1. John Humble, 300 Block of Broadway, Los Angeles, 1980! Craig Krull Gallery, Los Angeles
WRITTEN BY BEGINA ARMSTRONG
INTERVIEWED BY DOMINIC LEON
2. 2 GREG FOSTER-RICE & THE LOST CITIES
V
oted the number one museum in
the world by 2014 Travelers’ Choice
Awards, the Art Institute of Chicago,
in collaboration with the Princeton University
Art Museum, is showcasing its latest inciteful
exhibit, “The City Lost and Found: Capturing
New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, 1960-
1980,” co-curated by Greg Foster-Rice, Alison
Fisher, and Katherine A. Bussard.
The exhibit explores two decades worth of
research, sifting through the changes in city
infrastructure and political tidal waves to provide
a comprehensive look into the relationship
between three metropolitan capitals of the
U.S. and the role of the people living in them,
capturing the individual spirit of each city.
Foster-Rice, associate professor at Columbia
College Chicago, focused on collecting
information that brings to a visual fruition, the
mind of a municipal architect and the artistic
responses to it.
In our interview, Dominic Leon and myself
got the opportunity to pick Foster-Rice’s brain
on the process behind assembling the exhibit.
One of his goals for the show was to present
each piece in the show “as actual objects that
people would encounter in history.”
“Architects and urban planners were trying
to adapt some of the ideas of a more ‘street
friendly’ experience into their work and often
times they were trying to do it by modeling
things out through photography,” said Foster-
Rice. “[Consider] how does photography help
us to model what the city is and what it could be
in the future?”
Seeing all the pieces interact with each other
at the reception succeeded in transporting me
to every moment represented. The New York
section especially resonated with me as it allowed
me to view my city through a different lens.
It takes you to the point where architects
and urban planners began featuring other
photographer’s work in their municipal design
booklets in an effort to get people interested in
urban planning.
One of my favorite pieces ‘Touch Sanitation,’
a performance piece where Mierle Laderman
Ukeles followed over 8,000 sanitation workers
for 11 months on their shifts cleaning up thecity.
Garry Winogrand, Hard Hat Rally, New York, 1969 Art Institute of Chicago
3. 3 GREG FOSTER-RICE & THE LOST CITIES
Ukeles shook the hands of every worker and
a photo made it into one particular planning
booklet, providing an artistic look to the activist
responses to city planning.
“It was important for urban activists to get
their ideas out and to use the book format to do
so,” continued Foster-Rice. “Part of that citizen
participation was getting that information
out to the people and for them to make mass-
reproduceablethingsthattheycoulddisseminate
to the public.”
‘The Block II’ by Romare Bearden, a
celebratory piece on the energy of Harlem, was
also featured, although it was the second choice
for the exhibition. ‘Block I’ was unavailable, due
to it being shown several months prior to this
show’s opening, and needed to rest.
“It as a second version [to the ‘Block I’ and]
is like, but distinctly unlike the first version,”
Foster-Rice continued. “It is built up of little
blocks of wood, almost like a puzzle. Each
building is a series of blocks of wood, with
collages on it, then each floor of the building is
then stacked on the next one. Which is not how
he built the first one, it’s just photographs glued
to wood, connected to itself. He is really making
a picture of buildings...that is a built thing itself.”
Beardon’s piece reflects the electric collection
of personalities New York habored, but
underneath the city’s eclectic spirit a revolution
brewed. Pieces such as Garry Winogard’s ‘Hard
Hat Rally’ and Leonard Freed’s ‘Protesters in
the street during a civil rights demonstration,
Brooklyn, New York,’ give perspective into the
Romare Bearden, The Block II, 1972
Walter O. Evans Collection, Savannah, Georgia
Bruce Davidson, Untitled, East 100th Street, 1966-68
Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York
4. 4 GREG FOSTER-RICE & THE LOST CITIES
activism surrounding urban planning.
This show does a spectacular job of compiling
historic objects that present a radical image of all
three cities and the information each piece added
to the overall message was almost overwhelming.
While I did get the chance to see the exhibit
multiple times, I do recommend getting your
hands on the catalog, sharing the same name as
the exhibit.
It will allow you to see all of the pieces and
writings that make up the collection and contains
essays written by the curators, giving more
insight on the installation process. It is designed
by Project Projects to mimic the original urban
planning booklets, incorporating foil stamps
and vivid street photography.
“There will always be the show [and] we want
people to see the objects, but we also wanted
something that lasts beyond the three months
where it is explicitly at the Art Institute,’’ said
Foster-Rice. “[It] mimics the experience and
planning documents.We hope our book involves
the general public in a discussion about cities in
the 60s and 70s and [where they will] compare
it to their neighborhood today.”
There will also be an app that serves as a geo-
locator to help people navigate all of the cities
presented, and to see the pieces existing and
serving its infrastructural purposes in real life.
The exhibit will be showcased at the Art
Institute from October 25, 2014 to January 11,
2015 and then it will travel to the Princeton
University Art Museum and run from February
21, 2015 to June 7, 2015 in hopes of getting the
exhibition exposure on the East coast. While
here in the Midwest, it is a must-see for the
inner art historian in us all.
Kenneth Josephson, Postcard Visit, Chicago, 1969
Greg Foster-Rice is an
Associate Professor of
Photography at Columbia
College Chicago. We think
he’s awesome too.
5. John Humble, 300 Block of Broadway, Los Angeles, 1980! Craig Krull Gallery, Los Angeles
WRITTEN BY BEGINA ARMSTRONG
INTERVIEWED BY DOMINIC LEON
6. 2 GREG FOSTER-RICE & THE LOST CITIES
V
otedthenumberonemuseumintheworld
by 2014 Travelers’ Choice Awards, the
Art Institute of Chicago, in collaboration
with the Princeton University Art Museum, is
showcasing its latest inciteful exhibit, “The City
Lost and Found: Capturing New York, Chicago,
and Los Angeles, 1960-1980,” co-curated by
Greg Foster-Rice, Alison Fisher, and Katherine
A. Bussard.
The exhibit explores two decades worth of
research, sifting through the changes in city
infrastructure and political tidal waves to provide
a comprehensive look into the relationship
between three metropolitan capitals of the
U.S. and the role of the people living in them,
capturing the individual spirit of each city.
Foster-Rice, associate professor at Columbia
College Chicago, focused on collecting
information that brings to a visual fruition, the
mind of a municipal architect and the artistic
responses to it.
In our interview, Dominic Leon and myself
got the opportunity to pick Foster-Rice’s brain
on the process behind assembling the exhibit.
One of his goals for the show was to present each
piece in the show “as actual objects that people
would encounter in history.”
“Architects and urban planners were trying to
adapt some of the ideas of a more ‘street friendly’
experience into their work and often times they
weretryingtodoitbymodelingthingsoutthrough
photography,” said Foster-Rice. “[Consider] how
does photography help us to model what the city
is and what it could be in the future?”
Seeing all the pieces interact with each other
at the reception succeeded in transporting me
to every moment represented. The New York
section especially resonated with me as it allowed
me to view my city through a different lens.
It takes you to the point where architects
and urban planners began featuring other
photographer’s work in their municipal design
Garry Winogrand, Hard Hat Rally, New York, 1969 Art Institute of Chicago
7. 3 GREG FOSTER-RICE & THE LOST CITIES
booklets in an effort to get people interested in
urban planning.
One of my favorite pieces ‘Touch Sanitation,’
a performance piece where Mierle Laderman
Ukeles followed over 8,000 sanitation workers
for 11 months on their shifts cleaning up thecity.
Ukeles shook the hands of every worker and
a photo made it into one particular planning
booklet, providing an artistic look to the activist
responses to city planning.
“It was important for urban activists to get
their ideas out and to use the book format to do
so,” continued Foster-Rice. “Part of that citizen
participation was getting that information
out to the people and for them to make mass-
reproduceable things that they could disseminate
to the public.”
‘The Block II’ by Romare Bearden, a
celebratory piece on the energy of Harlem, was
also featured, although it was the second choice
for the exhibition. ‘Block I’ was unavailable, due
to it being shown several months prior to this
show’s opening, and needed to rest.
“It as a second version [to the ‘Block I’ and] is
like, but distinctly unlike the first version,” Foster-
Rice continued. “It is built up of little blocks of
wood, almost like a puzzle. Each building is a
series of blocks of wood, with collages on it, then
each floor of the building is then stacked on the
next one. Which is not how he built the first one,
Romare Bearden, The Block II, 1972
Walter O. Evans Collection, Savannah, Georgia
Romare Bearden, The Block II, 1972
Walter O. Evans Collection, Savannah, Georgia
8. 4 GREG FOSTER-RICE & THE LOST CITIES
it’s just photographs glued to wood, connected to
itself. He is really making a picture of buildings...
that is a built thing itself.”
Beardon’s piece reflects the electric collection of
personalities New York habored, but underneath
the city’s eclectic spirit a revolution brewed.Pieces
such as Garry Winogard’s ‘Hard Hat Rally’ and
Leonard Freed’s ‘Protesters in the street during a
civil rights demonstration, Brooklyn, New York,’
give perspective into the activism surrounding
urban planning.
This show does a spectacular job of compiling
historic objects that present a radical image of all
three cities and the information each piece added
to the overall message was almost overwhelming.
While I did get the chance to see the exhibit
multiple times, I do recommend getting your
hands on the catalog, sharing the same name as
the exhibit.
It will allow you to see all of the pieces and
writings that make up the collection and contains
essays written by the curators, giving more
insight on the installation process. It is designed
by Project Projects to mimic the original urban
planning booklets, incorporating foil stamps and
vivid street photography.
“There will always be the show [and] we want
people to see the objects, but we also wanted
something that lasts beyond the three months
where it is explicitly at the Art Institute,’’ said
Foster-Rice. “[It] mimics the experience and
planning documents. We hope our book involves
the general public in a discussion about cities in
the 60s and 70s and [where they will] compare it
to their neighborhood today.”
There will also be an app that serves as a geo-
locator to help people navigate all of the cities
presented, and to see the pieces existing and
serving its infrastructural purposes in real life.
The exhibit will be showcased at the Art
Institute from October 25, 2014 to January 11,
2015 and then it will travel to the Princeton
University Art Museum and run from February
21, 2015 to June 7, 2015 in hopes of getting the
exhibition exposure on the East coast. While here
in the Midwest, it is a must-see for the inner art
historian in us all.
Kenneth Josephson, Postcard Visit, Chicago, 1969
Greg Foster-Rice is an
Associate Professor of
Photography at Columbia
College Chicago. We think
he’s awesome too.
![2 GREG FOSTER-RICE & THE LOST CITIES
V
oted the number one museum in
the world by 2014 Travelers’ Choice
Awards, the Art Institute of Chicago,
in collaboration with the Princeton University
Art Museum, is showcasing its latest inciteful
exhibit, “The City Lost and Found: Capturing
New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, 1960-
1980,” co-curated by Greg Foster-Rice, Alison
Fisher, and Katherine A. Bussard.
The exhibit explores two decades worth of
research, sifting through the changes in city
infrastructure and political tidal waves to provide
a comprehensive look into the relationship
between three metropolitan capitals of the
U.S. and the role of the people living in them,
capturing the individual spirit of each city.
Foster-Rice, associate professor at Columbia
College Chicago, focused on collecting
information that brings to a visual fruition, the
mind of a municipal architect and the artistic
responses to it.
In our interview, Dominic Leon and myself
got the opportunity to pick Foster-Rice’s brain
on the process behind assembling the exhibit.
One of his goals for the show was to present
each piece in the show “as actual objects that
people would encounter in history.”
“Architects and urban planners were trying
to adapt some of the ideas of a more ‘street
friendly’ experience into their work and often
times they were trying to do it by modeling
things out through photography,” said Foster-
Rice. “[Consider] how does photography help
us to model what the city is and what it could be
in the future?”
Seeing all the pieces interact with each other
at the reception succeeded in transporting me
to every moment represented. The New York
section especially resonated with me as it allowed
me to view my city through a different lens.
It takes you to the point where architects
and urban planners began featuring other
photographer’s work in their municipal design
booklets in an effort to get people interested in
urban planning.
One of my favorite pieces ‘Touch Sanitation,’
a performance piece where Mierle Laderman
Ukeles followed over 8,000 sanitation workers
for 11 months on their shifts cleaning up thecity.
Garry Winogrand, Hard Hat Rally, New York, 1969 Art Institute of Chicago](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)