Jan Tichy's Multimedia Practice Explores Light, Architecture, and Institutional Archives
Jan Tichy, a Chicago-based artist originally from Prague, was born in 1974 and investigates the concept of light through various mediums, including video, sculpture, and installation, drawing inspiration from Czech Cubism and the skyline of Chicago. His exhibition titled "1979:1-2012:21: Jan Tichy Works with the MoCP Collection" took place at the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago from October 12 to December 23, 2012. This project included the curation of nearly 11,000 images, the creation of new video pieces, and a website overhaul in collaboration with MFA students. Since moving to Jerusalem in 1993, Tichy, who teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, has utilized light for public interventions, exemplified by "Project Cabrini Green" (2011). Influenced by László Moholy-Nagy, he challenges institutional authority through innovative combinations within the MoCP collection.
Key facts
- Jan Tichy was born in Prague in 1974 and immigrated to Jerusalem in 1993.
- He teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and has lived in Chicago since 2007.
- His exhibition "1979:1-2012:21: Jan Tichy Works with the MoCP Collection" ran from October 12 to December 23, 2012 at the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago.
- Tichy's practice uses video projection as a time-based light source, influenced by modernist photography and architecture.
- He collaborated with youth on "Project Cabrini Green" (2011), using LED lights to display poems in 134 vacated apartments during demolition.
- "Lighting the Crown Hall" (2009) transformed S.R. Crown Hall at the Illinois Institute of Technology with video projections.
- His work references László Moholy-Nagy, including in "Things to Come 1936–2012" (2012), a three-channel digital video projection.
- Tichy curated the MoCP's collection of nearly 11,000 images, creating pairings like Walker Evans' work with Shi Guorui's Shanghai view.
Entities
Artists
- Jan Tichy
- Susan Snodgrass
- László Moholy-Nagy
- William Henry Fox Talbot
- Walker Evans
- Shi Guorui
- Julia Margaret Cameron
- Sir John Herschel
- Hyers
- Mebane
- Jaroslav Rössler
- John Mahtesian
- Aaron Siskind
- Andy Warhol
- Christian Boltanski
- Barbara Crane
- Sherrie Levine
- Krzysztof Wodiczko
- Efrat Appel
- Rosalyn Deutsche
- Claude Lefort
- Allan Sekula
- Okwui Enwezor
- H.G. Wells
- Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Institutions
- Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago
- School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC)
- Richard Gray Gallery
- New Bauhaus
- School of Design
- Institute of Design
- Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT)
- Chicago School of Architecture
- Farms Security Administration (FSA)
- Baruch Collection
- FarEastFarWest collection
- Changing Chicago Project
- ARTMargins Online
- Cornerstone Window Gallery
- Columbia College Chicago
- Museum of Modern Art
- George Eastman House
- International Center for Photography
- MIT Press
Locations
- Prague
- Czech Republic
- Chicago
- United States
- Jerusalem
- Israel
- Tel Aviv
- White City
- Dimona
- Shanghai
- China
- Las Vegas
- Marina Tower
- Cabrini Green
- S.R. Crown Hall
- Illinois
- Cambridge
- Hungary
- Eastern Europe