Inaugural Garofalo Fellow Molly Hunker shows her cards: at UIC with Myth, through May 10; at the Graham in person Monday night with Spiritual Kitsch

Last August, architect and designer was Molly Hunker, co-founder of the Los Angeles design firm SPORTS, was named as the first recipient of the Douglas A. Garofalo Fellowship, established by the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago to honor the talented architect who died far too soon in 2011.

Hunker took up residence at UIC last fall, with the plan of teaching courses, pursuing independent research, and preparing a public exhibition and lecture. That exhibition, Myth, is now up in the South Gallery of the Arts and Architecture Building at UIC, 845 West Harrison, where it runs, 9 a.m. through 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday through May 10th. The exhibition . . . 

. . . focuses specifically on the religious genre of the home shrine, re-envisioning the richly decorative and kitsch assembly through the lens of the architectural installation. . . . Myth re-envisions the home shrine through the lens of the contemporary architectural installation. The project learns from the careful collection and curation of sentimental objects commonly found in home shrines, producing an emotionally resonant experience that recalibrates contemporary notions of atmosphere and engagement.

Myth uses the decorative prayer candle as the primary object through which to explore how home shrines can provoke new understandings of visual and atmospheric opulence in the architectural interior .

The project suspends hundreds of handmade wax container - candles on cotton wicks, creating a semi-enclosed shrine-space by the accumulation of the colorful objects . While the overhead candles are geometrically simple, the candles closer to the ground are increasingly articulated with a grotesque featuring strategy inherent to the transformation of wax from liquid to solid . This articulation technique partners with a gradient of increasing color saturation and shimmering cosmetic in order to engage with a kitsch sensibility that provokes greater emotional resonance with visitors.

Tonight, Monday, April 7th, 6:00 p.m. at the Graham Foundation, 4 West Burton Place, Hunker will deliver a lecture, Spiritual Kitsch.  

The discussion will explore how home shrines and related assemblies can provoke new understandings of visual opulence and lead to the production of emotionally resonant architecture.

 More information and registration here.

Molly Hunker awarded inaugural Doug Garofalo Fellowship, Benefit at the Graham August 27th

It's hard to imagine it's already been two years since we lost Doug Garofalo, one of Chicago's most talented young architects.  For nearly a quarter century, Garofalo taught at the School of Architecture

at UIC, being named a University Scholar in 2009.  After his death, the school established The Douglas A. Garofalo Fellowship “in recognition of his exceptional life and career.”

Doug Garofalo began his teaching career at the UIC School of Architecture in 1987, moving through all faculty ranks from part-time adjunct to tenured full professor, and also serving as Interim Director 2001–2003. In 2009 Doug was named a University Scholar, the first time in twenty-six years that a member of the School of Architecture was so honored. Representing the highest ideal of the academic-practitioner, Doug was a tireless mentor and source of inspiration for the students, junior faculty, and young architects that worked with him.

The Douglas A. Garofalo Fellowship will be established at the UIC School of Architecture in memory of Doug and in recognition of his exceptional life and career. The Fellowship will be an endowed fund dedicated to bringing a young practitioner or recent graduate to teach and conduct independent design research within the School of Architecture. 

UIC's School of Architecture has announced that the inaugural Garofalo Fellow will be Molly Hunker (MArch, UCLA).  Hunker is expected to take up residence at UIC in the Fall, where she will “teach studio and seminar courses, pursue independent design research, and prepared a public lecture and exhbition for Spring 2014.”  Hunker is co-founder, with Greg Corso, of the Los Angeles design firm SPORTS.

Stay Down, Champion, Stay Down, installation at WUHO Gallery, Hollywood, 2010

Next Wednesday, August 27th, there will be a benefit for the Garofalo Fellowship at the Graham Foundation, Champagne

reception at 5:30 p.m., cocktails, heavy hors do'oeuvres and silent auction beginning at 6:30.  Benefit co-chairs are Sarah Herda, Eva Maddox, Joseph Rosa and Stanley Tigerman, with Chris Garofalo as honorary co-chair.  Individual tickets are $250 ($225 tax deductible), with other levels of support also available.  Information and ticket purchase here.

Read More:

MCA Makeover - Doug Garofalo's 2003 plaza installation at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art.

Chicago Loses One of Its Best

Douglas A. Garofalo Fellowship - UIC calls for inaugural year applications.

The extremely talented Chicago-based architect Doug Garofalo died too young at 53, in August of 2011, after a long illness.

To honor his memory, the school where he taught, the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago, has created the Douglas A. Garofalo Fellowship, and is currently taking applications, through February 28th, from prospective applicants.

. . . this newly established nine-month teaching fellowship provides emerging designers the opportunity to teach studio and seminar courses in the undergraduate and graduate programs and conduct independent design research. The fellowship also includes a public lecture and exhibition in the spring.

You can find full specifications for applying on the fellowship's web page.