Museum Of Contemporary Art
Museum Of Contemporary Art
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About this organization
Mission
The MCA is an innovative and compelling center of contemporary art where the public can directly experience the work and ideas of living artists, and understand the historical, social, and cultural context of the art of our time. The Museum boldly interweaves exhibitions, performances, collections, and educational programs to excite, challenge, and illuminate our visitors and to provide insight into the creative process. The MCA engages diverse audiences and creates a sense of community by providing a place to contemplate and discuss contemporary art and culture and issues of our day.
About
EXHIBITIONS:1. I WAS RAISED ON THE INTERNET (JUNE 23 - OCTOBER 14, 2018)AN EXHIBITION THAT LOOKED AT HOW THE INTERNET AND OTHER NEW TECHNOLOGIES HAVE CHANGED THE WAY WE EXPERIENCE THE WORLD, I WAS RAISED ON THE INTERNET FOCUSED ON THE SHIFTS THAT HAVE OCCURRED SINCE THE MILLENNIUM. THE NEARLY 100 WORKS, CREATED BY MORE THAN 65 ARTISTS AND COLLECTIVES, FEATURED IN THE EXHIBITION WERE ORGANIZED INTO FIVE SECTIONS - LOOK AT ME, TOUCH ME, CONTROL ME, PLAY WITH ME, AND SELL ME OUT - EACH OF WHICH DESCRIBED A DIFFERENT MODE OF INTERACTION BETWEEN THE VIEWER AND THE ART OBJECT. SEVERAL OF THESE WORKS WERE INTERACTIVE, INCLUDING JON RAFMAN'S TRANSDIMENSIONAL SERPENT, 2016, A PIECE THAT FEATURED A VIRTUAL REALITY EXPERIENCE. THE EXHIBITION FEATURED EIGHT NEW COMMISSIONED WORKS, AS WELL AS A MICROSITE FOR VIEWERS TO ACCESS ONLINE WORKS AND A READER ON THE STATE OF ART AND THE INTERNET TODAY.2. WEST BY MIDWEST (NOVEMBER 17, 2018 - JANUARY 27, 2019)WEST BY MIDWEST ILLUMINATED THE WAYS THAT CONTEMPORARY ART PRACTICES SPREAD AND DEVELOP BY TRACING THE INTERSECTING LIVES OF ARTISTS WHO HAVE MIGRATED FROM THE AMERICAN MIDWEST TO THE WEST COAST SINCE THE MID-TWENTIETH CENTURY. THOSE ARTISTS WHO MIGRATED ATTENDED ART SCHOOLS TOGETHER, SHARED STUDIOS, EXHIBITED WORK IN THE SAME GALLERIES, COLLABORATED ON PROJECTS, ENGAGED IN ACTIVISIM, AND DATED. FOLLOWING THESE CRISSCROSSING LINES OF KINSHIP, WEST BY MIDWEST REVEALED A NETWORK OF ARTISTS AND THEIR SHARED EXPERIENCES OF MAKING WORK AND MAKING A LIFE. ANCHORED BY WORKS IN THE MCA'S COLLECTION, THE EXHIBITION ESCHEWED A DEFINITIVE SURVEY OF INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENTS TO INSTEAD CONSIDER HOW ARTISTS MOVE AND MAKE WORK WITHIN A LARGER FIELD OF RELATIONS.3. LAURIE SIMMONS: BIG CAMERA/LITTLE CAMERA (FEBRUARY 23 - MAY 5, 2019)THIS EXHIBITION WAS A MAJOR RETROSPECTIVE OF WORKS BY LAURIE SIMMONS (AMERICAN, B. 1949). USING PROPS AND DOLLS AS STAND-INS FOR PEOPLE AND PLACES, SIMMONS CREATES FICTIONAL SCENES THAT MIRROR AND UNSETTLE THE AMERICAN DREAM OF PROSPERITY AND FEMININE DOMESTICITY, TURNING A CRITICAL EYE ON TROPES THAT DOMINATED THE ERA OF HER UPBRINGING, INCLUDING THE 1950S HOUSEWIFE AND THE WILD WEST COWBOY. THIS COMPREHENSIVE EXHIBITION SHOWCASED SIMMONS'S CAREER-LONG EXPLORATION OF ARCHETYPAL GENDER ROLES THROUGH HER ICONIC PHOTOGRAPHS, SCULPTURES, AND FILMS, FROM 1976 TO THE PRESENT. THROUGHOUT THE RUN OF THE EXHIBITION, THE MCA HOSTED SEVERAL SCREENINGS OF SIMMONS'S FILM MY ART IN THE EDLIS NEESON THEATER. DURING THIS TIME, THE MCA ALSO OFFERED REDUCED ADMISSION TO VISITORS WHO FELT THEY HAD BEEN AFFECTED BY THE GENDER PAY GAP.4. PICTURE FICTION: KENNETH JOSEPHSON AND CONTEMPORARY PHOTOGRAPHY (APRIL 28 - DECEMBER 30, 2018)CHICAGO-BASED PHOTOGRAPHER KENNETH JOSEPHSON (AMERICAN, B. 1932) CHANGED THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT PICTURES WITH SO-CALLED CONCEPTUAL PHOTOGRAPHS THAT PUSH THE BOUNDARIES OF THE MEDIUM. BY PLAYING WITH THE UNIQUE QUALITIES OF PHOTOGRAPHY - HOW AN IMAGE IS CROPPED, REPRODUCED, CIRCULATED, OR ARCHIVED - HIS WORK DEMONSTRATES THAT PHOTOGRAPHS CAN CONVEY AN IDEA IN ADDITION TO A PICTURE. JOSEPHSON'S METHODS WERE SHAPED BY HIS YEARS AT THE ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF DESIGN, WHERE HE STUDIED UNDER HARRY CALLAHAN AND AARON SISKIND BEFORE GOING ON TO TEACH AT THE SCHOOL OF THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO FOR NEARLY FORTY YEARS. EXAMINING JOSEPHSON'S PRODUCTION FROM ROUGHLY 1960-80, AND DRAWN LARGELY FROM THE MCA'S PERMANENT COLLECTION, THIS EXHIBITION PLACED JOSEPHSON'S WORK IN THE CONTEXT OF CONCEPTUAL ARTISTS EMERGING IN THE 1960S, AND DREW PARALLELS TO OTHER CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS INCLUDING ROE ETHRIDGE, JESSICA LABATTE, MARLO PASCUAL, JIMMY ROBERT, AND XAVIERA SIMMONS.5. PRISONER OF LOVE (JANUARY 26 - OCTOBER 20, 2019)THIS EXHIBITION EXPLORED THE DEPTHS AND HEIGHTS OF HUMAN EXPERIENCE, PRESENTING PRIMARILY WORKS FROM THE MCA'S COLLECTION, WITH A FOCUS ON NEW ACQUISITIONS. THE CENTERPIECE WAS ARTHUR JAFA'S LOVE IS THE MESSAGE, THE MESSAGE IS DEATH (2016), A VIDEO SET TO A SOARING GOSPEL-INFUSED HIP HOP SONG THAT ARCHIVES THE AFRICAN AMERICAN EXPERIENCE IN THE TWENTIETH AND TWENTY-FIRST CENTURIES. THE VIDEO WAS ACCOMPANIED BY THREE ROTATING INSTALLATIONS OF POWERFUL WORKS BASED ON THE OPPOSITIONAL PAIRS FEATURED IN A BRUCE NAUMAN NEON SCULPTURE THAT IS ALSO ON VIEW: LIFE AND DEATH, LOVE AND HATE, AND PLEASURE AND PAIN. THE EXHIBITION AIMED TO FOSTER A SPACE FOR EMOTIONAL VULNERABILITY AND FEELINGS OF INTENSE LOVE, FEAR, AND GRIEF, AS WELL AS OTHER EXTREMES OF HUMAN EMOTION.6. ASCENDANT ARTIST: ENRICO DAVID: GRADATIONS OF SLOW RELEASE (SEPTEMBER 29, 2018 - MARCH 10, 2019)THIS EXHIBITION CELEBRATED THE IMAGINATIVE UNIVERSE OF ENRICO DAVID (ITALIAN, B. 1966), WHOSE WORKS IN A RANGE OF MEDIA DEPICT BODIES AS FRAGILE, VULNERABLE, GROTESQUE, TORTURED, AND ECSTATIC. THE EXHIBITION HIGHLIGHTED THE THEMATIC CONNECTIONS AND EVOLVING IMAGERY THAT RUNS THROUGHOUT THE ARTIST'S WORKS, WHICH, MADE OVER THE PAST 20 YEARS, ACHIEVE AN EXCYCLOPEDIC YET EXTREMELY PERSONAL ACCOUNT OF THE HUMAN FORM. THIS EXHIBITION WAS THE FIRST SURVEY OF DAVID'S WORK IN THE UNITED STATES, AND DREW NEARLY 108,000 VISITORS. FOLLOWING ITS PRESENTATION AT THE MCA, THE EXHIBITION TRAVELED TO THE HIRSHHORN MUSEUM IN WASHINGTON, D.C., WHERE IT WAS EXHIBITED FROM APRIL 16 - SEPTEMBER 2, 2019.7. ASCENDANT ARTIST: JONATHAS DE ANDRADE: ONE TO ONE (APRIL 13 - AUGUST 25, 2019)AT ONCE INTIMATE AND HISTORICAL, THE WORK OF BRAZILIAN ARTIST JONATHAS DE ANDRADE (B. 1982) EVOKES LOVE, MEMORY, AND PLACE. HIS PHOTOGRAPHS, INSTALLATIONS, AND VIDEOS OFTEN RESPOND TO THE GEOGRAPHY AND CULTURE SURROUNDING RECIFE, THE CITY IN THE NORTHEAST REGION OF BRAZIL IN WHICH HE LIVES AND WORKS. HE GRAPPLES IN PARTICULAR WITH THE PROMISES, FAILURES, AND INEQUITIES IN BRAZIL'S NORDESTE AS THE REGION UNDERGOES RAPID AND OFTEN ROCKY URBANIZATION. THIS EXHIBITION DEBUTED THREE NEW WORKS, INCLUDING JOGOS DIRIGIDOS (DIRECTED GAMES), A FILM COMMISSIONED BY THE MCA THAT PRESENTS A PLAYFUL EXCHANGE BETWEEN MEMBERS OF THE DEAF COMMUNITY IN THE NORTHEAST OF BRAZIL.8. CHICAGO WORKS: MIKA HORIBUCHI (JULY 17 - DECEMBER 2, 2018)CHICAGO-BASED ARTIST MIKA HORIBUCHI IS INTERESTED IN TRICKS AND SLIPS IN VISUAL PERCEPTION. THE CURTAINS, WINDOW BLINDS, AND OPTICAL ILLUSIONS SHE USES AS SUBJECTS OFTEN CONCEAL AS MUCH AS THEY REVEAL. DRAWING EQUALLY FROM ART HISTORY AND PSYCHOLOGY, SHE USES TECHNIQUES SUCH AS HYPERREALISM AND TROMPE L'OEIL - IN WHICH AN IMAGE IS RENDERED IN DETAIL SO TRUE TO LIFE THAT IT APPEARS THREE-DIMENSIONAL - TO WALK THE LINE BETWEEN HONESTY AND DECEPTION. IN THE ARTIST'S WORDS, "A SLIGHT BETRAYAL OF EXPECTATIONS IS AT PLAY."9. CHICAGO WORKS: JESSICA CAMPBELL (DECEMBER 18, 2018 - JULY 7, 2019)THE CANDID, OFTEN HILARIOUS WORK OF CHICAGO-BASED ARTIST AND CARTOONIST JESSICA CAMPBELL (CANADIAN, B. 1985) CRITQUES THE TRAUMAS AND ABSURDITIES OF GENDER POLITICS. IN HER FIRST SOLO MUSEUM EXHIBITION, SHE REENVISIONED THE LIFE AND ARTWORK OF TWENTIETH-CENTURY CANADIAN PAINTER EMILY CARR (1871-1945) IN A SUITE OF BRAND-NEW WORK. INSPIRED BY THEIR SHARED ROOTS IN VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CAMPBELL APPROACHES CARR'S WORK FROM MULTIPLE ANGLES AND ACROSS CONVENTIONAL AND UNCONVENTIONAL MEDIA - FROM PAINTINGS AND DRAWINGS TO COMICS AND TEXTILES. LOOKING THROUGH A FEMINIST LENS, CAMPBELL USED CARR'S STORY AS A CONDUIT FOR EXPOSING THE TYPES OF REPRESENTATION THAT SOCIETY VALUES.10. A BODY MEASURED AGAINST THE EARTH (AUGUST 25, 2018 - APRIL 7, 2019)THE ARTISTS IN THIS EXHIBITION STAGED ENCOUNTERS BETWEEN THE EARTH AND THE BODY - THE PRIMARY TOOL AT THEIR DISPOSAL - TO UNDERSTAND THE LAND AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO IT. RANGING FROM PHYSICAL INTERVENTIONS IN THE GROUND TO CONCEPTUAL DOCUMENTATIONS OF TRAVEL AND LABOR, THEIR DIVERGENT PRACTICES REJECT A TOTALIZING OR OBJECTIVE VIEW OF THE LANDSCAPE, INSTEAD FAVORING EMBODIED INVESTIGATIONS OF SPECIFIC PLACES, HISTORIES, AND IDEALS. IN THE PROCESS, THE ARTISTS RECOGNIZE LAND NOT AS SCENERY, BUT AS THE SPACES AND SYSTEMS WE INHABIT, A SYSTEM OUR OWN LIVES DEPEND UPON. TITLED AFTER A QUOTE FROM ECOFEMINIST AUTHOR AND CRITIC REBECCA SOLNIT, A BODY MEASURED AGAINST THE EARTH WAS DRAWN LARGELY FROM THE MCA'S COLLECTION. IT TOOK INSPIRATION FROM THE EPHEMERAL "EARTH-BODY" WORKS STAGED BY CUBAN-AMERICAN ARTIST ANA MENDIETA IN THE 1970'S AND WOVE LEGACIES OF LAND ART AND "WALKING ART" WITH MORE RECENT WORK IN CONCEPTUAL PHOTOGRAPHY AND THE MOVING IMAGE.11. GROUNDINGS (NOVEMBER 3, 2018 - MAY 12, 2019)GROUNDINGS EXPLORED MOVEMENT - BOTH SEEN AND UNSEEN - THROUGH A SERIES OF RESIDENCIES WITH ARTISTS WHO WORK IN DANCE, MUSIC, AND PERFORMANCE ART. USING DURATIONAL PROCESSES, THE ARTISTS INHABITED AND SHAPED THE GALLERY SPACE ALONGSIDE WORKS FROM THE MCA'S COLLECTION. THE EXHIBITION CONSIDERED THE RECIPROCAL INFLUENCE BETWEEN BODIES IN MOTION AND THE INVISIBLE FORCES THAT GOVERN MOVEMENT, SUCH AS GRAVITY, TIME, AND ELECTRICITY.
Interesting data from their 2020 990 filing
According to the filing, the non-profit's mission is “The mca is an innovative and compelling center of contemporary art where the public can directly experience the work and ideas of living artists, and understand the historical, social and cultural context of the art of our time. the museum boldly interweaves exhibitions, performances, collections, and educational programs to excite, challenge, and illuminate our visitors and to provide insight into the creative process. the mca aspires to engage a broad and diverse audience, create a sense of community and be a place for contemplation, stimulation, and discussion about contemporary art and culture.”.
When referring to its actions, they were described as: “Enhance appreciation of contemporary art through education, programming and exhibitions.”.
- According to the law, the state of operation reported by the non-profit is IL.
- As per the filing, the address of the non-profit for 2020 is 220 EAST CHICAGO AVENUE, CHICAGO, IL, 60611.
- According to their form, the non-profit as of 2020 has a total of 349 employees.
- Is not a private foundation.
- Expenses are greater than $1,000,000.
- Revenue is greater than $1,000,000.
- Revenue less expenses is -$1,443,929.
- The organization has 70 independent voting members.
- The organization was formed in 1964.
- The organization pays $9,946,944 in salary, compensation, and benefits to its employees.
- The organization pays $2,116,513 in fundraising expenses.
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