MANUFACTURED RIVER
Catacombs Gallery
March 28, 2025 - May 17, 2025
After spending hours at the world’s largest wastewater treatment plant in Stickney, Illinois interviewing personnel, attending seminars and reading deeply, Lindsay Olson learned the science behind what engineers do to treat human wastewater. Returning to the studio, she used an assortment of elegant fibers, embroidery and stitching techniques to create richly colored textiles that help explain how water can be endlessly recycled if we care for it properly. Wastewater treatment has been the most successful public health initiative in the history of human beings and Olson’s Manufactured River brings awareness to its importance to the future of clean water.
Located subgrade in the undercroft of the historic former Church of the Epiphany, the brick and timbered Catacombs Gallery alludes to spaces where wastewater flows and atmospherically lends as a backdrop for the exhibit. Experientially for visitors, the exhibit will additionally present a choreographed sound installation composed by music engineer and producer Jon Smith, recorded in part, on site at the Stickney Water Reclamation Plant.
Olson extends her thanks project partner, Dick Lanyon, Retired Executive Director of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago and to Tony Glymph, Consultant - Wastewater Microbiologist, retired Chief Microbiologist MWRD, plus a special thanks to the many professionals at the MWRD of Greater Chicago who spent time teaching her about the wastewater treatment process. And to Columbia College Chicago faculty development grant to support this project.
RSVP for the opening reception on Friday, March 28 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the link below:
Click HERE for more information on gallery hours and private appointments.
MANUFACTURED RIVER
Catacombs Gallery
March 28, 2025 - May 17, 2025
After spending hours at the world’s largest wastewater treatment plant in Stickney, Illinois interviewing personnel, attending seminars and reading deeply, Lindsay Olson learned the science behind what engineers do to treat human wastewater. Returning to the studio, she used an assortment of elegant fibers, embroidery and stitching techniques to create richly colored textiles that help explain how water can be endlessly recycled if we care for it properly. Wastewater treatment has been the most successful public health initiative in the history of human beings and Olson’s Manufactured River brings awareness to its importance to the future of clean water.
Located subgrade in the undercroft of the historic former Church of the Epiphany, the brick and timbered Catacombs Gallery alludes to spaces where wastewater flows and atmospherically lends as a backdrop for the exhibit. Experientially for visitors, the exhibit will additionally present a choreographed sound installation composed by music engineer and producer Jon Smith, recorded in part, on site at the Stickney Water Reclamation Plant.
Olson extends her thanks project partner, Dick Lanyon, Retired Executive Director of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago and to Tony Glymph, Consultant - Wastewater Microbiologist, retired Chief Microbiologist MWRD, plus a special thanks to the many professionals at the MWRD of Greater Chicago who spent time teaching her about the wastewater treatment process. And to Columbia College Chicago faculty development grant to support this project.
RSVP for the opening reception on Friday, March 28 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the link below:
Click HERE for more information on gallery hours and private appointments.
Lindsay Olson’s artistic practice grows out of an intense curiosity about the ways our society is supported by science and technology. She has worked as Fermi National Accelerator’s first artist in residence, with the CMS experiment at CERN in Switzerland, with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, the Field Museum, the Chicago Botanic Garden and with the Center for Acoustics Research and Education at the University of New Hampshire. Her work has been shown at the Schingoethe Museum of art, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Woman Made Gallery, Zhou Brothers Art Gallery, the Field Museum, Illinois Institute of Technology, and the University of New Hampshire. She speaks about her projects widely including International Conference on High Energy Physics, The American Physical Society National Conference, World Ocean Day at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, the Textile Society of America 2020 symposium, The Studio Arts Quilt Associates International Conference in Toronto, the University of Illinois Saturday Physics for Everyone, the Field Museum’s Women in Science lecture series, The Chicago Council of Science and Technology, the Chicago Cultural Center’s Lake FX event, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, and many other venues. Her work has been featured in Scientific American, Physics Teacher Magazine, Sci/Art Magazine, Surface Design Journal and Textile Artist.org. Lindsay taught in the Fashion Studies Department at Columbia College Chicago for over 20 years. She is currently serving as the first artist in residence with The Wetlands Initiative. When not visiting a lab or working in the studio, she can be found canoeing with her husband on one of Chicago’s many area waterways.
Jon Smith is a music engineer, producer, mixer, and educator and has recorded and produced music for thousands of TV and radio commercials with Klaff / Weinstein Music, Scandal Music and many others. These include 16 Super Bowl commercials and international winners of Clio, Cannes Lion, Mercury, Andy and Grandy awards. As an adjunct professor at Triton College since 2006, Smith developed the music technology curriculum and built and maintains Triton's recording studio. He is a founder and co-owner of Wire, a former music venue, bar, music school and recording space in Berwyn, IL, hosting thousands of national and local music acts in a state-of-the-art production and event space. As a freelance audio mixer, Smith has worked for the Oprah Winfrey Show, OWN, Jerry Springer, Jenny Jones and ESPN International. He is a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). Smith has written and produced vocals for two top-30 UK pop chart singles and four top-5 club dance chart singles. Recording and Advertising credits include: Leon Russell, The Police, Roy Thomas Baker (Queen, The Cars), Darryl Jones and Lisa Fisher (Rolling Stones), T’Pau (played on US Billboard Hot 100 #4 single “Heart and Soul”), Al Jourgensen (Ministry), Articles of Faith, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter (Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan), Joe Walsh, Dr. John, Slaughterhouse (Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz, Kxng Crooked, Royce da 5’9”), Graham Nash, Phonetic Recordings (UK), Ministry of Sound (UK), The Chi-Lites, Hoyt Axton, Gary Katz (Steely Dan), Keithen Carter, Linda Clifford, Patrick Leonard (Madonna), The Dells, Love & Sas, Will Lee (David Letterman Show), Kenny Aronoff, Eric Mercury (Roberta Flack, Donny Hathaway), Amuzement Park Band, Positiva Records (UK), Freddie White (Earth Wind and Fire), Walter Payton, Lee Greenwood, David Williams (Michael Jackson), Carla Hassett (Billy Idol, Sergio Mendes), Pam Tillis, TBTBT, Dave Loggins, Peter Brown, Tyrone Davis, Geffen Records, Gene Chandler, Orbert Davis, Frontiers Records (Italy), Steve Walsh (Kansas), Global Underground (UK), and others.
Lindsay Olson’s artistic practice grows out of an intense curiosity about the ways our society is supported by science and technology. She has worked as Fermi National Accelerator’s first artist in residence, with the CMS experiment at CERN in Switzerland, with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, the Field Museum, the Chicago Botanic Garden and with the Center for Acoustics Research and Education at the University of New Hampshire. Her work has been shown at the Schingoethe Museum of art, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Woman Made Gallery, Zhou Brothers Art Gallery, the Field Museum, Illinois Institute of Technology, and the University of New Hampshire. She speaks about her projects widely including International Conference on High Energy Physics, The American Physical Society National Conference, World Ocean Day at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, the Textile Society of America 2020 symposium, The Studio Arts Quilt Associates International Conference in Toronto, the University of Illinois Saturday Physics for Everyone, the Field Museum’s Women in Science lecture series, The Chicago Council of Science and Technology, the Chicago Cultural Center’s Lake FX event, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, and many other venues. Her work has been featured in Scientific American, Physics Teacher Magazine, Sci/Art Magazine, Surface Design Journal and Textile Artist.org. Lindsay taught in the Fashion Studies Department at Columbia College Chicago for over 20 years. She is currently serving as the first artist in residence with The Wetlands Initiative. When not visiting a lab or working in the studio, she can be found canoeing with her husband on one of Chicago’s many area waterways.
Jon Smith is a music engineer, producer, mixer, and educator and has recorded and produced music for thousands of TV and radio commercials with Klaff / Weinstein Music, Scandal Music and many others. These include 16 Super Bowl commercials and international winners of Clio, Cannes Lion, Mercury, Andy and Grandy awards. As an adjunct professor at Triton College since 2006, Smith developed the music technology curriculum and built and maintains Triton's recording studio. He is a founder and co-owner of Wire, a former music venue, bar, music school and recording space in Berwyn, IL, hosting thousands of national and local music acts in a state-of-the-art production and event space. As a freelance audio mixer, Smith has worked for the Oprah Winfrey Show, OWN, Jerry Springer, Jenny Jones and ESPN International. He is a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). Smith has written and produced vocals for two top-30 UK pop chart singles and four top-5 club dance chart singles. Recording and Advertising credits include: Leon Russell, The Police, Roy Thomas Baker (Queen, The Cars), Darryl Jones and Lisa Fisher (Rolling Stones), T’Pau (played on US Billboard Hot 100 #4 single “Heart and Soul”), Al Jourgensen (Ministry), Articles of Faith, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter (Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan), Joe Walsh, Dr. John, Slaughterhouse (Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz, Kxng Crooked, Royce da 5’9”), Graham Nash, Phonetic Recordings (UK), Ministry of Sound (UK), The Chi-Lites, Hoyt Axton, Gary Katz (Steely Dan), Keithen Carter, Linda Clifford, Patrick Leonard (Madonna), The Dells, Love & Sas, Will Lee (David Letterman Show), Kenny Aronoff, Eric Mercury (Roberta Flack, Donny Hathaway), Amuzement Park Band, Positiva Records (UK), Freddie White (Earth Wind and Fire), Walter Payton, Lee Greenwood, David Williams (Michael Jackson), Carla Hassett (Billy Idol, Sergio Mendes), Pam Tillis, TBTBT, Dave Loggins, Peter Brown, Tyrone Davis, Geffen Records, Gene Chandler, Orbert Davis, Frontiers Records (Italy), Steve Walsh (Kansas), Global Underground (UK), and others.
