Between 1950 and 1975, Chicago-based Container Corporation of America ran a campaign heralded as one of the best in advertising history, Great Ideas of Western Man. The world has changed since 1975, but great ideas are timeless.
Our response, Great Ideas of Humanity, celebrates the globalization and cross-pollination of ideas, societies, and cultures. Like the original series, a committee meets, gathers “great ideas,” and commissions artists or designers to create visual responses. The work does not advertise a product, but rather an ethos—of the museum, of the community, of Chicago—to make the world a better place through thoughtful design.
Two public artworks, one of women in the arts and one of Latinx icons, inspired this iteration of the project which features the work of Chicago students. Great Ideas of Humanity: Passing the Torch celebrates the work of new artists, underrepresented thinkers, and Chicago communities.
This exhibition is made possible by the generous support of many people.
Special thanks to R&S Marching Arts and PrideFlags.com for printing flags, Color 4 for printing and installing vinyl, LATITUDE Chicago for printing posters, and 826CHI, One for One at Carl Schurz High School, and Philip D. Armour Elementary School students and staff for designing these flags.
Dan Andries
Amanda Rae Berg
Farrah Blake
Hannah Boegen-Stork
Stanley Boegen-Stork
Katherine Chuu
Darryl Cowherd
Kendra Curry-Khanna
Emily Dillard
Gina Doctor
Jeremy Dunn
Damian Ellis
Roberto Espinoza
Ola Faleti
Margaret Fiedler
Kena Franklin
Susan Friel
Wadsworth Jarrell
Colleen Keihm
Carolyn Lawrence
Roy Lewis
Greg Lunceford
Cecile Margulies
Kerry James Marshall
John & Barbara Massey
Francisco Mendoza
Laura Nair
Nolan Nicaise
Meghan Olson
Georgia Peach Leue
Steve Rokicki
Will Roelke
Steven Ryan
Judith Sanchez
Adam Schachner
Alan Spaeth
Jennifer Steele
Caitlin Stich
Kyle Stork
Maria Villarreal
Robin Willard
Robyn Woodford
Emi Woodford
Rebecca Zorach
