Anthony Adcock
Signals in Standstill

Traffic caused by construction seems to be absolutely unavoidable in Chicago. I, along with many, do not like traffic. There is a specific feeling one gets when that bright orange sign suddenly appears around the bend, warning drivers of the upcoming construction zone. This feeling of anger and brief panic is quickly replaced with illogical questions such as “why is this bridge under construction and why is it happening right now?”

Eventually, the driver stuck in traffic accepts defeat and sits. At this point, when the vehicle is completely stopped, the driver can fully appreciate and experience the construction zone. One begins to see the colorful shapes and symbols through the job-site detritus and silica fog. Chromatic machines and florescent attire stand out amongstthe grey. Aluminum signs adorned with hieroglyphics guide the drivers to safety. Similar to a pedestrian wandering on set during a movie production, the driver gets a glimpse of the construction process before being ushered away.

During a similar traffic experience, I noticed a five-sided construction sign that was nearly illegible due to the amount of dirt on the surface. At first glance, it reminded me of a Gerhard Richter squeegee painting with a grey/brown sludge pulled over a highly chromatic ground. However, after a minute or so, the grime on the surface of the sign began to look oddly figurative, inducing some degree of pareidolia; I immediately thought of Giotto’s Ognissanti Madonna. Similar to the Giotto masterpiece from 1306, this road sign was large, five-sided, reflective, chromatic, symmetrical, and seemed to be conceptually charged (because of its illegibility). This found road sign was quickly becoming my favorite art piece of the year.

Signals in Standstill is an exploration into the striking similarities between the Proto-Renaissance, specifically Giotto, and contemporary construction road signage. Using techniques and materials from the 1300s, I am reevaluating the language of signage and asking questions like “what would Giotto do?” Giotto might question the contemporary construction term “high-vis” (referring to the OSHA safety standards on visibility) and instinctively replace modern reflective material with 23.5 karat gold leaf, patented colors such as OSHA Blaze or Safety Orange, with Minimum or Vermillion. He might change the language, create new symbols, or even reconsider the very concept of a road sign. A master painter like Giotto would undoubtedly enhance such signs for everyone. Looking through the lens of Giotto has led to an awakening of sorts within my painting practice; the lines between virtuosity, material knowledge, and conceptual art have blurred together, yielding cultural artifacts that contribute to contemporary art discourse. Road signs, like many things in our society, can perhaps be enhanced, challenged, and glorified by just looking through the lens at a different angle. Even something like a heavy traffic jam on a Friday night can be an enlightening experience if one peers through the right way.

Bio:
Anthony Adcock (b. 1987 Chicago, IL) blends his unique experiences working as a Local #1 Ironworker and as an artist to create works that explore the relationship between labor and value. Using hyper illusionistic trompe l’oeil painting, sculpture, and installation, he distorts the line between reality and perception to question the importance and relevancy of authorship. He received a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Chicago and Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the American Academy of Art with a specialization in oil painting. His work has been published in New American Paintings, NewCity Art, The Examiner, and other publications. Anthony’s work has been exhibited throughout the country in various galleries and venues including Art Miami, Volta, the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art in Chicago, 21C Museum, University of Chicago, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and many others. He has contributed in performances for artist William Pope.L at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago and at the Whitney Biennial. He is also a member of the art collective “Post Humanity Group.” Anthony works out of his studio in his hometown of Chicago.

Melanie Brown
Driving My Meat Machine: a Celebration
Paintings are artifacts of layered time. They are shadows left from the spark and excitement and celebratory act of creation. These paintings are what’s left after my upside down, right side up, barefoot, whirling twirling studio dance parties.
From the moment my consciousness was plopped down into this body I have delighted in its kinetic possibilities. Some of my earliest memories are of dancing and painting and here I am still completely enamored of both. It’s a strange and wonderful thing to be on this planet driving my factory issued meat machine around with all of you. We are flames wrapped up in skeletons and I am trying to make the most of mine by using it to explore this world with paint and time.

Melanie P. Brown (b. 1972) is an exhibiting painter and teaching artist living and working in Chicago, IL. by way of Colrain, Mass. and Tulsa, OK. Melanie has performed live painting during collaborations with Ryan Ingebritsen, Jeff Yang, Eric Mahle, and the Ursa Ensemble. She also performs live painting regularly during concerts at Fulton Street Collective. A long time teacher and former program director at Lillstreet Art Center, Melanie has been painting and teaching for 19 years in Chicago alongside children and adults of all ages. Melanie holds a BA from Knox College in Galesburg, IL and an MFA in Painting from The American University in Washington, DC.

JohnClaud Ruder / Silver Tails; Or, a Head of Heat, as Eve drifts by
JohnClaud Valentine Ruder is a Chicago-based fiber artist. Their practice curiously dances through bodily grief and queer embodiment. Binding internal and external, memory and moment in mind and hand, their laborious knotted woven embellishments transubstantiate muddled materials into dreary dreamful homebodies. Like sheep before bed and candied clouds of cotton ball or faux fur, Ruder makes home appliques into emotive inhabited art objects.
Image: Melanie Brown

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Tags: Anthony Adcock, Chicago, Humbodt Park, Ignition project space, JohnClaud Ruder, Melanie Brown