Erik Ruin is a multi-talented artist who works in various mediums, including printmaking, shadow puppetry, and paper-cut art. His work has been described by the New York Times as "spell-binding cut-paper animations" and is known for its emphasis on empathy, transcendence, and obsessive detail. Ruin frequently collaborates with musicians, theater performers, and other artists and is a founding member of the international Justseeds Artists' Cooperative. Ruin's latest project, Long/Gone, is a single intricately-cut piece of paper that measures over 100 feet in length. The piece flows freely from image to image, with narratives and scenarios that often draw from classic literature from Homer to Dante. Philly Voice has called it "stark, intricate and wondrous," combining the enthralling fantasy of a storybook with the prismatic, fragmented beauty of a stained-glass window. For this performance, Ruin will be joined by musicians Andy Moor, Stefan Christof, and Ari Swann.
In addition to the performance, Damon Locks will be talking about his art, music, and education practice as well as sharing two animation projects from his work as Stateville Correctional Center (a maximum security men’s prison outside of Chicago) where the incarcerated artists made a series of animations addressing the topic of freedom and time from their perspectives as well as the effects of long term sentencing on their lives.
Damon Locks is a Chicago-based visual artist, educator, vocalist/musician. He teaches art with the Prison and Neighborhood Arts/Education Project at Stateville Correctional Center. He teaches improvisation in the Sound Department at the School of the Art Institute. Damon maybe best known as the leader of the group Black Monument Ensemble and as a founding member of Trenchmouth and The Eternals. He is also the primary vocalist in Rob Mazurek’s Exploding Star Orchestra.
Erik Ruin’s Long/Gone + Damon Locks (artist talk)
Erik Ruin is a multi-talented artist who works in various mediums, including printmaking, shadow puppetry, and paper-cut art. His work has been described by the New York Times as "spell-binding cut-paper animations" and is known for its emphasis on empathy, transcendence, and obsessive detail. Ruin frequently collaborates with musicians, theater performers, and other artists and is a founding member of the international Justseeds Artists' Cooperative. Ruin's latest project, Long/Gone, is a single intricately-cut piece of paper that measures over 100 feet in length. The piece flows freely from image to image, with narratives and scenarios that often draw from classic literature from Homer to Dante. Philly Voice has called it "stark, intricate and wondrous," combining the enthralling fantasy of a storybook with the prismatic, fragmented beauty of a stained-glass window. For this performance, Ruin will be joined by musicians Andy Moor, Stefan Christof, and Ari Swann.
In addition to the performance, Damon Locks will be talking about his art, music, and education practice as well as sharing two animation projects from his work as Stateville Correctional Center (a maximum security men’s prison outside of Chicago) where the incarcerated artists made a series of animations addressing the topic of freedom and time from their perspectives as well as the effects of long term sentencing on their lives.
Damon Locks is a Chicago-based visual artist, educator, vocalist/musician. He teaches art with the Prison and Neighborhood Arts/Education Project at Stateville Correctional Center. He teaches improvisation in the Sound Department at the School of the Art Institute. Damon maybe best known as the leader of the group Black Monument Ensemble and as a founding member of Trenchmouth and The Eternals. He is also the primary vocalist in Rob Mazurek’s Exploding Star Orchestra.