New Faculty Fall 2024
Rebecca Zorach Curates Exhibit for 'AFRICOBRA in Chicago'
Rebecca Zorach, Professor in Art History, is curating an exhibition at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts as part of AFRICOBRA in Chicago, "a linked series of exhibitions and public programs scheduled May–September 2013 focusing on the Chicago artist group AFRICOBRA (African Commune Of Bad Relevant Artists), founded in 1968 and still active."
AFRICOBRA: Philosophy, curated by Zorach, will run from June 28 to August 11, 2013 at the Logan Center. According to the press release, the exhibit:
...is designed to highlight the aesthetic philosophy of AFRICOBRA first articulated in statements and exhibition text in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The exhibition in the Logan Center Gallery will demonstrate how the AFRICOBRA philosophy was collaboratively developed by the five founding members, through a presentation of key early works and selected current works, raising the question of how founding principles continue to inform each artist...Themes to be addressed include the revolutionary politics of the period, the project of bringing art to the people through a range of media, and the relationship of gender roles and family to the political context of the time.
Zorach is also assisting with the opening exhibition AFRICOBRA: Prologue at the South Side Community Art Center, which runs from May 10 to July 7, 2013 and is curated by University of Chicago students. The opening exhibition will provide historical background and contemporary context for the other exhibitions in the series.
AFRICOBRA in Chicago is a collaboration between The South Side Community Art Center, the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, and The DuSable Museum of African American History. A jointly-published website with detailed information about each of the events will launch later this month.
Alumna and Philosophy Professor Featured in Food-centric 'Chicago Reader' Issue
For the "Where Chicago Eats" issue of the Chicago Reader, Anton Ford, Assistant Professor in Philosophy, and Miranda Swanson, AM'01, contributed their thoughts on food.
Anton Ford and Hannah Gold, a fourth-year in the College, debated whether something as crowd-pleasing as a doughnut can be an absolute good in an article penned by Gold. The relationship of donuts to philosophy arose in Ford's "Justice" lecture class, in which he asked, "If one finds a box of doughnuts in a hallway, is she forced to eat them, doughnuts being unmistakably delicious?" ultimately concluding, "Doughnuts are not an absolute good. You choose whether or not to eat another's doughnuts; the act, therefore, cannot be justified."
Miranda Swanson, AM'01, writes about her favorite Chicago chef, who is also her husband. The enjoyment they take from meals has also become a family affair—Swanson's two and a half year old twins are now old enough to appreciate lobster on linguine as well.
Jessica Burstein, AM'90, PhD'98, Publishes Work on Fashion and Modernism
Jessica Burstein, AM'90, PhD'98, published Cold Modernism: Literature, Fashion, Art as part of the Refiguring Modernism series. The book proposes a new understanding of modernism: cold modernism, which "operates on the premise that 'there is a world in which the mind does not exist, let alone matter.'" Burstein wrote about the experience of publishing her book in the latest issue of The University of Chicago Magazine.
Jeff McMahon, AM'02, on the Writing of Roger Ebert, X'70
In an article for Forbes.com, Jeff McMahon, AM'02, examines the beloved, accessible, and often rule-breaking writing style of Roger Ebert, X'70. McMahon notes that many tributes to Ebert since his death have somewhat clumsily focused on his love of movies, and neglected the nuance and humility he brought to his reviews. Along with his obvious passion for the films he reviewed, McMahon's article illustrates that Ebert should be remembered both for his honesty and his respect for the audience. "Why was Roger Ebert the greatest movie reviewer?" McMahon asks. "Not because he cared about movies, not because he told us what to think about movies, but because he told us just enough to care and to think for ourselves."
McMahon is an alumnus of the Master of Arts Program in the Humanities (MAPH) and currently serves as the program's writing advisor. He also teaches journalism courses for the Committee on Creative Writing.
