We are SK and JL and it is our purpose to critique the art in the world that normally does not garner the attention of critics. We volunteer at 826Chi. We like jokes.

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  • ←This Is Art

    Starry Night by Anonymous The anonymous artist knew that choosing the title of Starry Night for this piece would immediately remind the viewer and subsequently compare this piece to the memory of Vincent van Gogh’s masterpiece.  To mention the similarities between this and van Gogh’s would be an insult both to anonymous’s refreshing perspective and van Gogh’s.  The differences then are enlightening.  The use of crumbled paper instead of canvas is reminiscent of barside napkin sketches yet achieves a level of artistry that the regular viewer can only aspire to in his or her imbibing state.  Where van Gogh illustrates the intersection of nigh time on Earth and the heavens and all that that entails, Anonymous focuses entirely on the sky.  A sky which is segmented between shimmering stars surrounded by a repeated spiky barrier at once calling to mind a change in elevation from a topographical map as well as the hard barrier between our solar system and the rest of the heavens. The next division consists of small circles and dots all separate all spaced out, a truncation of the immense size of the sky reminding the viewer that Earth and all it entails is but a moment.  This part of the piece is drawn over a distinct fold in the paper which further emphasizes the gulf between the outer-sky and the inner-atmosphere.  The final section is again circles yet with an interplay of meandering lines.  We are now underneath the protective layer of the atmosphere, as well as past the fold of paper where the air is again thick with life giving oxygen radio waves clouds and the like.  The chaos and overdrawn orbs is a final reminder that in the night sky both the immensity of space and the messiness of humanity can be clearly observed. —SK Anonymous is clearly obsessed with the impossible yet all-too-human task of trying to capture and tame our ever expanding universe within a frame that we can understand.  Like Van Gogh before him, the artist has chosen to try to capture the entire night sky, that is, the visible part of the immense cosmos that exists outside of our (relatively) microscopic existence and frame of reference.  Yet unlike Van Gogh, who limited himself to the immediately visible night sky (albeit one which he abstracted with the movement and swirling chaos that is always around us in the form of gravity, dark matter, entropy, and the rest) Anonymous has segmented his work into the visible and the invisible.  He portrays the stars in the sky in a way that while not scientifically accurate is immediately recognizable to even the most naive and uneducated viewer, the common five pointed star that has come to serve as the symbol for an cosmic, unreachable giant.  But his stars are not alone in the sky, they are being encroached upon by what appears to be a representation of all the unknown forces in the universe…swirls, balls, movement, it is chaos and entropy on the page.  Though the page is partitioned, the stars are retreating towards the edge while the entropy is encroaching over the barrier—while the art is obviously static, the implication is that if the painting were to come alive, eventually the unknown parts of the universe would absorb and eradicate the known part.  While this is a truly chilling prospect, the presentation of the art must be taken into the consideration as well.  Rather than hanging in a museum, this art was left, folded blank side out, in a public place.  This forces the observer to contemplate this immense question, almost against his or her will, just by picking up a seemingly innocuous piece of paper.  A truly sinister move.

    Starry Night by Anonymous

    The anonymous artist knew that choosing the title of Starry Night for this piece would immediately remind the viewer and subsequently compare this piece to the memory of Vincent van Gogh’s masterpiece.  To mention the similarities between this and van Gogh’s would be an insult both to anonymous’s refreshing perspective and van Gogh’s.  The differences then are enlightening.  The use of crumbled paper instead of canvas is reminiscent of barside napkin sketches yet achieves a level of artistry that the regular viewer can only aspire to in his or her imbibing state.  Where van Gogh illustrates the intersection of nigh time on Earth and the heavens and all that that entails, Anonymous focuses entirely on the sky.  A sky which is segmented between shimmering stars surrounded by a repeated spiky barrier at once calling to mind a change in elevation from a topographical map as well as the hard barrier between our solar system and the rest of the heavens. The next division consists of small circles and dots all separate all spaced out, a truncation of the immense size of the sky reminding the viewer that Earth and all it entails is but a moment.  This part of the piece is drawn over a distinct fold in the paper which further emphasizes the gulf between the outer-sky and the inner-atmosphere.  The final section is again circles yet with an interplay of meandering lines.  We are now underneath the protective layer of the atmosphere, as well as past the fold of paper where the air is again thick with life giving oxygen radio waves clouds and the like.  The chaos and overdrawn orbs is a final reminder that in the night sky both the immensity of space and the messiness of humanity can be clearly observed.

    —SK

    Anonymous is clearly obsessed with the impossible yet all-too-human task of trying to capture and tame our ever expanding universe within a frame that we can understand.  Like Van Gogh before him, the artist has chosen to try to capture the entire night sky, that is, the visible part of the immense cosmos that exists outside of our (relatively) microscopic existence and frame of reference.  Yet unlike Van Gogh, who limited himself to the immediately visible night sky (albeit one which he abstracted with the movement and swirling chaos that is always around us in the form of gravity, dark matter, entropy, and the rest) Anonymous has segmented his work into the visible and the invisible.  He portrays the stars in the sky in a way that while not scientifically accurate is immediately recognizable to even the most naive and uneducated viewer, the common five pointed star that has come to serve as the symbol for an cosmic, unreachable giant.  But his stars are not alone in the sky, they are being encroached upon by what appears to be a representation of all the unknown forces in the universe…swirls, balls, movement, it is chaos and entropy on the page.  Though the page is partitioned, the stars are retreating towards the edge while the entropy is encroaching over the barrier—while the art is obviously static, the implication is that if the painting were to come alive, eventually the unknown parts of the universe would absorb and eradicate the known part.  While this is a truly chilling prospect, the presentation of the art must be taken into the consideration as well.  Rather than hanging in a museum, this art was left, folded blank side out, in a public place.  This forces the observer to contemplate this immense question, almost against his or her will, just by picking up a seemingly innocuous piece of paper.  A truly sinister move.

  • ←This Is Art

    World View by Kait Steele The piece World View is obviously a commentary on the old-world “Euro-centric” worldview juxtaposed with today’s modern, USA + Latino-centric view.  The use of classroom materials (eraser + map) are meant to, on a basic level, evoke a child’s innocence + naivete, in this case vis a vis a child’s conception of their place in the world + role in the global culture.  What seems haphazard + innocent at first, however, is actually signifying something much more sinister.  The eraser, with its vertical placement + coloring, evokes nothing so much as the massive + mysterious obelisk from the beginnings of 2001: A Space Odyssey.  This item, with connotations both basic + complex, is placed in the middle of Western Europe, simultaneously modernizing + “erasing” both literally + figuratively, the former world powers that used to dominate global culture + politics.  This obelisk is now facing (both pointing to + shining its light on) the new powers of the Americas.  Tellingly, however, the object is also separating those powers in the Southern Hemisphere from their native language (the Spanish “Nuestro Mundo” of the title).  Thus, the artist is pointing out the hypocrisy that while the Americas may be the new power, English is still the world’s language. —J.L. The use of a flat projection of the Earth as opposed to a globe harkens to the inherent distortion in attempting to gain a true idea of this planet.The dichotomy of the true spherical nature of the planet and the flattened way in which we as humans experience the world is echoed in the use of both English and Spanish to label the elements of the map.  Kait Steele attempts to reinforce the notion of “duality of experience.”  The title World View is intended to make the viewer step back and ingest the entire piece and in doing so to suppress the human desire to locate “home” and focus on one specific place in this World View.Moving on to the choice of a laminated cover for the Earth.  Not only does the laminate protect the underlying paper, similarly to our atmosphere protecting us from outer space, but also slightly obstructs our view of the paper and reminds us of the division between the viewer and the art.  Instead of a porous absorbant planet we see a non-permeable protective layer which echoes the way much of humanity and capitalism views the earth as simply an object that can be abused when in fact the earth is a delicate ecosystem that absorbs and is damaged by pollution.The dry board eraser, an eraser based on absorption not friction, represents an external force attempting to draw away, to erase, part of the planet.  Whether the goal of the eraser is to remove Europe (it is placed over the continent) or to act as a symbolic vacuum of the former power European countries once exerted is unclear.  What is apparent is that the eraser will, if put to use, effect no change in the underlying world, it is a useless attempt to create change. —S.K.

    World View by Kait Steele

    The piece World View is obviously a commentary on the old-world “Euro-centric” worldview juxtaposed with today’s modern, USA + Latino-centric view.  The use of classroom materials (eraser + map) are meant to, on a basic level, evoke a child’s innocence + naivete, in this case vis a vis a child’s conception of their place in the world + role in the global culture.  What seems haphazard + innocent at first, however, is actually signifying something much more sinister.  The eraser, with its vertical placement + coloring, evokes nothing so much as the massive + mysterious obelisk from the beginnings of 2001: A Space Odyssey.  This item, with connotations both basic + complex, is placed in the middle of Western Europe, simultaneously modernizing + “erasing” both literally + figuratively, the former world powers that used to dominate global culture + politics.  This obelisk is now facing (both pointing to + shining its light on) the new powers of the Americas.  Tellingly, however, the object is also separating those powers in the Southern Hemisphere from their native language (the Spanish “Nuestro Mundo” of the title).  Thus, the artist is pointing out the hypocrisy that while the Americas may be the new power, English is still the world’s language.

    —J.L.

    The use of a flat projection of the Earth as opposed to a globe harkens to the inherent distortion in attempting to gain a true idea of this planet.
    The dichotomy of the true spherical nature of the planet and the flattened way in which we as humans experience the world is echoed in the use of both English and Spanish to label the elements of the map.  Kait Steele attempts to reinforce the notion of “duality of experience.”  The title World View is intended to make the viewer step back and ingest the entire piece and in doing so to suppress the human desire to locate “home” and focus on one specific place in this World View.
    Moving on to the choice of a laminated cover for the Earth.  Not only does the laminate protect the underlying paper, similarly to our atmosphere protecting us from outer space, but also slightly obstructs our view of the paper and reminds us of the division between the viewer and the art.  Instead of a porous absorbant planet we see a non-permeable protective layer which echoes the way much of humanity and capitalism views the earth as simply an object that can be abused when in fact the earth is a delicate ecosystem that absorbs and is damaged by pollution.
    The dry board eraser, an eraser based on absorption not friction, represents an external force attempting to draw away, to erase, part of the planet.  Whether the goal of the eraser is to remove Europe (it is placed over the continent) or to act as a symbolic vacuum of the former power European countries once exerted is unclear.  What is apparent is that the eraser will, if put to use, effect no change in the underlying world, it is a useless attempt to create change.

    —S.K.

  • ←This Is Art

    Yo Mama Out For Snacks -Anonymous The choice of medium and distressed effect of the piece calls to attention the former greatness of the printed word, a greatness used to show the sharp relief the current state of newspapers.  It is clear that the artist grew up in a journalistic and dysfunctional household as the artist draws parallels between his/her mother and a failing media.  The irony of using a medium to describe the intertwined failure of family and media leaves a pungent aftertaste in the viewer’s mouth. —S.K. “Yo Momma…” is obviously a piece commenting on the sorry state of print journalism.  As we all, and the artist, are painfully aware, print journalism, especially the elite class of behemoth periodicals to which the Chicago Tribune belongs, is in a state of freefall in regards to both content and readership.  The artist is drawing attention to a number of the more distressing aspects of this decline.  By addressing the Tribune media group in such an infantile manner, the artist is referencing the dumbing down of once erudite papers, as each edition seems to spend more time on color photos, infographics, and advertising, and less on report what was once considered news.  Indeed, the tribune (and other such papers) are regressing into a childlike state compared to what they once were, and with such a lack of direction and vision to arrest the fall, it appears as if this child’s parents (or ‘momma’) has left them alone, perhaps to go fetch snacks.  The artist furthers his or her point by bringing the message directly to the paper, and by using the paper’s own medium (the bold printed word) to attack the target.  Indeed, even in formatting (the use of the dash, the gap between two words so that they stretch to fit the entire line) the art evokes the antiquated giant it so eloquently attacks. —J.L.

    Yo Mama Out For Snacks -Anonymous

    The choice of medium and distressed effect of the piece calls to attention the former greatness of the printed word, a greatness used to show the sharp relief the current state of newspapers.  It is clear that the artist grew up in a journalistic and dysfunctional household as the artist draws parallels between his/her mother and a failing media.  The irony of using a medium to describe the intertwined failure of family and media leaves a pungent aftertaste in the viewer’s mouth.

    —S.K.

    “Yo Momma…” is obviously a piece commenting on the sorry state of print journalism.  As we all, and the artist, are painfully aware, print journalism, especially the elite class of behemoth periodicals to which the Chicago Tribune belongs, is in a state of freefall in regards to both content and readership.  The artist is drawing attention to a number of the more distressing aspects of this decline.  By addressing the Tribune media group in such an infantile manner, the artist is referencing the dumbing down of once erudite papers, as each edition seems to spend more time on color photos, infographics, and advertising, and less on report what was once considered news.  Indeed, the tribune (and other such papers) are regressing into a childlike state compared to what they once were, and with such a lack of direction and vision to arrest the fall, it appears as if this child’s parents (or ‘momma’) has left them alone, perhaps to go fetch snacks.  The artist furthers his or her point by bringing the message directly to the paper, and by using the paper’s own medium (the bold printed word) to attack the target.  Indeed, even in formatting (the use of the dash, the gap between two words so that they stretch to fit the entire line) the art evokes the antiquated giant it so eloquently attacks.

    —J.L.