Sun-Times file
Karl Wirsum first began drawing when he was 5 and stuck for weeks in a hospital room, recovering from a fractured skull.
And he never stopped not even after he’d had several strokes and could barely move his hand.
“Even if it was just wiggly marks and circles and little angles on paper,” said his wife of 53 years, Lorri Gunn Wirsum. “He did it every day. He looked out our back window at an apple tree, and all through the winter with the tree skeletal, he just would draw the branches – his version of it.”
Mr. Wirsum – who gained fame locally and nationally during the 1960s for his witty, entirely original and meticulous exploration of the human form – died Thursday at Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Lake View, his wife said. He was 81. He’d lived almost all of his life in the city.
Denise Gardner elected Art Institute of Chicago Board of Trustees Chair
Lori Sapio. Denise Gardner, 2021. Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago.
CHICAGO, IL
.-The Art Institute of Chicago announced today the election of Denise Gardner as the organizations new chairperson of the Board of Trustees. Gardner will succeed Robert M. Levy as the leader of the governing body of both the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) and the Art Institute of Chicago museum. Levy will remain on the board and Gardner will take over as chair when Levys term ends in November.
As we looked for a chair who could fit our needs in the coming years, Denise emerged as the clear leader, said Art Institute of Chicago trustee Tom Pritzker, who led the nominating committee for the board. Her vision for the Art Institute reflects our commitment to an inclusive understanding of human creativity.
Morrison Heckscher, Curator Emeritus of the American Wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, writes for Apollo Magazine: "With the death of Christopher Monkhouse (b. 1947), after a brief illness, on 12 January 2021, the Anglo-American decorative arts and architecture world has lost one of its most highly accomplished and beloved members. Christopher was a perfect exemplar of the old-fashioned, object-obsessed curator. Over some 40 years Christopher led three of the most .
Norissa Bailey to join Art Institute of Chicago as Senior Vice President People and Culture
Norissa Bailey. Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago.
CHICAGO, IL
.-The Art Institute announced today that the museum has appointed Norissa Bailey as senior vice president, People and Culture.
Bailey joins the Art Institute from Navy Pier, where she served as vice president, People and Culture, since 2019 and directed the human resources team since 2014.
At Navy Pier, Bailey proved a thought leader, evolving organizational culture grounded in values of excellence, inclusion, integrity, and stewardship. She transformed the employee experience and made Navy Pier an employer of choice. Her focus included initiatives such as emphasizing leadership and management accountability through employee learning and development; promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion; and creating a rigorous and structured approach to talent management. Bailey also played a key role in activating an effectiv
Art Institute of Chicago announces Irene Sunwoo as Chair of Architecture and Design
Sunwoo joins the Art Institute from the Columbia Universitys Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. Photo: Benjamin Mistak.
CHICAGO, IL
.-The Art Institute announced today that the museum has appointed architectural historian and curator Irene Sunwoo to be the John H. Bryan Chair and Curator, Architecture and Design. Sunwoo joins the Art Institute from the Columbia Universitys Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation , where she has been Curator of the Arthur Ross Architecture Gallery and Director of Exhibitions since 2016.
At Columbia, Sunwoo established a distinctive vision, overseeing an experimental and interdisciplinary exhibition program that fused a scholarly approach to content with innovative exhibition design. In her ongoing collaborations with architects and artists, Sunwoo has supported and advanced new architectural practices, research, an