(Press Release)
Perschke's RedBall Project, an ongoing site-specific installation, has been traveling the globe, adopting cities as its canvas. From Barcelona to Busan to Sydney, the sculptural performance has garnered public, critical and media attention worldwide. From September 1 - 25, 2008, The RedBall Project Chicago sponsored by Target will migrate throughout Chicago's unique architectural landscape and history - each location carefully considered by the artist. Site locations include Millennium Park, Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, Hyde Park Art Center, IIT's McCormick Tribune Campus Center, the Chicago Cultural Center, and more. The RedBall will also be found atop bridges and wedged into alleys, as Perschke's decisions address not only architecture and urban space, but also anticipate the flow of people, traffic and the observer's eye.
Compressed into each site, the 15-foot inflatable sphere changes its own shape as well as the space it inhabits, directly reflecting our experience of metropolitan density. Perschke conceives that RedBall is "a surrogate to our own body's navigation of urban environment and ultimately a transferable act of imagination." His interest is presenting the public with a momentary experience in their every day. He adds, "In that moment the person is not a spectator but a participant in the act of creativity. That invitation to engage, to collectively imagine, is the true essence of the RedBall Project. And like all good sculpture, the RedBall Project brings out the impulse to touch."
To follow the project's migration in Chicago and beyond, visit http://www.redballproject.com. The RedBall Project Chicago is a special project of the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs' Public Art Program. For more information, visit www.CityofChicago.org/PublicArt or call 312.744.6630.
About the artist Kurt Perschke's public projects have earned him a national award from the Americans for the Arts Public Art Network. Perschke has worked with Contemporary Art Museums in Barcelona and St. Louis and participated in the Busan Biennale. His video work has been screened in Europe and the US. Having lived in New York, St. Louis, the Virgin Islands and his native city Chicago, his work is in institutional and private collections throughout the states. He currently lives and works in New York City.
RedBall Site Location Schedule
(Additional sites to be announced.)
September 1, 11 am - 6 pm, Millennium Park (Michigan Ave. and Randolph St.)
September 3, 11 am - 6 pm, Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies (610 S. Michigan Ave.)
September 5, 11 am - 6 pm, Wishbone (1001 W Washington Blvd.)
September 6, 11 am - 4 pm Field Museum (1400 S. Lake Shore Drive)
September 7, 11 am - 6 pm Grant Park, Museum Campus pedestrian viaduct (under Lake Shore Drive at Roosevelt Rd.)
September 10, 11 am - 6 pm Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist (55 E. Wacker at Wabash Ave.)
September 13, 11 am - 6 pm Damen Ave. & North Ave.
September 14, 11 am - 6 pm Chess Pavilion, North Ave at the Lakefront
September 17, 11 am - 6 pm Union Station (Jackson St. at the Chicago River)
September 19 , 11 am - 6 pm Hyde Park Art Center (5020 S. Cornell Ave.)
September 20, 10 am - 5 pm IIT's McCormick Tribune Campus Center (3201 South State St.)
September 23, 11 am - 6 pm 19 S. LaSalle St.
September 24, 11 am - 6 pm Federal Plaza (230 S. Dearborn St.)
September 25 , 11 am - 5 pm Chicago Cultural Center (78 E. Washington St.)
"One of the important aspects of public art is its ability to cause people to pause and think," said Nathan Mason, Special Projects Curator for the Public Art Program. "It promotes conversations between strangers and neighbors and prompts the public's curiosity."
"At Target, we are committed to making the arts affordable and accessible to youth and families across the country," said Laysha Ward, president, community relations, Target. "Through our partnership with the Department of Cultural Affairs, we hope that the Chicago community enjoys the experience of interacting with the one-of-a-kind RedBall Project installations."
About the Public Art Program
For thirty years, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs' Public Art Program has been actively commissioning art for the City of Chicago. Local, national and international artists have created unique works for the city's libraries, police stations, senior centers and other municipal buildings. The collection has grown to over 700 pieces gracing the City's public spaces. The Public Art Program also oversees special projects that further contribute to the cultural enrichment of Chicago by creating and placing artwork in very public and occasionally unexpected sites. The RedBall Project Chicago sponsored by Target is one of these projects.
