COLOR JAM - Chicago’s largest art installation

Description

COLOR JAM

Color Jam at the corner of State and Adams in Chicago

Walk on, in, and through the canvas of renowned artist Jessica Stockholder this summer with “Color Jam”: a new installation at State and Adams. Commissioned by Chicago Loop Alliance, “Color Jam” saturates building façades, sidewalks, and crosswalks in bold colors in Chicago’s largest art installation.

In creating “Color Jam”, Stockholder envisioned a “three-dimensional painting”, spilling out of windows, through doors, and into the surrounding landscape.

“The fictive potential of surface, so thoroughly cultivated through the history of painting, is always ready to burst, spilling forth imagined richness, full of emotional, subjective resonance, and wandering focus is here woven together with the more mundane everyday surface of the street corner. [“Color Jam”] celebrates and demands that the evocative surface of this Chicago street corner be expanded. The corner is canvas, stage, pedestal, and frame against which the public can view a parade of shifting color relationships.”

“Color Jam” is part of Art Loop, an award-winning series that activates the Loop with contemporary art. Previous Art Loop installations include Tony Tasset’s EYE and CARDINAL (2010) and Kay Rosen’s GO DO GOOD (2011).

On display through September, “Color Jam” invites the public to participate in a series of programs—or “JAMS”—taking the form of concerts, talks, and happenings throughout the Loop. In addition, several Loop businesses are offering Color Jam-themed specials, ranging from color-tinis to jammin’ hotel discounts.

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Finding cool things to do around Chicago isn’t difficult, especially during the summer months. Hundreds of street and music festivals happening each weekend keep Chicago residents entertained throughout June, July, and August, and if all else fails, there’s always the beach.

But new to the summer line-up this year is a remarkable new art project going on in Chicago’s downtown Loop. Color Jam, “A New Installation on State Street by Jessica Stockholder,” will transform the intersection at State Street and Adams Street into a spectacular three dimensional work of art filled with 76,000 square feet of vibrant, colorful vinyl pieces. Everything from the surrounding skyscrapers to the walkways and street lights will be “colored,” with each geometric angle precisely planned by Chicago-based artist and University of Chicago teacher, Jessica Stockholder.

Color Jam is commissioned by Chicago Loop Alliance and is the third public art work in the Art Loop series. The event will officially open June 5th and be on display through September. Along with the awesome display of color, Color Jam will also feature a series of concerts and gatherings to celebrate what will be this summer’s largest and most impressive art display.