on view at Total Space, Museum für Gestaltung Zürich

Luftwerk & Normal 
3 Art flags

SOS Color Code 2020 uses the universal languages of morse code and color theory as a call for humanity and a willingness to help one another. Visualizing morse code into dots and dashes a pattern forms with each flag representing the letters S (three dots) O (three dashes) S (three dots) and color combinations informed by color theory this installation remains an effective visual distress signal, an ambigram that can be read upside down or right side up. As the world adjusts to new norms in challenging times, SOS Color Code 2020 offers a reconsideration of how language, objects and symbols, and even color can help us find stable ground and safety no matter where we are. Situated in specific public and domestic settings, during the crucial time leading up to the US Election, SOS Color Code 2020 reminds us, as US Representative John Lewis said, “Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each generation must do its part to help build what we called the Beloved Community, a nation and world society at peace with itself.” 

SOS Color Code 2020 launches on Sept. 15, 2020, the International Day of Democracy, and will be on display through US Election Day, Nov. 3, 2020.

Partner Sites: Cleve Carney Museum of Art, CNL Projects & Art-In-Place, Comfort Station, Elmhurst Art Museum, H&R Block Art Space at the Kansas City Art Institute, Mattress Factory, Minnesota Museum of American Art, The National Public Housing Museum, Normal Studio, Sarah Skaggs Independent Curatorial Projects, USF Institute for Research in Art Contemporary Art Museum, The Witte Residence, & Compound Yellow

Virtual Panel Discussion
Thursday, Oct 1, 2020, 7pm EDT / 6CDT
Zoom Link
Join us for an online panel panel discussion exploring SOS Color Code 2020 moderated by Sarah Howard, USF Curator of Public Art and Social Practice. A virtual conversation with Luftwerk and Renata Graw, Principal at Normal, along with project participants Cortney Lederer, Director of CNL Projects and Art In Place and Dr. Lisa Yun Lee, Executive Director of the National Public Housing Museum.

Chiaro Oscuro—Luftwerk’s second exhibition at Volume Gallery, Chicago—is an exploration of the varying modes and forms of gradient light. With roots dating back to ancient Greece and Rome, the word chiaroscuro literally means bright/dark and refers to the use of contrasts within art compositions. Situating this concept of contrast, difference and changeability as a point of departure, four light-based sculptural works illuminate the gallery, evoking a sense of flux. By using the power of reflection and perception to imply and summon a point of disappearance—a threshold is invoked.

The exhibition is on view during Summer 2020
Please contact Volume Gallery to schedule an appointment.

Reinterpreting Space Through Light and Color

June 28 at 3pm CST

Please join an online artist talk moderated by Iker Gil,  founder and editor-in-chief of the design journal MAS Context. Also in attendance are Ivan Blasi  curator at the Fundació Mies van der Rohe in Barcelona, John McKinnon Director of the Elmhurst Art Museum/McCormick House and Scott Mehaffey, Executive Director of the Farnsworth House. You may post questions to these guardians of Mies Structures. This talk is organized by the Goethe-Institut Chicago

RSVP ON ZOOM REQUIRED

An Immersive Media and Climate Science Exchange between Germany – Canada – US – Mexico

Happy to be invited to join this inspiring exchange!

Between May and December 2020 the Goethe-Institut Montreal is inviting leading climate scientists, artists, and technical experts from Canada, Germany, Mexico and the United States working on the forefront of immersive technologies to connect and share their explorations on climate change and reflect on desirable futures. 

New Nature seeks to open up new perspectives, by integrating emerging and immersive media — such as public and virtual installations, projections, and virtual, augmented and mixed reality — with future-oriented forms of science and climate storytelling. The exchange brings together leaders from Canada, Germany, Mexico, and the United States by creating an ideal setting for networking, and forging lasting connections for collaboration and co-production. Through strong partnerships with funders, exhibitors, and media outlets, New Nature encourages co-productions and joint cultural projects between creative professionals in all four countries.

Jay Pritzker Pavillion in Millennium Park
Friday, January 31st – Sunday, February 2nd
Concerts held Saturday, February 1 at 5pm and 7pm
Please RSVP here

Requiem: White Wanderer is an ongoing sound and art investigation into the rapid disintegration of the Antarctic ice shelf. Inspired by Larsen-C, a 120-mile long crack along the Antarctic ice shelf that broke into a trillion-ton iceberg in 2017, White Wanderer translates seismic data from an ailing iceberg, connecting this remote place to an emotional artistic experience to deepen public understanding of the connection between climate change and sea level rise. Developed in collaboration with composer and improviser Katherine Young, this three-day sound installation is accompanied by two special concerts at 5pm and 7pm on Saturday, February 1. Seating is limited.