- Select images from Closed and Open are available online.
(Chicago, March 27, 2006) - In May 2006, Chicago artist Antonia Contro will transform the Newberry Library's first floor exhibition galleries into a lively exploration of the ways in which knowledge is collected, interpreted and shared in "Closed and Open: Antonia Contro," a site-specific installation of the artist's work.
Contro is recognized nationally for her art that juxtaposes recognizable images in ways that take them out of the realm of the ordinary. Her work, which is both playful and thought provoking, is truly a feast for the senses, mixing traditional artistic media such as drawing and photography, with audio tracks and found objects. At the Newberry, Contro is creating an installation that includes all of these items, plus books and manuscripts from the Library's collections.
"Based on the metaphor of closed and open, the overarching aim of this exhibit is to literally open books to new interpretations," explained Antonia Contro. "Although the Internet replaced many tactile connections to learning, there is a great value in acquiring knowledge by holding a book in one's hands, perusing it and learning through sensorial connections."
In creating Closed and Open, Contro has been inspired by such diverse experiences as discovering the renowned eleventh edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica (1911); and wandering the gardens of a villa on Lake Como while on a Rockefeller fellowship in Italy. Other sources include the 1915 edition of Webster's Dictionary, and Ovid's Metamorphoses. Contro has also been inspired by the atmosphere of open inquiry fostered by the Newberry through its collections, staff and users.
"Antonia's work is perfectly suited to the Newberry," says Riva Feshbach, the Newberry Library's exhibits manager. "Beyond her obvious love of books, Antonia has a wonderful feeling for the Library and the work we do here. Closed and Open is just one more way in which we use contemporary perspectives to bring historic collections to life. I hope it will encourage other artists to explore our collections."
Programs:
Accompanying programs include:
Artist's Opening Reception
Thursday, May 18, 6:00 pm
Join artist Antonia Contro and Newberry staff members who collaborated with her to create the installation, Closed and Open, for refreshments and informal conversation.
Admission is free. Reservations are recommended; call (312) 255-3700.
From the Great Chain of Being to Encyclopaedia Britannica 11 to the Internet: Designing the Architecture of Knowledge
Thursday, June 1, 6:00 pm
Panel: Erin McKean, Oxford American Dictionary, Theodore Pappas, Encyclopaedia Britannica, and Edward Valauskas, Chicago Botanic Garden and Dominican University
Chair: Sara Austin, The Newberry Library
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the Internet has made the hoary subject of taxonomy "hotter" than it has been since 1911, when the eleventh edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica staked a claim to the organization of all knowledge. A panel of scholars and editors engaged in the historical study of the organization of knowledge will discuss what today's cyber-geeks can learn from the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century creators of encyclopedias, taxonomies, and dictionaries.
Art in Context
Thursday, June 15, 6:00 pm
Speaker: James Yood
Have you always been curious about Chicago's art scene? Do you wish you "had a clue" about what contemporary artists are up to? Art critic Jim Yood will place Antonia Contro's site-specific exhibition, Closed and Open, in the cultural context of the twenty-first century for all of you Newberry humanists who don't often frequent the city's art galleries and museums, but who might discover that you actually enjoy the conceptual and academic aspects of contemporary art.
How Do We Learn from Art Exhibits?
Thursday, June 29, 6:00 pm
Panel: Lisa Roberts, educational consultant; Daniel Wheeler, Wheeler, Kearns Architects; Jill Gage, The Newberry Library; and artist Antonia Contro
Chair: Gerald W. Adelmann, The Open Lands Project
When we visit art museums and galleries, what and how do we learn? What does it mean to acquire knowledge visually, conceptually, and across disciplinary boundaries in a museum setting? Each panelist played a distinct role in the creation of Closed and Open. They join panel chair Jerry Adelmann, an art collector and civic leader, to discuss museums and library exhibits as distinctive "out-of-school" learning experiences.
ABOUT THE NEWBERRY LIBRARY
The Newberry Library is an independent library open to the public for research and reference in the humanities. One of the largest independent research libraries in the United States, the Newberry holds an extraordinary collection of more than 1.5 million books, 5 million manuscript pages and 300 thousand historic maps. As one of the world's leading repositories of a broad range of books and manuscripts relating to the civilizations of western Europe and the Americas, the Library's mission is to acquire and preserve research collections of such materials, and to provide for and promote their effective use by a diverse community of users. Visit the Newberry online at www.newberry.org.