Koenig presents paper, creates blog about Chicago art with student

Wendy Koenig, North Central College associate professor of art, presented a paper, titled “New Approaches to Oral Testimony,” as part of the panel The Practice and Politics of Commemoration at the 11th Biennial International Holocaust Studies Conference at Middle Tennessee State University on Oct. 17. Her research into the use of audio and video testimony in Holocaust museums is an outgrowth of earlier work on acoustic design and the use of sound in Holocaust and other atrocity museum exhibits. Other speakers at the conference included Gerhard L. Weinberg, German military historian; Adam Jones, executive director of Gendercide Watch; and Ursula Mahlendorf, professor emerita of the University of California-Santa Barbara and author of “The Shame of Survival.”

In addition, Koenig and Christine Badowski M ’15 (left), journalist and North Central graduate student in the master of liberal studies (MALS) program with a focus on culture and society, have created a blog dedicated to outdoor public art in Chicago. Their online guide features original photographs and informational entries for more than 250 works of art, including sculptures, murals and more that are on display around the city. Available to the public, the guide may be accessed at chicagopublicart.blogspot.com and windycitypublicart.com.

Koenig came up with the idea for the guide while teaching a class on art and architecture in Chicago. In spring 2014, she will use the guide for the Chicago term undergraduate course ART 261: Chicago Art and Architecture that she teaches. Recently, the blog was featured on WBBM Newsradio and an online feature titled “New Guide Showcases Artwork On Display Around Chicago.”

Koenig has been teaching at North Central since 2008. She earned her B.A. from the University of Louisville, an M.F.A. from Ohio University and a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University.