Breaking Criminal Traditions ~ Installed

"Venus", a bronze sculpture by Valerie Schiff, welcomes patrons to
The Art of Influence: Breaking Criminal Traditions

The Art of Influence: Breaking Criminal Traditions was installed this past weekend. The exhibition—including both two-and-three dimensional works—opened yesterday for preview. The public Opening Reception will be held on Thursday, October 10th from 5:15-8:15. The exhibition is presented in the 3rd floor gallery of IIT Chicago - Kent College of Law, located at 565 West Adams Street, in Chicago.

Already receiving enthusiastic reviews, "Breaking Criminal Traditions" was compiled to raise awareness of global criminal traditions... traditions that continue today. The pieces included, were selected to elude to the issues without being overtly obvious. The content of the show walks a blurred line between the horrifying reality of the world in which we live—and the intense beauty of empowerment and freedom.

Patrons who explored the show during previews, defined the work as inspirational and empowering. One viewer was even moved to tears.

Left: Paula Kloczkowski Luberda, "Connected", Stoneware, 12" diameter

Right: Zoriah Miller, "The Weapons Cache, Archival Photograph 1/8, 24 x 24"

The exhibiting artists are: James Deeb (Evanston, IL), Sheila Ganch (Chicago, IL), Andrea Harris (Chicago, IL), Paula Kloczkowski Luberda (Naperville, IL), Richard Laurent (Chicago, IL), Zoriah Miller (New York, NY, Paris, France), Nancy Rosen (Chicago, IL), Lorraine Sack (Indianapolis, IN), Valerie Schiff (Chicago, IL), Barbara Simcoe (Omaha, NE), and Anne Smith Stephan (Wilmette, IL)

The Art of influence: Breaking Criminal Traditions will be on display through February 3. A public Opening Reception will take place on Thursday, October10 from 5:15-8:15pm. The gallery is located on the 3rd floor of the IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, located at 565 West Adams Street in Chicago [the corner of Adams and Jefferson]. Street Parking is abundant and there are a number of lots within a single block.

The gallery is open Monday-Thursday 7:30am-11pm, Friday 7:30am-9:30pm, and Saturday 8:30am- 6pm. Most of the pieces included in the exhibition are available for purchase. Additional information can be found at BreakingCriminalTraditions.com.


Valerie Schiff has studied with a variety of talented teachers including: Lynn Borst, Alan Gavin, Richard Halsted, and Gay Riseborough. Seeking to learn more about human anatomy, Valerie was fortunate to study with Sheila Oettinger. Working with Oettinger helped her to work larger and to subtly infuse power and emotion into her sculpture. Schiff’s accolades include numerous awards including multiple "Best in Show" prizes.

Paula Kloczkowski Luberda is an established and widely exhibited artist. Her work has been presented in regional, national and international exhibitions for more than two decades. Her extensive award list includes: A Purchase Award from The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago, A Merit Award from Salisbury State University; Best of Show from Nicolet College, Wisconsin; 3rd Place Indiana University; Merit Award Quincy Art Center; Honorable Mention from Rockford Art Museum, and an Award of Excellence from the Norris Cultural Center of St. Charles. Paula Kloczkowski Luberda—and her work—has been featured in the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun Times and the Daily Herald News Paper, as well as other print media. Her work was also featured on NBC Channel 5 news. Luberda’s education includes a BA in Studio Art, an Associate’s degree in Design and Illustration, specialized instruction in ceramic sculpture from the Art Institute of Chicago, fiber sculpture from Concordia University, Montreal Canada, Mold making from San Antonio Institute of Art, San Antonio, Texas, and Patination at Cleveland University, Cleveland Ohio.

Zoriah Miller is a world renowned photojournalist known for his prolific work documenting conflict, crisis and disasters. His award winning photography has appeared in major motion pictures, on television, book covers and in publications such as The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Newsweek, Elle, The Wall Street Journal, Cosmopolitan and countless others. His work is exhibited around the world and permanently archived in the United States Library of Congress.

...Breaking Criminal Traditions

Barbara Simcoe, "She Shall be Repaid", oil on wood panel 9 x 14

"The Art of Influence: Breaking Criminal Traditions" is an exhibition that was created to raise awareness of the global atrocities that have become traditions in various cultures. The exhibition is meant to begin a dialogue, which will lead to additional dialogue between the US and citizens of effected nations—supporting those citizens as they work for the cultural change that can only come from within.

The exhibition will open at the IIT-Chicago, Kent College of Law on October 10th. The gallery will present work by James Deeb, Sheila Ganch, Andrea Harris, Paula Kloczkowski Luberda, Richard Laurent, Zoriah Miller, Nancy Rosen, Lorraine Sack, Valerie Schiff, Barbara Simcoe, and Ann Smith Stephan. The imagery presented ranges from photo realism to abstraction but all works relate directly or conceptually to the issue at hand.

Author, Cheryl Jefferson is the driving force behind the exhibition. Her knowledge of Criminal Traditions has allowed her to speak at the UN and present a TEDTalk. Jefferson's passion is obvious...  and the injustice perverse. She explains:

Worldwide women live too close to their bones and too far from their dreams, the victims of criminal traditions. Criminal traditions are ongoing, centuries old rituals that kill or maim millions each year yet aren't considered crimes. They include honor killing, acid attacks, bride burning, forced childhood marriage, female genital mutilation and other violence that is not illegal because the perpetrators are relatives who are doing "what's best" for the girl or "defending" their family's honor.

"The Art of Influence: Breaking Criminal Traditions" will run through February 6th. Many receptions are planned. I will be blogging about them in future posts. Additional information will also be available at BreakingCriminalTraditions. com

Barbara Simcoe has been a working artist for more than thirty years. Her formal art training was at the University of Illinois, Urbana and the University of North Texas, Denton. She lived and worked in Dallas 16 years where she was very involved in the art community and in exhibiting her work. Currently residing in Omaha, NE she is a Professor on the faculty of Art and Art History at the University of Nebraska and has taught painting and drawing since 1998. Barbara has shown widely in nationally and in European venues in many invitational and juried exhibitions. She has had numerous one person exhibitions, awards and grants, in 2004 she received a Fulbright Grant for which she lived, taught and made artwork in Lithuania. She traveled to Israel summer 2005 to participate in an international exhibition in the city of Akko. Academic year 2006-07 she was on sabbatical, the focus of which was working in the studio and a trip to Poland where she had a solo exhibition of her digital photos at the Albert Gallery in Krakow. Most recently she had a one person exhibition in the Czech Republic for which she showed digital photo collages influenced by a trip to France summer 2008. Barbara’s work consists of oil paintings, graphite and ink drawings and digital photography. Stylistically she works with realistic figuration inhabiting psychological and symbolic spaces. Her website may be found at barbarasimcoe.com.

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