It was created many years before, though, in 1957 by Agustin Cardenas, a Cuban–born artist who mixed with the Surrealists in 1950s Paris. Works like the Antillean Couple prove that even in his European environment, Cardenas did not shed his background and heritage; the sculpture gets its name from Antillia, the supposedly lost Caribbean island that was the target of many a 15th century expedition. Despite the Couple’s threatening heads, which almost seem to be armored with horns, the sculpture is sensual, with curves and cavities that suggest features like the tuck of a waist. So if you have time after your next Cosi lunch, take a minute to inspect these abstract, elongated figures. After 50 years together, they have plenty to share.
(12/01/11 11:20am)
Listen up. These opening exhibits won't just help you cross a quirky gift or two off your Christmas list, they'll also open your ears to an assortment of live Philly jams. Head to Old City, get down with some jazz and match a face to these outrageous DJ names.
(11/10/11 11:45am)
Never heard of a zine before? Think of it as an independently published mini–magazine or comic book, often devoted to an arts or music scene, but mostly based on the creative whimsy of its author. Basically, it's artistic expression and strong opinions in pretty books. Since the event’s taking place on campus, a casual stop–by could lead to a discovery of your artistic or counter–cultural sensibilities. Plus, we hear there’s food… and free underwear.