Cloud Gate & Jay Pritzker Pavilion

When Mellissa told our class about being able to pick one of the exhibits in Chicago I knew that I wanted to do two works in Millennium Park.  Works of art in public places are very interesting to me.  The Cloud Gate or which most people know it as
“The Bean.” This is different then most public works I have encountered in the passed. This piece of work is actually more of an interactive piece. Visitors can actually walk underneath this work can a popular thing to do is take pictures.  Cloud Gate reflective qualities makes for some very interesting pictures.  When I first came up to the Cloud Gate I was overwhelmed by the actually size of this piece of work the amount of materials that it took was unbelievable to me. 

            After looking at Cloud Gate as a whole I wanted to learn more about how it was erected and the meaning behind the shape and the type of material that was used.  Cloud Gate was created Anish Kapoor this was her first piece of work in the United States.  Cloud Gate is a 110-ton sculpture, which was created out of a series of polished stainless steel plates.  These plates reflect the city of Chicago’s skyline, which is unmistakable.  Kapoor was very influenced by the look of mercury, which is very prevalent in the design.  I thought that was very interesting when I read about the idea of mercury because the first time I saw Cloud Gate I thought of the reflective qualities of mercury.  This installation stands at 33 ft tall and 66 ft long.  When I first looked at the Cloud Gate I thought it was a lot larger then the actually size.  Going through information I found a artist statement that I found very interesting I wanted to share with the group.

 

What I wanted to do in Millennium Park is make something that would engage the Chicago skyline…so that one will see the clouds kind of floating in, with those very tall buildings reflected in the work. And then, since it is in the form of a gate, the participant, the viewer, will be able to enter into this very deep chamber that does, in a way, the same thing to one’s reflection as the exterior of the piece is doing to the reflection of the city around.
-Anish Kapoor

 

The next public installation art that I wanted to blog about was Jay Pritzker Pavilion.   Frank Gehry was the artist that created this signature outdoor concert area.  It is also located in Millennium this Pavilion sheer size and ground-breaking architecture is amazing. I really enjoy line and design and this art is all about those two features.  This installation art stands 120-feet high.  The sound system spans 4,000 seats.  The great lawn, which accommodates an additional 7,000 people.  The sound system that is at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion is one of a kind.  It was designed to mimic the acoustics of a sounds system in an indoor concert hall.   

            I was very impressed by the overall appearance of both these works of art and one day I hope to actually hear a concert there.

Elements of Photography

By Kati Schumann

Walking into the Chicago Museum for Contemporary art you are introduced to many interesting things. The main floor holds a burned car with significant meaning to the people who had died in that particular bombing during the war. There are new designs with colors and words. Many different things to see. Once you go to the staircase the architect of them intrigues you. Looking down you will observe large fish, and once you can fight the urge to go sit with them you will find yourself traveling up the steps to see more.

Skipping the second floor and traveling all the way to the top you will find mobiles. Things strung together made out of metal in interesting shapes. Along with them you will see several other objects of art made out of metal. My favorite was the face with the glass eyes and lips. Also on this floor is a movie of progression. It makes me smile but have hesitant thoughts of how time consuming it would be. The last thing on this floor is a romantic short movie.

Leaving the top floor is what I found to be my area of expertise. On the second floor is the Elements of Photography. The first thing you come up on are four black and white pictures of a lake with fog. They are interesting and definitely something we see a lot here in Marquette with the Great Lake Superior.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next two pictures you come up on is of an open window. The first has the window shutters wide open and the next is of them half closed. The little read up said something along the lines of the shutters of the window work similar as the shutter of a camera.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following picture is an out of focus picture. The corner in the right is the only thing in focus. In the picture, it is hard to see but if you look hard you can find a picture frame. You can’t tell what is in the picture but if you look past it there looks to be a window. It is an intriguing picture, something that I would think I would like to do. Something with great depth of field.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The image next to it I think is my favorite. I say I think it is because it is a cross between this and the last one. This one is one of my favorites because of the color. It is a picture looking up into a canopy of trees and there is a rainbow circle. It is a flare from the light and something that happens with taking pictures but I love how it looks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The one between my two favorites is another interesting picture. Something I think I would also do. It is an image of a girl blowing water at the camera. You can see a hint of a rainbow and she is standing next to an orange tree. I think it is an interesting place, interesting story line, and nicely done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My favorite image of them all is one that I really do not know how to explain. It looks like a bunch of different colored paper all folded in on each other. It is one image that called to me and I cannot express why. It is something that needs to be seen and not spoken of.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I found the rest of the trip in Chicago to be very fun and a great learning experience. I loved to see the many different kinds of art and would like to think of maybe joining the struggle of the hundreds of artists fighting to make a name for them selves in the Windy City. Last thing, I would like to thank Alaina Maiani for taking my pictures for me… it is so unlike me to forget my camera and she had my back. Thank You!

Kohler Art Center

The Kohler Art Center was the first stop on our trip. Tired and not feeling like I would be easily amused I walked into the museum. The only thing I knew I was going to see were some amazing bathrooms. After seeing the bathrooms and realizing my dream to have a paisley urinal someday I branched off to see what else the Kohler had to offer.

The First exhibit I saw was David Lenz. His photo realistic paintings of the unsung heroes of Milwaukee really blew me away. Having grown up in a farming community, I could really appreciate and was really blown away by his work. Before I got up close to it I just thought they were photographs. His attention for detail and facial features are two things in his paintings that I really thought set him apart from anyone else doing the same thing as him. I also thought it was an interesting concept painting just everyday people in everyday settings. For me, that made it so I could more closely relate to his work and even relate to the people depicted in some of his works.

Before I even got to see all of Lenz’s work, a giant jackal looking figure painted in huge scale on the wall caught my eyes. I veered off my path to go see it. The enormous black figure was tied to another jackal that was sitting out in front of the painted jackal. I didn’t understand it, but I didn’t need to. I was just really into the piece and was hoping there were a lot more like it to come. I was in luck! Jose Bedia had a bunch of pieces in the Kohler.

I really admired his technique as a painter. It was really imperfect but at the same time it was so interesting. The splattered and dripping paint along with the imagery in his pieces are what I found most exciting. They were an interesting contrast to the photo-realistic paintings I encountered earlier.

The last memorable exhibit there was done by  Gregory Van Maanen. His work really caught my eye. His use of skulls and the way he painted impressed me a lot. I found his choice of colors to be very inspiring as well. He combined colors that I wouldn’t ordinarily think to put together. He paints in a way in which it almost feels like doing works of art like that are in my grasp.

Overall, the Kohler Art Center was one of my favorite stops of the entire trip. It left me entertained, informed, and inspired. It gave me a new perspective on my own work and made me think about what art means. I would definitely recommend visiting the Kohler, whether you’re an artist looking to view some quality art or just have the urge to urinate in the most visually interesting bathroom ever.

-Drake Nagel

Liam Gillick: Three perspectives and a short scenario

Liam Gillick: Three perspectives and a short scenario

Liam Gillick was born in Aylesbury, England, in 1964. Gillick graduated with a BA in Fine Art from Goldsmiths College, University of London, in 1987. Gillick emerged in the early 1990s as part of a re-energized British art scene, producing a sophisticated body of work ranging from his signature “platform” sculptures – architectural structures made of aluminum and colored Plexiglas that facilitate or complicate social interaction – to wall paintings, text sculptures, and published texts that reflect on the increasing gap between utopian idealism and the actualities of the world. Gillick’s work is shaped by visual awareness of the way different properties of materials, structures and color can affect our surroundings and therefore influence the way we behave.

I had never seen any of Gillick’s work before I signed up to blog about his exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art. The piece that he had in the exhibit was titled Three perspectives and a short scenario. This was a rather large installation art piece.

Gilli

Picture 1

Picture 2

Picture 3

ck’s exhibit had these black dividing walls that were see threw, the walls guided you around the exhibit (See Picture 1). The walls were made out of wood painted black. The ceiling of the exhibit had tons of these colored tiles (see Picture 3) that the light for the room was coming threw. It was in a large, vary open room at the Museum of Contemporary Art. When you walked in you could see the whole exhibit. Gillick was vary particular about the environment. Gillick really tries to control the views experience as they walk threw his exhibits, from the lighting to the layout of his work.

As I walked around his exhibit the walls were really confusing me. They significantly change the way I was able to view the different piece’s in the room from the video displayed on the wall to his other works (see Picture 2). I think Gillick was trying to play on a vary visual experience. He had set it up to control the lighting of the room and also the way people could walk around his exhibit. This really made the viewers walk around the exhibit the way he had intended. I did not particularly enjoy this exhibit. As I walked threw it the walls really confused me but in a good way, as I walked along my view of his work was constantly changing. I also enjoy Gillick’s choice of lighting, it really show how much Gillick really cares about controlling the viewers experience of his work. But overall I didn’t really care for this piece of his work. It was vary open and didn’t have much going on to keep me intrigued.

-James Nelson-

Modern Wing, Art Institute of Chicago

Time spent in Chicago, at least in my experience, needs to be structured.  Without structure, one cannot expect to see all of the things that he/she decided would be worthwhile.  I found this out first-hand.  Upon leaving the Parker Schopf Gallery, I hastily decided that food was of utmost importance. Little did I know that time would not permit both food and a visit to the Carrie Secrist Gallery on West Washington Boulevard.  First, panic set in (since my assignment depended on me visiting the gallery), followed by disappointment. The gallery is currently showing an exhibition titled “As We Live and Breathe”, an exhibition addressing all things “green”, which I find particularly intriguing.
Since the Secrist Gallery was no longer an option, I was given the opportunity to focus my blog on two pieces in the vast Art Institute of Chicago’s Modern Wing permanent collection.  Choosing two pieces from the collection was no easy task, but I eventually narrowed it down to Andy Warhol’s “Self Portrait (1966)” and Barbara Kruger’s “We Will Not Become What We Mean To You”.  While these two pieces may not have been my absolute favorites out of the collection, I found myself returning to them to have another look after filtering through gallery after gallery.

Both Warhol and Kruger are American-born artists who have dealt with multiple mediums in their work.  Warhol used printmaking techniques throughout much of his career, but he also sampled in hand painting, film, photography, sculpture, and many others.  Barbara Kruger primarily works with text and images in photo-collages, but has also worked in video, film and audio, and her work is featured on many consumer products (including posters, post cards, prints, apparel, and signage).

Kruger’s piece directly addresses issues with American society.  The image is of the upper torso of a woman, showing from mid chest to just above the upper lip. A black bar spans the image, with the words “We will not become what we mean to you” in white type.  I believe that she is making a statement about stereotypes in our society, as well as the pressure put on individuals to fit in with society.  Stereotyping has been a problem in our society, as well as others around the world, for a long time. Barbara Kruger’s image addresses this problem by encouraging people to not fall into their stereotypical roles and to challenge society’s views on their particular social group.  I feel that the image addresses more than just stereotypes, continuing past social groups to the individual.  It encourages individuals to break out of the mob-mentality that many of us are victims of.  Instead of following trends and copying others to fit in, we should become something unique, something other than what we are expected by society to become.  While making these statements through the words is effective, I feel that the idea is embodied in the work itself.  Barbara Kruger brings a ‘cut-and-paste’ aesthetic to her work, which challenges the guidelines of her medium.  People expect to see integrated and streamlined work from a professional artist, but she chooses to make clear distinctions between her text and her images.
What drew me to the Warhol images may purely have been the artist. I like the contrast between his early work and his latter works, with these self portraits falling somewhere around the middle of his career. The prints show Warhol calm and collected, comfortable where he is.  I think that these images accurately portray Warhol, who despite being incredibly ambitious and eccentric, was completely comfortable with who he was.
I think what drew me to these two pieces the most was a combination of simplicity in the images and the social agenda of both artists (whether apparent in the selected works or not). Barbara Kruger is directly confronting our society throughout her body of work, including “We Will Not Become What We Mean to You”.  Warhol more indirectly addresses our roles as consumers, though not so much in his self-portrait.

- Matt Schmelling

Daria Martin: Minotaur

Minotaur by Daria Martin, was commissioned by The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago in an undertaking referred to as the 3M Consortium Project. The16 mm film depicts a duet choreographed by the legendary dance and movement pioneer Anna Halprin based on the 1886 sculpture Minotaur by sculptor Auguste Rodin.

Daria Martin was born in the United States and received a BA from Yale University and a MFA from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is currently resides in London where she lives and works.

I viewed Minotaur at the MCA, Chicago. It was tucked back into a corner of the museum on the third floor with a sign out front encouraging parents to view the film before bringing in their children. It begins with drawings of contorted figures behind the credits. The soundtrack starts with the creaking of wood, and deep guttural masculine tones, overlaying nature sounds, the usual birds and wind through trees thing. Then it switches over to views of the outside of Anna Halprin’s house of burnt trunks and moss-covered trees. Halprin is flipping thorough books of Auguste Rodin’s works. Her heavily wrinkled hands move over the pages creating rasping sounds and stops on the Bronze sculptures of the Minotaur and of his Faun and Nymph. Its as if Halprin’s imagination starts to run wild and we can see what she is thinking when the film switches over to close ups of the sculptures and slowly eases into a still of the two dancers, a robust older dancer, and a younger woman as his captive nymph in the pose of Rodin’s Minotaur. Martin starts to integrate a solo cello and ads primitive wind instruments and a larger collection of overall instruments as the dancers progress.  The camera focuses on the hands grasping between the women’s legs. It gives the initial essence of possession.  Slowly the struggle turns to more erotic poses as the Minotaur manipulates the nymph’s movements. The film flips between the two dancers, quick shots of outside, and close-ups of the bronze sculptures that have the reflections of the dancers contorted on the surface. At the climax of the film the nymph establishes her independence from the Minotaur and shifts around him and away. In the last motion she cradles the Minotaur’s chin and gives him a look of power from overcoming him that turns to pity. The last view is a juxtaposition of the Minotaur’s expression of defeat and Halprin’s mouth stretching into a wry grin that suggests an air of sexual satisfaction.

I ended up watching the film about three and a half times. The second round there was no sound. I doubt that was intentional but it did allow me to focus purely on the visual part of the film, and not have the emotional influence of the supporting soundtrack. What struck me the most, were the subtle changes in their facial expressions. None of it was overly dramatized. Just small shifts in the mouth and eyes. Initially with the dance you get the sense of masculine dominance. After this I was torn between believing the established emotional distress of the nymph and feeling that as their actions progress the nymph starts to enjoy herself, which automatically changes the power play. She is supposed to be subjected to almost torture but the moment it becomes pleasurable the Minotaur losses the power he is subjecting upon the nymph. The pleasure enables her to elude the Minotaur.

After the film there was a low table where there were books about the film and about dance as an art form. I read a little and was interested that in Martin’s book about the film she discusses the style and how in a way its Feminist porn.

by Jeanine LeBrell

Jean Dubuffet & Marc Chagall

When I found out we were going to blog about our experiences on the Chicago trip, I knew a lot of students were going to be at each other’s throats for stuff like Warhol, Picasso and Blue Man Group. I was kind of excited, though, when I was assigned to two guys I’d never heard of before & hoped to learn something new. We saw artwork from Jean Dubuffet and Marc Chagall on the downtown walking tour. Both artists share a French background however Dubuffet creates more outsider art while Chagall’s work is geared toward surrealism and expressionism.

I hadn’t had much of a chance to research either artist I was assigned to so I wasn’t sure what kind of art to expect from them. When the bus dropped us off in front of City Hall for the walking tour, I remember seeing this giant, weird-shaped white sculpture with thick black lines all over it and thought “God, please don’t let this be my artist.” Go figure, it was Dubuffet. Jean Dubuffet ditched his school, Académie Julian in Paris in 1918 and proceeded to study art independently. He created the term ‘Art Brut’ which means ‘raw art’ or outsider art.

The piece is called “Monument with Standing Beast”. It’s a representation of four different things: a standing animal, tree, portal and a piece of architecture all at once.  Dubuffet called it a “drawing that extends into space”. This abstract work is definitely not the style of art that interests me but after learning about it, I thought it was interesting how he combined all for of those elements into a single sculpture and I was able to appreciate it a little more. When I was researching about it, I read one person’s critique of it and agreed with him when he talked about ‘Monument’ being a very successful and visually appealing discontinuity from all the straight lines and sharp angles of the buildings surrounding it.

Further on in the walking tour we saw Marc Chagall’s enormous mosaic called “The Four Seasons” that he gave as a gift to the city of Chicago. The huge 70-foot long, 14-foot high mosaic depicts various scenes in the city. I absolutely loved the amount of detail with all the thousands of tiny pieces of glass and his use of color and its ranges throughout the little tile pieces is absolutely incredible.  Chagall worked a lot with stained glass and ceramics among numerous other art mediums. In looking closely at the mosaic, I was amazed at the amount of time it must have taken to create such a work.  There are actually four sides to the mosaic giving it its nickname,  “the boxcar mosaic”, making it impossible to photograph all at once.

Even though I liked one piece and didn’t like the other, I’m glad I was able to see them both. Just because I don’t like the look of a certain type or kind of art doesn’t mean that the meaning behind the work is lost on me. I appreciate the creativity  and positivity both artists project into their separate pieces of work.

By: Ashley Corl

 

James Castle: A Retrospective

Not knowing who James Castle was as I entered the exhibit James Castle: A Retrospective at the Art Institute, I had no idea what to expect.  What I found when I got there were captivating black and white soot-and-spit drawings.  (This medium, I thought, was already something completely different than I had ever seen.) Castle’s exhibit expanded through 4 galleries.  Walking in, there were many black and white drawings, most of them about the size of a postcard, some slightly larger.  Moving towards the back of the gallery, color shows up in some of the drawings.  Then, in the middle of the room, dolls made out of scraps of fabric and paper, tied together with bits of graying string.  Sad dolls, these, with their eyes peering through the plexiglass.  In the other galleries, words on pieces of paper.  Big words, small words, meaningful and meaningless alike.  It was hard to take it all in, and the contrast between the simplicity of the words, the way they were printed on the paper, and the intense sadness in the drawings was really interesting to see.

I was taken aback by the emotion displayed in the drawings.  Castle created landscapes and buildings that used the contrast between the white of the paper and the black of the soot to the utmost – the difference in hue structure created a drama for each and every piece that was intriguing.

My first impression of Castle’s artwork was that the treatment of it was so casual, almost to the point of being careless.  His pieces were torn, tied together with string, and mounted with scotch tape and clear packaging tape.  This execution made me think about the artist’s intent for his pieces.  What did it mean that his piece titled “Dream Home” was drawn on a piece of an old ice cream container?  The irony of that juxtaposition (garbage; ideals) rang loudly – so loudly over the other aspects of the piece that it drowned them out completely.  I don’t remember the details of the picture, and am more concerned with the surface he painted it on.

Then, I looked him up on the internet.  Today, he probably would have been diagnosed with autism, but in the early 20^th century, he was considered illiterate, deaf, and mute, and enrolled at the Idaho School for the Deaf and Blind, where he was taught to write.  Additionally, my first impression of his pieces being treated with little to no care was right on target.  His family mistreated his art by tacking, folding, and tearing them.

The effect that Castle’s artwork has is profound and compelling.  Though he is clearly talented and his artwork is respected in the world today, during and immediately after his lifetime, he wasn’t appreciated for his effort or talents.  His artwork is sad and intriguing, and almost peaceful at the same time.

Monica Bruell

Blue Man Group

by Duncan Ryan-Ross

Part 1: “Tubes/Rewired” in Chicago

Blue Man Group’s performance in Chicago is one hell of a show.  Anyone with the good fortune of having purchased a ticket is treated to a night of dazzling visuals, infectious music, and humorous gags. Maybe even a little time on the stage with the Blue Men, too, if they’re lucky.  Each song and scene, while individually memorable in their own right, may not seem to gel into a cohesive whole to someone who’s sitting back and trying to enjoy themselves. But upon closer inspection, one starts to see that they share similar sociological themes.

Two themes that were pretty apparent throughout the show, at least to me, were isolation of the outsider, and technology versus the organic. The former is a pretty obvious one. The Blue Men themselves are outsiders; they’re mute, they’re earless, their skin color is radically different than the average Joe’s (blue, of course), and their facial expressions are fixed in a blank, emotionless, wide-eyed mask. The only way the trio seem to be able to express themselves is through their musical instruments and their stage antics, assisted by the occasional backup band or disembodied voice.

And a running gag throughout the show is that one of the three in the Group is an outsider himself. During the opening drum number, when all we see of the Blue Men is their silhouettes through a scrim, one of them sneaks a puff of a cigarette and a bite of a banana in between beats. During the “Cap’n Crunch” musical number, one of them has a considerably louder bite than the others, drawing awkward glances from the other two in the Group. Another Blue Man gets bits of Cap’n Crunch stuck to his face, seemingly unbeknownst to him, as the other two look on.

A slightly more serious, and less subtle, commentary on isolation (one that also ties to technology, I might add) is the “Internet Café” musical number. A Wire Man sits at his laptop, while the Blue Men stand behind him, holding LED signs (which they eventually use as big drumsticks). The statements marching across these LED signs make plain that the internet not only connects us in new ways to old friends, but also seems to distance us from more human interactions that could gain us new ones. The Wire Man may be chatting with his buddy in Honduras via Facebook, one that he probably met via the social networking giant, but he’s all alone in that café. Isolation with the veil of interaction, anyone?

The second theme I picked up on is more apparent in the aesthetics of the show than as a statement made in the performance. Most of the percussion instruments that the Blue Men play are made of PVC pipe; modern technological achievements used in a manner traditionally done with more organic materials. The Blue Men do not speak, so they have disembodied voices speaking for them. These narrators, although sounding distinctly human, speak in a manner akin to that of Text-to-Speech computer programs. Their tone is monotonous and cold, with the exception of the female narrator saying “God, I love the sound of my own voice!” during the “Animation” number. The backup band plays modern-day instruments, many of them with synthetic or electrical components. But they’ve got paint on their faces.* Modern-day florescent paint, yes, but painted in patterns reminiscent of the kind Aborigines used to apply on their faces with more organic substances.

Of all the various types of animations presented in the “Animation” scene, which type was the one that was trying to free itself of the constraints placed upon it by a distinctly organic picture frame? Why, that would be CGI, a product of modern technology.

Overall, I don’t think these themes are obscure enough to be hidden by the average theatre-goer. At the same time, however, these messages are not being shoved down the audiences’ throat, either. They’re presented in a way that’s creative, accessible, and unique. You do not attend a show by Blue Man Group without being entertained, and you do not leave a show by Blue Man Group with the feeling of having seen anything like it before.

Part 2: Review – “How to Be a Megastar LIVE!” DVD/CD

I can’t go to a concert or play without gettin’ me some schwag. And although $20 is a bit of a steep price tag for a po’ college student like myself, I couldn’t resist picking up this DVD/CD combo pack when I saw it in Blue Man’s gift shop. Needless to say, it’s well worth the price.

The concert that Blue Man Group takes on the road is a little different than the shows they put on in the theaters. This time, the backup band doesn’t have their faces painted, and they even have vocal accompaniment on some of the songs. That’s not to say that the concert still isn’t an incredible experience, though. Hell, if anything it’s even more incredible in an rock concert environment.

The underlying premise throughout the DVD is that the Blue Men have stumbled upon a “Rock Concert Instruction Manuel”, a disembodied voice that takes them step-by-step through the process of putting on the perfect rock concert experience. The comedy comes from the Blue Man Group managing to misinterpret each instruction, and yet somehow pulling off one hell of a concert regardless.

Complaints about the show itself are short: In fact, the only thing I didn’t like about it were two painfully unfunny sketches, involving SNL’s Fred Armisen, that bogged down the otherwise incredible show (both of which are mercifully removed from the audio CD of the concert). The songs featured on here are mostly from the Group’s second album ‘The Complex’, as well as covers of hit rock songs. My favorite of these covers is their rendition of The Who’s “Baba O’Riley”, where the female vocalist Adrian Hartley demonstrates her magnificent pipes with a soulful delivery. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a clip of that version on YouTube. I did, however, find footage of this song from an earlier DVD of there’s, with vocalist Tracy Bonham doing a slightly inferior job when compared to Hartley’s.

Included in the special features a half-hour cutting of their hour-long PBS special “Inside the Tube”, an insightful documentary in which the three men beneath the blue makeup go in-depth about Blue Man Group’s origins, and some of the philosophy behind the performances (hey, guess I was right about the isolation thing). Other special features include a bonus Blue Man sketch (unfortunately preceded by another groan-inducing Armisen skit, but at least the Blue Men make up for it by actually being funny), and a music video for their cover of Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love”, featuring the vocals of Venus Hum frontwoman Anette Strean (which can also be seen at Blue Man Groups official website,  www.blueman.com).

All in all, “How to Be a Megastar LIVE!” was $20 well spent. I recommend it.

Smart Home: Green + Wired by Adam Trebel

In todays society there is an ever-increasing need for people to live sustainable lives, however the word “Green” and the connotations that it implies make me very skeptic of companies and products that boast to be green. As i took the tour of the “Smart Home” at Chicago’s Museum of Science & Industry, i realized that the building i was in was not the gimmick i feared it would be.

As we started our tour i learned that the home was designed by Michelle Kaufmann. An Architect/designer that specializes in sustainable and eco-friendly design, along with modular architecture. The materials that were picked varied greatly, from “Trex” planking for the deck and walk way, to Fiber Cement Board and wood for the exterior of the home. Each material was picked specifically for its durability and sustainable attributes. In addition to being selective on materials, the architect also looked to where the products came from, what their story was, and what impact was made by the harvesting and consumption of the materials.

The house itself and its interior was beautiful. Everything from the collapsible windows, to the wire railings fit the home well and made the home feel more welcoming and spacious. The home uses a very open and modern floor plan so that heating and cooling can be more efficient. I especially enjoyed the vents that run from the ceiling on the first floor to the third floor for convection style heating and cooling. Every aspect and detail of this house was taken into consideration and turned it into a beautiful home.

The other interesting and staple aspect of this house was the Smart Home Technologies that were incorporated into it. The home was equiped with a tankless water heater, dual water use sinks and toilet, full home audio, and cameras. The heat, cameras, shades in the windows, could all be controlled by use of computer whether in home or across the country.

I’m looking at my notes an realizing there is way to much stuff in this house to list, but that is the way it is, there are many aspects to make a home or product sustainable, and each need to be considered carefully in order for it to accomplish its goals. In closing it is something you have to see with your own eyes and hear with your own ears to really appreciate what all the little things can add up to.