Past Event

Chicago Printmakers Discuss the Personal Art of Dissent: The Art of Democracy

In a program moderated by Theaster Gates, Chicago artists Michael Goro, Brandy Pudzis, and Marilyn Propp will discuss their art and use of printmaking as a vehicle to voice political dissent. In their commentaries on the Iraq war, immigration, first amendment rights, and the environment, these artists (whose prints are featured in The Art of Democracy exhibit at LUMA) make a strong visual statement on the issues raised in the 2008 Presidential campaign.

Chicago Printmakers Discuss is held in conjunction with The Art of Democracy on view at the Loyola University Museum of Art from September 6 through November 9. Featuring over 50 artists from New York and Chicago, it was organized by the New York Society of Etchers.

This program is free and open to the public. Reservations are required. Please call 312.915.7630 or email luma@luc.edu.

About the artists:
Michael Goro was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, received his B.A. in architecture from the Mukhina College of Art and Design. In 1990, he immigrated to Jerusalem where he discovered intaglio printmaking and began to use it as his main medium. In 1993, he moved to the U.S. and earned his M.F.A. in printmaking from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Currently, Goro teaches at the American Academy of Art. His work is part of many private and public collections including the Krannert Art Museum, the Library of Congress, the International Print Triennial Society, Seoul Museum of Art, the Kanagawa Arts Foundation, Ino-cho Paper Museum, Ino-cho Kochi-ken, and Municipal Museum of Art in Gyor. His prints received multiple awards including an Excellent Prize at the 2006 14th Seoul Space  International Print Biennial and a special prize at the 1998 International Print Triennial in Kanagawa.

Brandy Pudzis attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Southern Illinois
University, Carbondale. She graduated with a B.F.A. in
painting in December of 2002.

Marilyn Propp grew up in Upstate New York and received her B.A. in art and history at the University of Pennsylvania. She was in the pre-M.F.A program in painting/printmaking at the San Francisco Art Institute.

Theaster Gates (moderator) is active — whether it’s institutional critique, object making, public discussion, or performance. His creative work recently enlisted the use of a mythic character known as Yamaguchi, who represents an effort to articulate the complex relationships between Blacks and Asians in the United States by convening soul food dinners. In addition, Gates uses public space and cultural institutions as launching pads for conversation in a series called Representations. His most recent project, the Black Monks of Mississippi, combines the richness of meditative traditions with gospel riffs and philosophical text to create a critical soul music.

This program is co-sponsored by the Loyola University Museum of Art (LUMA) and The Public Square, a program of the Illinois Humanities Council. It is part of The Public Square‘s "Looking for Democracy in ’08 and Beyond" series, which is made possible in part by the Woods Fund of Chicago.

Reservations required. For more information, please call 312.915.7630 or email luma@luc.edu.