In 1968, Chicago, already known for its machine politics, became notorious for the ferocity of its police response to protesters at the Democratic National Convention, prompting artists from the east and west coasts to boycott the city. But despite, or perhaps because of, the city's reputation for extreme policing, art practices that challenge authority have thrived in Chicago. This volume examines how Chicago's activist artists have developed creative tactics to address "the law," broadly defined whether it's excessive ...
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In 1968, Chicago, already known for its machine politics, became notorious for the ferocity of its police response to protesters at the Democratic National Convention, prompting artists from the east and west coasts to boycott the city. But despite, or perhaps because of, the city's reputation for extreme policing, art practices that challenge authority have thrived in Chicago. This volume examines how Chicago's activist artists have developed creative tactics to address "the law," broadly defined whether it's excessive policing, the prison industrial complex, or inequities in public policy. These practices encompass open and surreptitious rebellion against the law (art practices that are actually illegal); art that attempts to change existing laws or their application or interpretation, and uses the political system as its medium; protest tactics that take creative inspiration from art in addressing the law in the broadest sense (the state and its agents); and art that addresses judicial structures (prisons, torture, surveillance, and the War on Terror). Some of these practices have come to be classed with social practice, as that term has gained currency in the art world. Others have inspired social practice projects or look a lot like them once we abandon some of the arbitrary boundaries that separate art from creative activism. All of them imaginatively embed themselves within social life, expressing a vision of a better society and suggesting some ways to achieve it. "
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