by Anna Wolak
Foreword by Lewis Kostiner
During late spring of 2010, the Palmer House Hilton Hotel in Chicago began its search for what it called “the next Monet.” There was a reason.
Bertha Honoré Palmer (1849-1918), a distinguished socialite and philanthropist known as the Queen of Chicago, collected French Impressionist paintings by Mary Cassatt, Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Eventually, her personal collection was gifted to the Art Institute of Chicago, and it became the core of the museum’s French Impressionist collection.
In keeping with the tradition of supporting the arts, the Palmer House approached the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and offered to host a photography class for two semesters. The Chair of the Photography Department, Barbara DeGenevieve, invited photographer Lewis Kostiner to teach the course. The students were given a classroom space, full access to the hotel, and funds to create work inspired by the hotel. The work would ultimately be displayed in the hotel’s hallways and famous lobby.
The hotel’s manager, Todd Temperly, told the students at their first meeting, “What we do here is magic,” and he asked them not to compromise that vision. The images in this book are the results of the partnership between the historic hotel and the esteemed school of art. Success in these two fields—business and art—is measured the same way: success is when a grand impression is made, and all the hard work that it takes to make that grand impression seems effortless, seem magical.
Works from this project have been displayed in the Stephen Daiter Gallery in the River North neighborhood of Chicago, in the Sharp Building at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and in Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office at City Hall.
About
Anna Wolak, editor of What We Do Here Is Magic, was born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1985 and was raised in Wilkinson, Indiana. She was awarded a Lilly Endowment Scholarship in 2003 and she earned her B.A. in English, with a concentration in creative writing, from Butler University in Indianapolis in 2007. There, she studied under Andrew Levy, Dan Barden, Jason Goldsmith, and Hilene Flanzbaum. In 2011, she completed her M.A. in new arts journalism at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she studied under Lewis Kostiner and James Elkins. Professionally, she focuses on adoption photography and writing and she has worked with various nonprofits and publications. She is the Vice President of Communications for the Lilly Scholars Network and the youngest member on the Board of Directors for the Indiana Association on Adoption and Child Care Services.
Lewis Kostiner was born in Montréal, Québec, Canada, in 1950 and was raised in Montréal before his family moved to Westbury, Long Island, in 1962. He earned his B.A. in liberal arts, with an emphasis in photography and creative writing, at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where he also studied at the Rhode Island School of Design with Aaron Siskind, Harry Callahan, and Emmit Gowen. He completed his M.S. in photography at the Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, where he studied with Arthur Siegel, Garry Winogrand, and Geoff Winningham. After he left Brown, he assisted Aaron Siskind for many years and traveled with him worldwide. From 1973 to 1981 he was an adjunct professor of photography at Columbia College Chicago, and from 2008 to 2012, he was a faculty member in the Department of Photography at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His photographs are in the permanent collections of, and have been exhibited at, the Art Institute of Chicago, Center for Creative Photography, Museum of Contemporary Photography, and Museum of Modern Art, among many others. Lewis is married to Anne Neri Kostiner, and they have two daughters, Rickie and Tess.
Slide Show
LEWIS KOSTINER [lewiskostiner.com] was born in Montreal, Canada, and was raised there and in Westbury, New York. He received his A.B. in liberal arts from Brown University in 1972 and his M.Sc. in photography from the Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago in 1974. He taught at Columbia College in Chicago from 1973-81 as an Adjunct Professor of Photography. He was a faculty member at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 2007-2012. For this project he used a Leica M8 with a 35mm Summicron lens. His images appear on pages iv and vi. 
ALEX ZHANG was born in Jilin Province, China, in 1986 and was raised in Jilin City. He began his M.F.A. in photography at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2010. For this project he used a Mamiya RZ with a Phase One digital back. His images appear on pages 4 and 6–8. 
LEWIS KOSTINER [lewiskostiner.com] was born in Montreal, Canada, and was raised there and in Westbury, New York. He received his A.B. in liberal arts from Brown University in 1972 and his M.Sc. in photography from the Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago in 1974. He taught at Columbia College in Chicago from 1973-81 as an Adjunct Professor of Photography. He was a faculty member at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 2007-2012. For this project he used a Leica M8 with a 35mm Summicron lens. His images appear on pages iv and vi.ALEX ZHANG was born in Jilin Province, China, in 1986 and was raised in Jilin City. He began his M.F.A. in photography at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2010. For this project he used a Mamiya RZ with a Phase One digital back. His images appear on pages 4 and 6–8.AMARIS GRANADO [amarisgranado.com] was born in Rock Island, Illinois, in 1980 and was raised in Albany, New York, and Florida. She began her M.F.A. in photography at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2010. For this project she used various 4×5 cameras, a Phase One digital back, and a Canon 5D Mark II. Her images appear on pages 10, 13, and 80. 
AUSTIN FULLER [austinfuller.net] was born in Centralia, Illinois, in 1988 and was raised in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. He began his B.F.A. studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2009 with a concentration in photography. For this project he used a Mamiya RZ 6×7 and a Mamiya 35mm camera. His photographs appear on pages 14, 16–18, 20, 21, and 88 
BEN PEGRAM [bencpegram.com] was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1984 and was raised in Decatur, Illinois. He began his B.F.A. studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2009 with a concentration in photography. For this project he used a Fatif 4×5 monorail view camera with a Schneider 90mm/F6.8 Super Angulon wide lens. His images appear on pages 22, 24, 25, and 84. 
BRITTANY HAYWARD [brittanysphotos.com] was born in Lapeer, Michigan, in 1989 and was raised there. She began her B.F.A. studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2010 with concentrations in ceramics and photography. For this project she used a Canon Rebel XSi and a Canon 5D Mark II. Her images appear on pages 26 and 28–30. 
ANNA WOLAK, editor of What We Do Here Is Magic, was born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1985 and was raised in Wilkinson, Indiana. She attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 2009–2011 and received her M.A. in new arts journalism. For this project she used a Nikon D80 with various lenses. Her images appear on pages 32 and 34–38. 
CHRISTIAN NAM [christiannam.com] was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1991 and was raised in Buffalo Grove, Illinois. He began his B.F.A. studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2009 with a concentration in photography. For this project he used a Mamiya RZ67 Pro II. His images appear on pages 40, 42, and 43. 
ELAINE LI [lielaine.com] was born in Hong Kong in 1990 and was raised there. She began her B.F.A. studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2009 with a concentration in graphic design. For this project she used a Canon 5D Mark II and a “ghetto-studio made with white foam board, cloth, and lighting from around the apartment.” Her images appear on pages 44 and 46–49. 
HYOUNSANG YOO [hyounsangyoo.com] was born in Seoul, South Korea, in 1986 and was raised there. He attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 2009–2011 and received his B.F.A. with a concentration in photography. For this project he used a Sinar 4×5 large-format camera. His images appear on pages 50, 52, and 53. 
JULIA LACHMAN [julialachman.com] was born in Park Ridge, Illinois, in 1984 and was raised in Illinois. She received her B.F.A. with a concentration in photography and painting from Cornell University in 2006 and audited courses at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 2010–2011. For this project she used a Pentax K20D dslr. Her images appear on pages 54 and 57. 
JULIA REIS [juliareisphotography.com] was born in Carmel, Indiana, in 1989 and was raised there. She attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 2007–2011 and received her B.F.A. with a concentration in photography. For this project she used a Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III. Her images appear on pages 58, 60, and 61. 
KELLY MORRISON [kellymorrisonphotography.com] was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin, in 1984 and was raised there. She attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 2008–2011 and received her B.F.A. with a concentration in photography. For this project she used a Canon EOS 630 film camera with a 50mm fixed focal length lens. Her images appear on pages ii, 62, 64, and 65 
LEARNING ROSS was born in Seattle, Washington, in 1986 and was raised there. He began his B.F.A. studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2010 with a concentration in photography. For this project he used a Cambo Legend 4×5 view camera. “All images in the series were shot on 4×5 T-Max 100 film and processed in HC-110 for six and a half minutes. They were contact printed using a color diffusion-type enlarger head, exposed for nineteen seconds at f/16 with magenta at 200 and processed in Dektol for one and a half minutes.” His images appear on pages 2, 66, and 68–70. 
YOUNGHAK KIM [younghakkim.com] was born in Busan, Korea, in 1980 and was raised there. He attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 2008–2011 and received his B.F.A. with a concentration in photography. For this project he used a Nikon D3. His images appear on pages 72 and 75–78.