This was a commissioned by the Hull-House Museum to build a swing which they referred to as the ‘Jolly Romp’ for a year-long exhibition called The Right to Play’. The swing is a symbol of my childhood and a memorial for the Hull House where my great-grandmother taught.
Hyde Park Art Center welcomes back artist Jim Duignan to expand on his previous work at the Art Center highlighting art and education in the city in PUBLIC SCHOOL on view in Gallery 1 and 2. Duignan, of the Stockyard Institute, works collaboratively with artist and educator Rachel Harper, of Seen + Heard to create a imagination-inducing installation of curious objects – including a fort, a stage, a tower, a piano, and a decommissioned school bus – to construct a new playground for all ages. At a moment when the Public Education System struggles to exist, Chicago artists ask: where is learning actually happening in this city and who gets to determine what we should know?
The cart was built by my brother Mike and I from scrap wood in our garage at 4044 W. Waveland with stroller and wagon wheels and a Pepsi box seat. It was the first object we made together these film stills represent a time of childhood where wonder abides and I came to know how I would fundamentally work. circa 1968.
