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. 

Luftwerk + Katherine Young

As part of the Outer Ear Residency, Luftwerk presents an immersive sculptural exhibition at Audible Gallery, November 22nd, 2019 – January 26th, 2020. Illuminated objects will fill the space with shadows and reflections creating a visual topography enhanced by amplified sounds mimicking the calving of glaciers, created by collaborator Katherine Young. 

Opening Reception: Friday, November 22, 6-9pm

Friday, November 15, 2019 • 6:00–7:30 p.m.
Location: Carr Chapel (65 E. 32nd St., Chicago)
Free to public, RSVP required (Register here)
Sponsor: Edward Polich (Alumnus, Mies Board Member), Draper & Kramer

Ludwig Karl Hilberseimer (1885-1967), the German architect and urban planner best known for his ties to the Bauhaus and to Mies van der Rohe. At IIT, he developed a universal, adaptable system which planned for the darkest day of the year (December 21, “Hilb’s Day”) in order to produce environments with as much light as possible. View Luftwerk’s installation, “Center of Rotation”, the principles that create a sustainable relationship between humans, industry, nature and human habitation.

Farnsworth House the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and MAS Context are pleased to announce that Geometry of Light, an art intervention by Luftwerk in collaboration with Iker Gil will be installed at the Farnsworth House in Plano, Illinois, in October 11-13, 2019. The art installation will coincide with the third edition of the Chicago Architecture Biennial. Both VIP and general entry tickets are already available for purchase. Geometry of Light will run each evening from 7 pm until 10 pm.

Tickets
Friday, October 11, 2019 (VIP)
Saturday, October 12, 2019
Sunday, October 13, 2019

Geometry of Light is a three-night light and sound art installation in the iconic Farnsworth House, designed by Mies van der Rohe, and on the surrounding land. Completed in 1951 and opened to the public in 2004, the Farnsworth House was the weekend home of Chicago research physician Dr. Edith Farnsworth. This outdoor intervention will uncover the forgotten history of the site and remnants of earlier landscape by revealing the underlying geometries that relate the world-renowned house to its river floodplain, site topography, and key trees that no longer exist.

In concert with the projected light, a custom-designed sound piece by Oriol Tarrago is integral to this experience. Developed in direct response to the site, this auditory component uses the pitch of the space to create a tonal reading. Together these elements provide a new interpretation of the Farnsworth House and its extraordinary location.

Geometry of Light premiered this past February at the German Pavilion in Barcelona designed by Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich. The installation was presented as part of the Fundació Mies van der Rohe’s ongoing program of artistic interventions also corresponding with the LLUM BCN Festival and the Santa Eulàlia Festival.

Geometry of Light is part of the Year of German-American Friendship 2018|19 initiated by the German Federal Foreign Office, the Goethe-Institut, and is supported by the Federation of German Industries (BDI). This project is generously supported by the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts and Bosch Power Tools – North America. Additional support provided by Chuck Thurow, Virtue Cider, and many individual donors. 

Thanks to Andrew Lasane and This is Colossal!

Thanks to Vasia Rigou and Newcity for selecting Parallel Perspectives among the Design Top 5

Saturday, July 20, 2019 – 1:30pm
Elmhurst Art Museum
150 Cottage Hill Ave.
Elmhurst, Illinois 60126
Join us for a conversation about color and perception with Michael Rossi. We will present ideas on color, specifically relating to the current exhibition Parallel Perspectives in Mies van der Rohe’s McCormick House. Michael Rossi is a historian of science and medicine at the University of Chicago. He is the author of the forthcoming book The Republic of Color: Science, Perception, and the Making of Modern America.