Hasta La Ideas

Never mind that pesky lawsuit filed back in September, the Art Institute of Chicago would much rather you focus on their positive news, like that nifty French Impressionism iPad app they’ve launched, or this week’s big news, that the organization has learned that it will be receiving more than 15,000 items from the collection of local architecture photography hero, Richard Nickel. The Chicago Tribune‘s Blair Kamin broke the story, sharing a peek at what’s in the collection, as well as the story behind its donation, from the Richard Nickel Committee. While the museum already had access to a large portion of Nickel’s photos, this huge new supply ups that tenfold, and should make for a busy exhibition once they figure out how and what to display. If you’re unfamiliar with Nickel’s work, which means that you don’t live in Chicago and don’t already have a copy of his posthumous book somewhere in your house, we highly recommend getting a copy of it immediately and also browsing what the museum has available online. You might also enjoy the Lost Buildings animation by Chris Ware and This American Life‘s Ira Glass, which tangentially touches on Nickel’s contributions to capturing Chicago’s architectural gems before they were destroyed.

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