Public Notice 3 : Jitish Kallat at the Art Institute of Chicago

The Swami Vivekananda's speech to the World's Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893 is the centerpiece of Indian artist Jitish Kallat's new work,Public Notice 3. The installation went on view at the Art Institute of Chicago on September 11, 2010, exactly 108 years after Vivekananda delivered his groundbreaking address calling for an end to "bigotry and fanaticism." The text of the speech appears on the risers of the Art Institute of Chicago's Grand Staircase where it is illuminated in the five colorsred, orange, yellow, blue, and greendesignated by the United States Homeland Security Advisory System to signify threat levels. This companion book, which documents the installation, is the first full-scale exploration of Kallat's work published by a North American institution. Along with an interview with the artist, essays contextualizePublic Notice 3within the space of the installation and evaluate Kallat's oeuvre within an international context.

Madhuvanti Ghose is the Alsdorf Associate Curator of Indian, Southeast Asian, Himalayan, and Islamic Art at the Art Institute of Chicago.