Laurie Palmer

Since its inception in 1988, the art collective Haha has created twenty-one projects - including sculptural installations, community-based projects, and video works - in the United States and Europe. Members Wendy Jacob, Laurie Palmer, and John Ploof have shown these projects in an innovative range of locations, from the expected (galleries and museums) to the utterly unexpected (storefronts, the hallway outside the Chicago City Council chambers, and the roof of a roving taxi). Haha's works are ephemeral, closely interwoven with the times and places where they are shown; Haha presents a range of the collective's projects in book form for the first time. This book is far more than just a catalog, however. Five contributors, from the fields of art, art history, urban studies, and anthropology, have come together to provide fresh new perspectives on the group's work, exploring such topics as temporality, everyday life, and the place of collaboration. Haha will be of great interest to scholars, students, and artists alike.

In 1988, the city of Chicago declared three acres of public land along Lake Michigan the future home of DuSable Park—a green refuge dedicated to Chicago's first settler, Jean Baptiste Point DuSable. The park has yet to emerge, however, and it is possible that these three lakefront acres could be sold to developers. In 2001, Chicago artist Laurie Palmer sent out an open request for proposals, and the resulting artwork became an innovative exhibit. This inspiring collaboration of Chicago's artists, architects, and activists to bring the plight of DuSable Park to the public has now been catalogued in 3 Acres on the Lake. This volume includes fascinating and thought-provoking renderings of the imagined DuSable Park, as well as commentary on the project and other public space issues from many of its contributors. 3 Acres on the Lake will be insightful reading for anyone interested in urban planning, landscape architecture, and the struggle to preserve public space in American cities.