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. ✶ Thank you for your readership and contributions. ✶
History isn't their strong suit. Luckily, comedy is. Local improv groups The General Washingtons and Eleanor team up to present an evening of big laughs and altered memories as they use an audience suggestion as a means to explore their collective subconscious.
But with countless improvisational teams all over the city, what makes these two groups (one all male, one all female) stand out?
"We try very hard not to rely on our gender to get us by," says Eleanor member Kate Carson-Groner. "We want to be funny by funny standards, not by, 'Oh, they're a girl-group' standards."
The General Washingtons agree, "We're trying not to do 'dude-prov'," says Greg Ott. "We're trying to do more theatrical and dramatic scenes."
You can catch Historical Inaccuracies at Donny's Skybox Theater (1608 N. Wells Street, 4th floor) every Saturday through March 27 at 7:30pm. Tickets are $12 for general public, $10 for students, and $8 for students of The Second City Training Center. Reservations can be made online or by calling (312) 337-3992.
I'm sure you've seen reports on TV about the earthquake in Chile (in English, of course). Well here's the Spanish version that I found at Univision Chicago, which redirects to the national site for the written story. Note how some of the people talking are the same people you've seen elsewhere, but the words are their own--no English overdubbing.
At a theater space in Andersonville, thin curtains separate two fantastic, epic tales. On one side, a faceless being's mighty hands create a bright sun, compose a starry sky and plant a fruitful garden. On the other, a cosmic explosion of energy unleashes a daunting galaxy, orbs circle a ball of flaming gas and comets collide. One orchestra plays simultaneously for both, as each side of the curtain tells the same story.
In the beginning, ticket holders at the Quest Theatre Ensemble's "Evolution/Creation" performance are separated into two separate stages. There's no dialogue, just a nine-member orchestra playing an impressive score in between two lowered curtains. As a hymn chorus in Latin is chanted melodically from both sides of the total 18-member cast, both audiences are met with complete darkness.
Creator and director Andrew Park's production is both endearingly awkward and rationally self-aware. It boasts a grade-school-production style of surrealist papier-maché puppetry, mismatched quilted fabrics and exposed curtain ropes and pulleys, giving it a genuine grassroots theater aesthetic.
Eva Mosez Kor and her twin sister, Miriam, survived the Holocaust and the Auschwitz concentration camp, where about 70,000 people died during World War II. The girls were 10 years old when they entered the camp and spent nine months there before it was liberated. Twins, including Eva and her sister, were subject to cruel experiments, procedures and injections under the direction of Dr. Josef Mengele, also known as the Angel of Death.
Ms. Kor lives in Terre Haute, Ind., and opened CANDLES Holocaust Museum - Children of Auschwitz Nazi Deadly Lab Experiments Survivors.
She visited Anderson's Bookshop in Downers Grove last week to share her experiences in Auschwitz and to discuss how she overcame her pain by forgiving those responsible for the Holocaust, including Dr. Mengele. She recently wrote a book for young adults, Surviving the Angel of Death, and previously was the subject of the documentary, Forgiving Dr. Mengele.
It took ten minutes for a friend to convince me this was real. The deliriously idiotic cult action classic, Point Break, wherein Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze wax philosophical over surfboards and shotguns, has been adapted into an absurdist stage production with ponchos. After successful runs in Seattle, LA, and New York, Point Break Live! is coming to Chicago this March, and YOU could be playing the starring role. Reeve's Johnny Utah is chosen randomly from the audience, with the winner reading his/her lines from cue cards. The production apparently captures the explosions, car chases, and extended skydive sequences in its own ludicrous way. For a taste of the action, check out the video below.
This takes the raucous midnight screenings of cult classics like Troll 2 and The Room a step further, allowing the audience free reign to revise and refine those moments of unintentional hilarity.
Performances start March 19 and run through May 30 at New Rock Theater (3931 N. Elston Avenue). Tickets are $20 for Friday and Saturday ($25.00 Front Row) and
$15 for Sundays ($20.00 Front Row). Performances start at 9:30 Friday and Saturday and 6pm on Sunday.
My first visit to Blanc, on S Martin Luther King Dr was for the photography of Bryant Johnson. If it is true that nobody reads artist statements at an art opening, Bryant is lucky to say the least. His show, Farther Where Art Thou: The Depletion of a National Resource was, as you might guess, topical to say the least. He was using the ever-present push to live green as a way to address the treatment of black males in Chicago, possibly the United States. Bryant's statement rambled on about how everyone is working at living green while there is a natural resource that is going untapped, namely the black male. Unfortunately it was unclear in the photographs, close up head shots of middle aged black males, how the connection was being made.
His photographs, which I found out from talking with Bryant, were of homeless men he had encountered in Chicago. These were printed on what I would consider to be cheap paper, then mounted with wheat paste on a shallow metal sheet or a wood backing with black frame. Bryant's approach to displaying his work may have been lacking only in an explanation. His photos were powerful, referencing iconic images of black men like Martin Luther King, Rev. Al Green, and Sonny Stitt. Making images like this and treating them like street posters is absolutely no mistake and as intriguing as the show was, I couldn't help but think the statement and the message of living green confused the point that every man is a son and every father is a hero.
Blanc is open Weds through Fri 11am-3pm and Sat by appointment only, and is located in Bronzeville at 4445 S. Martin Luther King Drive. Check out this show and let me know what you think.
I've never met the guy, but I've watched him enough on NBC 5 and CBS 2 to conclude that he is my favorite reporter. He should be an anchor. Let's pray he gets through this cancer--he seems very smart and talented, and has a great TV presence.
The crowd was made up of hep kats and kittens donning their best throw-back rockabilly threads and eagerly awaiting the red-lipped, quick-hipped Ripettes burlesque troupe to take the stage and start their Rebels without a Blouse revue. The show was pure fun: part Benny Hill slapstick, part sexy strip tease with all the energy of a teenager's first sock hop.
To be called "phenomenal" by noted poet and author Sonia Sanchez is a great thing--especially if you're a young up-and-coming poet on the scene. An article in today's Chicago Sun-Times features Chicago's own Johnetta Anderson, aka "Awthentik," a spoken word artist who really blew Sanchez away Wednesday evening at the DuSable Museum's "Sankofa Sista's" poetry event.
There will always be a place in horror for the story of city folks wandering into a small town (often in the South) and getting themselves in a heap of trouble because they drive a nice car and don't wear coveralls. But The Crazies--a remake of George Romero's 1973 semi-classic that came in the period between Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead (as did Martin)--the big city/big government/big military threat comes to a small town in Iowa (a relocation from a small town in Pennsylvania in the original). What's interesting and works extremely well in the new film is that there are no secrets and no great mystery to solve. We learn early on that something in the water is slowly turning the townsfolk into homicidal killers who don't just walk up and kill like brainless zombies; there's an amount of deviant plotting going on behind those crazy eyes and veiny skin. And the transformation is gradual, so unaffected people aren't always sure if those around them are just scared and paranoid or actually turning into something dangerous.
When it comes to hip-hop, even the most loyal enthusiasts would admit that the culture, despite its evolution, is mired in many social ills. Between the violent and misogynistic lyrics and the lack of creativity and diversity, it has become easy to fall out of love with hip hop--or has it?
Tucker, who hails from Chicago's South Side, explores the hip-hop culture in his latest production, I Still Love H.E.R. (atributetohiphop). Featuring an all-Chicago cast and titled similarly to fellow Chicago native Common's 1994 ode to hip-hop, "I Used to Love H.E.R." (Hip Hop in its Essence is Real), Tucker takes the audience on a journey that explores what "helped to create the cultural phenomena known as 'Hip-Hop'," as well as the challenges of and reasons for staying in love with the art, social issues notwithstanding.
I Still Love H.E.R. opens Friday and runs through March 27 at the Chicago Center for the Performing Arts, 777 N. Green St. All showtimes are 8pm; tickets are $20-$25. Contact the theatre box office at 312-733-6714 for more information.
It's a familiar story: hardened cop gets too involved with the city life, has a breakdown, and is transferred to a quaint little town with a seedy underbelly. However in the Danish film Terribly Happy, this classic cop story takes a strange and twisted turn. Officer Robert Hanson leaves Copenhagen for a rural town in Denmark to take a recently vacated Marshall position and encounters some interesting characters right off the bat. There's the married femme fatale vying for Hanson attention, the town bully who beats his wife, the general odd behavior of the town people. And how could you forget the dozens of bodies that keep showing up dead in the mud? Hanson struggles to find a balancing point in his new position while trying to keep ties back in Copenhagen healthy. Think the wit of a Coen Brothers crime film with more violence and murder.
Terribly Happy opens at the Musicbox Theatre March 5th. Tickets are $9.25 and can be purchased at the box office.
Starting March 16 and continuing through April 17, UIC's 2010 Masters of Fine Arts candidates will exhibit the culmination of their graduate work. These exhibits will include the work of students in Visual Art, Photography, Moving Image and Electronic Visualization. The exhibitions take place in five day runs, with a pause for Spring Break.
From what I can tell, the work looks really interesting and all over the board-- from interactive installations to quirky graphite drawings. Anyone curious to see the direction art is going or what they are teaching in MFA programs these days should try to make it to at least one of these shows.
Image: "Charlie" by UIC MFA candidate Raychael Stine, 2010
On Sundays, after the main service at the First Free Church in Andersonville has ended and the congregants have filed out and made their ways home down Ashland, or to brunch somewhere on Clark, a smaller congregation files in. They make their way down mostly from the north, from Albany Park and Rogers Park and Edgewater, where they move anonymously among the swarms of Asian immigrants, pushed between the embrace of something universal and the isolation of anonymity. A grinning, thin-framed boy of 17 named Ha Tha Thing hands an outline of the week's service to each as they stream in, one page of printed paper folded back on itself like a book jacket.
This is where the congregation of the Chin Baptist Church of Chicago--in all, about 70 or so of the 150 Chin living in Chicago, Christians of a variety of denominations that fled forced labor and religious discrimination in Burma--meet (under the Baptist banner for the sake of cultural unity and preservation) to praise the Lord. Conspicuously among them this past Sunday was a reporter, whom Ha Tha welcomed as he would anyone, with a smile and a handshake, then walked him down the chapel's aisle insisting he sit in the front row. This was the service following Chin National Day--February 20, the date the Chin people established democracy in the far western frontiers of Burma, though it's been largely ignored by the ruling military junta.
Chin National Day celebrated in Haka, capital of Chin State, February, 2007. (Photo: myatthura.blogspot.com)
I recently sat down with Joe Avella, Steve Delahoyde and Paul Thomas to discuss the state of the art of film-making in Chicago. All three are part of a small but hardworking group of filmmakers who call Chicago home. Though New York and particularly Los Angeles may hold the allure of glamor and money, these three find that they're able to do work that they're proud of right here in the second city.
Something that these three have in common is that they're all self-taught filmmakers. Each felt the need to learn the craft if they wanted to bring their film ideas to fruition. "It's a lot easier to do it yourself than I previously had thought," said Avella, who claimed he initially lacked the know how or confidence, but quickly taught himself the skills of film-making out of necessity. Paul Thomas added that one of the benefits of being self-taught was that, particularly with shooting comedy, he avoided some of the technical hang-ups that a film school grad might face. The others agreed that with their inclination toward shooting humorous work and not having a formal film background did not necessarily hinder them.
Joe Avella What's the project you're most proud of making?
Hmm. If I had to pick one, I'd go with Scatterbrained .
I made it super quick, as an entry to the iO Theater's Vidiocy competition. I wrote, shot, and edited it in a day and a half, for no money. It ended up winning the fest. It also got into the South by Southwest Film festival, which to this day tickles me greatly.
What do you think are the benefits or challenges to filming in Chicago?
In my experiences, people are usually pretty cool when you're shooting in a public place. I've never gotten harassed by police or surly locals...well, one time I was helping a friend shoot something in an alley by his apartment, and this dude called the cops on us. He told the police we were filming a porno. The cops showed up for 2 seconds and were like 'yeah, you're fine.' It was really weird, but the porno turned out great!
J.M. Colberg, the author of the contemporary photography blog Conscientious, spent thelastfewweeks exploring issues of similarity and plagiarism in art. In what appears to be Colberg's final post on the matter for now, Chicago-based photographer Brian Ulrich submitted an interesting exploration of his thoughts on the matter as it relates to his artistic practice. [You'll need to scroll down a bit to see Ulrich's material.]
Chicago standup Sean Flanneryhates Google, mostly because it's a killjoy during barroom arguments. As a guy who likes to run his mouth about ... well, just about everything, he's none to happy about "some vanilla with an iPhone" proving him wrong. Get the full background here, and then dive into his retort, Ungoogleable.info, where Flannery can "argue in the margins and shadows -- where Google cannot find me."
The first thing you'll probably hear about The Building Stage's re-imagining of Wagner's epic opera cycle is its length. I've witnessed several light up or laugh off the play's six-hour running time (which includes two intermissions and a dinner break), but The Neo-Futurists' loopy production of Strange Interlude for Goodman's O'Neill Festival last year ran seven and, just like The Ring Cycle, didn't feel nearly that long. But where Strange Interlude's length felt gimmicky (as did many parts of the mostly solid production), The Ring Cycle's is not. Blake Montgomery and Joanie Schultz's production for The Building Stage takes its source material seriously, and it's a scenic, if somewhat rocky, ride.
Nathaniel Russell has had shows in New York, LA, San Francisco, and now decorating the walls of the home of a family of four- as the most recent exhibition titled NOWS at Home Gallery in Hyde Park, run by Andrew Nord and Laura Schaeffer.
Russell's artist statement provides a unique and encompassing view of the eclecticism of his work. Created in a "mind map" format, a practice used by graphic designers to create a sense of brand or identity on a project, he starts with the word "Oneness" and branches out to such random musings as "Old Men", "Hippies", "Dust", "Library" and "Mystery Lights." Visitors can wander throughout the living room, kitchen, hallways, and master bedroom of Home Gallery and find traces of these many random influences in Russell's work. He works mostly with pen and ink, but also has a sculptural display of made-up books with illustrated covers, and some screen-printed material as well.
Russell's style has a very 1970's feel- inspired by the decade's advertising and popular posters. His frequent combination of images and words reflects a background in graphic design, as well as his repeated focus on books and literature. Chicagoans may find another 70's style link in that some of his work seems tied to the Imagist movement that occurred in Chicago at that time- particularly one ink drawing that involves bizarrely proportioned, spindly cowgirls with blue skin and giant red hats, titled "Agnes Lake Memorial Summer Program for Girls Survival Guide." In an interview he did with Schafer, who runs Home Gallery, Russell discussed his fascination with cowboys and cowgirls as the "American Knights"
NOWS remains on display at Home Gallery until the closing brunch and reception this Sunday, February 28th from 12-3pm. Home Gallery is located at 1407 E. 54th Place, in Hyde Park.
Maya Lin is a monumental sculptor and architect, most famous for her Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington, DC. Lin was only a 21-year-old undergrad when she completed that work and fortunately she didn't she burn out early. She has been working non-stop since then, creating landscape sculptures, public art, architectural concepts and art that is based in natural themes.
The exhibition at The Arts Club of Chicago (201 E. Ontario) is made up of 11 works of varying media that piggyback her exhibitions, Topologies and Systematic Landscapes that explore landscape and technological forms. The first piece seen the moment viewers walk in is Blue Lake Pass which is made up of undulating particle board that recreates the Rocky Mountain Pass. To the right, Flow is a sea of upright 2x4s standing shoulder to shoulder, in varying lengths, creating a large wave-like structure. One of the installers explained the installation process, which consisted of five guys lifting and placing 200-pound sections of wood. Each section is glued together but it seems like the pieces on the outside ring aren't touching at all. This is because they interconnected them with another piece below that remains unseen. The first time Flow was exhibited, each 2 x 4 was separate which meant they had to be placed individually -- a time consuming endeavor.
Accompanying those large, dense works are more delicate pieces made from more graceful materials such as straight pins, hand-blown glass and wire. All the materials Lin uses are sustainable and recycled. The exhibit provides a calming, reflective experience about our planet and its natural forms in the middle of downtown.
The Art Institute of Chicago usually likes to have its paintings on the inside of the building on canvas and the like, not on the actual building. A 50-foot-long piece of graffiti was painted on the east wall of the new Modern Wing by a team of graffiti artists in about 20 to 30 minutes and was caught on tape. Chicago's Graffiti Blasters spent most of the day sandblasting it off the limestone and curators and conservators will assess how to deal with any remnant of paint left. Fat Caps and Chrome has some nice photos of the work before the Blasters got to it.
Chicagoans are full of pride in their city as a whole, but we all tend to identify ourselves with cross streets and "El" stops. From the Wicker Park Hipsters to the Wrigleyville Frat Boys, we all have a love/hate relationship with our respective hoods. Stephen Colbert picked up on this neighborhoodiness, in a brief segment celebrating those sectioned off to the north side of Chicago- "Better Know a District- Illinois's fifth." In this video, Colbert discusses the Cubs of Wrigleyville, the "Bears" of Boystown, and the foul-mouthed Vienna Beef establishment, The Weiner Circle. I think we're getting made fun of for the most part, but when Colbert is doing the name-calling, you take it with pride!
Conceptual artist collaboration Art & Language has been creating discursive thought-provoking pieces since the late 60s. Their work provides intentional open-ended and ongoing conversation. Since the 60s, the members have changed many times including, at one time, (random, fun fact) Kathryn Bigelow, director of The Hurt Locker. They are known for incorporating text and art to a point at which the text is the art and always posing the question, as Kathryn Born put it in her interview with members Michael Baldwin and Mel Ramsden, "How nothing can [art] be?" Rhona Hoffman hosted Art & Language at her gallery in the West Loop, which opened last night. The show acts as a sort of mini-retrospective, showcasing works across the span of their career.
Many of the works are actually just documentation of more illusory work, like their lyrics for the band Red Crayola or blueprints for posters that no longer exist.
Other pieces, like the ones about greetings that cover two walls, all converse with one another. Frame after frame, line after line asks "Hello, (name) how are you?" Of course, I spent a good minute or two trying to spot my name. On the adjacent wall are paintings with Gustave Courbet's close up of female genitalia from "The Origin of the World." When the viewer peers uncomfortably into the woman, the faint word, "Hello" appears. I didn't try to find my name in that one.
Whether you know it or not, filmmaker Al Jarnow probably taught you a lot about the world at a very young age. His short films for Sesame Street deconstructed the world for kids, coupling time-lapse, stop motion, and cel animation with simple objects found in every day life. Later he became a component of the New York avante-garde art-film movement alongside artists like Harry Smith and Stan Brakhage.
Tonight and tomorrow at 8pm the Gene Siskel film center is screening a collection of shorts of his, titled Celestial Navigations: Theatrical Screenings, compiled by Chicago record label, The Numero Group. Employing the archival skills honed during the excavation of over 40 full-length albums, Celestial Navigations marks The Numero Group's first foray into the world of cinema. The 45 films collected have been transferred and color corrected from the original 16mm prints, along with fully remastered sound.
The screenings will consist of 60 minutes of shorts from his independent work and films featured on public television, followed by a 30 minute documentary that deconstructs his creative process. Visit the Gene Siskel's website for details.
If the Olympic coverage wraps up for the night and you've still got the energy to go out, check out "the El Show with Alex Moffat" at iO. It is a weekly talk show that hosts local notables and combines interviews, improv bits, and taped segments. Tonight's guest is Evanston's own Tim Kazurinsky, "Second City" and "Saturday Night Live" alum.
Tickets are $5 and can be purchased online, or at the iO box office. iO is located at 3541 N. Clark street.
I'm often annoyed with local TV news because they'll tease a story endlessly, and then when the story comes up, it will last for a minute and won't say much. So basically, they wasted time teasing instead of putting those seconds into the story itself.
Or sometimes what I think is a "report" is really a video news release (VNR), which is just a visual press release passed off as "news." It's a way to save, or make, money, and the sad thing is that the viewers have no idea that they're being duped.
But earlier this week, there was a story on CBS 2 that actually reported something: proof of people sneaking on to the Brown Line for free. Unfortunately, the station doesn't allow embedding of video, but check it out at their site. And because of the report, the CTA responded as best they could. We'll see what happens now that the cameras are gone.
As he creeps toward 70 years old, Martin Scorsese still has a few tricks up his sleeve. There was never any doubt in my mind that the guy was still in one of the most creatively vital periods of his long career, but that didn't prepare me for what he gives us with Shutter Island, based on the novel by Dennis Lehane (Gone Baby Gone; Mystic River) and adapted by Laeta Kalogridies (Alexander). Borrowing a bit from some of the great mental hospital-set films of old, with a dash of Hitchcock mind games, Scorsese has given us a true mind fuck of a movie that I think needs to be seen at least twice to be fully appreciated.
The twins: Ashleigh LaThrop and Paige Collins. Photo by Peter Coombs
Something awesome is happening at Steppenwolf this week. Garage Rep, a theatrical program combining three productions from three of Chicago's most innovative theater companies, is opening. The three plays--Adore, punkplay, and The Twins Would Like to Say--are being presented in repertory through April 25.
This morning I spoke with Devon de Mayo and Seth Bockley about their play, The Twins Would Like to Say--the culmination of a lot of work between a troupe of enthusiastic and ambitious local creatives (Chicago-based Dog and Pony Theatre Company--which de Mayo is co-founder of). The Twins Would Like to Say is an interactive performance based on the true story of a pair of identical twins June and Jennifer Gibbons, Caribbean immigrants trying to find their place in provincial Wales in the 1970s. At eight years old they made a pact to speak to no one but each other--a pact that lasted over 20 years. Because they were unable to express themselves verbally in their daily lives, they took to writing and their imaginary worlds blossomed into a collection of highly imaginative novels detailing provocative themes like teenage lust and rebellion.
Remember my last post, where I talk about Jeff Garlin in an LA restaurant talking to a New York Times reporter about dreading recognition and questions [allegedly]? Well the interview has been released, though nothing I mentioned is in there. But who cares, because it's worth the read! I even like how he shows appreciation for being a rich TV celebrity: "It's pretend, and I receive a big check at the end...I'm all good with it. I have no problems."
Oh...and here's some video of Garlin being recognized. But if I ever see him around town, I will try not to bother him.
If rumors prove true, I may have to break my vow to never again put myself through the intense heat and crowd density of the summertime music fest, Lollapalooza. The official Lollapalooza site, which regularly posts a listing of performance rumors, has cited The Daily Swarm for the latest buzz that Lady Gaga may headline this year's Chicago show. Having made one of her biggest breaks in Chicago at Lollapalooza '07, it makes sense for the queen of eccentric pop to return in 2010, after her popularity exploded and she became the first artist in Billboard history to have four singles from one album hit number one this past year.
Chicago has already proven a bedazzled appreciation for Lady Gaga. She sold out all three nights at Chicago's Rosemont theatre in January, and multiple Lady Gaga inspired fashion shows have since followed.
If Lady Gaga's poppy beats and over-the-top theatricality just aren't your thing, you can at least look forward to the swarms of sequin-clad fans with Gaga inspired sculpture hair that will descend upon Grant Park if our city is once again treated to a Fame Monster takeover.
You've probably been hearing a lot about "pop-up" art galleries around town lately. It makes sense-- dismal spatterings of vacant storefronts are plaguing this city as it simultaneously busts at the seams with even more underrepresented artists. The solution? Put art in those windows! One of the most successful examples of such lives in Pilsen around 18th and Halsted. Last Friday the frozen sidewalks were bustling with plastic cup-carrying art fans, hopping from gallery to gallery, enjoying the squatting spectacles in the windows between them.
Check out these videos of some of these pop-up gallery projects, put up by the Chicago Urban Art Society, collectively titled Street Level. If you'd like to see them in person, you can find them along the 1800 block of S. Halsted until February 28. More videos can be viewed at Chicago Urban Art Society's Vimeo page.
While internet dating and "cybering", as the kids say, is predominant these days, phone sex stays a lucrative and ubiquitous industry. Just like dating websites, some people dive in for the thrill, some for the laughs and some for the connection. Local Chicago theater company The Right Brain Project will explore these ideas and more with artistic director Nathan Robbel's production of Pretty Penny, which opens this Thursday at 8pm.
A sexually charged tale of five individuals seeking validation and a sense of identity, Pretty Penny begins when a young girl takes on a career as a phone sex operator on a no-taboo line. What starts as an intriguing job and psychological experiment turns into a journey of self-discovery as reality and fantasy intermingle to the point of upheaval.
Pretty Penny opens this Thursday, February 18, and runs through March 20. Shows are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 7pm, presented at the RBP Rorschach, located at 4001 N. Ravenswood at the intersection of Irving Park & Ravenswood. Admission is a suggested $15 donation, and reservations are highly recommended, as seating is limited. Please call the RBP box office at 773-750-2033 or e-mail your ticket requests to tickets@therbp.org. And yes, it was written by me.
The music of Michael Jackson will undoubtedly live forever--its impact on pop culture is undeniable. To celebrate the singer/entertainer's contribution to the music world, the For Children, By Children (FCBC) youth theater troupe will honor the "King of Pop" via its production, "Expressions of MJ."
"We wanted to pay tribute to Michael Jackson not only through song and dance, but also recognize his humanitarian efforts," said FCBC artistic director, Rod Lewis, who also wrote and directed the production.
Audience members will be treated to a medley of the entertainer's hits including "Dangerous," "Who's Loving You," "Dancing Machine," and "Remember the Time," which cover his days with The Jackson 5 as well as when he ruled the charts as a solo artist.
"Expressions of MJ" opens this Thursday, Feb. 18 at 7pm at the CICS-Longwood Auditorium, 1309 W. 95th St. Additional shows are Friday, Feb. 19, and Thursday and Friday, Mar. 4 and 5. All shows are at 7pm; tickets, $7-$10. Contact Rod Lewis at 708-769-9880 for further information.
Last weekend was the College Art Association (CAA) conference in Chicago. The CAA's website describes the conference as "The world's largest international forum for professionals in the visual arts." It's three days packed with panel discussions, networking events, and gallery parties. In her book, Seven Days in the Art World, Sarah Thornton recounts her visit the CAA conference in New York, "Art historians...swarm the building seeking to improve their positions, recruit colleagues, and win publishing contracts. Some network on their own; others parade the corridors with entourages of grad students nipping at their heels." Some events and discussions are free and open to the public but most require paid membership.
Jeremy Deller, It Is What It Is: Conversations About Iraq, 2009. Image: jeremydeller.org
In Abraham Ritchie's (ArtSlant Chicago editor) thoughtful piece about Relational Art he says that, "Reaching a wide public that is distrustful of artists and suspicious of their work proves to be a challenge for the artist who is interested in the unifying or universal aspects of art. Relational Art rises to this challenge." Relational Art (sometimes called relationalism) was defined by Nicolas Bourriaud as a set of artistic practices which take as their theoretical and practical point of departure the whole of human relations and their social context, rather than an independent and private space." Ritchie cites many examples including Jeremy Deller's It Is What It Is: Conversations About Iraq at the Museum of Contemporary Art in 2009.
Of all the pieces in the exhibition: The Treasure of Ulysses Davis, Sculpture from a Savannah Barbershop, perhaps the most striking is the glass case filled with busts of US presidents, from George Washington to George H.W. Bush, who was in office when the artist died. They were created largely in the 1970's using stock illustrations from textbook covers as source material. Individually they are unique pieces of work, together they create a wall of patriotic wonder. Gazing at the wood-rendered likenesses of the first through the forty-first presidents, you can trace the progression of men's fashion; from George Washington's ruffled shirt to James Monroe's ascot, and from Andrew Johnson's bowtie to full length neckties, which make their first appearance in the bust of Theodore Roosevelt. Centered among the busts is a presidential seal with the words "The Greatest" carved into it. The detail carved into the busts is remarkable: barber clippers were used to make grooves representing hair; Nixon grins menacingly; Franklin D. and Teddy Roosevelt each wear a pince nez; Harry Truman sports a pair of glasses; and the hair on Reagan's head fairly jumps out of the case.
Nick Black is a top class tinkerer and we at ChicagoArts had the privilege of meeting him in his studio for a quick interview about what he does, and how he does it.
Nick will be joining me in the studio for ChicagoArts Live on Monday February 22 for a live stream of a follow up interview in which you are invited to participate by asking questions or making comments about Nick and his work or the interview.
Among the animals featured in Saturday's performance of Cupid Cats were: several tightrope-walking rats; a chicken who can bowl better than me; a ferret; something that looked like a lemur; a groundhog; and about a dozen cats. Samantha Martin is a foster animal caretaker who takes in animals from shelters, and her mission is both to train animals for her circus and to educate the public on how to train their own animals.
The River North Dance Company (RNDC), now in its 20th season kicked off the Valentine's Day weekend at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph St., with a series of premieres, including world premieres by choreographers Lauri Stallings ("Suppose") and Robert Battle ("Three").
The program began with Sherry Zunker's "Evolution of a Dream," an up-tempo performance set to the Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams."
While "Evolution" was certainly a fast-paced number, Battle's "Ella" was an even more high energy performance. "Ella," a company premiere, was a very energetic solo piece that wowed the audience with its precise, perfect-timing movement to the "scat" style vocals of legendary singer Ella Fitzgerald.
The program also included the world premiere of "Three," also choreographed by Battle, which told the story of three men engaged in competition, accompanied by fluid, yet spastic movement.
The show also included "Tuscan Rift", "Sentir em Nós" (Even for Us) and "Forbidden Boundaries," all choreographed by RNDC Artistic Director, Frank Chaves, and "Uhuru," a very rhythmic, "Afrobeat" piece by RNDC company member (and fan favorite) Monique Haley.
If you ever see Morton Grove native Jeff Garlin, don't say anything because he doesn't like to be recognized. And if you see him at a party, don't ask him about show business or "Curb Your Enthusiasm" because he doesn't want to answer any of those questions.
How do I know this? I know someone who was having dinner at a restaurant in LA, where Garlin was doing an interview with a New York Times reporter, and I guess Garlin was talking so loud, it was easy to hear what he was talking about. In fact, he apologized for talking so loud, and said that he likes Chicago.
Here are a few things he said which may or may not be included in the interview, which will be published next week: he misses his family when he's on the road; a good day is when no one recognizes him; and sometimes he doesn't feel like going to parties because people ask a lot of questions about the show and other show biz topics.
Addington Gallery opened with three newly acquired artists this weekend, and as always the surface was the focus. In the main gallery was the work of Carl A Linstum, who's mixed media paintings played a bit more like a collection of individual things, rather than complete compositions. The work did have interesting symbolism utilizing birds and butterflies and his statement talked briefly about spirituality, family and the power, or lack there of, of memory, so there was plenty to ponder. Again, I don't think the subject was all there was to see here, a big part of this show was the surface which was layered with wax and lush with movement.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s fight for civil rights wasn't only confined to the South; Chicago also played a huge part in the late civil rights leader's movement. In 1966, King came to Chicago--even took up temporary residence on the West Side--to confront housing discrimination and segregation, as well as other issues that plagued the city's urban community.
As part of its Black History Month series, WTTW-Channel 11 will air King In Chicago, a documentary about the challenges King faced during his stay in Chicago. Directed and produced by Seth McClellan, the film "explores what happened when Dr. Martin Luther King and the Chicago Freedom Movement began to confront urban poverty."
King in Chicago airs Sunday, Feb. 14 at 3pm. A preview of the documentary is shown here:
Bernie Sahlins, well known as one of the founders of the original Second City in Chicago as well as for his work on SCTV, is collaborating with The Poetry Foundation to mount a staged reading of Aristophanes' Lysistrata later this month. This is not the first time that Sahlins has collaborated with The Poetry Foundation and won't be the last; a staged reading of Seamus Heaney's The Cure at Troy is scheduled in May.
It may seem incongruous for a man known for his comic sensibility to be interested in bringing to the stage a piece of writing that uses the bloody Peloponnesian War as its background, and was first performed in Athens in 411 B.C.E. "It's a great play that has survived intact for over 3,000 years, and deserves to be done," Sahlins said of Lysistrata, "and deals with subject matter and events that could have been written yesterday. It's a feminist play; the female characters in it are worthwhile, it is not a museum piece." If you think the language used by Aristophanes will be a barrier to your twenty-first century ears, think again: "The language is interesting -- there are the same taboos on language in Lysistrata that we have today, it was written as a popular comedy and the language used is worthy of censorship on some current cable TV shows."
In a more gadget obsessed, fast-moving, politically dirty world than we live in now, hope is born. The House Theatre's production, Wilson Wants it All, written by Michael Rohd and Phillip Klapperich, presents a dark, yet hopeful interpretation of where our country could end up if political lines and politicians continue to split the country.
Wilson Wants it All incorporates technology in a believable and charming fashion, constantly drawing in the audience with multi-media extensions of the on-stage action. The complicated scene transitions move in and out with the speed of a Blackberry, and the fluidity of social media. But these models of communication are old news, in 2040, when the country has become fixated on a national savior- the daughter of an assassinated president who has been raised to save us from corruption, overpopulation, and depleted resources.
John Henry Roberts as Wilson, portrays a lovably overwhelmed political advisor who has good guy and bad guy wrapped into a bundle of moral confusion. Although his motives are seeped in political gain, Roberts allows charm and compassion to shine through the title character.
The theme of "Hope" flirts with cliche near the conclusion of the show, and audience members might be left wondering what exactly there is to be hopeful for, outside of the idealistic and unlikely chain of events that occur onstage. But the timeliness of the metaphors still manage to provoke comparisons to our own democracy and foreshadow the frightening possibility of the future of our country. The theme of family and nation, being one and the same, can give everyone something valuable to ponder, and will likely stick with you at the conclusion of the show. Wilson Wants it All is a successful statement that every American should consider.
Wilson Wants it All runs through March 27 at the Chopin Theatre.
Hey, everyone. Don't forget, tonight (Friday) is the night that The Room writer-director-producer-actor Tommy Wiseau comes to Chicago to lay down his particular brand of crazy on our unworthy brains. There are two showing of The Room tonight at the Music Box Theatre , the first is at 8pm and the second is at 11:30pm. I'll be handling the Q&A for the first show, which may actually take place before the movie, so be sure to get there early. As of this writing, I hear the early show is on the brink of a selling out, and the late show isn't far behind. Brace yourself! And now, onto this week's releases.
The Wolfman
I've been tearing my hair out about this one for about two hours now trying to decide how I feel about this latest version of The Wolfman, and the fact that I'm still contemplating it and have so many feelings about it makes me think that I genuinely did enjoy the experience of watching this often-flawed exercise in bizarre horror, gothic weirdness, controlled hammy acting, and the evolution of werewolf transformation effects that takes the process to somewhere beyond awesome. Thank you, Rick Baker.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Robert Wiene's silent and spooky 1920 film about a deranged doctor and his sleepwalking servant is mostly remembered by cinephiles for its German Expressionist elements, mainly its distorted set design and jagged edges. Redmoon's The Cabinet, a live-actor-and-puppet retelling of the classic tale is so powerful because theirs is not just a feast for the eyes, it's a feast for the soul.
While it still traverses the same territory as the film, Redmoon's story shifts the focus to Cesare, Caligari's somnambulist slave, who croaks out his story through the rattle and crackle of an old gramophone. Narrator Colm O'Reilly's voice alone, bony and bathed in ash, evokes a metallic wasteland that is enhanced that much more by its labyrinthine set and the jerky, mechanical movements of the puppeteers, who seem to be more in fear of the evil doctor than the puppets they control. A slowburn of mounting tension, The Cabinet ratchets up the terror until the climactic scream, breathtaking in its near-endlessness, transforms the horror into something sublime, a moment of profound catharsis that united my packed theatre in one massive exhale.
Horror, puppets, spectacle and story -- there's something for everybody (as long as you're over 13).
The Cabinet runs at Redmoon Central (1463 W. Hubbard Street) Thursdays at 8pm, Fridays at 8pm and 10pm, Saturdays at 6pm and 9pm and Sundays at 3pm. Tickets range between $15 and $25 and can be purchased online or by calling 312.850.8440 x 111.
Dance Crash Chicago is bringing back the hit Valentine's Day showcase "Duets for My Valentine" but offering a few changes to accommodate their ever-growing audience and add their own spin on the franchise. "Duets for My Valentine" was always considered the alternative from the average "dinner and a movie" staple that so many couples end up doing for Valentine's Day. Dance Crash gets together couples from the top ballet, contemporary, and hip hop dance troupes in the area to put on a spectacular show for couples in the audience. Dance Crash is also hosting this year's event at the Park West, which will offer a more intimate atmosphere for the audience this year. If you're a last minute Valentine's Day planner like I am, let me put it this way - there's booth seating, a full bar, a delightful emcee to guide you through the end, and a free after party when the performances are done. How could your date not enjoy it?
"Duets for My Valentine" is only being performed on Saturday, February 13th at the Park West. The show starts at 8 pm and immediately following the performance there's an after party from 9:30 to 11 pm. Advanced tickets are $25 and gives you the privilege of a private booth. For general audience seating contact Park West at (773) 929-1322 or Jam Productions.
Everyone can relate to having that adolescent moment when they discover a life-changing type of music, and punkplay zeroes in on that slice of life for a couple of kids named Duck and Mickey.
"It's a play about two sort of marginal adolescent boys growing up in the suburbs who sort of latch on to punk rock and use it to find an identity outside of the mainstream," said New England playwright Gregory Moss, whose punkplay comes to Chicago as a Pavement Group production, part of Steppenwolf Theatre Company's new Visiting Company Initiative, Garage Rep.
When the two boys - played by Alexander Lane and Matt Farabee under the direction of Pavement Group's founding artistic director David Perez - have trouble adapting, bands like Black Flag and Sonic Youth give them a path to self-discovery. It's not a music-as-salvation story, though.
Winter: a curse to humans, a boon to anthropomorphic ice cream sandwiches. Gain some new perspective with local crafter Steff Bomb's bitten-into plush Ice Cream Sammy, who's got to worry about melting and being eaten. Man!
Many artists (i.e., actors, singers, producers) who start their career in Chicago often leave the Windy City for the bright lights of Hollywood--but not Mark Harris--for this director, producer and screenwriter from the South Side, Chicago will always be "home."
Growing up in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood, Harris always knew he would someday become a writer. "It's my gift," he said. Later, he left a job in corporate America to pursue his dream; for him, it was a risk he knew he had to take. "I had no fears at all. I knew I wanted to do it and I never looked back," said Harris.
Without any regrets, Harris began to hone his craft, and in 1997, wrote his first screenplay. Writing remained his passion; however, he yearned to do more: He wanted to spearhead his own films. "I started out as a writer and then branched out. I realized if I wanted my own projects, I had to do them myself."
I'm still watching "The Good Wife" because it hasn't become corroded [yet?] and in last night's episode (called "Hi"), I saw one of the best scenes ever. Unfortunately, CBS won't allow embedding of their full episodes, so you have to go to the show's site to see it. If you don't want to see the whole episode, fast-forward to just before 37 minutes (36:45 to be precise) and watch that incredible scene where Kalinda is on the witness stand. How people are able to write so well, I have no idea.
Oh, hi. There's already been plenty of talk on this site and others about a certain filmmaker's infamous film and that infamous film's screenings this Friday at the Music Box. There's been even more talk about how this will be Chicago's first chance to meet the film's winsome auteur.
This auteur, of course, is none other than Tommy Wiseau, who wrote, produced, directed and starred in the 2003 cult classic, The Room. Having been to three screenings myself, I can't emphasize the cacophonous insanity that ensues from the moment we catch our first glimpse of Wiseau's wild black mane. Rabid fans (some in costume) scream at the screen, chuck spoons and toss around the old pigskin with a frothy exuberance that's bound to infect old hands and Room virgins. Connoisseurs of the so-bad-it's-good sect have been looking for a new Rocky Horror for ages, and I think it's safe to say we've found it with this hilariously ghastly exploration of a man betrayed by those closest to him.
Anyways, what kind of fan would I be if I didn't give this Friday's two screenings my very own special plug? Below you'll find a truncated episode of B-Rated, a bad film review show produced by a friend and I to shed light upon the worst of the worst. Here is our episode on The Room. Warning: There be spoilers, but trust me, you're not going for the story.
Do you like paintings? Well then pay attention: this Saturday the 13th, four Chicago galleries will open exhibits of exceptional paintings by 13 artists, (who are all, as far as I know, currently working in Chicago.) This is in conjunction with the College Art Association's annual conference convening in our wonderful city this week.
The festivities will kick off at the ungodly hour of 9:30am with a panel discussion on the state of painting at the Hyatt Regency. A glorious team of local painters/academics will address questions such as: What's to be done about painting? How is painting valued? How does painting assert its authority? What is painting's speed? Can painting enact radical social and cultural critique? What is painting's place within the mainstream? And how does painting implicate itself in capital?
After that, each of the artists on the panel will exhibit their work at four Chicago galleries that afternoon, starting at JULIUS CÆSAR at 4pm, continuing to Shane Campbell Gallery at 6pm, and ending at the 119 N Peoria Building in the West Loop at Rowley Kennerk Gallery and Western Exhibitions, from 7 to 10pm.
I am particularly exited about the Painter's Paintings show at Western Exhibitions, which will feature new work by the talented Carl Baratta and Nicholas Frank, among others. Visit the individual galleries' websites for specific information about each of the exhibitions. Don't miss these!
Carl Baratta's "These Hands Around Your Neck, Like Flames To A House", courtesy of Western Exhibitions
You may or may not be up on what February is dedicated to. When I was a kid it was Black Heritage Month, and although I think that is still observed, I am now being made aware that it is also the American Heart Month. I don't know if this has any connection to Valentine's Day, other than the American Heart Association wanting to be cute like that but, it seems a great way to earn a little PR if you're an artist who makes hearts. Bill Moran is publishing four prints in editions of 75 through Gregory Gaymount Studio & Gallery. Although the edition will only be made available on February 28, a portion of all pre-publication orders will be donated to The American Heart Association.
Pre-publication orders will be taken by email or phone, gregory@gaymont.com / 773-935-2971.
Barrel of Monkeys is an organization who's mission is summed up in the tag line: "Kids Write it. We Do It. World Saved." Every one of the 16 acts in That's Weird, Grandma was written by a Chicago Public School student. The company uses different techniques for each act: in The Mystery Glasses, written by Alicjak V. of Loyola Park, actors hold up colored papers printed with key words that move the story along; in Untitled (Graffiti Argument) by Anita M. of Little Village, scraps of fabric are deftly used to represent graffiti; and My Happy Remember, by Naudia W. of Reavis, is a miniature musical unto itself.
Over the course of an hour or so, BOM entertains the audience and finds the inner meaning in children's writing without becoming cloying or condescending. This is primarily a kids show, but I never felt out of place, and I doubt that anyone really could. There is something happily familiar about watching an ensemble of actors take on stories with titles like: Superheroes; My Dad at Panda Express; and Man in Jam in dress-up closet costuming and a playful confidence. It reminded me of the television of my youth -- shows like The Electric Company, 3-2-1 Contact, and Sesame Street, only more entertaining and much funnier.
Director Greg Allen's latest work explores our relationship to images, and how we see ourselves in photographs. The show opens with a darkened stage and a series of slides projected onto a screen. They are instantly recognizable as having come from the not so very distant past -- long enough ago that the average family owned just one camera, but recent enough that the images captured are in color. Whether they are slides from the personal collections of the cast and crew, or treasures found deep in the recesses of a thrift store, we don't know, and is beside the point. I couldn't help thinking about my own relationship to images like those being projected in front of me; when I was growing up a set of photo albums lined an entire shelf of the living room, and I pored over them intensely. Any moments captured in those images that I was too young to remember on my own were seared into my memory nonetheless by endless hours spent turning the pages of those unwieldy albums.
Throughout the piece, photography is used as a way to confront ideas about ourselves, and as a way to communicate. In one scene, actors Jeremy Sher and Caitlin Stainken sit at a table covered in photographs, and are relegated to either asking or answering questions of each other by selecting an image from the table and holding it up. In another scene, reminiscent of a party where guests look at digital photos that were taken of them moments earlier, the actors pose with audience members and take snapshots which are then projected onto a screen. It was at once unsettling and validating to see an image of myself projected onscreen during the performance, an experience I realized later was much like seeing myself tagged in other people's Facebook photos -- somehow showing up in a friend's snapshots of a fabulous evening gives me a greater sense of credibility than showing up in my own.
Since all of Chicagoland is going to be snowed in in about three hours, why not dream of more exotic things by taking a trip to Cairo from your own computer? Anna Kipervaser is a Chicago filmmaker and producer in Cairo who is chronicling her five-week shoot for the documentary Voices and Faces of the Adhan: Cario for the production company On Look Films. At least once a week she's posted on her blog about her time spent in Cairo shooting this interesting film about the possible eradication of the adhan in Egyptian Islamic culture. The adhan is a call to prayer in Islamic religion and it has been recited in Cario by the muezzin. However a law is quickly approaching that may replace the muezzin with a pre-recorded voice to call Muslims to prayer. Not only does this replace a 1400 year old tradition but it also takes away jobs from the muezzin, who are typically blind, handicapped, elderly, or impoverished. It's an important documentary about a tradition that has little documentation, and an amazing opportunity for Kipervaser and her crew.
Though Kipervaser is making her way back to the states soon to start post-production on the project, her blog is a perfect cheap getaway to a world and culture most know nothing about. Check out her most recent blog postings, and read more about Voices and Faces of the Adhan on On Look Films' official website.
Hamza Walker, Image courtesy of the School of the Art Institute
On February 5, it was announced the $100,000 Ordway Prize would be awarded to Hamza Walker, the Director of Education and Associate Curator at The Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago. In 2001, The New York Times named him one of the most influential American curators. The New Museum describes the prize as, "acknowled[ing] the contributions of a Curator/Arts Writer and an Artist whose work has had significant impact on the field of contemporary art, but who has yet to receive broad public recognition. Nominees for the Ordway Prize are midcareer talents between the ages of forty and sixty-five, with a developed body of work extending over a minimum of fifteen years." Walker curated a solo show of Chicago-based photographer Anna Shteynshleyger which is on view at The Renaissance Society until this Sunday, February 14.
Stephen Daiter Gallery recently moved to 230 W. Superior and the first show in their new space features the amazing Martin Parr. Parr's supersaturated color photos with blazing flash can be slightly grotesque. Photos of food or tourists or fellow Brits, Parr's camera always seems to tease its subjects a bit. Some of Parr's work will also be featured in the Art Institute's In the Vernacular exhibit, up until May 31. Jeriah Hildwine has some good photos on Art Talk Chicago and you can hear the artist speak at Stephen Daiter Gallery on March 12, 5-8pm.
Hollis Sigler's Expect the Unexpected opened on January 30 at the Cultural Center, alongside relative newcomer, Angel Otero's Touch with Your Eyes. The side by side Chicago artists allow viewers both pride in the past and anticipation for the future of Chicago's art scene.
Sigler, who actually began her artistic career in strict realism, grew into her own with the striking colors, scratchy strokes, and child-like rendering of reality, evident in this sixty work series from 1981-2001. Her style was evidently impacted by Chicago's Imagist movement- a "faux naïve" craze that gripped the city in the 1960's, starting with Jim Nutt and his clan of Imagists. Sigler's crude depictions of femininity, life, and death, allow the viewer to experience her frustration and anguish- primarily relating to her fight against breast cancer. Sigler passed away in 2001 after battling her disease since diagnosis in 1985. Her work stands as a testament to her strength in the shadow of suffering, and her rapturous ability to incite discussion around the issues she addressed.
Hollis Sigler's Expect the Unexpected can be viewed through April 4 in the Sidney R. Yates Gallery of the Cultural Center.
Chicago's comprehensive history of community organization and social justice make it an optimal city for arts-based not-for-profits. The first inception of arts education began in Chicago at Jane Addams's Hull House in the late 1800s and in the past few years, education was one of only two job sectors to experience growth (the other was healthcare). Everything suffers in a weak economy and when it is difficult for people to meet their most basic needs, the arts can become a second priority. Chicago arts-based not-for-profits like Open Books and Marwen are reviewing their business plans, reevaluating their spending and committed to providing a creative haven for underserved youth.
This Saturday, recently relocated OhNo!Doom gallery hosts the 'Torn Pages' group show, a series of artist/writer collaborations focusing on imagined children's tales and the illustrations they've inspired. I spoke with art blogger and show curator Josh Lucas, and we touched briefly on the themes behind the show as well as Chicago neighborhoods, fairy tales, and the trials and rewards inherent in running a large group show.
"The Following are Pages Torn from our Most Favorite Imaginary Books", takes place on Saturday, February 13th, 2010, and runs through the end of the month. OhNo!Doom gallery, 1800 N. Milwaukee Ave., 6-10pm.
What's the Torn Pages Show all about?
The Torn Pages show is about a few things. Bringing people together who don't normally work together. in the creative world people tend to congregate together in what they do. writers will have readings, artists have shows, etc. but they rarely do things together. I believe the things that connect people are more powerful than the things that make them different. The creative process, and act, is a very beautiful and personal thing. And at the core, it's that feeling, and need to do so that every artist understands.
It's also about that feeling you got reading a story as a child. And wanting to get back to that place. The full show name expresses this "the following are pages torn from our most favorite imaginary books", it's about that story you always had in your head, or maybe just an image. But it was yours and now we get to share those things with the public.
How did the idea/theme happen? How were the artists picked?
The idea for the show was just a quick thought at first. My girlfriend was telling me about a story she was working on, and as she was telling me about it I saw it in my head, illustrated by a friend of mine. So i sat on it for a month or so and then started sending out emails to see if it would work. And it just kind of evolved from there.
The artists and writers were picked from names I'd seen around, and a few people I already knew. My girlfriend suggested some great people. I also got some help from Jason over at "Orange Alert": http://orangealert.net/blog he sent me some great suggestions. I got really lucky with the people who are now the lineup for the show.
I've often heard it said that Chicago's theatre scene lacks a strong avant-garde presence, that it can play things too safe, too simple. It's true that Chicago doesn't boast companies as committed to the radical avant-garde experiments of New York's Wooster Group or Richard Foreman's complex Ontological-Hysteric Theater, but there's plenty of boundary-pushing non-traditional fare lurking along Chicago's storefront scene to please those looking for more than just a good story.
Last night I attended Trap Door Theatre's excellent American premiere of Minna, a play by British author Howard Barker. Barker, the architect of the indigestible Theatre of Catastrophe, is a superstar in Europe where his plays are produced readily and lavishly, but his work is rarely seen in the States. Barker seems like a perfect fit for Trap Door, who are committed to producing challenging and obscure works, often by European authors, but they aren't the only Chicago company right now to take a chance on one of his plays; a few weeks ago I posted my review of Oracle Theatre's unhinged production of Barker's The Castle. For perhaps the first time ever, Chicago theatergoers can see not one, but two productions of Barker's work on the same weekend. I can't imagine another time in the foreseeable future where this will happen.
Chicago's Deon Cole has enjoyed a successful career in the stand-up comedy scene, and he even parlayed that success all the way to the [now defunct] "Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien."
Cole served as a staff writer during the show's short run; however, for TV Guide Magazine columnist Bruce Fretts, the end of the "Tonight Show" should mark a new beginning for the comic.
Chicago-based photographer Adam Eckberg's show, In the Between, closes today at Thomas Robertello Gallery but if you missed it, don't worry. Eckberg's work is also featured in the Elements of Photography exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art and Bad at Sports has posted a great interview with him.
The Flat Iron Artists Association and the Wicker Park/Bucktown Chamber of Commerce kicked off their 2010 Inaugural season of First Fridays with Now You See It, Now You Don't. The concept involved using the walls of the Flat Iron Building at 1579 N. Milwaukee as canvas and then ceremoniously painting over them with white paint. This spectacle speaks to idea of art as something that come and goes, evolves and doesn't last forever. Some artists involved with the mural were Sebastian Napoli, Kelly Jensen, Matthew Morgan and George Berlin. The opening reception began last night at 6pm and the murals were painted over 10pm. Visitors were invited to wander in to all the studios housed in the Flat Iron Building and treated with the familiar cups of wine and veggie plates. I spoke with artist Scotie Cousin who mentioned this would not be last time this performance would occur.
The studio of an artist is a visceral, messy and sometimes chaotic fortress of solitude. It's what one would imagine another's inner-most covert thoughts to be, personified into empty paint buckets of brushes, heaves of ripped canvas, macabre pilings of wooden figures, twisted mannequin body parts and presumably meaningless sketches and blueprints. It's horrifying. It's flawed. It's humorous. It's one of those "whoh buddy, too-much-information" moments. But above all it's human.
Production Site: The Artist's Studio Inside-Out is the Museum of Contemporary Art's latest exhibition connecting the artist with the observer. Here, running February 6 through May 30, it's not the product of an artist's endeavor being presented, but the studio as subject matter. Curator Dominic Molon lead the media preview of the exhibit featuring large installations, films, video projections, photographic light-boxes, life-sized fabrications of artist's studios--some literally ripped off their studio walls, sculptures, performance pieces and evolving canvases explained the display as a being a timely exhibition during the current economic downturn, a "reorientation of our celebration of conspicuous consumption that we've seen as a more central topic of aesthetic discourse [and that it] shows a deeper and more serious consideration of production."
While the exhibit displays numerous artists' studios from all over the world and many from Chicago, here are some of the highlights of Production Site.
If you're presently in college, or have graduated within the last five years, there's a good chance that you've had a friend forward you one of the Derrick Comedy videos. These NYU grads were responsible for viral favorites such as Bro Rape and Blow-job Girl, and since graduating the members of the troupe have found success in film, television and literature.
The members of Derrick may each be busy with new endeavors, but they still are constant collaborators, and the latest product they have to show for their efforts is Mystery Team, the group's first feature film. The group produced the project themselves, and are now in the process of rolling it out in screenings across the country before releasing it on DVD. The film is showing this weekend at the Music Box and the members of Derrick will be on hand for a Q&A following the screening.
Tickets can be purchased online for the shows which are February 5th and 6th at midnight at the Music Box Theatre (3733 N. Southport)
The action genre should be kissing director Pierre Morel's feet for adding a little fire and insane fun back into its tired ass. Working for and under the production guidance of Luc Besson for several years (he's also set to direct the reboot of Dune), Morel directed two dynamite-in-your-pants fun movies, District B13 and last year's surprise hit Taken, with Liam Neeson. Both films seemed intent on making their action sequences feel as unrehearsed and unchoreographed as possible. The results are some of the most raw and shocking fight scenes I've seen in a long time. With his latest work (from a screenplay by Adi Hasak from a Luc Besson story), Morel takes his organic style adds a layer of crazy in the form of a bald John Travolta, playing the ugliest of ugly American operatives who enters the City of Lights and blows most of it up.
Jennifer Hudson's meteoric rise from Chicago's South side to Hollywood really is the stuff dreams are made of. From her days as a contestant on "American Idol" to her Academy Award-winning turn in 2006 in Dreamgirls, Hudson has continued on the road to a burgeoning career in movies.
But even rising starlets have to hit a bump in the road; for Hudson, the "bump" comes via Winnie Mandela, ex-wife of former South African president, Nelson Mandela.
Vermeulen's "Moby Dick: Standing the Mast-Head," image courtesy of Packer Schopf
Timothy Vermeulen's new paintings are based on specific texts from Moby Dick, and currently showing at Packer Schopf Gallery. Tim's figures, and his use of perspective that is just off enough to keep you just unsettled, is reminiscent of the early Northern Renaissance painters, think Hieronymus Bosch and Giotto, but very contemporary. There are lots of things about Tim's work that make each piece not only inviting but engaging, one is his understanding of color and how it effects mood, another is his odd sense of space, as each painting seems to open up to the room. The way he skewed the perspective in the piece made me feel as if I were being enveloped and the paintings became much bigger than their modest 13.5 X 17.5 size.
Each piece was part of the Moby Dick narrative but Tim would place himself in these paintings, participating and exploring as both an onlooker and a participant. His presance in the paintings allowed me to involve myself in the storytelling, reexamining my place in a world in flux. Tim's paintings are brave and confident and this show is not to be missed, unfortunately you only have until February 13 to see it.
There will be a special reception for the College Art Association Convention on Friday, February 12, from 5 to 8pm, which will also host a book release of Words for Paintings by Jason Lahr, whose paintings are also currently on view at Packer Schopf. Don't forget to visit the downstairs gallery while you are there, ventriloquist dummy portraits by Gene Hamilton tie this three person show together quite gracefully.
Almost every day I discover a new cellphone artist. It started with the iPhone Therefore iArt show last month, and hasn't stopped since. Remember when people were complaining about how digital photography allows "just anyone" to be an artist? Now, cellphone cameras allow anyone to be an artist, at any time, without even requiring the forethought of bringing a camera with you when you leave the house.
The Chainlink: Chicago Online Bicycling Community, announced the winner of their jersey design contest today. The jersey (pictured above) is called "Chicago Pride" and was designed by Ross Felten. The short-sleeved jersey will be available at Crank the Earth. The Chainlink says it will be available in March and Crank the Earth says it will be available in April so keep a look out.
If you are a performing artist, a set designer, a theater, a stage, a stagehand, a spotlight, or are in any other way involved in the Chicago performing arts community, you want to be part of the Fringe Festival in September. The deadline to apply is February 15. Get on it.
Dean says: "[The PR company] told me that I could talk to [Gibson], but only if I didn't bring up any of his much publicized personal problems of the past few years, and stuck to talking about his movie. I told them no, thanks. I don't do interviews with conditions on them."
The artistic process can be a private, personal journey for many, taking place in a closed space shut off from the outside world until the masterpiece is revealed. But The Museum of Contemporary Art hopes to re-examine the location where a piece of work is toiled over, a place that may ultimately turn up in an artist's work--the studio. In their newest exhibit opening this weekend, the Museum of Contemporary Art wants to reveal to viewers how the studio has played a role in many works of art. Production Site: The Artist's Studio Inside-Out will be comprised of many mediums including multi-channel video projections, photographic light boxes and installations, and life-sized fabrications of artist's studios.
To celebrate the opening, the museum is throwing an Artist's Studio Party tomorrow night, February 4, at 6 p.m. The event will be a three-floor fundraiser honoring the artists, with live music, food, artist guests and interactive entertainment. For members, tickets cost $35, and for non-members it is $45. Children under 12 are free. The party runs from 6 to 9 and is open to all ages. Buy tickets online or call the box office at 312-397-4010.
On March 6, the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) will host the Third Coast Filmless Festival, an all-day event that will showcase a collection of audio documentaries, screenings and Q & A sessions with many accomplished radio producers including Gwen Macsai of "Re:Sound," Ira Glass of "This American Life," and The Kitchen Sisters. The full list of events and ticketing information can be found on the MCA's website. I interviewed Johanna Zorn, the founder and executive director of the Third Coast International Audio Festival.
Can you explain the relationship between "Re:Sound" and the Third Coast International Audio Festival?
Third Coast Audio Festival sounds like it's a one-time thing. But, it's actually a yearlong and ongoing project and then a lot of different things all around the curation of audio. [It is about] really encouraging a culture of listening. We are an independent organization now and among the things we do is we produce a weekly radio show called "Re:sound" that airs on WBEZ on Saturdays at 1 [pm] and Sundays at 9 [pm]. So that's our weekly radio show. And in addition to that, we host a challenge every year. We didn't do one this year because we were just going independent and we were mighty busy and trying to figure out how to do that but...what we do with the audio challenge is we invite people--anyone and everyone--to create a short audio piece based on a set of rules and every year we team up with a really interesting organization to collaborate on this set of rules and as an inspiration to the audio challenge.
Here's some info about TV segments that are going run in February to celebrate Black History Month: Bob Jordan will profile prominent African American Chicagoans on February 14 and 28 during the "WGN News at Nine."
And every week this month, Garrard McClendon will feature African American Inventors on his CLTV show, which airs Monday through Saturday at 6pm and 9:30pm. Throughout the week, he will feature clues and questions, inviting viewers to call in and guess who created the invention or modern convenience. And each Friday, he will reveal the answers during the program.
I still feel bad for McClendon because his parents were murdered. He's a strong person to still be able to do his show and carry on. I've heard he's a nice guy too.
