Industry of the Ordinary: History and Forgetting
@ Silent Funny
4106-08 W. Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60651
Opening Saturday, September 16th, from 2PM - 9PM
Industry of the Ordinary will be making a new work, ‘History and Forgetting’, as part of the City of Chicago’s Year of Public Art, as well as installing permanent artwork in the 37th Ward, with the support of Alderman Emma Mitts and DCASE.
Conceived and organized by Industry of the Ordinary (Adam Brooks and Mathew Wilson), with Lindsey French, featuring Katinka Kleijn.
On a concrete shop floor, two workers construct a flag from ice blocks, which, as it melts, washes away the dust, oil, blood and sweat that has stained the floor over its many years of use. As the flag passes into memory, the former life of the space it temporarily occupies will be remembered.
Accompanying the flag’s disappearance will be the recorded voices of inhabitants, workers and former workers from the surrounding area. These voices will fill the space and remain audible, although disembodied, after the flag has melted away. Industry of the Ordinary will spend the summer of 2017 recording interviews with current and former workers in and around the 4106 W. Chicago location. This oral history will endure as a tangible record of the neighborhood over the years.
Throughout the melting process, a lone musician, Katinka Kleijn, (cellist for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra), will play a requiem. Meanwhile, artist Lindsey French will document Industry of the Ordinary’s and Kleijn’s presence in the space, using data collection, interpretation and other technologies. The day’s activities will be framed at sunrise and sunset by two aerial banners being flown over the City of Chicago.
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Tags: Chicago, History and Forgetting, Humboldt Park, Industry of the Ordinary, silent funny
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