Almighty & Insane Books will host signings with the authors of Towers of Steel, Concrete & Glass: Drawings by Kareem Davis + Richard Willis and Beyond Heaven: Chicago House Party Flyers—Volume II, From 1981 to 1992 at their table on Saturday.
gallery 5, table 5
About Towers of Steel, Concrete & Glass: Drawings by Kareem Davis + Richard Willis:
Known worldwide for its architecture, Chicago is host to an abundance of historical buildings that exemplify major architectural movements of the 20th century—from Commercial Style (a.k.a the Chicago School) to Prairie Style to International Style (or Second Chicago School). Kareem Davis and Richard Willis are Chicago artists whose work concerns the urban landscape around them. Their shared enthusiasm for the histories of buildings and other structures around the city betrays a passion for Chicago’s architecture—famed or otherwise. Davis’s line drawings of residential buildings (from luxury condos to now demolished CHA high-rises) float between architectural renderings and geometric abstraction while Willis’s drawings of water-tanks and water-towers are more expressive in character with added color and imaginative flourishes. Both these artists record and interpret Chicago’s architectural history through their personal expression. This publication is intended to capture these moments of history to share with others, and to be experienced from many perspectives—aesthetic, architectural, historical, social, and personal—while celebrating the work of these artists and the dedication to their city.
About Beyond Heaven: Chicago House Party Flyers—Volume II, From 1981 to 1992:
With the original out of stock, we were at a crossroads. But luck was on our side when Mario “Liv It Up” Luna dug up a long-forgotten cache of material and from that we bring you Beyond Heaven: Volume II. Same format as the original, but with all new flyers documenting an extended window of history, from early “mobile discos” that reflect the roots of the underground movement before the term “house” was even coined, to the emergence of a new generation of house DJs and artists in Chicago inspired by the original pioneers of the genre. As with the original, this book reflects a mix of figures and parallel movements that were entangled with the world of house. From dance groups to party crews, along with promoters, labels, and record stores, both well established and lesser known—all are points of departure to good memories and/or further investigations into one of the greatest eras in the history of Chicago music, with a legacy that is profoundly influential to this day.