Copies of my book Inside the Matrix: The Radical Designs of Ken Isaacs published by Half Letter Press are still available! Inside the Matrix surveys the highly individual practice of American architect and designer Ken Isaacs, whose populist, DIY designs created from the 1950s to the 1970s challenged mainstream definitions of modernism. Highlighted here are his Living Structures, Microhouses, and Alpha Chambers, experimental living and educational environments that provided alternative solutions to the spatial and environmental challenges of midcentury modern life.
IN/SITE: Reflections on the Art of Place
In/Site: Reflections on the Art of Place is my blog devoted to art, architecture and urbanism, using Chicago as a vantage point for reflections on the work of contemporary artists, public art and urban projects that reinvent the spatial environment of the city.
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As the end to a most trying year draws near, hopes for a fairer and more equitable future are weighted against the injustices of the present that attempt to erode the very foundations of our democracy. Even in the wake of the U.S. election’s positive outcome, conservative politicians and right-wing extremists, cloaked in the guise of patriotism, continue to exploit symbols of freedom, including the American flag, to bolster a dangerous authoritarian nationalism and commit atrocities against American citizens, immigrants, indigenous peoples, and Earth. Fraught with a myriad of conflicting meanings, the American flag is a symbol of both freedom and oppression, filled with promises – some realized, others unfulfilled. And yet, it continues to incite passion for the principles it purports to uphold and for those who have fought on their behalf. When activist Abbie Hoffman appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1968 wearing a button-down shirt patterned…
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Here I talk with Maria Kruglyak about my curatorial work and writing on Ken Isaacs, occasioned by the multiplatform mapping project Visual Natures: The Politics and Culture of Environmentalism in the 20th and 21st Centuries, organized by the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology in Lisbon, which featured Isaacs’s Knowledge Box.
In this two-part interview, Paul Krainak and I discuss my research and writing on Isaacs, my role as an editor at ARTMargins Online, and my critical writing on public art and spatial art practices. Published in Sub-rural at Bad@Sports.
Metropolis | Ken Isaacs Wanted to Retool the Way We Live by Justin Kamp • February 18, 2020
New City | Before the Tiny House: Inside the Matrix Dives Into the Design Legacy of Ken Isaacs by Michael Workman • April 14, 2020
Inland Art | Inside the Matrix: The Radical Designs of Ken Isaacs by Paul Krainak • December 28, 2019