“scarecrow” sculptures in his yard in Memphis, Tennessee, 1993. Archival pigment print.
Photo courtesy Ted Degener
Opening reception: March 1, 5:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Exhibition on view: March 1– April 6, 2024
Feb. 23, 2024—CHICAGO—Ted Degener: At Home with Artists showcases portraits of art environment makers within and among their grand works of art. The exhibition opens on Friday, March 1, with an evening reception at The Art Center Highland Park. (1957 Sheridan Road, Highland Park, IL)
For more than five decades, Ted Degener has traveled across the United States in search of encounters with the makers of art environments—artists who transformed personal spaces like homes, gardens and studios into continually evolving, site-specific and life-encompassing works of art.
His fascination with art environments started in 1970 when he learned about Simon Rodia’s Watts Towers in Los Angeles, making the site the destination of his first cross-country road trip in pursuit of art. Since then, Degener has photographed more than 400 artists in and with their work, in addition to roadside attractions, eccentric festivals and other American cultural activities. He continues to travel to and photograph art environments, contributing photos of his adventures to Raw Vision magazine.
Degener’s photographs go beyond documentation of art environments, though some serve as remnants of sites long disassembled, to capture the artist inhabiting their work. Often, art environments are the result of a lifetime of love and labor, and Degener’s portraits capture the makers’ dynamism, their sense of joy and pride in sharing their creations with others.
“Degener captures the personalities of both the makers and the sites in his work,” said Debra Kerr, president and CEO of Intuit. “There’s a liveliness that runs throughout the exhibition, reflected in Degener’s portraits.”
Ted Degener: At Home with Artists, curated by Annalise Flynn, is on loan from Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, one of only a handful of museums that exclusively presents the work of artists who typically work outside the mainstream and may have faced societal, economic or geographic barriers to a traditional path of art making.
“We have had many conversations about collaborating with Intuit – one of my favorite museums – and something always got in the way (COVID, for instance). As they are working on their remodeling, we are more than glad to finally be working with them.” Adds James M. Lynch, Executive Director of The Art Center. “This will be a wonderful treat to our community and we hope to have more shared exhibits in the future.”
The exhibition is on view alongside the Focus & Click photography exhibitions.
ABOUT THE ART CENTER HIGHLAND PARK
The Art Center Highland Park, a not-for-profit organization, is the North Shore’s home for artistic discovery and creative exploration. Through innovative programs, exhibitions, and classes designed for all levels and ages, The Art Center provides a welcoming space for our diverse communities to experience and participate in the arts.
ABOUT INTUIT
Intuit champions the diverse voices of self-taught art, welcoming both new and familiar audiences. Intuit presents the work of self-taught artists—also known as outsider art. These artists typically work outside the mainstream and may have faced societal, economic or geographic barriers to a traditional path of art making. By presenting a diversity of artistic voices, Intuit builds a bridge from art to audiences. The museum’s mission is grounded in celebrating each of our abilities to be powerfully creative. The instinct to create is universal and the arts must embrace, represent and be accessible to all.