29 August 2016
For Immediate Release:
CHICAGO—August 29 2016
The Chicago Design Museum (ChiDM) is proud to announce a partnership with
Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) to showcase the
Great Ideas of Humanity throughout Loop Link locations.
The Great Ideas of Humanity series was inspired by Mortimer Adler’s
monumental Great Books of the Western World series—431 works by 71 authors
—based on ideas of the Western Canon. The Encyclopedia Britannica published
this series in 1952.
Inspired by the Great Books and with a desire to engage the public in cultural
conversation, the Container Corporation of America (CCA) sponsored the
advertising campaign, the Great Ideas of Western Man. For 25 years, CCA
commissioned celebrated artists and designers to create artwork inspired by
these scholars. Following this campaign, the Great Ideas provided a base for
notable figures including Paul Rand and René Magritte to bring attention to
philosophic scholars from the Great series, including Mark Twain and Theodore
Roosevelt.
Modifying and updating for today’s generation, ChiDM renewed this historical
series. Thus, the Great Ideas of Humanity (GIH) was born. Our initiative is to
inspirationally cross-pollinate contemporary artists’ ideas and philosophies with
quotable thinkers from the Middle Ages and beyond through a series of graphic
design works.
The Chicago Design Museum has created a poster series for the Dearborn
corridor stations showcasing the Great Ideas of Humanity series, highlighting the
civic and cultural significance of eight key sites in the Loop. The images will
include architectural points of interest, photographs and/or historic stories.
The Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) initiative involves public transit (bus rapid)
infrastructural modes to improve the Loop area between neighborhoods and the
Central Business District. Traffic flow, less congested streets and more sidewalk
space are examples of plans to uphold the initiative. Several bus rapid transit
lanes are being developed in multiple arteries of the Loop.
The list of artists and designers include ChiDM’s executive directors Tanner
Woodford and Matthew Terdich, as well as Bibliotheque, Ivan Chermayeff, Hugh
Dubberly, Veronica Corzo-Durchardt, and LaShun Tines. This cultural art initiative represents the partnership between DCASE, the City of Chicago, and the Chicago Design Museum.
For press enquiries, image and interview requests, please contact: press@chidm.com.
About ChiDM: The Chicago Design Museum (ChiDM) strengthens design culture and builds community by facilitating the exchange of knowledge through dynamic experiences.
About DCASE: The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) is a department under the jurisdiction of the City of Chicago geared towards enhancing the arts and culture of Chicago. The department also focuses on the non-profit arts sector and independent artist businesses, all guiding for future economic growth and community-wide outreach for the city and by the city.
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