Hairy Who Archives - Chicago Reader

Bill Connors looks at the camera in a dark ball cap and black T-shirt

Bill Connors, art director for the Empty Bottle

by Micco Caporale June 23, 2022June 24, 2022

There’s a lot that makes going to shows magical besides the live music, and no one knows this better than Empty Bottle art director Bill Connors. The Illinois native never […]

Arts & Culture

Art in Chicago may not be able to distill 150 years of history into one volume, but it sure looks good trying

by Dmitry Samarov November 9, 2018August 18, 2021

Anyone involved in that history may be distracted by the gaps and omissions.

Blogs

Expo Chicago 2018: See it now

by Deanna Isaacs September 29, 2018August 18, 2021

Kerry James Marshall, the Hairy Who, and more at Expo Chicago 2018, this weekend only, at Navy Pier.

Columns & Opinion

Looking back at the Hairy Who, the 1960s Chicago art world’s greatest branding exercise

by Deanna Isaacs September 26, 2018August 18, 2021

On the eve of the collective’s Art Institute retrospective, Suellen Rocca tells all. (Well, some.)

Arts & Culture

Karl Wirsum is still the mayor of Hairy Whoville

by Ruth Lopez May 3, 2017August 18, 2021

The seminal Chicago Imagist artist talks about his encounters with Howlin’ Wolf, Maxwell Street memories, and what inspires him to keep drawing and painting.

Blogs

Karl Wirsum, a film about one of the founding members of the Hairy Who and the Chicago Imagists, has been restored

by Leah Pickett October 21, 2016August 18, 2021

The short by Suzanne Simpson offers a rare glimpse into the artist’s early creative process.

Arts & Culture

Hairy Who members Art Green, Gladys Nilsson, and Karl Wirsum look back 50 years after the collective’s first exhibition

by Kate Sierzputowski September 9, 2015August 18, 2021

Next year marks the 50th anniversary of the Hairy Who’s first exhibition at the Hyde Park Art Center. As a precursor to the semicentennial celebration, three members of the group—Art […]

Blogs