The Krannert Art Museum hosted a reception on Thursday to celebrate the opening of its brand-new exhibition, “Making Place for the Arts at Home.” The exhibit will remain open to the public through July 12.
“The exhibition explores four houses, all designed for performance, by and for people in a circle associated with the University of Illinois and the production of modernist culture in Champaign-Urbana from the 1940s through the 1990s,” the KAM website states. “The project frames these houses as crucibles for producing and performing culture and that defined their residents as distinctively modern artists.”
Curated by a team of University professors and architects, the exhibition displays art and architecture from historic homes built by three influential C-U architects: Jack Baker, John Replinger and Dick Williams.
Jon Seydl, director of KAM and co-curator of the exhibit, said the project stemmed from a desire to tell the stories of the artists who lived in the displayed homes.
“We hit upon this idea that these houses were actually generating culture; they were designed as vessels to create and think about the arts and converse about the arts and made us look at the buildings in a whole new way,” Seydl said.
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A large portion of the exhibit focuses on the work of graduate students in the University’s architecture program. Professor in FAA and architectural historian Kathryn Holliday brought together her students’ work across several of her recent classes for the exhibition.
The students built 3D architectural models of the four houses along with an ongoing neighborhood mapping project that highlights important art culture locations throughout the twin cities.
“It’s really important for me to work with students to do this project,” Holliday said. “We don’t expect people to care about architecture. We have to share those stories with the next generation. It’s not just our story; it’s one that we have to share and create some value for new generations.”
Seydl said the project was a collaborative effort between the curators, students and homeowners. Although it was a large project, the exhibit was put together in about a year — much faster than the typical exhibition project.
“It was a lot of people doing a lot of research really quickly,” Seydl said.
While one might not see buildings as a form of art, the cultural impact of those who lived in and visited their houses makes the connection between art and architecture. The exhibit aims to showcase the homes’ impact on mid-century American art culture and the beauty of the buildings themselves.
Angela Pan, graduate student studying accounting science, and Rachel Zhou, senior in Business, both said they learned a lot while visiting the exhibit.
“This exhibit really opened up my views on what’s perceived as art and the importance of preserving houses and stuff like that,” Pan said.
Zhou added that she was excited to learn more about the community she lives in.
“It was cool to see how many people care about preserving the history of the arts community in Champaign-Urbana,” Zhou said.
The opening reception featured a surprise interpretive dance performance entitled “Good House Keep,” put together by Anna Sapozhnikov, University alum and lecturer in FAA, as well as a live theremin and piano performance by Joy Yang, University piano instructor and musician. Both performances contributed to the exhibit’s holistic celebration of the arts.
The exhibit also features an interactive mapping wall for patrons to share stories of places where they felt they experienced the arts in the C-U community.
Ultimately, Seydl hopes that the exhibit will generate an appreciation for the history of these houses and promote the preservation efforts of mid-century modern architecture in C-U.
“I hope people stop and think about the value of these buildings,” Seydl said. “I hope people get a sense of this amazing avant-garde culture that took place in Champaign-Urbana for a long time that was both about the University and the community.”
