Deb Sokolow
Encyclopedia
Biography
Deb Sokolow graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
in 1996, and received her MFA from the Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
in 2004. She has exhibited at several galleries in Chicago, and was the August 2005 featured artist in the 12 x 12 series at Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago is a contemporary art museum near Water Tower Place in downtown Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The museum, which was established in 1967, is one of the world's largest contemporary art venues...
.
Sokolow's works take the style of maps which diagram a story in a narrative flow chart. Her preferred materials are common to office supply closets such as highlighter
Highlighter
A highlighter is a felt-tip pen which is used to draw attention to sections of documents by marking them with a vivid, translucent colour.A typical highlighter is fluorescent yellow, coloured with pyranine.-History:...
, pen
Pen
A pen is a device used to apply ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Historically, reed pens, quill pens, and dip pens were used, with a nib of some sort to be dipped in the ink. Ruling pens allow precise adjustment of line width, and still find a few specialized uses, but...
, correction fluid
Correction fluid
A correction fluid is an opaque, white fluid applied to paper to mask errors in text. Once dried, it can be written over. It is typically packaged in small bottles, and the lid has an attached brush which dips into the bottle...
, pencil
Pencil
A pencil is a writing implement or art medium usually constructed of a narrow, solid pigment core inside a protective casing. The case prevents the core from breaking, and also from marking the user’s hand during use....
and thumbtacks. Her large-scale drawings feature a nameless, paranoid narrator who uncovers sinister plots. The main story thread is black ink, representing the voice of this narrator. The narrator's doubts and paranoia are represented in other colors, which branch off from the main story thread. She usually works with three distinct voices, which all interact and disagree with each other. Her work has been compared to the work of Mark Lombardi
Mark Lombardi
Mark Lombardi was an American Neo-Conceptualist and an abstract artist who specialized in drawings attempting to document financial and political frauds by power brokers, and in general 'the uses and abuses of power'.- Biography :...
, who was known for his pencil diagrams of crime and conspiracy networks.
Descriptions of works
- Someone Tell Mayor Daley, the Pirates are Coming is a single sheet of blue paper which maps out the narrator's suspicions that pirates have infiltrated your Chicago office. The narration is second person, and you suspect something is wrong when all of your co-workers are wearing bandannas and chunky gold earrings. As you delve further into the plot, you realize that the pirates are after Mayor Richard M. DaleyRichard M. DaleyRichard Michael Daley is a United States politician, member of the national and local Democratic Party, and former Mayor of Chicago, Illinois. He was elected mayor in 1989 and reelected in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, and 2007. He was the longest serving Chicago mayor, surpassing the tenure of his...
's treasure buried at the former site of Meigs FieldMeigs FieldMerrill C. Meigs Field Airport , was a single strip airport that operated from December 1948 until March 2003. It was built on Northerly Island, the man-made peninsula that was also the site of the 1933–1934 Century of Progress in Chicago....
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