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OUTSIDE THE LINES: EXTRAORDINAIRY PASTIMES, EXTRAORDINAIRY ART
June 11 - August 28, 2004

press release
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Press release:
From Sock Monkeys to Macramé

Art made by everyday people in humble settings like basements and garages will be elevated to a new level this summer in a unique exhibition at Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art.

Outside the Lines: Ordinary Pastimes, Extraordinary Art, will run from June 11 through August 28, 2004.
Curated by Intuit board members Cheri Eisenberg and Bill Swislow, Outside the Lines: Ordinary Pastimes, Extraordinary Art, will showcase bottle-cap constructions, sock monkeys, tin can chairs, paint-by-number paintings, clothespin constructions and painted Mrs. Butterworth’s bottles to name just a few examples of this unsung but universal type of art. “These are the projects our grandparents worked on for hours in their home workshops down in the basement or while sitting in front of the TV,” Swislow said, “things that we might have chuckled over at the time, like pull-tab hats or telephone wire bowls.”

In addition to the endless list of craft items on view, visitors will get a special glimpse of Nelson, the world’s largest sock monkey, crafted by Dee Lindner from 88 socks. It took the artist 42 hours to make the 7’2” tall sock monkey. Nelson is featured wearing a custom-tailored Pucci tuxedo. He is on loan from the Midway Village and Museum Center in Rockford, Illinois.

In conjunction with the exhibition, there will be two exciting lectures. Intuit presents “Whatever Happened to Paint-By-Numbers?” featuring Dan Robbins, the inventor of Paint-By-Numbers on Wednesday, June 30, at 6:30 p.m. Robbins will give an amusing talk -- a biographical account of the unbelievable rise of Paint-By-Numbers. It will be accompanied by a slide presentation featuring early images of the instructional art form that became an art in its own right. On Thursday, July 29, at 6:30 p.m., Intuit presents “Crafts ‘n’ Art,” an entertaining and informative talk by John Turner. Turner is an outsider art scholar and a well-known collector of thrift art and hobby art. Both lectures are free and open to the public.

Intuit has also planned three unique “make your own” workshops. The Make your own Sock Monkey workshop will take place on Saturday, June 19, at 1:30 p.m.; Make your own Popsicle Stick Creation will take place on Saturday, June 26, at 1:30 p.m.; Make your own Bottlecap Centerpiece will take place on Saturday, July 31, at 1:30 p.m. All workshops are $20 per person and include materials. Reservations can be made by calling Intuit at 312.243.9088.

Running concurrently in Intuit's back gallery through the end of June is Sistuhs: Four African-American Self-Taught Artists. Vibrant Spirits, the art of Chicagoan Derek Webster opens in the back gallery in July.

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