Some things change, some don’t.
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Designed by Antunovich Associates to blend with its Lincoln Park neighborhood, the 15,200-square-foot, $7.8 million, red-brick facility looks pretty much like any other storefront, except for a large arched glass window, like a big open mouth, in the middle of its public face on Fullerton. Inside, there’s 4,000 square feet of display space divided into five galleries on the first two floors; on the third floor, along with offices, are amenities the DPAM never had before, like a lecture hall/event space and a state-of-the-art teaching room. The whole thing is small enough to feel friendly, and full of natural light, thanks to generous windows throughout that also frame the moving picture show of DePaul’s dense urban environment.
It wouldn’t be surprising if Loyola University’s 2005 relocation of its art museum from its main campus in Rogers Park to its Water Tower outpost helped spur the rapid development of this little gem. DPAM director Louise Lincoln says only that in 2008 the administration decided to create a museum that would be better able to interact with the public. And when new buildings for the theater and music schools also go up on Fullerton (at Racine and Halsted, respectively), DePaul will have a highly visible “arts corridor.”
Which brings us to one thing that doesn’t change: Chicago’s deep insecurity about its amorphous art scene. Don Baum’s 1969 MCA exhibit, “Don Baum Says Chicago Needs Famous Artists,” is the jumping-off point for Lincoln’s introduction to the exhibit catalog: 40 years later, she writes, Chicago still “needs and needs to recognize its famous artists.” In the excellent essays that follow, art historian Wendy Greenhouse discusses the vagaries of canon formation; scholar Kirsten Jensen argues that Porkopolis once stood proudly as a cultural venue; MCA curator Lynne Warren maintains that Chicago’s contribution to 20th-century photography is better appreciated anywhere but here; and curator Robert Cozzolino, of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, makes a case for Chicago artists—starting with Ivan Albright—as pop art trailblazers.
Self-portrait
935 W. Fullerton, 773-325-7506, museums.depaul.edu, Sat 9/17, 10 AM-noon, panel discussion with catalog authors, 2-5 PM public reception, regular hours Mon-Thu 11 AM-5 PM, Fri 11 AM-7 PM, Sat-Sun noon-5 PM
