Dead Line Projects: Presents Squircle @ This show featured my friend and colleague Erica Cassil, I'd been to the space above and next door which I won't name because they are dwarved by Happy Dog's themes and quality in my opinion. Those other spaces seemed to be robbing Wicker Park of it's art soul and Happy Dog looks like it wants to take a bite out of crime.
1542 N. Milwaukee 2nd floor:
Joel Curates a contemporary collage of substance.
The artists are encouraged to develop an assigned theme and execute pieces in relation by show time. The coolest aspect is how rigid Joel stays to the truth of the projects. Unlike many shows, quantity is never forsaken for quality. This slightly underground gallery holds integrity in high regards. They don’t over party and they have one-night only exhibitions. Joel also follows another equation that usually results in excellence. He does not take a commission from the artists, although they all chip in to rent the space.
He tries to keep art accessible to everyone. It’s an amateur endeavor. People are comfortable and they stay and all about the pieces and actually talk to the artists. People who are not artists usually feel alienated. He never liked the concept that you have to go to art school to go to these shows or understand art. He sees no reason to create that atmosphere. You like it or you don’t like it is his modow. He lets the artists make the fliers. "Advertising is very easy now because of myspace and there is a community aspect. And there is a cut off. All artist sort of have the same bad experience, more and more young artist come in and mention how comfortable they are, and he says to them they should be."
You can miss out, cause after a while when you get to a certain point you may be invited to do a show where the agent thinks it’s too small time, but its just what that band might want to do,like artists might want to be in a group show.
Do
It
Yourself!
He speaks directly to the artists about shows, "no assistants no one else, just me."
Artists are usually so surprised, but he finds that is the best way.
There are artist doing great work, a lot of art schools teach great tech nique but no business so a lot of artists get taken for a ride.
His spot is a big networking space. The space next door had a grant writing class and when he got there “Lo and Behold, all of my friends were there; and it helps, cost like paint and materials relly build up and there is money out there and people don’t know how to get them. No one is writing grants and getting things done." He advacates artist do things in there home. Because of technology just like the music industry, "Why do you need all these people to do things for you? You can eliminate all the middle men and have functions."
The bi-product of this philosophy usually has an excellent result in my experience and opinion.
Even the music is on point and creative with aesthetic referrences. (we will be interviewing: momentsound soon)
Joel L. Ortiz (not the rapper) grew up in Wicker Park; and lived in the Space for two years. He has dealt with break ins, annoying neighbors and gentrification.
He met the Dead line Project thru his first art show when it was the Happy Dog performance space. And they were already a collective. His friends Slava and Justin thru Chica-ca-go, "They were organizing great events already," he met them at one of the best shows; it's still raved about.
"It was more of a performance art rave more of a music group. It was really huge event, it had a few art pieces up. The artists seemed to really like the space." He was soon contacted.
He thinks he’s lucky, the longevity of the space is due to the landlords desire to keep the space for his family. It has a great social life-span, rent control which lends to the space being handed down from curator to curator. It (the space) hasn’t been rehabbed for years, but it suits the environment.
Joel has gallery experience, he worked in much formal spaces, but hated it. He felt the artists we’re having their soul sucked from the industry. He didn’t find any culture or satisfaction from the job. It was devoid of culture and meaning. He claims the business folded because the owner was a businessman who didn’t care about art. Joel was seriously depressed because he put a lot of work into it. He moved to New Orleans and came back and met up with his new crew.
He rejected the traditional gallery. It has had a hold on artist too long. He thinks there are some good galleries, but –
"I’m not a fan of art as an investment, that helps galleries dictate the term of the art market and inflate the art to the point where the people who want the art can no longer afford it. So what happens is a gentrification of art, where the only people who can afford the art have ten thousand dollars. It has nothing to do with art; it becomes strictly business."
He doesn’t think artist make things to sell like that. ( I do, but that's lamb of a differnt colour) "They want to be commercially successful, but they want to communicate-"
"It’s a strange idea to wrap a price around a piece, or endeavors like that,
I feel strongly that artist should take control of how art is distributed. It’s kind of like an underground band signed to an agent, becoming popular and getting signed to a label becoming lucrative but losing control, that’s what happens to artists."
"Chicago is not really known for its art. It’s getting there; it’s not like Soho, but it’s happening because so many artists are taking control of there art." Experiences like this keep him going...
Shikagaru-
"Meeting a young tagger that was so gracious to have experienced a show where people were not rigid and super formal moved him a lot. "He poured a lot of his own money into it, and he is filing for non-for profit.
"I had a guy who worked for Oprah and he loved it. He was big time and he dealt with super large commercial accounts but he said he really liked it and was so comfortable he wants to show here."
"He has had a touring dance group with no formal training and was completely self sufficient from costumes and had a great experince, they had a friend DJ at Sub-t and took the party straight there. Everyone met a lot of new people and they networked a great deal. He meets people from China, Germany and all over. At the show I met Russians, Serbians, Indians-
Other artist are like moinded people.
Other galleries have the first step of taking artist away fromeveryone else. Peioeces hit the 1000 ark and sit for years and it’s a waste, they cut off the audience. He keeps abasic formula."
He learns from every artist that comes thru. He hangs with them and becomes friends and keeps tabs on their career. Their new roommate makes woodblock prints and he is teaching everyone how. The space rotates room mates so it has an entity of a revolving fresh supply of mediums.
*For an audio transcript of this interview, please contact Quishenta Joans via comments.
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