June 25 — September 3, 2006, Gallery 1
with special appearances by: Jennifer Allora & Guillermo Calzadilla, Mark Bradford, Carol Bove, Joseph Grigely, Catherine Sullivan, Laura Letinsky, Martha Rosler and Mario Ybarra, Jr.
Curated by Jens Hoffmann
The Hyde Park Art Center is pleased to present Home of the Free, an exhibition curated by Jens Hoffmann that aims to examine what freedom means for individuals that are living in the United States on a daily basis. The exhibition seeks to distance itself from the purportedly communal and historic understanding of the term and to address anew what a lived experience of “freedom” might entail.
The aim is to form a collective portrait of how individual freedom is understood and experienced… specifically within the Chicago community.
Following ideas of such influential art projects and exhibitions as The Museum of Neighborhood Phenomena by Jack Backer (Seattle, 1979) or People’s Choice by Group Material (New York,1981) Home of the Free is making an open call to the Chicago public and particularly the community of Hyde Park to bring in personal objects and art works to the Art Center’s main gallery where they will be displayed, or to come and tell stories that represent or relate to personal thoughts of freedom rather than freedom understood as a collective vision. The process of collecting objects will begin during the opening reception and will continue throughout the exhibition. The aim is to form a collective portrait of how individual freedom is understood and experienced on an everyday basis in this country and specifically within the Chicago community. The title Home of the Free is a play on lyrics “O’er the land of the free and the home of the braveThe Home of the Brave” from the Star Spangled Banner.
A number of gallery presentations including talks, screenings and performances with artists both from Chicago and other parts of the US will take place during Home of the Free. Artists included Jennifer Allora & Guillermo Calzadia, Mark Bradford, Joseph Grigely, Laura Letinsky, and Mario Ybarra, Jr. The artists Carol Bove, Wade Guyton, Catherine Sullivan, and Martha Rosler were originally confirmed to participate, but were not able to participate in the end due to schedule conflicts.
During the planning of the exhibition, Jens Hoffmann was a curator and writer, based in London, where he is the Director of Exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Arts. As of 2007, Hoffman is based in California.
Home of the Free is presented in part with support from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and anonymous donors.