It’s short notice but Matt Coolidge is presenting at the School of the Art Institute TONIGHT and at Mess Hall on Friday Night.

CLUI is one of the most badass arts organizations in the US right now.

This summer I spent a fair amount of my free time assisting an excellent Chicago artist/filmmaker Deborah Stratman with her project called POWER/EXCHANGE. POWER/EXCHANGE is a publicly accessible tower and kiosk installed out in Wendover Utah and sponsored by The Center for Land Use Interpretation (CLUI).

The P/E kiosk is made up of wind-powered electronics which provide access to assorted useful and entertaining radio frequencies. Some of the frequencies include WWV atomic clock, weather, police/fire, UP Railroad, and CB transmissions. The fast food drive-thru communications channel, though, is my favorite. I spent the better part of an evening listening to people placing orders at the local Wendover Burger King. POWER/EXCHANGE has an adjoining 60 foot tower I’ve had the thrill of climbing more than a few times working on the wind-powered generator and supporting antennas. Let me tell you, 60 feet is a long way to be dangling by a D-clip under 40 mile per hour wind conditions.

CLUI is one of the coolest organizations I’ve come in contact with in a long time. They study not just the land but how humans use the land. They have a Resident Support Unit structure in Wendover which is home to artists in residence throughout the year with some truly amazing interior design by Simparch and a large-sized workshop next door. They also have an exhibit hall for visiting artist work and various CLUI projects. They also sponsor the Simparch Clean Livin’ facility located about 2 miles away.

If you can’t get out to Wendover, I took some pictures and there are plenty of better pictures on the CLUI website. Their website, by the way, is an amazing resource. The Land Use Database is a way to spend a rainy fall evening with some tea. Of immediate interest to Chicago folk would be “The Best Dead Mall in America” which documents the now dilapidated Dixie Square Mall in Harvey, Illinois. They also have a great online shop/bookstore.

And I thought northwestern Utah was just a hazardous waste dump! Well… that’s out there too…

Lecture begins at 6:00 p.m. at the SAIC auditorium
280 South Columbus Drive.
Admission is $5 for the general public,
$3 for SAIC alumni, students and seniors, and free for current students, faculty, and staff

On Friday he will be presenting at Mess Hall from 7:30p-9:30p
6932 North Glenwood Avenue
Chicago, IL 60626
“Morse” stop on the Red Line
General hours of operation: Tuesdays and Thursdays 12-7, Saturdays 11-5

***********FROM THE SAIC SITE***********
Matthew Coolidge is the founder and director of the Center for Land Use Interpretation (CLUI). The CLUI is a nonprofit educational organization that produces public exhibits, displays, interpretive installations, and other programs that explore the relationship between humans and the physical landscape. The Center was established in 1994 in Piru, California, and is currently headquartered in Los Angeles, with regional offices and field locations in New York, Wendover Utah and the Mojave Desert. The center works with local and national cultural institutions in the production of public programs that deepen the collective understanding of the nature and extent of mankind