Art

Shana Moulton is a California-born-and-based artist who works in video, performance, and installation. In 2002, Moulton began the video series “Whispering Pines”, in which she performs as Cynthia, an alter-ego searching for purpose and fulfillment through home decor, self-help paraphernalia, exercise accessories, and cosmetic rituals.

In her videos and performances Moulton probes, with humor, the interplay of a popular culture shaped by consumption and commercialized New Age philosophies, and an “elite” culture, exemplified in the spiritism of Mondrian, and the late works of Georgia O’Keeffe created in New Mexico. The psychedelic low-tech videos recalling the late 1970s and 1980s, and important representatives of early film history such as the films of Maya Deren, exhibit a constant “Migration of Form(s)” – that is to say forms which oscillate between “high” and “low”. In the surrealistic videos Whispering Pines (2002 to the present) constructed as a series, Cynthia, an anxious, hypochondriac, dreamer– an alter ego of the artist – persistently seeks salvation in the household consumer world; inevitably, it eludes her.

In her project Wandering Inner Eyes for AOTM, Moulton's alter-ego fails to make progress during a difficult physical therapy session. After receiving a makeover, Cynthia's consciousness, in the form of her “made-up” eyes, leaves her physical body to wander through a set of surreal scenarios. As her consciousness progresses through these stages, she discovers that she can rehabilitate herself as well as the world around her.

Currents create momentum, set events in motion, and propel us to new places. A current is a force with the power to change minds, transport data, move bodies of water, and alter the course of wind. It’s an electrical spark, an explosion of energy and light. Currents move through people, carrying ideas and the exchange of information across time and space. To be current is to be actively unfolding, ever present, and of the moment, and yet already on the way to somewhere else.

The exploration of constant movement drives Currents of Chicago, a moving image work by Perkins&Will, that captures the dynamic and multifaceted flows within the urban context of Chicago—a city renowned for its visionary urban planning, iconic architecture, and deep connection to natural resources like the Chicago River and Lake Michigan.

This work illustrates how various streams—natural, human, and technological—converge to create the city’s vibrant pulse. It’s a story of engineered landscapes, industrial innovation, cultural expression, and the relentless momentum of progress. It is also a deliberate exploration of the currents shaping the future—a future where design, technology, and nature intersect to create a more resilient, connected, and human-centered city. Chicago’s energy is not just a by product of history, but a force intentionally directed toward progress, ensuring that as the city evolves, it does so with purpose, adaptability, and a vision for a more sustainable and thriving urban environment.

Photo by Angie McMonigal