The Freedom Principle: Experiments in Art and Music, 1965 to Now
Images

Wadsworth Jarrell, New Orleans–style group photo in painter Wadsworth Jarrell's backyard, c. 1968. Archival pigment print; 8 x 10 in. (20.3 x 25.4 cm)
Courtesy of George Lewis
Art Ensemble of Chicago performance at MCA Chicago, 1979
Photo © MCA Chicago
Anthony Braxton, Falling River Music (363h), 2004–present. Graphic score; 11 x 17 in. (27.9 x 43.2 cm)
Courtesy of Anthony Braxton and the Tri-Centric Foundation
Anthony Braxton, Falling River Music (366a), 2004–present. Graphic score, 11 x 17 in. (27.9 x 43.2 cm)
Courtesy of Anthony Braxton and the Tri-Centric Foundation
Wadsworth Jarrell, Revolutionary, 1972. Screen print on paper; 34 x 26 1/2 in. (86.4 x 67.3 cm)
Courtesy of the artist
Jamal Cyrus, The Dowling Street Martyr Brigade – Towards a Walk in the Sun, Pride Catalog #2235, 2005. Collage on paper; 12 x 12 in. (30.5 x 30.5 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Inman Gallery, Houston
Photo: Rick Wells
Nick Cave, Speak Louder, 2011. Mixed media including black mother-of-pearl buttons, embroidery floss, upholstery, metal armature, and mannequins; installed: 93 1/2 x 199 x 123 in. (237.5 x 505.5 x 312.4 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery
Photo: James Prinz Photography
Gerald Williams, Nation Time, 1969. Acrylic on canvas; 48 x 56 in. (121.9 x 142.2 cm). Johnson Publishing Company, Chicago
Photo: Geoffrey Black/Johnson Publishing Company
Lisa Alvarado, Represencing, 2011. Acrylic, flash, and ink on banner (Canvas, fabric, wood, and fringe); 100 x 92 in. (254 x 233.7 cm). Courtesy of the artist
Photo: Tom Van Eynde
Nari Ward, We The People, 2011. Shoelaces; 96 × 324 in. (243.8 x 823 cm). In collaboration with the Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia. Installation view, Lehmann Maupin, New York, 2012. Courtesy of the artist and Lehmann Maupin
Photo: Gregory LaRico
Jeff Donaldson, Jampact and Jelly Tite (For Jamila), 1988. Mixed media on canvas; 35 x 50 in. (88.9 x 127 cm). Collection of Jameela K. Donaldson
Photo: Mark Gulezian, Quicksilver Photographers
Renée Green, Space Poem #3 (Media Bicho) for MoMA Media Lounge, 2012. Polyester nylon and thread, and 34 double-sided banners; each: 17 1/2 x 22 in. (44.5 x 55.9 cm); overall dimensions variable. Collection Museum of Modern Art, New York. © 2015 Renée Green. Installation view, Museum of Modern Art, New York, Feb 29, 2012–Jul 8, 2013
Photo: Thomas Griesel digital image © 2015 The Museum of Modern Art, New York
Renée Green, Space Poem #3 (Media Bicho) for MoMA Media Lounge, 2012. Polyester nylon and thread, and 34 double-sided banners; each: 17 1/2 x 22 in. (44.5 x 55.9 cm); overall dimensions variable. Collection Museum of Modern Art, New York. © 2015 Renée Green. Installation view, Museum of Modern Art, New York, Feb 29, 2012–Jul 8, 2013
Photo: Thomas Griesel digital image © 2015 The Museum of Modern Art, New York
Wadsworth Jarrell, AACM, 1994. Acrylic on tempered Masonite; 48 x 96 in. (121.9 x 243.8 cm). Courtesy of the artist
Photo: Adger Cowans
Stan Douglas, Hors-champs, 1992. Two-channel video installation with stereo sound; 13 minutes, 20 seconds (looped). Courtesy of the artist; David Zwirner, New York/London; and Victoria Miro, London
Photo: Stan Douglas
Stan Douglas, still from Hors-champs, 1992. Two-channel video installation with stereo sound; 13 minutes, 20 seconds (looped)
Courtesy of the artist; David Zwirner, New York/London; and Victoria Miro, LondonAbout
The Freedom Principle: Experiments in Art and Music, 1965 to Now links the vibrant legacy of the 1960s African American avant-garde to current art and culture. It is occasioned in part by the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), a still-flourishing organization of Chicago musicians whose interdiscliplinary explorations expanded the boundaries of jazz. Alongside visual arts collectives such as the African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists (AfriCOBRA), the AACM was part of a deep engagement with black cultural nationalism both in Chicago and around the world during and after the civil rights era. Combining historical materials with contemporary responses, The Freedom Principle illuminates the continued relevance of that engagement today.
The exhibition, which takes its title from a 1984 book by Chicago jazz critic John Litweiler, showcases the multifaceted world of the black avant-garde in Chicago during the 1960s alongside a selection of contemporary artists' interpretations of this heritage. It includes works of music and art from, among others, AACM-founder, pianist, and painter Muhal Richard Abrams; Art Ensemble of Chicago bandleader Roscoe Mitchell; and AfriCOBRA cofounders Jeff Donaldson, Jae and Wadsworth Jarrell, Barbara Jones-Hogu, and Gerald Williams. Archival materials—brochures, banners, photographs, posters, sheet music, record covers—provide a rich context for the exhibition. Recent works by artists such as Terry Adkins, Nick Cave, Renée Green, Rashid Johnson, Lili Reynaud-Dewar, Cauleen Smith, and Stan Douglas present an ongoing intergenerational conversation about experimentation, improvisation, collective action, and the search for freedom. Working together across multiple platforms, Catherine Sullivan, George Lewis, Charles Gaines, and Sean Griffin are collaborating on an opera, to be presented on the MCA Stage, and on a related installation within the exhibition.
A listening station and an online microsite accompany the exhibition. The MCA has also published a fully illustrated catalogue that includes essays by exhibition curators Naomi Beckwith and Dieter Roelstraete, as well as by leading musicians, composers, artists, and scholars.
The Freedom Principle is organized by Naomi Beckwith, Marilyn and Larry Fields Curator, and Dieter Roelstraete, former Manilow Senior Curator, at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. It travels to the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania, September 14–March 19, 2017.
The exhibition is presented in the Griffin Galleries of Contemporary Art on the museum’s fourth floor.
Installation images

Installation view, The Freedom Principle: Experiments in Art and Music, 1965 to Now, MCA Chicago, Jul 11–Nov 22, 2015
Photo: Nathan Keay © MCA Chicago
Installation view, The Freedom Principle: Experiments in Art and Music, 1965 to Now, MCA Chicago, Jul 11–Nov 22, 2015
Photo: Nathan Keay © MCA Chicago
Installation view, The Freedom Principle: Experiments in Art and Music, 1965 to Now, MCA Chicago, Jul 11–Nov 22, 2015
Photo: Nathan Keay © MCA Chicago
Jae Jarrell, Brothers Surrounding Sis, 1970 (left) and Gent’s Great Coat, 1973 (right). Courtesy of the artist. Installation view, The Freedom Principle: Experiments in Art and Music, 1965 to Now, MCA Chicago, Jul 11–Nov 22, 2015
Photo: Nathan Keay © MCA Chicago
Nari Ward, We The People, 2011. Shoelaces; 96 × 324 in. (243.8 x 823 cm). In collaboration with The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia. Courtesy the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York and Hong Kong. Installation view, The Freedom Principle: Experiments in Art and Music, 1965 to Now, MCA Chicago, Jul 11–Nov 22, 2015
Photo: Nathan Keay © MCA Chicago
Installation view, The Freedom Principle: Experiments in Art and Music, 1965 to Now, MCA Chicago, Jul 11–Nov 22, 2015
Photo: Nathan Keay © MCA Chicago
Renée Green, Space Poem #3 (Media Bicho), 2012. Polyester nylon and thread; 34 double-sided banners; each 22 x 17 ½ in. (55.9 x 44.5 cm); overall dimensions variable. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Installation view, The Freedom Principle: Experiments in Art and Music, 1965 to Now, MCA Chicago, Jul 11–Nov 22, 2015
Photo: Nathan Keay © MCA Chicago
Installation view, The Freedom Principle: Experiments in Art and Music, 1965 to Now, MCA Chicago, Jul 11–Nov 22, 2015
Photo: Nathan Keay © MCA Chicago
Installation view, The Freedom Principle: Experiments in Art and Music, 1965 to Now, MCA Chicago, Jul 11–Nov 22, 2015
Photo: Nathan Keay © MCA Chicago
Art Ensemble of Chicago, Banner and various instruments, including percussion cage, bass drum, counsel drums, horns, and assorted “little instruments;” overall dimensions variable. Courtesy of Roscoe Mitchell. Installation view, The Freedom Principle: Experiments in Art and Music, 1965 to Now, MCA Chicago, Jul 11–Nov 22, 2015
Photo: Nathan Keay © MCA Chicago
Interpretive installation by artist John Preus made in conjunction with The Freedom Principle: Experiments in Art and Music, 1965 to Now, MCA Chicago, Jul 11–Nov 22, 2015
Photo: Nathan Keay © MCA Chicago
Interpretive installation by artist John Preus made in conjunction with The Freedom Principle: Experiments in Art and Music, 1965 to Now, MCA Chicago, Jul 11–Nov 22, 2015
Photo: Nathan Keay © MCA ChicagoDownloads
Funding
Lead support for The Freedom Principle: Experiments in Art and Music, 1965 to Now is provided by Cari and Michael Sacks. Additional generous support is provided by the Pamela Alper Curatorial Fund, Dr. Anita Blanchard and Martin H. Nesbitt, Lester N. Coney and Mesirow Financial, Anne and Don Edwards, Denise and Gary Gardner, Vicki and Bill Hood, Jeanne and Kevin Poorman, Linda Johnson Rice, Desirée Rogers, Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, Nickol and Darrel Hackett, Connie and Ed Horner, Inman Gallery, and Shirley and Walter Massey.