Author Archives: Philip Berger

Critics and historians have had a hard time determining whether architect Bruce Goff was an eccentric or a genius. He began practicing architecture shortly after World War I and remained active until his death in 1982, leaving behind buildings and unrealized projects that were so highly personal they defy comparison with those of his contemporaries. […]

Chicago is universally acknowledged for its contributions to architectural design, but its important achievements in graphic design remain underappreciated. Every taxi driver here can allegedly name buildings and their architects, yet it’s unlikely that any of those cabbies could identify the work of local graphic designers Dana Arnett or Greg Samata, unless they were relatives. […]

Throughout much of history, plying the family trade has been de rigueur; seeking one’s fortune outside those traditional confines is mostly a notion of the postagrarian era. Baby-boomers may have made rebellion against such an order almost mandatory, but 23-year-old Siena Scarff grew up in a warm and loving (and post baby boom) household, so […]

Would you invite a stranger to your home specifically to pass judgment on it? Would you allow him to stay for weeks and encourage him to analyze your housekeeping, personal hygiene, entertainment habits, and recreational pursuits–in short, to criticize your “life-style”? That’s what museums ask Fred Wilson to do. Wilson, a New York-based independent curator […]

At one time the art world drew hard distinctions between the fine arts (painting, sculpture, works on paper) and crafts (ceramics, glass, wood, metal, and fiber). But in the last half century–since the founding of the American Craft Council, which is holding its 50th-anniversary celebration here this weekend–those distinctions have increasingly blurred. Functionality has traditionally […]

Many people would probably recognize examples of Los Angeles photographer Greg Gorman’s work, some of which is now on exhibit at the Catherine Edelman Gallery. Yet few people–even those who pride themselves on their knowledge of photography–know his name. But they should. Comparisons in art are often treacherous, but occasionally they’re unavoidable. And Gorman’s work […]

You have no doubt heard of Sunday painters, but “Sunday architects”? The very concept conjures nightmarish visions of catastrophic building-code violations and a rush of complicated lawsuits. If the unschooled can dabble in architecture, then why not license amateur neurosurgeons and nuclear physicists too? Despite its apparent inconsistency with general notions of good sense, “Sunday […]

Though many of us take the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for granted, it adds immeasurably to the fabric of the city. Not only has it been home to the most spirited of recent First Amendment incidents, it has also produced a roster of accomplished and renowned alumni. On the occasion of SAIC’s […]