Today’s society has had a profound influence on the discipline of architecture, yet despite the utilization of current technologies, these contemporary works are not divorced from history. Chatter: Architecture Talks Back is about just that—having a dialogue, talking back to architecture of the past. Works from the Art Institute’s vast collection of architecture and design are presented alongside these five ultra-current practitioners to highlight this conversation. As these architects apply new technology to a confluence of historical influences and theories in order to conceive new designs and ideas, they are constantly expanding the dialogues within the legacy of their field. This dynamic installation makes readily apparent how each studio recognizes that the architectural past, though a shared language, is sometimes best understood with modern punctuation.

For the exhibition, Iker Gil, director of the design publication Mas Context, conceived an installation in gallery 283 to explore the multitude of ways in which architecture can be communicated and how the active qualities of chatter—from being constant to satirical—spark conversations. The projects presented in this space were produced by a range of practitioners worldwide: Ecosistema Urbano; Over, Under and Pinkcomma; Mimi Zeiger and Neil Donnelly with the School of Visual Arts Summer Design Writing and Research Intensive; Koldo Lus Arana; Project_ with Sarah Hirschman; 300.000km/s with Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona; Luis Urculo; and Christopher Baker. On April 11 and May 16, this space will house two roundtable conversations called Chatter Chats.

Exhibition-Related Events

Chatter Chat: Talking Back
April 11, 2015
2:00pm-4:00pm
Gallery 283
Free and open to the public with museum admission.

Talking Back projects on the future of architecture not simply by looking back at history but by engaging it in productive conversation. Fully embracing the double entendre of the act of "talking back", this Chatter Chat invites architects from the exhibition to frame their work relative to history, encouraging them to act as both successor (harkening back to their predecessors) as well as instigator (talking back to their predecessors). This roundtable discussion will be moderated by Kelly Bair, Director, Central Standard Office of Design.

Teen Workshop: Chatter - Design, Writing, and Art
April 18, 2015
11:00am-4:00pm
Ryan Education Center
$10 per member; $12 per nonmember; Registration required.

Get inspired in the museum and imagine how you can tell your story in the digital age through art and architecture. Work with a teaching artist to design multimedia artworks that speak to your audience. To learn more about this program, visit our Teen Programs page at http://www.artic.edu/learn/teens or email teens@artic.edu.

Chatter Chat: Communication
May 16, 2015
2:00pm-4:00pm
Gallery 283
Free and open to the public with museum admission.

> via artic.edu/exhibition