In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Fluxus co-founder Wolf Vostell (1932–1998) used concrete as an actual material and an artistic motif in a surprising, unique body of work that includes the colossal sculpture Concrete Traffic.

David Katzive, installation view of Wolf Vostell’s Concrete Traffic, January 1970.
(Collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Photo © MCA Chicago.)

During this time, Vostell mobilized concrete’s ambivalent connotations of permanence and inflexibility, strength and violence, to engage with postwar urbanism, particularly German reconstruction and American urban renewal; with unrest and war, including the civil rights marches in Selma, the Paris student protests, the Vietnam and Cold wars; and with the international, if not yet global world, particularly as manifest in transatlantic travel, postcards, and the Munich Olympics.

Vostell Concrete is animated by questions of why the materials of art making matter and how they signify. It features the artist’s little known, first uses of concrete and redresses a too-limiting understanding of Vostell as a mere performance artist or belated German Pop artist. Drawn from the Smart Museum and other local, national, and international collections, the nearly 50 works on view span a variety of media, from sculpture to film, performance, collage, watercolor, and printmaking.

CONCRETE HAPPENINGS

The exhibition is part of Concrete Happenings, a collaborative series of public exhibitions, screenings, symposia, and happenings that mark the return of Vostell’s colossal Concrete Traffic (1970) to public view following a major conservation effort. The sculpture—a 1957 Cadillac encased in concrete—is part of the University of Chicago’s public art collection.

Wolf Vostell, Olympia (I), ed. 74/100, 1972, Screenprint on light cardboard. Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago, 2014.1.1. Art © The Wolf Vostell Estate.

Wolf Vostell, T/N Raffaello, ed. 12/120, 1970, Silkscreen in two colors on cardboard. Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago, 2016.16. Art © The Wolf Vostell Estate.

Wolf Vostell, Fliegende Zementwolke ueber Chicago (Flying Cement Cloud over Chicago), 1970. Cement on print mounted on chipboard. Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago, 2016.17. Art © The Wolf Vostell Estate.

“VOSTELL CONCRETE 1969–1973”

January 17 – June 11, 2017

Smart Museum of Art     

University of Chicago    Chicago, Illinois

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“The year 2016 marks the 500th year since the establishment of the Jewish, Ghetto in Venice, the first ghetto ever in existence. To honor the historical anniversary and the influence this uniquely urban space has had on the development of contemporary architecture, I worked on-site in Venice for two months to create a series of etchings illustrating the buildings, structures, and streets of the Ghetto. These are in exhibitions both nationally and internationally so as to foster the Jewish heritage and guarantee its future as a key religious, cultural and artistic site open to the Jewish Community of Venice and all people worldwide.

The imagery calls attention to the Venetian Ghetto’s significance, not only as an important architectural complex within the confines of Venice, but also its worth internationally. Its structures are resonantly symbolic— representing a community’s resolute will to survive and prosper in what was an exceedingly hostile social environment. The Venetian Ghetto is a study of “. . . violent contrasts; luxury and poverty, freedom and segregation—a microcosm in fact of the condition of mankind.” Rachel Singel

“Art and Architecture of the Jewish Ghetto in Venice, Italy” by Rachel Singel
January 7, 2017 – February 21, 2017
J. Patio Gallery
Louisville, Kentucky

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David Luke’s body of work, Invasive, combines photographic imagery of northern Minnesota’s boreal forest with the state’s southern and central prairies. These collaged images visualize imminent transformations to the state’s land and water due to climate change and invasive species.

David Luke “Big Lake, Boundary Waters”
Archival Inkjet Print

David Luke: “Big Moose Lake, Boundary Waters”
Archival Inkjet Print

David Luke “Little Indian Sioux River, Boundary Waters” Archival Inkjet Print

David Luke “Duncan Lake, Boundary Waters”
Archival Inkjet Print

The foundation of Invasive has two very distinct seeds and points of inspiration. The first revolves around spending many summers as a child on the St. Lawrence River in upstate New York. During this time, I watched what was considered a “normal” stained waterway turn crystal blue/green due to the quick and efficient work of non-native zebra mussels. The transformation of such a massive waterway in such a short amount of time was ecologically alarming but also visually shocking. Visiting the river, now as an adult, I am still taken aback by the hue of the water.

The second seed for this project came in hearing a lecture by Dr. Lee Frelich, Director of The University of Minnesota’s Center for Forest Ecology, several years ago. He outlined the very real potential for Minnesota boreal forests -Minnesota Northwoods- in places such as the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness to transition into prairie due to climate change. As Minnesota warms, prairie moves further north. As a frequent visitor to this wilderness area, the thought of this transformation is a vision that has stuck with me and frightened me.In the summer and fall of 2016 I photographed boreal forests and lakes in the Boundary Waters as well as the state’s south and central prairies. I then combined and manipulated these images to create altered landscapes that reflect potential changes in Minnesota’s diverse ecology due to climate change and invasive species.Hearing about invasive species and seeing the effect of invasive species are two different things. Hearing about the very real possibility of northern Minnesota transitioning to prairie and seeing it are two different things. Through manipulation Invasive is an effort to visualize and stare down this ecological transition.

About the Artist
David Luke is a 2016 recipient of an Artist Initiative grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

“INVASIVE” The Photographs of David Luke
January 9 – February 19, 2017
Architecture and Landscape Architecture  Gallery
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN

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