Chicago Mixed Media Artist Finds Beauty in Decay

Searching for objects to use in her artworks, Chicago artist Betsy van Die sometimes has to cut through foot-tall weeds to rummage through the rubble of abandoned buildings. But for van Die, the hunt is worth the effort to nurture her passion for finding beauty in the unexpected.

“I’ve seen unusual in the commonplace. I could make art out of anything,” van Die said.

Van Die began creating pieces out of photographs and miscellaneous objects she found at neglected sites of urban decay in 2010.

Now, she is showcasing her discoveries and creations in a solo exhibit called “Site Specific” at Boocoo Cultural Center at 1823 Church St. Van Die will host an artist’s reception at Boocoo next Friday, June 28 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The exhibit will be on display through July 19.

Van Die has explored forgotten, deteriorated spaces in New York, Denver and Chicago, but says Chicago is the city where she has found the most interesting sites. 

Once she’s found a place that sparks her interest, Van Die takes a variety of photos from a site, cuts them out with ragged edges and then turns the photographs into a three dimensional piece by incorporating objects she finds at the site.

Many of the sites from which van Die produces pieces disappear after a month or even a week.  A fire scene van Die collected relics from at Wabash and Michigan avenues became a parking lot soon after she put together her piece.

“I like that idea that it’s fleeting, and that I’m somehow capturing it and stopping time,” van Die said.

She works on a small scale to give her audience an experience similar to the experience she has of finding hidden beauty while examining abandoned sites up-close.

Van Die said she closely approaches the objects she uses, which creates an intimacy between herself and the scene. By choosing a small size for her pieces, she hopes to create a similar intimacy for her audience. She wants viewers to lean in closer to find the details.

Van Die said she also enjoys exposing scenes with odd juxtapositions—like she saw at an abandoned commercial property in Pilsen. As she looked down a basement stairwell, she noticed something that seemed out of place.

“There was an enormous amount of garbage,” van Die said. “But among the garbage was a bright pink teddy bear.” 

Van Die combines different vistas in the same piece. She used the image of the bear among the garbage for her piece and combined it with other visuals from around the site, like a photo of windows from around the corner. She typically uses two or three photographs for one piece, but she has used up to five.

She also works fast. Sometimes a piece will only take her a week to finish. “Once I am inspired by something, I can’t stop,” she said. 

She has found success recently, as six of her pieces were borrowed in March for a Chicago pilot of an undisclosed television show that will premiere in September.

Van Die is hoping to market her work more widely as she looks for other spaces to showcase her work after her exhibit at Boocoo comes to a close on July 19.