In the Spring of 2011 the Chipstone Foundation and the Milwaukee Art Museum invited sixteen established artists from Britain and America to participate in an unusual experiment. Each artist was asked to lay aside his or her standard tool kit and craft a work of art with one tool alone. The challenge presented to the artists sounds simple: create a work of art with one tool. The material and tool were left open-ended with the purpose of encouraging creativity within the one-tool constraint.

Jim Nutt often finishes his paintings by working on the backs, rendering images—some of them trompe l’oeil—and scripting punning, purposefully misspelled phrases in his own unique calligraphy. These finished backs are not meant for display. Their primary purpose is to relay information to those handling the works, including individual owners as well as museum registrars, conservators, and preparators.

A collection of horned speakers, made from compressed recycled newsprint and dryer lint, created by sculptor and instrument-maker Ian Schneller and composer/violinist Andrew Bird, are installed in the MCA's atrium to create a unique sound garden. Bird records the initial compositions on-site at the MCA and sends musical information to different groups of horns via multiple loops. He layers and changes the compositions throughout the remainder of the installation off-site via computer technology.

François and Bernard Baschet’s (b. 1917 and 1920) "Aluminum Piano" (1962) is one of the most arresting and fascinating works included in "Motor Cocktail: Sound and Movement in Art of the 1960s" (Jul 2 – Oct 30). With its five large metal cones and slender metal tendrils mounted on a small keyboard, the work has the appearance of a large flower.

This group of sculptures by Mark Handforth (British, b. Hong Kong 1969) initiates the MCA’s new commitment to blurring the lines between the inside and outside of the museum, enlivening Chicago with contemporary art beyond our opening hours. Activating the MCA plaza this summer, Handforth’s sculptures draw from the visual language of the city—lampposts, traffic cones, police hats—but also introduce surprising icons into the urban landscape, like the oversized coat hanger or gargantuan bone and phone handset.

In the Spring of 2011 the Chipstone Foundation and the Milwaukee Art Museum invited sixteen established artists from Britain and America to participate in an unusual experiment. Each artist was asked to lay aside his or her standard tool kit and craft a work of art with one tool alone. The challenge presented to the artists sounds simple: create a work of art with one tool. The material and tool were left open-ended with the purpose of encouraging creativity within the one-tool constraint.

Asian Art Museum Art Speak interns interview artist Sanjay Patel.

In the Spring of 2011 the Chipstone Foundation and the Milwaukee Art Museum invited sixteen established artists from Britain and America to participate in an unusual experiment. Each artist was asked to lay aside his or her standard tool kit and craft a work of art with one tool alone. The challenge presented to the artists sounds simple: create a work of art with one tool. The material and tool were left open-ended with the purpose of encouraging creativity within the one-tool constraint.