School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC)
36 S. Wabash Avenue
Chicago, IL 60603
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) welcomes Chris Ware as the 2015–16 William and Stephanie Sick Distinguished Professor.
Chris Ware (SAIC 1991–93) is an award-winning cartoonist and author whose work hopes to tell unpretentious stories about what it fells like to be alive via the generally approachable yet surprisingly complicated medium of the American comic strip. He is the author of Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth, which was included on Amazon’s “100 Books to Read in a Lifetime” list in 2014.
Ware’s most recent graphic novel, Building Stories, was deemed a top ten fiction book by the New York Times and Time magazine and chosen as the Best Book of the Year by Publisher’s Weekly. His work has been exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.
As SAIC’s 2015–16 William and Stephanie Sick Distinguished Professor, Ware will co-teach a course in the Department of Printmedia titled Comics, Emotional Directness and Self-doubt with SAIC faculty member Alex Valentine. Ware says that having spent his undergraduate, graduate, and professional years trying to overcome paralyzing self-doubts as to the effectiveness, honesty, and communicability of his own cartooning, he hopes to use this course to reassure other young cartoonists who might be experiencing some of the same roadblocks and uncertainties in their own work. Students will receive one-on-one project advising, and will be encouraged to utilize SAIC’s offset printing facilities to realize their final product.
As part of his Sick Distinguished Professorship, Ware will participate in SAIC’s fall 2015 Visiting Artists Program (VAP) lecture series. On Thursday, September 3, in the Art Institute of Chicago’s Rubloff Auditorium (230 S. Columbus Dr.), Ware will be in conversation with independent curator Hamza Walker. The lecture is free and open to the public.
Established in 2006 by a generous gift from William and Stephanie Sick of Winnetka, the William and Stephanie Sick Distinguished Professorship enables internationally renowned artists and designers to visit and teach at SAIC. Previous William and Stephanie Sick Distinguished Professors include Bruce Mau, Jaume Plensa, Bill Fontana, Catherine Opie, Andrea Zittel, and, most recently, Theaster Gates.
About the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
A leader in educating artists, designers, and scholars since 1866, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) offers nationally accredited undergraduate, graduate, and post-baccalaureate programs to nearly 3,500 students from around the globe. Located in the heart of Chicago, SAIC has an educational philosophy built upon an interdisciplinary approach to art and design, giving students unparalleled opportunities to develop their creative and critical abilities, while working with renowned faculty who include many of the leading practitioners in their fields. SAIC’s resources include the Art Institute of Chicago and its new Modern Wing; numerous special collections and programming venues provide students with exceptional exhibitions, screenings, lectures, and performances. For more information, please visit saic.edu.
