On more than one occasion I've been sitting at a table with friends and realized that everyone there has an iPhone. Or I'm in a group and one person is the weirdo who still has a Razr (come on - it's missing a letter!)  Anyway, by now whether you own an iPhone or not, you've been around one and you're aware that 'there's an app for that.' And people like to show off what they can do with those apps.

Where art is concerned, there are some very cool apps indeed.  Painting lion David Hockney has gotten attention lately for producing artwork with his iPhone - after like 70 years of painting with plain old brushes!  An example of a younger artist who's taken the iPhone as art tool to a whole new level is Jorge Columbo, who's even made work for some New Yorker magazine covers.

But all of these nifty iPhone tools are not so easy to find on your own, and then you can still use a little help figuring out how to master them.

So, there's a class for that!  The Chicago Art Department (CAD) is offering a 4-week iPhone art course to explore areas like photography, animation, drawing, sound, and output. As a group, participants will focus on knowledge-sharing,  developing individual projects while presenting progress each week.

Finally, artists will curate a group exhibition (including outside work from all around the world) to open in January in CAD's gallery, and everyone will finish with a better understanding of iPhone possibilities!

Course runs November 19 - January 8

@CAD West Studio, 1732 W. Hubbard

The only fee requirement is a $50 deposit, which is returned once the program is completed and if work is shown in the exhibition. If a participant doesn't complete program CAD keeps the money.  Oh, and of course you'll have to buy your own apps if there are any fees on that end.

4 Weeks:

1) November 19, 7-9pm
*) November 26 - Off for Thanksgiving
2) December 3, 7-9pm
3) December 10, 7-9pm
4) December 17, 7-9pm

Email mike@chicagoartdepartment.org for questions or to sign-up.