Giant sculpture to be moved from Thompson Center by end of April

A sculpture that has stood outside the Thompson Center for four decades will be moved by the end of the month.

"Monument with Standing Beast," by French artist Jean Dubuffet, is being moved, for now, to a yet-to-be-determined state facility.

It was announced last year that the artwork — nicknamd "Snoopy in a Blender" — eventually will be headed to the Art Institute of Chicago, where several Dubuffet works already are displayed.

Via Chicago Sun-Times

The Block among 10 national museums to receive works from Helen Frankenthaler Foundation Prints Initiative

The Block Museum of Art is happy to announce that it is one of 10 institutional recipients of works through the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation’s Frankenthaler Prints Initiative.  The initiative is an ongoing program for university-affiliated art museums, reflecting the foundation’s commitment to supporting undergraduate and graduate education in the visual arts and art history. The selection of works received by The Block was thoughtfully drawn from the foundation’s extensive collection of work by Frankenthaler and encompasses the broad scope of the artist’s work, including etching, lithography, screenprint, woodcut, and other techniques.

Via PR

Union wave is picking up at Chicago, suburban libraries, cultural institutions

For more than a century, the Newberry Library’s grand Romanesque building has loomed over a city block in downtown Chicago.

Established in 1887, the Newberry is home to books, maps, music and other materials spanning six centuries. Its history and majestic architecture evokes a sense of reverence. But its staff can’t survive on cultural cachet alone.

“There’s a lot that’s special about the Newberry,” said Sophia Croll, program manager at the library. Yet the institution has “chewed through a lot of staff,” largely due to low pay, she said. “You couldn’t afford to live in this city and work here.”

Via Chicago Sun-Times