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PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEVE HALL ART FULL The Nature Boardwalk pavilion at Lincoln Park Zoo, by Studio Gang Architects assembly required A NEW SHOW AT THE ART INSTITUTE EXPLORES THE STRATEGIES OF ARCHITECT JEANNE GANG'S COMPLEX INNOVATIONS. BY THOMAS CONNORS A s any creative type will tell you, it's great to see the finished work, but the process is as important as the product. The challenge of invention, the thrill of exploration, and the hunt for a resolution are what fuel the writer, artist, or performer. For civilians, there's nothing like a glimpse into how these artistic folks work. And for fans of 2011 MacArthur Fellow Jeanne Gang, the Art Institute's new exhibit, Building: Inside Studio Gang Architects, offers a revelatory look at the ways she is seeking to reshape our world. The show explores 13 projects—including the Kaohsiung Maritime Museum and Popular Music Center: Harbor Knot in Taiwan and the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership at Kalamazoo College—and investigates the sources and disciplines that energize Gang's studio and inform the work it develops. "This is not a retrospective," asserts co-curator Zoë Ryan. "This is about looking at a pivotal moment in her career." The installation includes four Rope Rooms. One is outfitted with the illustrative books the studio makes for each project, another is equipped 78 MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM with iPads that allow visitors to delve deeper into Gang's work, and a third will display video of works in progress. Says Gang, "The exhibition is a snapshot that forces us to self-assess and speak to where we have been and where we are headed simultaneously." Called on to lend her thinking to projects as far away as India and China, Gang, a Belvidere native, has also left her mark on Chicago, from her revi- talization of Lincoln Park Zoo's Nature Boardwalk to the SOS Children's Villages Lavezzorio Community Center on the South Side. Best known for Aqua, the 82-story downtown tower whose rippling façade makes most high-rises look boxy by comparison, Gang notes, "I think we have a lot to offer in architecture, and mining the potential of the tall building is one important facet, but we also have other interests. Our body of work to date addresses the intersection of nature and culture in cities, communities, and environments." Building: Inside Studio Gang Architects runs September 24 to February 24, 2013, at the Art Institute of Chicago, 111 S. Michigan Ave., 877-307-4242; artic.edu. MA