Michael Workman

A native of South Carolina, Hollis Brown Thornton's acrylics at the West Loop's Linda Warren Gallery catch and hold the eye. It's not only the generous use of green washed into a bright white center, but the representation of the void at the center of his abstract landscapes that leads to a reflection on human encounters with natural environments. Thornton has a number of paintings large enough in scale to fit easily inside the viewer's peripheral vision, as well as a gridded arrangement of smaller works. He denies that the smaller works are sketch canvases for the larger pieces, and fits them together for the viewer to explore the relationships between them. Occasionally, he photo-prints directly onto the surface and paints in surroundings, though these images aren't as strong as when he simply gives in to the impulse to manipulate paint on a canvas.

JAM session
Known as JAM, the collaborative team of [J]ane Palmer [A]nd [M]arianne Fairbanks has made waves with a particular brand of green-conscious artwork. A native of Holland, Michigan, Fairbanks started out at The University of Michigan School of Art and Design. Born in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Palmer started out at Appalachian State University. Both came to the Art Institute for grad studies in fiber arts, where in 2000 they met in a class called Art and Community taught by John Ploos, a member of the influential Chicago art collaborative, HaHa. "We were both trying to expand beyond the solitary confinement of our studios. They have a curtain that you draw back and you're encouraged to work in isolation," recalls Fairbanks who, alternatively, remembers the Ploos class as an epiphany.

Both had been looking for an art not confined to the pedestal, and looking for ways to interact with people outside the typical art audience. Concerns with conscious living and use of green materials in their fiber-arts practice provided a conceptual base. Collaboration was a natural next step. Introduced to the works of artists like Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Architreasures and Mierle Laderman Ukeles, artist-in-residence for the New York Sanitation Department, the duo formed JAM and started planning their first move. It came in the form of a bicycle tour of the Northwest Side that the pair saw as an opportunity to document a moment when Maxwell Street was being demolished. It was also a chance to investigate the labor histories unique to the West Loop neighborhood. They collaborated with U.V. Awazu, owner of Blackstone Bicycle Works, who donated bikes for the tour that were then auctioned off to benefit the bike shop, which had been destroyed in the famous fire that devoured it and environmental artist Dan Peterman's studio (a major influence on their artistic philosophy).

Many of their other projects have tried to show the potential of integrating alternative and renewable energy sources into daily life. Many projects required electrical engineering expertise, so they "did a few Google searches" and came up with Vladimir Nikolaus, a solar engineer who happened to live just down the street from them. "We'd tell him what we wanted to do and he'd help us," explains Marianne.

Take their "Personal Power" project, for instance. Right before the invasion of Iraq, says Palmer, "we were thinking about powerlessness. We felt like we had no voice in the decision to invade, even though half the country opposed it. Connected to that feeling was the sense that this was all about oil. We were trying to figure out ways to encourage people to take themselves off that grid system and came up with this idea." Namely, they decided to outfit items of clothing such as handbags, jackets and belt buckles with new solar panel microtechnology that could store sufficient energy to fully recharge IT devices such as cell phones or palm pilots. Personal power had been established while still keeping the individual connected to their communities through personal technology. A project by Brett Bloom involved fitting hijacked newspaper dispensers with solar panels that would charge a stored battery sufficient to power a lamp, effectively transforming the boxes into streetlights. The boxes were stored in alleys and poorly lit places in Connnecticut.

More recently, the duo have also been teaching a class on "Sustainable Forms" at their alma mater, connecting their thoughts on renewable energy to the sustainability of artistic practice. JAM was also invited to accompany local art collaborative Temporary Services to the recent PR'04, the annual art show in Puerto Rico. They'd planned another bike project for the trip. "For this one we're making carts that get pulled along behind a bike." Explains Fairbanks. "We'll have one stocked with alternative medicine supplies. One with a library--" "And one with a bar!" interjects Palmer--"a shower and a toilet." Fairbanks finishes. Both laugh.

(2004-06-16)

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