The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA) has just unveiled a very special exhibition, “Duro Olowu: Seeing Chicago,” curated by the internationally acclaimed Nigerian-born British designer Duro Olowu.

Olowu is best known for his award-winning womenswear label but that is only the tip of the iceberg to his numerous endeavors.

I was curious when I heard Olowu would be curating a show at the MCA. I knew his work mostly through his designs for First Lady Michelle Obama and his designs available locally at Ikram (15 E. Huron, Chicago).

But there is a lot more to Olowu as I was about to find out.

Why Chicago?

Olowu drew inspiration for “Seeing Chicago” from the city’s political geography and its homegrown artistic movements. In a few words, the Nigerian born artist, put the city in a better perspective than many Chicago natives could,  saying:

“You stand in the middle of Chicago and there’s amazing architecture, great modernism, great Art Deco, but then there are huge areas of underprivileged housing juxtaposed with all of this. So you’re immediately confronted with these divisions.” 

Look at Me gallery. Photo: Carole Kuhrt-Brewer

Olowu recognized a certain independent streak among Chicago collectors, who, as a whole, amassed an eclectic, significant holding of works of great diversity.

He used this vision in order to put together the show making many visits to Chicago as a curator, and spending time learning about art exhibitions, institutions, movements, and galleries in Chicago, including the art holdings in museums and private homes.

The exhibition presents more than 230 works from Chicago’s public and private collections offering a portrait of a city at times riven with racial and class divisions but also unified by a particular zeal for making, collecting, and sharing great art.

Works for the exhibition were loaned from public collections such as the Art Institute of Chicago, Block Museum of Art, South Side Community Art Center, and Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art; artists’ collections including Richard Hunt, and the Estate of Archibald Motley, Jr.; and individual Chicago collectors who have made major, selfless contributions to many cultural institution around the city.

The exhibition is divided into 8 sections: Introduction, Look at Me, Toward Abstraction, Lake Gallery, Lost in Space, Power to the People, Library and Second Look.

For an understanding of his process and revelations behind it listen here for the audio experience that features narration from Olowu himself and quotes from some of the artists in the exhibition.

Second Look

Olowu’s idea of a “Second Look” has become a model for spending respectful time with an object and giving attention to those objects that are either overlooked or even hypervisible to the point of not offering any more discoveries.

A second look is the mode by which Olowu was able to visit Chicago and offer a new connection and meaning into the city’s collections.

The finale gallery is the space that best reflects Olowu’s “Second Look.”

The west wall of the gallery features a collection of magnificent art by Henri Matisse, Kerry James Marshall, Jean Arp, Yto Barrada, and Brice Marden. On the other side of the gallery, the facing east wall features about 30 mannequins all dressed up in pieces from Olowu’s womenswear collections over the past 14 years,”

Olowu sums it up saying, “They are looking at the art, and at you.”

Second Look gallery. Photo: Carole Kuhrt-Brewer

About Olowu

Born in Lagos, Nigeria, to a Nigerian father and Jamaican mother, Olowu’s first eponymous collection in 2004 was a critical hit with the fashion world and sold out internationally. It featured the now signature “Duro” dress, hailed by both British and American Vogue as the dress of the year in 2005. That same year, he won the prestigious New Designer of the Year Award at the British Fashion Awards.

Olowu was also awarded TopShop’s ‘NEWGEN’ sponsorship, and in 2010, he was named Best International Designer at the African Fashion Awards in South Africa and was one of six finalists for the Swiss Textiles Award in Zurich. Alluring silhouettes, sharp tailoring, original prints juxtaposed with luxurious fabrics in off-beat yet harmonious, combinations became Olowu’s signature. His collections are a reflection of his interpretation of an international style that is timeless and relevant. His curatorial projects “Material” in 2012 and “More Material” in 2014 at Salon 94 Gallery in New York met with critical praise by the art world.

He lives between London and New York.

What, When, Where

What: Duro Olowu: Seeing Chicago
When: now through May 10, 2020
Where: Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, 220 E. Chicago Ave.
Tickets: Click here

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Trump reportedly told aides he fears journalists will purposefully try to infect him with coronavirus on Air Force One

Covid-19 has made Trump so annoyed.

He now thinks the media wants him destroyed.

He fears they’ll infect him

Which won’t reelect him.

I’d say positively that he’s paranoid.

Have you heard about the Coronavirus? (heavy sarcasm)

It’s gone from what was called a hoax to the biggest, and in some cases, the only topic on every news program. The virus is now a worldwide pandemic. Entire countries have gone under quarantined conditions. Other countries have shut down their borders to outsiders.

While it’s not quite as desperate in the United States, yet, people are starting to freak out. Yesterday at the stock market, the Dow Jones dropped more than two thousand points. Two senators and some members of the House of Representatives have self-quarantined themselves after maybe coming in contact with someone has the virus at CPAC. Normally sane citizens have been hoarding hand sanitizer and other essential items.

Sporting events worldwide have been cancelled. Colleges are sending their students home and having them finish the semester online. I can go on and on, but you’ve heard all of this and more.

What if you have a vacation planned? What do you do?

A week ago, I got on an airplane to Las Vegas. The flight was full. A week ago, people were nervous, but they didn’t stop going wherever, especially if it was in the U.S. Yeah, they looked around at every cough and sneeze, plus some wore masks that didn’t really help, but it made them feel safer. They still traveled.

A week later all that has changed. Folks are being way more careful. Way more…

A former classmate just cancelled a bucket list trip to Japan. I know people who have postponed vacations to Los Angeles and Miami. Last night I was checking out flights to Omaha, Nebraska. I was planning on going there later this month. I found flights for $98/round trip/ Let me repeat that…NINETY-EIGHT DOLLARS!! Normally, I would have booked it immediately, but there aren’t normal times. I at least want to think about it before going ahead. Most likely, Nebraska can wait.

What about cruises? What do you do if you have a cruise planned?

Obviously if your cruise is leaving soon, you’re going to cancel or postpone. We’ve seen how passengers on cruise ships have been quarantined for up to two weeks. Imagine being stuck in your stateroom for fourteen or more days. No one wants that. No way you’re going to risk that.

But what if you have a trip planned for some time in the future? Let’s say it this summer….three or so months from now. Do you anyone with those plans? If not, you do now. ME!!!

I have plans, along with my sig other, to get on a ship and head to Alaska for a week. Yeah, I know it’s too early to make any definite decisions, but is it really?

We had this discussion over the weekend and decided it was too soon to make any decision. The cruise leaves in late June, so there’s plenty of time to decide what to do. But every day it seems like the news about the virus is getting worse. As I was watching this yesterday, my thoughts were “we aren’t going.” SIGH!

I realize that’s not rational thinking. After all, three months is a long time. This could be over by then. It also could be the next plague. No one really knows. I do know one thing. I don’t want to be part of that new cruise joke, “Book one week. Get two weeks free.”

While writing this, I had a new idea. We could move the trip from June to later in the summer. They run these cruises through September. We both have plenty of free time, so why not? I guess we’ll have to wait and see….just like most everything in life.

But for today, the only thing I need to do now is wash my hands. I better hurry. It’s been a half hour since the last washing.

Related Post: Are you afraid to fly during the Coronavirus scare?

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That’s according to Sen. Deborah Stabenow (D-Mich.) defending Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden for calling a labor union auto plant worker that he is “full of shit.”

Here’s the quote, as provided by the Daily Beast:

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden told a pro-gun auto plant worker on Tuesday that he is “full of shit” for saying that Biden is “actively trying to end our Second Amendment right.” Biden told the worker who confronted him at an auto plant in Detroit that he “supports the Second Amendment,” adding, “If you yell ‘fire,’ that’s not free speech…I have a shotgun, I have a 20-gauge, a 12-gauge. My sons hunt. Guess what? You’re not allowed to own any weapon. I’m not taking your gun away at all. Do you need 100 rounds?” The worker, wearing a hard hat, accused the former vice president of threatening to “take our guns away,” which he said he heard on a “viral video.” Biden quickly snapped back at him, asserting that he “did not say that” and called the accusation a lie.

Stabenow said on Fox News, “Well, you know we’re all human. The president does that a lot and I think he had a human moment.”

I don’t recall Trump saying that to a voter. That’s probably because he is smarter than Biden. At least in Biden’s present state of mind.

So here comes another “Imagine if Trump had said…” moment. If Trump called a voter that, the uproar about his potty mouth would be around as long as the Coronavirus scare is around.

[email protected]

www.dennisbyrne.net 

My historical novel: Madness: The War of 1812

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“I know how much I’ve struggled to look with my heart and not just my eyes when I see someone who is obviously different from me. If adults have such a challenge, imagine what a challenge that can be for children,” Fred Rogers once said.

Gavin Edwards mentions that quotation in his tenth and final “way to live like Mister Rogers,” called “Share what you’ve learned. (All your life.)” This chapter is a summary of the stories in Edwards’ book “Kindness and Wonder,” the book I’ve been writing about over the past ten Mondays in order to share and live out its ideas.

The chapter is the story of speeches late in Fred Rogers’ life, between the end of his TV program for children and his death on Feb. 27, 2004. I had to look up the date, but I don’t have to remember how I felt. I was very upset by the great weather. I couldn’t stand that it was a beautiful day in this neighborhood, but Mister Rogers wasn’t there.

But to make a long story short, what I take away from the book is in the first paragraph of this post: “imagine what a challenge that can be for children.” That’s what Fred Rogers wanted adults to do, no matter what “that” was. He knew how to imagine.

Treating people with kindness and seeing the world with child-like wonder can happen for us adults. Fred Rogers showed us how.

I’ve shared this series of posts because of all the soothing memories that Gavin Edwards’ Sustaining Book has brought back to me.

The world today needs “Kindness and Wonder,” the book, because it needs kindness and wonder, the qualities.

Let’s keep them around, neighbors.

Margaret Serious has a page on Facebook.

What’s next? At this writing, I don’t know — but you can have it delivered if you’ll subscribe. Type your e-mail address in the box and click the “create subscription” button. My list is completely spam-free, and you can opt out at any time.