Gapers Block published from April 22, 2003 to Jan. 1, 2016. The site will remain up in archive form. Please visit Third Coast Review, a new site by several GB alumni.
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Monday, April 29
Brandon, a commenter on my last post, is spearheading a movement to bring Conan to Chicago. It's through his blog Chicago Wants Conan. If you want Conan to come to Chicago, join the Chicago Wants Conan Facebook group.
— Margaret Larkin
If you follow me on FourSquare you'll already know I was at the leet speak filled M155 4m3r1c4, or Miss America, last night at Noble & Superior Projects. I had never been there before and thought it'd be a hoot, and it was. Leet Speak refers to elite speak, because it is encoded, and there are plenty of variations to keep people, not in the know, busy for some time.
Noble & Superior Projects hosted what might have been more of a film screening than an art show, but either way I enjoyed the video. Patrick Bobilin was the Filmmaker of the pair of artists that made up M155 4m3r1c4. Patrick did an excellent job with his, part documentary part fictional self-portrait. It was a linier journey for the most part, although it utilized some wonderful symbolism and imagery to make social as well as cultural commentaries mainly revolving around cause and affect. For those of you that might be interested, you also have the opportunity to look at documentation collected during recording and referenced in the video.
In the kitchen of Noble & Superior Projects was a corresponding show, or a rider to Patrick's video and documentation, of Cara Anne Greene's curated culinary creations. That was cool too.
M155 4m3r1c4
Exhibiting through February 16
Noble & Superior Projects
— MartinJon
Rush Limbaugh! The Musical begins previews in The Second City e.t.c. Theatre on Sunday, January 31 at 2pm. Brought to you by the team that created Rod Blagojevich Superstar!, Rush Limbaugh! The Musical follows Rush from his humble youth to his meteoric rise to conservative talk radio fame. Tickets are $25 and can be ordered online.
— Dyan Flores
Hey everyone. Before I dive into this week's column, I wanted to alert to the single greatest event in film history, and it's happening the Friday before Valentine's Day right here in Chicago.
A lot has been written (some of it by me) about both the film The Room and its creator Tommy Wiseau in both the mainstream and underground press. The speculation has run rampant about both the man and his notorious work. Last year at Comic-Con, I came this close to securing an interview with Wiseau, but we just couldn't make our schedules sync up. But I did talk to him on the phone for a bit, and was like I'd put my ear up to the mouth of God.
— Steve Prokopy / Comments (1)
It's a relaxing way to spend your Saturdays: Chicago Gallery News leads a free tour every Saturday (rain, snow or shine) through various River North galleries and every sixth Saturday (the next taking place on Jan. 30) they host a guided West Loop gallery tour.
So that means this Saturday, there are two tours to choose from--or do both.
The River North Tour will meet at Starbucks, 750 N. Franklin St. at 11am and will be lead by Addington Gallery. The tour will be showcasing Byron Roche Gallery, 750 N. Franklin St. (which opens Jan. 30 and will be Roche's last showing in this space), Ken Saunders Gallery, 230 W. Superior St., Jennifer Norback Gallery, 215 W. Huron St. and then Addington Gallery, 704 N. Wells St.
The West Loop Tour will be lead by Thomas McCormick Gallery and will visit and meet at Walsh Gallery, 118 N. Peoria St., 2nd floor, at 1:30pm. The tour will continue to Dubhe Carreno Gallery, in the same building; Western Exhibitions, 119 N Peoria St.; and then Thomas McCormick Gallery, W. Washington Blvd.
The tours are free and no reservations are required. For more information visit the Chicago Gallery News website for art tour details.
*The photo above is "Mexcian Retablos" at Byron Roche Gallery
— John Lendman
Award-winning choreographer Margi Cole and The Dance COLEctive present "Meet Me There," a premiere performance that focuses on the "Me/I" generation. For this group, an "all about me" ideal is persistent; to address this issue, Cole, who collaborates with choreographer Jeff Hancock, explores "personal boundary and identity" and how this concept affects relationships with others and with oneself.
The Dance COLEective's "Meet Me There" is playing at The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, Thursday through Saturday, January 28-30, 8pm. Tickets are $22; $18 for students and seniors. For more information, visit The Dance COLEctive or call 773-604-8452.
— LaShawn Williams
Do you know what your alderman looks like? Mine has a mustache. Ever had the urge to make a painting of your alderman? Now is your chance. Johalla Projects is putting on a show, titled 50 ALDERMAN/50 ARTISTS, which is pretty much what it sounds like. 50 artists from across Chicago (you could be one of them) will choose one alderman to feature in a 16″x22″ portrait, using their media of choice. There is a point to this -- participating artists will be required to interview or at least attempt to interview the alderman they are depicting. The idea is to use art as a vehicle for learning about the people who represent us at city hall -- to foster an understanding of local politics and more involvement in our communities.
— Kelly Reaves
The Art Institute is free the whole month of February, so you have no more excuses. For what it's worth, my personal favorites in the new wing include Charles Ray's "Hinoki", Gerhard Richter's "Candle", Bruce Nauman's "Clown Torture", and Peter Doig's "Gasthof zur Muldentalsperre." Go, check them out, and let me know if you agree.
Doig's "Gasthof zur Muldentalsperre", photo courtesy of the AIC
— Kelly Reaves
In Pilsen, there used to be place called the Whale. It was actually just a residence, but it represented much more because it was the base of operations for a society of creatives and intellectuals (but not the hoity toity type) called the "Order of the Lamprey." People from every imaginable background would meet there to enjoy the finer things in life-- mostly art making, pig roasting, doohickey inventing, cold beer, and heated discussion.
Now the Whale is gone, and everything in it, because it burned down on December 17. Kenneth Morrison, Michelle Faust, and Nat Ward, the trio who started the Order of the Lamprey and lived in the building, lost all of their posessions. Since the fire, though, an astounding number of Chicagoans have stepped up to the plate, coming together in support. A Facebook group has been started which serves as a vehicle for recovery, or at least the first step, helping friends of the Whale connect with each other. Check it out, join the group, and if you have any money left over after helping out the Haitians, help these guys out too by donating to their Paypal account. (The email address to use to donate to them through Paypal is natmichellehideout@gmail.com.) Also, Bridgeport's wonderful Co-Prosperity Sphere is hosting a benefit party for the Whale on February 5. Check out our listing in Slowdown for the details.
The destroyed kitchen at the Whale
— Kelly Reaves
I'm sure I'm not the only person to say this, but now that Conan O'Brien is off the "Tonight Show," why doesn't he just come here? Oprah is leaving anyway, and he's done his show here before (at the Chicago Theater). Or are we just fly-over country?
(photo from the Department of Defense)
— Margaret Larkin / Comments (3)
This article was submitted to us by Amy Ganser, a freelance writer in Chicago.
"Comedy is tragedy plus time," said Carol Burnet. The hodgepodge of characters gathered for the Bavarian comedy The Wedding may not sport lederhosen but are tragicomic figures at heart. Tuta Theatre presents the 1919 Bertolt Brecht classic (whose work is performed throughout Germany more often than Shakespeare) with a modernized approach featuring original music by Jesse Terrill (and a smidgen of Brittney Spears) mixed with flapper-style evening wear and tailored tweed suits in homage to the roaring 1920's bourgeoisie. The wedding party includes a contemptuous mother of the groom played by Laurie Larson who compulsively instructs her son which piece of fish to choose for dinner.
Throughout the 70-minute performance her dismal gaze and pathetic longing for her grown son reach the audience beyond the limits of comical one-liners. The groom's friend (Andy Hager) instigates a kind of sexual chess game among all guests, married or not, beginning with a hilarious and remarkably not exaggerated scene where Hager's character randomly pleasures a female wedding guest beneath the dinner table. As the wine flows ("It makes the conversation better!") the antics remain impressively understated with the casts' brilliant use of movement, expression, and time in this highly overstated satirical take on German bourgeois society.
The Wedding runs now through February 14 at Chopin Theatre Studio, 1543 W. Division. Tickets are $20 for students and seniors, $25 for everyone else.
— A/C
Tommy Wiseau, producer/director/writer/star of cult classic The Room, will be present for a pair of screenings of his masterpiece at the Music Box on Feb. 12 -- and our very own Steve Prokopy will be conducting a rare Q&A with him!
The screenings are at 8pm and 11:30pm, with Q&As following each screening. Steve will be leading the questions for the 8pm show; AV Club Chicago's Steve Heisler will oversee the late show. Advance tickets are $15, or $20 with a copy of The Room on DVD -- which is a deal over Amazon's $8.99. And the whole thing is a bargain for lovers of fine cinema.
— Andrew Huff
The Nancy Kerrigan vs. Tonya Harding saga of the 1990s is still in the news. And now it is on stage at Gorilla Tango Theatre for an irreverent, if not therapeutic, musical about the two darling figure skaters who whined and assaulted through the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics.
Whack! The Tonya Harding & Nancy Kerrigan Story, a Karaoke Musical come from the same folks who brought you C.U. Next Tuesday: The Amy Fisher Story, a Karaoke Musical and The Mary Kay Letourneau Story, a Karaoke Musical.
The performance is complete with Kerrigan's visually-impaired mother, Harding's morally questionable boyfriend, Jeff Gillooly and about a dozen songs of Disney tunes that have been reworked for this epic tale that defined the 1990s just about as much as tight-rolled jeans.
Whack! The Tonya Harding & Nancy Kerrigan Story, a Karaoke Musical plays Thursdays at 9:30pm until Feb. 25 at Gorilla Tango Theatre, 1919 N. Milwaukee Ave. Tickets are $15; to purchase tickets call 773-598-4549 or visit www.gorillatango.com.
— Margo O'Hara / Comments (1)
Chicago writer James Kennedy's 2008 young adult fantasy book, The Order of Odd-Fish has not only gotten a lot of attention lately, it's inspired a slew of fan art. The artistic mediums seem to be just as creative as Kennedy's story, from a Belgian beer named after the villian to a cake depicting a fish vomiting out a high-rise. There are also a bunch of lovely cut-paper illustrations by high-schooler Max Pitchkites-- one for every chapter of the book, in fact.
Kennedy is so impressed with all the fan art he has decided to organize an art show/costumed dance party to celebrate and exhibit it, in collaboration with Collaboraction, which he says will most likely open on April 17. People will dress up as gods and do battle-dancing in the Dome of Doom, and then the fan art as well as the elaborate installation itself with stay up for a while. If you'd like to make something to be included in the show, you're in luck-- he's accepting submissions through March 1. Visit his incredibly entertaining blog for more information about submissions as well as the multitude of interesting anecdotes and Odd-Fish-related events going on around Chicago over the next few months.
"Fish Vomiting Lodge Cake" by Elise Carlson
— Kelly Reaves
Howard Barker: Mission accomplished.
In my preview piece of this very production, I described Howard Barker's Theatre of Catastrophe as "rarely elicit[ing] the same response from any one audience member, creating a chaotic environment that is rife with dialogue." While a tad slipshod and borderline incoherent at times (keep in mind I saw a preview), Oracle Theatre's production of Barker's The Castle revels in its chaos, doing the audience no favors as they shriek and cackle their way through one of the most exciting shows I've seen this season. Mission accomplished, indeed.
Check out my preview piece for a plot synopsis, though it likely won't do much for you. There is a story here, but the strength of Oracle's production lies in the palpable sense of chaos created by this top-notch ensemble. Characters come and go, lingering on the sidelines as they play with the lights and interact with the audience, acknowledging every artifice with a grin as the most tragic of events play out in their midst. Interludes become frightening as the clatter and bang of the castle's builders echo clamorously from every corner of Oracle's tiny black box space. It's an unstable world that is enlivened further by the dedication of the performers, all of whom are occupying the same delirious universe.
— Randall Colburn / Comments (1)
I went to my first Peregrine Program opening, which happened to be only their third, to see ChicagoLand, a show that consisted of work by Daniel Lavitt. After seeing it I found it difficult to talk about this show to others, because I wasn't sure what it was to be honest. It was kind of a series of sculptures, but it was also utilizing electronics. One piece in particular was an homage to the late Roger Brown-- a house sculpture, which was hung on the wall. When you interacted with the door, the lights in the windows went on.
The whole show apparently has a technology theme dealing with the electronics of these lights that are part of the pieces. It is set up so that you can view the work in an ascending order of the artist's technological prowess. The final piece in the show, the most advanced technologically, really caught my imagination. It was part of a house sticking out of a wall, like those damn baseballs people put on their car's rear window, and the lights in the house are on until you approach it. This is where the advanced technology comes in, although not extremely advanced in the grand scheme of programming, the lights turning off as someone approaches, has a lot to say. Actually, I spoke to the artist about this and the house was a replica of his first apartment in Chicago, and because he didn't like his room mates, he would often pretend not to be home by turning off the lights as they would approach.
I left a bit unsure if it was a sculpture show, that had some electronics, or an electronics show that used sculpture as a vehicle. In the end I guess it doesn't matter but what might matter is that we have a new space in Chicago called PEREGRINEPROGRAM, and although it is only a 13" X 23" box, the owner Edmund Chia is showing what he likes and I am always excited about new spaces showing new things.
— MartinJon
I heard that Roe Conn and Cisco Cotto were on TV, and now the proof has surfaced, thanks to the embedding feature on the CBS news site. Cisco said how their TV appearance came about isn't "a very sexy story": CBS was looking for reactions to the Scott Brown victory, so they sent a camera to WLS Radio. Cisco and Roe briefly appear just past five minutes into the newscast below.
— Margaret Larkin
Chicago Improv Festival Productions is proud to announce the finals for the third annual College Improv Tournament on Saturaday Jan. 23 at 8pm, at pH Productions (3310 N. Sheffield). The tournament is open to the public, tickets are $15 public/$10 students and are available for purchase at pH Productions the day of the competition.
The regional competition, which determines the tournament's finalists, will be held throughout the day at 12pm, 2pm and 4pm, also at pH Productions. Tickets are $10 public/$5 students for the preliminary rounds.
For more information about the College Improv Tournament or Chicago Improv Festival Productions, please visit http://www.chicagoimprovfestival.org.
— Dyan Flores
The Dance Center of Columbia College welcomes the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan and its performance of Moon Water. "Cloud Gate" is the name of what is considered to be China's the oldest dance form, dating back around 5,000 years ago.
Moon Water, Chinese for 'shui yuei', is a metaphor that describes Tai Chi practitioners' mindset ("Energy flows as water, while the spirit shines as the moon.") and a Buddhist proverb ("Flowers in a mirror and moon on the water are both illusory."). Choreographer Lin Hwai-min uses these quotes as inspiration to create a fluid, expressive piece rooted in the Taoist philosophy.
The piece, with inspired moves from the Chi Kung exercise Tai Chi Tao Yin, is performed on a stage in an all-black setting, accented by white brush strokes that resemble water ripples; near the end, the dancers are soaked in water that flows onto the stage.
The Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan's Moon Water runs Friday and Saturday, January 22 and 23 at 8pm at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park, 205 E. Randolph. Tickets are $30-$65. For more information, visit The Dance Center of Columbia College or call 312-369-8330.
— LaShawn Williams
When the boys are away, the women will play. Perhaps nowhere else is this sentiment more thoroughly lampooned than in Howard Barker's The Castle, opening this weekend at Oracle Theatre. The Castle explores the social and cultural unrest of 1980's Western civilization by way of the Crusades, following a pious knight, his retainer and a servant as they discover their once God-fearing estate has been turned into a free-love bastian of feminist ideals. The knight desperately tries to restore order by building walls, triggering a series of events best described as "absurd", "repulsive" and "nauseating".
Never beholden to an audience's roaring approval, Barker coined the term Theatre of Catastrophe to describe his work. Reveling in their instability and ambiguity, Barker's plays rarely elicit the same response from any one audience member, creating a chaotic environment that is rife with dialogue. Expect Oracle's production to be no different, presenting The Castle's harsh, deceptive characters with the sort of eccentric irony that will both confound and amuse.
The Castle previews tonight and opens tomorrow, running through March 6. Shows are Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sundays at 7pm. Oracle Theatre is located at 3809 N. Broadway and admission is a $10 donation at the door.
Oh, and I hear there are lesbian anarchists.
— Randall Colburn
Less than a month ago, I named the ensemble drama Crossing Over as the single worst movie I saw in 2009. The overwrought film that dealt with the many aspects of immigration literally buried itself with do-gooder intention, terrible writing, and largely phoned-in performances, including what I would consider the single laziest and least-inspired work I've ever seen from Harrison Ford. But Ford's latest work, Extraordinary Measures, might be just a tiny bit worse, but not because Ford isn't trying. If anything, he's trying waaaaay too hard, as is the movie-of-the-week screenplay that lays the groundwork for one of the most overly sentimental films I've seen outside the Lifetime network in a very long time.
— Steve Prokopy
Looks like the Alliance Française de Chicago and the French Consulate of Chicago have prepared quite a treat for the city's art-enthusiasts this Thursday: Musée du Louvre curator of sculpture, Isabelle Leroy-Jay Lemaistre explaining what it is that makes a masterpiece.
The way we define art over centuries of iconic masters and their worldly masterpieces can take an army of art history professor's their life's work to explain-objectively or subjectively. So, what better place to learn then from the perspective of the most visited museum in the world?
Lemaistre will lead the lecture in three critical themes: the changing historical and cultural definitions of a masterpiece (in paintings, sculpture, decorative arts and drawings); authenticity and connoisseurship (what makes an expert); and the evolution of taste and scholarship (the changes in adoration over time).
The event is followed by a vin d'honneur (reception in French).
Tickets for the Thursday, Jan 21st lecture can be purchased for $10 (for non-members) at the Alliance website. The 6:30pm
event will take place at the Alliance Française de Chicago's 54 W. Chicago Ave. entrance.
— John Lendman
New York based SHoP architecture firm was founded in 1997 by Coren Sharples, her husband, her husband's twin brother and another married couple. With a business doubling as a family, "you can't be a jerk to the people you work with because you have to go home to them," Sharples said last night at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) for a lecture that was part of their Studio is the Subject series. Sharples began the talk with a description of SHoP's business practices that focus on ethics (they have never had an unpaid intern) and innovative design (the "kit of parts" idea).
The kit of parts refers to models they remembered putting together as kids that came with the "sheet" of parts you could pop out and fit together. Referring to this concept, when SHoP sends out the pieces for a project, materialized and cut by computer, to a construction site, the laborers rarely have to measure or even cut. A little over a year ago, SHoP added SHoP Construction to further the in-house simplicity.
Sharples, accompanied by a slide show, also chronicled quite a few projects. This was the most fascinating portion of the lecture. Sharples explained the firm's preference for sometimes working with smaller projects because of their ability to experiment. "The big rich people say they want something different, something no one's ever done before, but really there is too much money involved. They don't want to be guinea pigs," she said. She walked the audience through the process of the Museum of Modern Art's summer installation that had a budget of $50,000 and 4 weeks to be completed. Another highlight was SHoP's installation for DIFFA and Supima Cotton, which involved enormous cotton bolls conceptualized into a wall used for one event that could be packed flat and reused again and again.
There are seven more events for The Studio is the Subject series through May 22 and a full list can be found on the MCA's website.
— Whitney Stoepel
Interview with Art Shay from ThomasMastersGallery on Vimeo.
Art Shay's footprint on Chicago photography is colossal. Shay's (unbelievably) first color exhibition opened at Thomas Masters Gallery on North Avenue in Old Town last Friday. The homey vintage space with creaky floors made Thomas Masters a perfect host for this show.
Shay shot for Time, Sports Illustrated and was a Chicago-based photojournalist for Life. In the entrance is a list of quotes from celebrities like Roger Ebert, Hugh Hefner, Studs Terkel, and David Mamet who said "I have one of Art Shay's pictures over my desk. It reminds me every morning of my Chicago roots. Art photos, like me, have the Chicago accent, which is to say he's telling you the truth."
The show is packed with recognizable faces like President Kennedy, Andy Warhol, Johnny Cash, Jimmy Hoffa, and a few wonderfully moving pictures of and about Martin Luther King, Jr. After the assassination of King, Shay talked his way into the building across from the hotel and snapped a photo of the murderer's handprint on the wall, highlighted by police fingerprint dust. It took my breath away.
It would be easy to spend a good hour in Thomas Masters, wandering from each photo to the next. There is a description or anecdote from Shay under every photo, which heightens that magical feeling of finding dusty boxes of old magazines in your grandma's attic and experiencing nostalgia whether or not you lived through the sixties.
— Whitney Stoepel / Comments (2)
Tonight at 9:30, "Paranormal Cops" is going to be premiering on A&E. According to the site, the show "follows a group of larger-than-life cops who walk one beat during the day as real-life Chicago-area police officers and another at night when they apply their forensic and investigative expertise to paranormal casework...As they investigate, the team will also uncover the dark underworld of Chicago's sordid history, which will both inform and enrich their cases as they seek to rid people of the fears that plague them."
If you miss it at 9:30, you'll get a chance to see it at other times. See the schedule for details.
— Margaret Larkin / Comments (9)
Before Laura Letinsky's opening last Saturday, I hadn't been in Monique Meloche's new location on the west side of nightlife mecca, Wicker Park. I assumed it would be a giant space that showcased her stamp on the art scene, especially when I looked in from the outside and saw the 10 by 25 foot, psychedelic mural by Assume Vivid Astro Focus in the window that certainly didn't suggest modesty. However, I was baffled when I realized Letinsky's show was comprised of only five photos. Five! I am so impressed by Meloche's confidence and ability to surprise.
Letinsky is a still life photographer. But these photos are not Cezanne's apples and pears. They are delicately morbid, always suggesting something slightly depraved has taken place just before the photo was taken. The pictures involve objects like fruit, eggs, oysters, birds, and unidentifiable furry creatures, all gutted or skinned. However, Letinsky's meticulous placement of these objects indicates care on the artist's part and ere on the side of quixotic rather than gore.
This show is titled The Dog and the Wolf which partly refers to the French phrase L'heure entre chien et loup--the time when both dog and wolf are seen when dusk becomes night. Unlike Letinsky's last photos, set in daylight, these have a beautifully melancholic atmosphere when set at dusk. Almost always, there lies a wrinkled white tablecloth beneath the objects, adding texture and shadow. Dead flowers and wine stains add a nostalgic and romantic approach to these photos as well. Letinsky also has an unsettling talent for skewing perspective, shoving the table to the very foreground and leaving an uncomfortably large, grey background or giving the tables an apocryphal lack of depth.
Exhibiting only five photos invited in depth analysis of the photographs that perhaps a larger show would not have afforded. Letinksy's work is both inviting and confrontational and simply put, really really good. The show closes on March 13, 2010.
— Whitney Stoepel
Most theater companies define themselves by what they want. Jeremy Menekseoglu, artistic director of Chicago's Dream Theatre Company, knows exactly what he doesn't.
No fourth wall. No superfluous roles. No poor roles for women. No living rooms. No boundaries of realism. By articulating these rules, Dream Theatre is more efficiently able to arrive at what it is they do desire, a destruction of the barrier between actor and audience.
It began in Russia. As students at the Moscow Art Theatre in the late 90's, Menekseoglu and three friends started the company to explore this tricky relationship.
"We wanted a theatre in which the audience became a part of the story," Menekseoglu says. "A real part."
Originally dubbed the Theatre for Humanity, the company was interested in personal psychology over politics. In the midst of his struggle to find a common ground, a place where everyone could relate, Menekeseoglu had a dream. It turned out to be his revelation. "No matter who we were or how different we were, we all could relate to one another in our subconscious."
So...Dream Theatre. It begins.
— Randall Colburn
Mary's Wedding is the first play in Rivendell Theatre Ensemble's 2010 season, a yearlong exploration of war as it is seen through the eyes of a woman. Unfortunately, Mary's Wedding is less a thoughtful exploration of war than a mildly effective, overly familiar period romance. The year is 1914, the country is Canada, and we find ourselves in a barn as British immigrant Mary forms a hesitant connection with "dirty farm boy" Charlie. As often happens in stories like these, Mary's mother doesn't approve...that is, until Charlie volunteers for the Canadian Calvary. Time becomes fluid in Stephen Massicotte's script as we drift back and forth from their early days to the trenches and their written correspondence. It's a clever convention that should probably feel fresher than it does here.
Not to say Rivendell's production doesn't have its moments. The set is simple and sufficient, neatly divided between the barn and the trenches, offering the actors plenty of space to play. Cassandra Bissel is warm and likeable as Mary, drawing an extra amount of pathos through her dual role as Sergeant Flowerdew, Charlie's commanding officer. Shane Kenyon's Charlie, on the other hand, is too much of a fragile creature, so cute and good-natured that he comes off as more of a stuffed animal than a flesh and blood person. The production does a fine job of highlighting the horrors of war, but since it all goes to serve their doomed romance it offers little modern resonance. It's sad, sure, but we get it, which gets at what really bothered me about Mary's Wedding: It all just feels so familiar. You'll be moved, but not too moved. You'll laugh, but not very hard. While pretty and well-intentioned, it's exactly the sort of play your jaded theatre-hating friend expect it to be. That's not a bad thing, of course, but is it your thing?
Mary's Wedding runs through February 20 at the Raven Theatre's West Stage (6157 N. Clark St). Tickets are $22 and may be purchased online or by calling 773-334-7728. Photo by Mark Campbell.
— Randall Colburn
Bill Boyce is a sculptor and metal fabricator that has an uncanny sense of how things could go together. His work flows, and organically comes together so consistently beautiful that I would say it is remarkable. Bill will be on a follow up interview on ChicagoArts Live on Tuesday January 26 at 7:30pm. You are invited to participate by asking questions or making comments about Bill, his work or the interview.
— MartinJon / Comments (1)
I was at the Media Monolith, aka 190 North State Street, which houses various radio and TV outlets, including ESPN and WLS-TV. I was in the waiting area downstairs and saw a guy and a woman dressed in identical sweatsuits discussing what seemed like a segment that they were going to be doing that day.
So I asked them if they were going to go on TV, and they looked at me as if I was asking them for money. They eventually said "yes" and I told them that I write for this site, which means I'll be able to write something about them. They looked at me again as if I was deranged, and they mumbled something about "[blah blah] exercises for 2010". So I asked them if they were going to go on Channel 7, and the guy started listing exercises they were going to do.
Um, that's not what I was asking, but apparently they were so freaked out, they didn't want to incriminate themselves by being specific or forthright about their purpose at the Monolith.
— Margaret Larkin
Sometimes it's better to stay in and watch a movie. You can curl up with your blanket and stare at the screen for hours wearing whatever you want to. What could be better? If you find yourself this weekend in this lazy but intelligent mood hop on your computer and watch the short local film Marlin. Starting today and ending on Sunday, January 17, director, writer, and producer Matt Dworzanczyk has made his first production available for stream on the film's official website. You can watch the film as is or have the option to watch it with Dworzanczyk's commentary via links from the site. The Columbia College graduate took heavy inspiration from folk and fairy tales to create a twisted story about a kidnapper Marlin who steals war orphans in hopes of using them to regain his past childhood memories. As his attempts fail, Marlin puts his last hopes on a little girl named Fawn who believes him to be Santa Claus. So gather those blankets, fire up your computer, and watch Marlin in the comfort of your own home while it's still available.
— Amy Dittmeier
I've poured over all of the possible synonyms for the first word that popped into my brain to describe the long-overdue new movie from The Hughes Brothers (From Hell, Dead Presidents, Menace II Society, American Pimp), but nothing quite does it justice. So I'll just say it: The Book of Eli is a cool movie. It's not a great movie; it's far from a masterpiece. But it is unabashedly cool, and I don't use that word often. But when you combine one of the coolest American actors of his generation and pit him against one of the coolest British actors ever and then throw in Tom Waits in a supporting part, well, that math lands you squarely at Cool.
— Steve Prokopy
I do not normally do this but this one is from the heart, as they say. I found out less than an hour ago that someone I know died in Haiti. I have never been, nor did I have any inclination to travel to Haiti, but many people that I know have done just that. Two in particular were in Haiti during the recent earthquake.
Sue Frame, who I had lived and worked with for a number of years, thankfully survived although Flo McGarrell did not. I did not know Flo well enough to feel comfortable speaking about him too much, but I will say he was one of the strongest people I knew, and although I may not have spent long hours getting to know Flo, I do know there is an absence in the world without him.
Sue and Flo were in Jacmel, Haiti, building an artist's center. The last I heard was that there was trouble getting the container of tools they had collected past customs. That school has fallen down the priority list, now that things like fresh water have been added to the list of needs of the Haitian people.
In response to this loss of a Chicago Area artist, there is a small group of Chicagoans starting an art raffle to help give back to those giving to Haiti. If you are an artist, artisan or anyone willing to donate items to this raffle, please upload images and descriptions to this flickr page. Every $5 donated to Doctors Without Borders between Wednesday the 13th and Thursday the 21st will buy you one raffle ticket; just send your confirmation letter to AlexPolotsky@gmail.com. For more information, visit haitiaidraffle.wordpress.com/. Thank you.
— MartinJon / Comments (11)
Hey everybody, just a quick note to let you all know that Chicago Tribune Books editor Amy Guth, Heather Momyer (303 Magazine, Exquisite Corpse, wordriver, PANK, Robot Melon), Make Magazine co-founder Mike Zapata and Fiction editor Tom Mundt--and little ol' me, Ramsin--will be reading at Cafe Wha Who?, 228 W Chicago Ave., on Friday. Doors open at 8pm.
— Ramsin Canon
Hot & Heavy Burlesque's Tribute to The Wall is very clearly a love letter. Conceived and performed by fans to fan of Pink Floyd, it is that emotional investment that keeps the show interesting and engaging. This show has a heartbeat.
— Katie Donbavand / Comments (3)
Why does "Tabatha's Salon Takeover" like Illinois so much? This week was her third trip this season to our state, and this time, she went to Earth Moon Sun in Western Springs.
It contained the usual problems: lazy staff, debt, chaos, sloppy management. But what caught my eye was when the owner, Janeen Nufer, yelled out her frustrations towards Lake Michigan.
That's what I want to do! I want to yell, "It is too cold!" "Why is it so hard to make decent money?!" "I want that guy to pay for what he did!"
I've walked along Lake Michigan several times, wanting to scream at the top of my lungs to let out my frustration about unfair situations. But I've never done it because I didn't want people to think I was crazy. But now that I saw Janeen do it, I want to do it too! Even right now!
— Margaret Larkin
The youth theatre company For Children, By Children (FCBC) is used to performing in shows that address a variety of subject matter, but this month, things are turned up a notch. In Silent Screams, the troupe will take on the teen homelessness, an issue that is affecting youth all over the nation.
Rod Lewis, FCBC artistic director and producer is aware of the heavy subject matter, but recognizes the importance of the issue and feels the story must be told. "I have a colleague who is affiliated with Stand Up For Kids, a non-profit organization for homeless and runaway teens. She asked me to write a play about homeless teens in Chicago to help raise awareness for their cause."
— LaShawn Williams / Comments (1)
Chicago comedian Deon Cole, who also doubles as a staff writer on "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien," offers the talk show host an interesting perspective about all the late night goings-on at NBC:
Interesting, indeed!
— LaShawn Williams
They're funny, they're smart, they're sassy, they're playing a run of shows at iO on Thursday nights at 8pm. Check them out!
Dominizuelan Presents: People in the City, Thursdays at 8pm at iO (3541 N. Clark St.)
Tickets are $10 and are available by calling 773-880-0199 or for sale at the door.
— Dyan Flores
There's not much that can get me off the couch and into the snow drifts during a Chicago winter storm warning, but Vaudezilla's weekly Thursday night burlesque shows are well worth the risk of frostbite.
The Blue Bayou hosts the free weekly burlesque show and their classic Cajun motto, "Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez" (Let The Good Times Roll), dovetails nicely with the Vaudezilla's razzle dazzle burlesque philosophy. Out with the Clothes in with the Nudes!, hosted by the quick quipping Dick Dijon, is pure, distilled burlesque. There's no fancy lighting, fog machines, or other gimmicks here- nor any need for them. The girls step daintily down the bar top, in between drinks, to a little wedge of a stage and give it their all.
— Katie Donbavand
The Chicago Community Trust has received a second journalism-oriented grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The $202,000 grant is from the foundation's Knight Community Information Challenge and will provide funding for a second year of the Community News Matters program, of which Gapers Block is an awardee. Other regional recipients of the Challenge include community foundations in Michigan and Wisconsin.
The official summary of the Trust's project reads as follows:
To stimulate new ways to provide the Chicago region with critical local news and information, The Chicago Community Trust has launched Community News Matters, a grant program to support the city's media innovators. The Knight Foundation support will help fund projects designed to increase the flow of high-quality information to the public and to develop new distribution and business models. In addition, the Trust will conduct a study examining the region's information infrastructure -- its strengths and weaknesses -- and convene a conference on the topic.
— David Schalliol
On February 26 and 27, threewalls gallery will host Chasing Two Rabbits as part of a two week animation festival featuring animation programs curated by local and national artists. Chasing Two Rabbits is a special event curated by Sonia Yoon and Shannon Stratton that pairs animators with live performances by sound artists and musicians.
Inspired by the experimental films of Norman McLaren, who combined abstract imagery (including scratching and painting into the film stock in earlier work, as well as paper cut-outs and live action and dance) with imaginative music and sound, Chasing Two Rabbits acts to pair artists in both genres to produce a unique event with sound and vision illuminating each other.
Currently threewalls is looking for proposals from both animators and sound artists and/or musicians who would like their work to be matched up with each other's. Pairings will be chosen from submissions, with animations provided to musicians and sound artists to review and score for live performance in February.
Animators can submit pieces for sound, no longer than 10 minutes in length, on DVD. Sound artists can send audio files (mp3, aiff, wav) on CD to Chasing Two Rabbits, c/o threewalls, 119 N Peoria #2D, Chicago, IL, 60607 or can send files or links to Shannon and Sonia c/o rabbits@three-walls.org. Materials must be submitted by this Friday, January 15.
— Kelly Reaves
Pearl Art and Craft is closing several stores across the country, and the Chicago store is among them. Everything in the store is 50% off, so deals are to be had even with furniture and easels. How often can you pick up a solid oak easel for half off?
— Christian Scheuer / Comments (3)
Pittsburgh artists Susanne Slavick had a show open Friday, January 8 entitled R&R(...&R) in the northern most of the Cultural Center's Michigan Avenue galleries. Susanne works with photographs she finds on the internet of war, desolation and/or destruction. After finding the images she wants to work with, she often digitally manipulates them, but that is far from the beauty that is her artwork. Her poetic images come from her painting over these found photographs with gouache. Her use of contradiction and the way she hints at the unknown is uncanny and attracted me immediately.
The piece that was getting a lot of attention while I was there was "Remorse: White Curtains." This piece was based off a photo of a building in which Susanne had painted thin white curtains billowing from its windows. The delicate way in which she painted the curtains and the obvious lack of people made the work eerie and have an overall feeling of desolation or desertion. These sorts of desolate feelings were not consistent throughout the show thankfully; part of the show also consisted of a series of desert landscapes in which Susanne painted this welling up of water from holes in the ground. These works read as hopeful. The style in which she painted these and most of her other pieces were derived from Persian masters.
— MartinJon / Comments (3)
Three interesting shows of paintings and drawings open tonight at Packer Schopf Gallery. Jason Lahr shows DEATHMETALHIPPIEKILLER, Tim Vermeulen shows Moby Dick, and Gene Hamilton shows Vent Figure Fun! (Ventriloquist Dummy Portraits).
According to the press release, "Jason Lahr's [work] integrates darkly comic texts with appropriated images, creating shifting narratives of working class male identity as influenced by popular culture." In other words, you might say he makes "dude art." He might be a masculinist! (Yes, it's a real thing.) Either way, I'm intrigued. Gene Hamilton-- an artist, actor, and ventriloquist, presents us with very creepy and strangely hilarious dummy paintings. Tim Vermeulen is showing Moby Dick paintings-- small, figurative, autobiographical work, inspired by the epic novel, addressing giant themes of existence and consciousness. Although the subjects are heavy, the paintings appear lighthearted and are fun to examine. The aesthetic is similar to the Hamilton paintings in their detailed, colorful, almost "outsider" rendering, but the heady subjects seem very insider.
This show looks like it will be colorful-- literally and figuratively-- and good enough to warrant trudging through the snow this afternoon to attend the opening (from 5-7pm). Have no fear, though, if you miss the opening you've got until February 13 to check it out. Packer Schopf gallery is located at 942 W. Lake Street. Visit their website for more information about the show and the gallery's hours.
Gene Hamilton at work, photo courtesy of Packer Schopf and the artist
— Kelly Reaves / Comments (1)
It's no secret that the world is being bombarded with vampire movies and TV shows. The best of the recent crop is Sweden's Let the Right One In; there's no debating that. It's a fact, so shut up. But I put to you that coming in at a close second is this week's Daybreakers, a science-fiction terror film with a deep subtext about exploiting natural resources and human greed. Rightfully and blessedly so, the film also features nasty monsters, gore galore (both thanks to WETA Workshop), and an exceptional cast of actors, led by Ethan Hawke as a blood researcher and reluctant vampire (he refuses to drink human blood) determined to find a blood substitute before the human blood supply runs out in a world dominated by vampires.
— Steve Prokopy
Theatre Zarko: Puppet Symbolist Theatre is exactly that. Combining puppets, surrealism and unique storytelling, Theatre Zarko aims to provide Chicago with a broader vision of the art form of the puppet by creating a venue for experimental puppet theatre and eventually opening a school of puppetry arts. Their latest show, The Sublime Beauty of Hands and Klown Kantos, ran this past fall to sold-out houses, but is getting a two-week run this month at Evanston's excellent Next Theatre Company.
The Sublime Beauty of Hands "explores the vicious cycle of destruction and repair caused by our modern technologies" using original puppetry and surrealistic images. The second half of the evening, Klown Kantos, offers a collection of physical comedy pieces, lighter in tone but no less challenging. Both shows were written and directed by Theatre Zarko Artistic Director Michael Montenegro, who is also a Jeff Award winner for his work on Writer's Theatre's production of The Puppet Master of Lodz.
Theatre Zarko is the first company showcased in Next's new Dark Night Series, which offers non-traditional artists Next's 130-seat theatre on nights when their regular productions are not running. This gives Next the freedom to keep admission prices low while offering diverse performance artists a venue to expand their audience.
Theatre Zarko's The Sublime Beauty of Hands and Klown Kantos runs through January 17 at Next Theatre Company in the Noyes Cultural Center (927 Noyes Street) in Evanston. Performances start at 7:30 on Fridays and Saturdays and 3pm on Sundays. Tickets start at $20 but discounts are offered to groups, attendees 25 years and younger, and full-time students. Purchase them online by calling the box office at (847) 475-1875 x2.
Puppet Symbolist Theatre. Seriously. When else are you going to see that?
— Randall Colburn
Wow, my 2010 wish for Bill Zwecker has been granted: he will be back on TV with Fox Chicago. See all the info at the Fox site.
— Margaret Larkin
There's a lot of great sketch comedy in town over the next few weeks, but what about if you prefer your comedy unscripted?
Opening this Friday, January 8th, Gorilla Tango Theatre presents the $1,000 GTT IMPROV THING, a 36-team improv comedy tournament, with $1,000, a spot at the 2010 Chicago Improv Festival, and a six-pack of 7 pound hot dogs from BigHotDog.com at stake. Think of it as March Madness crossed with a comedy show and a pack of hot dogs.
The show runs every Friday and Saturday night at 8pm until January 30, with additional preliminary rounds on Sunday, January 10 at 5pm and 9pm. Tickets are $12 and available either over the phone (773-598-4549) or at http://www.gorillatango.com.
— Dyan Flores
A cavalcade of sketch comedians will bum rush The Theater Building on West Belmont on Thursday for the opening of SketchFest, a two-week sketch comedy festival featuring an amalgamation of comedy talent from across the country.
"Every hour on the hour you get to choose between one of three great shows," said Brian Posen, SketchFest's executive director. "You get to ask yourself, 'Should I go see the lesbians from Portland or the black and white group from New York or the group from here who sings?'"
The world's largest sketch comedy festival just keeps getting bigger, too. The ninth installment brought in more submissions than ever, plus 100 new groups wrangled for debut slots, according to Posen, who dreamt up the idea nearly a decade ago.
"It's just exploding," Posen said. "Flash back to the first three years when we had to research groups all over the country and heavily court them -- now we're in a position where the bar's so high and we're training people so well that we have to turn people away, which we hate to do, but that just builds the festival and makes it stronger."
Groups from all over -- Indy, North Carolina, LA, New York, Virginia, Maryland and Canada -- are in this year's mix. Check Slowdown for our daily SketchFest picks or see the full schedule here. But with 113 groups performing, you'll likely find something up your alley.
— Michelle Peterson
The Zhou B. Art Center, a rather new art studio in Bridgeport, has high expectations and even deeper ambitions in stake for Chicago's contemporary artist community.
Gallery owners and brothers, Shan Zuo and Da Huang Zhou's latest exhibition celebrates young artists from all over the United States, featuring recent MFA (Masters of Fine Arts) candidates and recipients working in the medium of contemporary painting. The National Wet Paint Exhibition, a reference to the collective of fresh artists, starts January 15 at the 87,000 square-foot gallery--a gallery that houses several exhibition spaces, artist studios, a café and even an art store.
Think of Wet Paint as a representation of contemporary art graduate programs across the country, seeking to display resulting innovations in painting materials, techniques and methods. There's even a free multimedia iPhone app to keep patrons up to date on the artists and their exhibitions.
— John Lendman
When social reformer Henry Ward Beecher famously labeled words as "pegs to hang ideas on," he likely didn't know the effect it would have on writers and scholars all over the world. The desire to view language as fluid, to disrupt and dismantle words at their core, is at the heart of many artists, and they have no larger enemy than the dictionary. The Rec Room plans to take the good book on, one word at a time.
Tonight at 8pm, The Rec Room, a collection of artists determined to mess with accepted modes of expression, will be rehashing, revisiting, reusing and wrecking many of our favorite words at the Black Rock Pub (3614 N Damen). The event is free and open to the public, so there's no reason for you not to come and hear our language mangled beyond recognition. "Fun" comes to mind, but I'm finding myself at a loss for words. Huh.
— Randall Colburn
Chet Coppock, who has a crazy history in Chicago media, will be on "Good Day Chicago" tomorrow morning around 9:30 AM.
According to his Facebook status: "i'll be guesting on fox 32 tomorrow at 9-30 to discuss the halas hall shuffle........ why, why would a quality mike martz type coordinator want to come to halas hall with lovey really operating on a one year leash....... don't worry Jerry 'Draft king' angelo has this whole situation under complete control..... sort of like the edmund fitzgerald..."
Even though I don't know what he's talking about, I'm going to watch because I've met him a couple of times and I want to see what he's like on TV. He seems like a talented guy but I've heard he's a lightning rod. I think he's even implied that, but he doesn't seem to care.
Update: I saw the segment which seemed very short. I was able to grasp some of what he was talking about, but he seemed to be the same guy I've met off the air.
— Margaret Larkin / Comments (2)
The ninth annual SketchFest -- the world's largest sketch comedy festival, covering two long weekends with 100 sketch groups and 125 shows -- descends on Chicago starting Thursday. Tickets are $12.50 for each timeslot and a limited number of festival passes are available. Buy tickets and see the entire schedule here. SketchFest runs Jan. 7 through Jan. 17, 2010 at the Theater Building, 1225 West Belmont.
We'll also post don't-miss shows in Slowdown, so keep an eye on oll'a that. (Tickets to buy now: Hey You Millionaires, Long Pork, Buffet Shark, BriTANick, Heavyweight, The Cool Table, 365 Sketches, Pangea 3000, Bri-Ko, Robot v. Dinosaur, The Reckoning, Jablonski!, Kerpatty, and Aemilia & Ed's One Man Show.)
— Michelle Peterson
Technology has done wonderful things for art. One of my personal favorite new tools is the cell phone camera, as I have never been in the habit of carrying a camera around, and I used to miss priceless photo opportunities on a daily basis. Now, when I see a car on fire, a porch with 15 tricycles on it, or a girl peeing in the middle of the sidewalk in Wicker Park, I whip out my phone and capture it instantly. When I do, I amuse myself by deeming it art, and apparently I'm not the only one.
The Chicago Art Department has organized an exhibition of new art made with iPhones, most likely because there's so darn much of it. Plus, if you think about it, we are in the midst of an incredible technological revolution and iPhone art is a symptom of this distinct moment in time (whether you like it or not). And that's pretty cool.
The show, amusingly titled iPhone Therefore I Art, is the culmination of a class led by CAD artist Mike Nourse, in which ten local artists met weekly, working towards a completed project in the forms of photo, digital sketching (finger painting), animation, sound, and video--all made with iPhones, of course. For this exhibition, in addition to local artists, Nourse brought in iPhone artists from as far away as Russia, Norway, Spain, France, and Germany. The end-result is a comprehensive investigation and celebration of this fancy new tool. iPhone Therefore I Art addresses issues dealing both the identity of the artists using iPhones and the identity of art itself. Check out the show to see how the ubiquitous iPhone has worked its way into contemporary art, and to imagine where it will go next.
iPhone Therefore I Art opens this Friday, January 8, at Chicago Art Department (1837 S. Halsted). The public reception is from 6-10pm.
— Kelly Reaves
My New Year's Eve was spent having a great time working overnight with Steve and Johnnie, where TV meteorologist Tracy Butler showed up before her early morning gig at Channel 7.
So here's the scoop: she's cute and bubbly and looks good before 4 AM. She also was having trouble talking straight into the microphone: she kept moving her head around, and I wondered if she thought she was in a TV studio where the mic is somewhere floating above and all that matters is that you look good.
But really, you know how TV people "need" makeup to look pretty? She doesn't. And the cool thing is that she didn't seem arrogant or anything, just peppy and ready to go to work. Little did she know that I was planning this post as she was sitting on the other side of the glass, having a good time.
— Margaret Larkin
When people think iO, they usually think improv, and since iO is consistently giving us the best improv in the city (TJ and Dave, Cook County Social Club, Improvised Shakespeare) this is most definitely warranted. But to simply see iO as an "improv theater" would undercut its reputation for exploring other avenues of the comedic landscape.
Last night I caught the premiere performance of The El Show with Alex Moffat, a talk show that boasts itself as "a mixture of standup, improv, sketch, music, video clips, interviews with local celebrities, magic, poetry, [and] magical poetry." Moffat's host, a sort of cosmopolitan everyman, is accompanied by a rambling, somewhat drunk sidekick (Joey Romaine), a boisterous announcer (Rob Grabowski), and an adorable accompanist (Stephanie McCullough) through a jumbled array of comedic sketches and interviews. Last night's show featured Brian Posen, founder of the Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival, and while it's got plenty of kinks to work out, it gives neglected Chicago artists a loose and supportive venue to promote themselves and have some fun. Next week's show will feature Craig Uhlir, one-half of Middle-Age Comeback, one of my favorite shows at iO.
The El Show with Alex Moffat runs through February 19, playing every Friday at midnight in iO's Del Close Theatre (3541 N. Clark). Tickets are $5 (free for iO students) and can be purchased online or by calling the box office at 773.880.0199.
Be sure to bring your cell phone and crank it up loud. Whoever gets the most calls or text messages during the show wins a prize!
— Randall Colburn
"Weatherbee's Revenge," a solo show by California-bred New York artist Mark Mulroney is opening at ebersmoore gallery next Friday. The work, though "dirty" in nature, has a clean, pop sensibility that makes it massively appealing. You must admit, Mulroney makes reliving the horrors of adolescence kind of fun.
The press release for the show opens with Mulroney explaining how a book about puberty scarred him as a child. He describes how his youthful imagination completely misconstrued the information given him: "My theory was as follows...If you are ever to shower with another boy this giant sperm would erupt from your stomach, fall to the floor of the shower and lay there wet and smiling all the while whistling a little tune."
— Kelly Reaves
Architecture critic Paul Goldberger talks about Frank Gehry's life and work in a new book.
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