ARTISTS OFFER SOLUTIONS FOR GLOBAL CONCERNS WITHIN AN EXHIBITION JURIED BY ED PASCHKE

The SOLUTIONS exhibition, comprized of works selected by Ed Paschke from over 300 enteries, occupied two levels of GALLERY ON LAKE, an upper level for family and school groups and a lower level for “mature audiences.”

SOLUTIONS provided a showcase for all media of works addressing contemporary human problems. During a time of increasing international tensions and continuing concerns with respect to such issues as the environment and global population growth, SOLUTIONS provided a unique overview of freshly original attempts to address challenges that can not be ignored.

The Chicago Tribune, stating “artists propose a grand solution,” described the SOLUTIONS SHOW as “a step in the right direction.”

The Chicago Sun Times stated that the exhibit was “aimed at reviving art’s higher purpose.”

A second CHICAGO SOLUTIONS SHOW was presented at The ARC Gallery with the James Rondeau, modern and contemporaty curator from The Art Institute of Chicago, servinbg as the exhibition juror.

Themes addressed in both SOLUTIONS exhibitions included: War, Racism, Over-Population, Environmental Destruction, Media Violence, The Discourse Between The Sexes, U.S. Foreign Relations, and The Global Rights of Women. These exhibitions were covered extensively within the Chicago media, including such outlets as: WGN-TV Morning News, and WTTW-TV.

When interviewed about this project, Ed Paschke stated that the concept of selecting works which corresponded to the theme of providing suggestions for addresssing problems was intriguing in itself and that this concept had been an incentive for taking on the task.

The final section of the program consisted of a musical setting and full presentation of
Fall From Grace, a one-man play that was originally produced at The Victory Gardens Theatre featuring Dr. William Graham Cole, the retired president of Lake Forest College, and was performed on this occasion by its author, Chicago-based playwright and novelist Jeff Helgeson.