Kings and Queens Pinball, Imagists & Chicago

Pinball News Website·article·analyzed·Mar 1, 2017

Analysis

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TL;DR

Elmhurst Art Museum exhibition blends pinball machines, Chicago Imagist art, and pinball history as legitimate art form.

Summary

The Elmhurst Art Museum in Illinois hosted 'Kings & Queens: Pinball, Imagists and Chicago' (Feb–May 2017), an exhibition exploring pinball as legitimate art form by combining 16 playable classic machines, original backglass artwork by Chicago Imagist painters Ed Paschke and Constantino Mitchell, and works by major Chicago Imagist artists. The exhibition positioned Chicago as pinball's cultural and manufacturing center, connecting the city's graphic arts tradition, carnival culture, and historical manufacturers (Bally, Williams, Gottlieb, Stern) to the aesthetic and creative foundations of pinball design.

Key Claims

Elmhurst was the spiritual 'home' of D. Gottlieb and Co. in the 1960s-1970s, which produced pinball machines considered the 'Cadillac' of pinball games.
high confidence · Exhibition curatorial material; documented manufacturing history
Ed Paschke's original Blackout (1980) backglass artwork was deemed too 'far out' by Williams executives and was adjusted in collaboration with Constantino Mitchell.
high confidence · Exhibition display and artwork comparison shown in article
Chicago became pinball's center of gravity and where it achieved pop culture status, home to manufacturers Bally, Williams, Gottlieb, Data East, Chicago Coin, and currently Stern.
high confidence · Exhibition curatorial narrative; documented manufacturing history
Chicago's graphic arts community, art collectives like the Hairy Who, and institutions like the School of the Chicago Art Institute created a 'pinball-friendly climate.'
medium confidence · Exhibition thematic interpretation by curator Dan Nadel and reporter M.G. Brown
Former New York mayor LaGuardia labeled pinball as a 'tool from the devil' due to perceived gambling associations and mob ties.
high confidence · Historical reference; documented public record

Notable Quotes

“An exhibition that begs the question 'Is Pinball a Legitimate Art Form?'”
M.G. Brown (reporter) @ Article headline/opening — Sets the central curatorial thesis of the exhibition
“These games are intended to not only be viewed as works of 'visual' art, but also played as 'interactive' art that flashes, makes sounds and captures the visitor's imagination.”
M.G. Brown (summarizing exhibition intent) @ Pinball section — Defines the exhibition's dual approach to pinball as both static and interactive art
“Ed's proposal for Blackout was deemed to be too 'far out' by Williams executives and it was adjusted in collaboration with frequent collaborator Constantino Mitchell to bring it a little closer to a normal pinball style of artwork.”
M.G. Brown (reporting exhibition narrative) @ Imagists section — Illustrates tension between avant-garde artistic vision and commercial pinball design constraints
“If pinball wasn't invented in Chicago, the so called 'second city' has become pinball's center of gravity and where it has achieved its pop culture status.”
M.G. Brown (exhibition curatorial interpretation) @ Chicago section — Core thesis linking Chicago identity to pinball cultural prominence
“Many pinball games in Chicago were in fact owned and operated by 'gangsters'; as many cash-based businesses were in those days.”
M.G. Brown (historical context) @ Chicago section — Explains mob-pinball association that led to regulatory bans

Entities

Elmhurst Art MuseumorganizationDan NadelpersonM.G. BrownpersonEd PaschkepersonConstantino MitchellpersonHairy WhoorganizationBallycompany Williamscompany Gottliebcompany

Signals

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business_signal: Chicago established and maintained dominance as pinball manufacturing center through presence of graphic arts infrastructure, art institutions, advertising agencies, and artist collectives (Hairy Who) that directly influenced game aesthetics and design culture
high · Exhibition curatorial narrative linking School of Chicago Art Institute, Northwestern, art collectives to pinball manufacturing ecosystem
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event_signal: Elmhurst Art Museum planned supplementary programming including curator-led tours with Suellen Rocca, documentary screenings, artist talks, and gallery discussions to extend exhibition impact across multiple institutions
high · Detailed schedule of events March 18–April 29 documented in article
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design_philosophy: Williams executives constrained Ed Paschke's avant-garde Blackout backglass artwork to 'closer to normal pinball style' through collaboration with Constantino Mitchell, illustrating tension between artistic vision and commercial design constraints
high · Direct comparison of Paschke's original oil painting proposal to finalized backglass artwork with explanation of editorial decision
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market_signal: Pinball increasingly framed as legitimate art form worthy of museum exhibition, academic study, and curation alongside major art movements (Chicago Imagism) rather than purely as commercial arcade game or gambling vice
high · Exhibition title question 'Is Pinball a Legitimate Art Form?'; curatorial approach treating machines as 'visual' and 'interactive' art; museum-level presentation with scholarly support
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Topics

Pinball as Art FormprimaryChicago Imagism and Pinball AestheticsprimaryChicago as Pinball Manufacturing HubprimaryClassic Pinball Machine Design and Backglass ArtprimaryPinball History (1930s-1980s)secondaryRegulatory History and Pinball BanssecondaryEd Paschke and Constantino Mitchell CollaborationsecondaryMuseum Exhibition and Curationmentioned

Sentiment

positive(0.82)— Reporter M.G. Brown expresses enthusiasm for the exhibition's comprehensiveness and execution ('blends and ferments these three elements into a brew worthy'), appreciation for the curatorial approach, and validation of pinball as legitimate art form worthy of museum presentation. No criticism or negative sentiment expressed; tone is celebratory and educational.

Transcript

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Date: 1st March, 2017 Location: Elmhurst Art Museum, 150 S. Cottage Hill Ave., Elmhurst, IL 60126, USA Exhibition: 25th February - 7th May, 2017 Report by M.G. Brown An exhibition that begs the question ‘Is Pinball a Legitimate Art Form?’ In recent years, there have been several art exhibitions in the greater Chicago area that have attempted to tell the story of how pinball, art and Chicago are interwoven. I feel none have done as complete and easily-absorbed presentation as the current showing of Kings & Queens: Pinball, Imagists and Chicago at the Elmhurst Art Museum. The exhibit's Curator, New York’s Dan Nadel, has studied and written books and articles on the Hairy Who Chicago Imagist artist’s collective which have many works displayed in this exhibition. Dan is also the co-editor of The Comics Journal and has published essays and critiques in such publications as The Washington Post, Frieze and Bookforum. Dan has curated past exhibitions presenting psychedelic and alternative art collections for museums in New York, Los Angeles and Lucerne, Switzerland. Kings & Queens: Pinball, Imagists and Chicago has three elements of interest for the Pinball News reader. Pinball The exhibition has sixteen classic games loaned to the museum by Jim Schelberg, Logan Arcade, Scott Sheridan, Mark Weyna, Sharon Paschke, Vince Giovannone and Steven Malach. These games are intended to not only be viewed as works of ‘visual’ art, but also played as ‘interactive’ art that ﬂashes, makes sounds and captures the visitor’s imagination. Five of the sixteen games at the exhibition Games from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s are represented; Gottlieb’s Kings and Queens, Atlantis, Sheriff, Duotron and Expressway Gottlieb's Sheriff heads this block of machines Bally’s Fireball, Old Chicago and Nip-It Bally's Nip-It Bally's Nip-It Williams' Apollo, Black Knight, Black Knight 2000, Blackout, Time Warp, Firepower, Gorgar and Spanish Eyes Williams' Gorgar, Black Knight 2000 and Apollo Atlantis, Fireball and Black Knight The exhibition's title game It is worth noting that Elmhurst was the spiritual ‘home’ of D. Gottlieb and Co. who in the 1960s-1970s produced pinball machines considered to be the ‘Cadillac’ of pinball games. Imagists (Art) In the main exhibition gallery alongside the Williams Blackout game is the original oil on canvas Blackout (1980) proposal for the game’s backglass, designed and painted by Ed Paschke who, of course, was well-known in the Chicago Imagist art scene and had his works featured in Playboy magazine and, for a number of years, in the ﬁrst ﬂoor windows of the Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company department store. The Blackout game and proposed backglass artwork Ed’s proposal for Blackout was deemed to be too ‘far out’ by Williams executives and it was adjusted in collaboration with frequent collaborator Constantino Mitchell to bring it a little closer to a normal pinball style of artwork. Ed Paschke Blackout artwork The backglass artwork used in the game The exhibition shows a number of Paschke’s works such as Cobmaster, Chicaucus, Hairy Shoes, and Green Ava. Mitchell is also represented in the exhibition with his acrylics Deadly Weapon, Female Thunderball, Robo-War backglass and Thunderball backglass. Constantino Mitchell's Thunderball Another Thunderball Constantino Mitchell's Robo-War is a featured artwork The last pinball collaboration by Paschke and Mitchell would be the backglass for Gottlieb’s Bad Girls (1988). Any exhibition of Chicago Imagist art would be incomplete without at least some of the works of Barbara Rossi, Christina Ramberg, Ed Flood, Gladys Nilsson, Jim Nutt, Karl Wirsum, Roger Brown, Ray Yoshida and Suellen Rocca. Karl Wirsum's Zing Zing Zip Zip More Chicago Imagists works More Chicago Imagists works Another Chicago Imagist piece Ed Flood's Silver Crown Elmhurst Art Museum comes through with high marks by showing some of the most iconic works from these artists including Wirsum’s Click (1971) and Nutt’s Ofﬁcer Doodit (1968) which have become larger than life examples of the Chicago Imagist style. Chicago If pinball wasn’t invented in Chicago, the so called ‘second city’ has become pinball’s center of gravity and where it has achieved its pop culture status. An impressive number of pinball’s classic manufacturers such as Bally, Williams, Gottlieb, Data East, and Chicago Coin as well as many of pinball’s best recognized personalities such as engineer Jim Shird, author-historian Roger C. Sharpe and artist Greg Freres have at one time called Chicago their home city. Stern Pinball, probably the largest pinball company in the world, designs and produces new games in Chicago to this day. Many reasons exist for this, such as the large graphic arts community found in Chicago’s advertising agencies and the Chicago art collectives such as the Hairy Who and and other self-described artistic outsiders drawing (no pun intended!) inspiration from comic books, carnivals and arcades. The presence of such incubators as the School of the Chicago Art Institute, Northwestern University, The Chicago Cultural Center, and the Whitney Museum of American Art (to name but a few) each made signiﬁcant contributions to the pinball-friendly climate in Chicago. During the early 1930s when pinball was beginning to become popular in America, Chicago was becoming known as a capitol of ‘adult’ entertainment. This rubbed off on pinball possibly in error and possibly not. Many pinball games in Chicago were in fact owned and operated by ‘gangsters’; as many cash-based businesses were in those days. Likely because of pinball’s ties to the mob, mayors of cities such as Chicago, New York and Los Angeles came to the conclusion that pinball was a form of gambling rather than an entertaining game of skill. Former New York mayor LaGuardia even went so far as to label pinball as a ‘tool from the devil’. Coda Elmhurst Art Museum’s Kings & Queens: Pinball, Imagists and Chicago blends and ferments these three elements into a brew worthy of the latest frothy yellow refreshment from Two Brothers Brewing in Warrenville, IL. By coincidence or design, Two Brothers Brewing supplied samples of their new craft brewed American Pale Ale Pinball for the opening night of Kings & Queens: Pinball, Imagists and Chicago on February 24th. I’m sure that you are thinking that Martin sent me to cover the exhibition because there was beer, and you’d be half right. The launch party for the exhibition In addition to the exhibition itself, Elmhurst Art Museum has planned these events as an enhancement and extension of it: 18th March at 1:30pm - Kings & Queens: Pinball, Imagists and Chicago and Elmhurst College collection highlights tour with Suellen Rocca. 31st March at 6pm - Documentary ﬁlm screening of Hairy Who and the Chicago Imagists at Elmhurst College 21st April at 6pm - Talk with Suellen Rocca, Curator and Director of Exhibitions at Elmhurst College 29th April at 12pm - Tilt Roger Brown eyeballs popular culture. Works from 1970-1997 presented and discussed 29th April Rocca Kings & Queens: Pinball, Imagists and Chicago runs until 7th May, 2017 at the Elmhurst Art Museum, after which a modified version will run from 19th May to 21st August, 2017 at the Illinois State Museum. Back to the News page Like this page? Share it with your Facebook friends: Back to the front page