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. ✶
It's true! Starting this Saturday, Chicago's very own "Svengoolie" will be crossing state lines, introducing the rest of the country to the pun-infused, song parodying, rubber-chicken throwing show that first aired in Chicago in 1970. I got to ask Rich Koz, the man behind "Svengoolie," every last burning question I've always wanted to ask.
GB: Because of you I can't hear the name "Berwyn" -- either in reference to the suburb, or the street on the North Side -- without hearing "Beeeerrwyyyn" in my head. I understand this began as a spoof of "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" which used the name "Burbank" with the same derision.
RK: Yes, Jerry Bishop did the original "Svengoolie" show and introduced that, they'd make the Burbank joke on Carson's "Tonight Show" about "broadcasting from beautiful downtown Burbank."
Also, I'm so clueless that I just learned the name Svengoolie is a play on Svengalie; I live so close to Andersonville that I assumed he was so named because he was Swedish.
No, he would have had a different accent. Svengalie is a term that was better known 20 years ago.
So this is pretty exciting, you're going national!
It is, we've gotten a lot of email in the past five or six years from people who used to live in Chicago and used to watch it, asking how they could still see it. They couldn't before, other than clips on YouTube and that we posted on the website.
When I picture you at work, I see you, a cameraman, and a guy throwing rubber chickens, is that about right?
It depends. Sometimes it's just one other person in the studio operating a teleprompter and a robotic camera, and a lot of times we have volunteers throw the chickens.
Last night, former Cabrini-Green residents gathered at the last remaining high-rise building, 1230 N. Burling, to celebrate the community's life while wishing it farewell. A few short speeches were made to the press, but the highlights were mixing with friends, performances by ThaBrigade Stamps Marching Band and the installation in the building itself.
The band performed several numbers for the crowd as the sun set.
David Schalliol has been documenting the Chicago Housing Authority's Plan for Transformation since 2003. Additional images from his documentation may be seen on his website.
Jackie Taylor, founder and executive director of the Black Ensemble Theater, has an intense love for music; from the live band that is a staple of her shows to the singing from the ensemble cast members, for her, music really is the soundtrack to life. In her latest work, All In Love Is Fair, which she also wrote, produced and directed, things are no different; this time out, the music of Luther Vandross serves as the backdrop for love--and also for the fictional, small town of Love, Illinois, where the story takes place.
All In Love Is Fair follows six couples (one, a love triangle) in various stages of relationships and how they each deal with love and romance. Rhonda Preston and Zachary Boyd's "Zeland" and "Rena," who are celebrating their golden anniversary, serve as the model couple, while "Diedra" and "Cortez" (Dawn Bless Comer and Daryl Brooks) are completely on the opposite end of the spectrum as the antagonistic couple that obviously wasn't ready to be married.
A new episode of Fear No Art Chicago is about to hit the airwaves on WTTW11. The third episode of this wildly popular arts program will feature Chicago legend Tony Fitzpatrick, actress Joyce Piven and puppeteer Blair Thomas. I encourage all of you to tune in at least once to help Chicago get WTTW11 to make this program a regular series and finally get Chicago some serious arts programming.
WTTW11
March 31 @ 10pm
April 3 @ Noon
April 6 @ 10:30pm WTTW Prime
April 1 @ 4pm
April 7 @ 4:30pm
April 9 @ 5pm
If you've been craving some serious art talk but don't have the loot to go to art school, stop by threewalls tonight (or across the hallway at Western Exhibitions, rather) for their "Unschooling Arts Education" SALON-- part of their monthly, (free!) super-educational and interactive discussion series.
Starting at 7 tonight, the discussion will start off with questions along the lines of: Do I really need a MFA to be a successful artist? What does the fact that you can get a PhD in visual art say about the baseline criteria that art professionals need to meet before being allowed to do anything in the arts? Is formal education valued over experience, and if so, what does this mean for the democratization of voices in the art world?
Invited guests who will be driving the discussion include Zachary Cahill, Erica Meiners (Northeastern Illinois University), Bert Stabler, Jacqueline Terrassa (MCA) and Rebecca Zorach (University of Chicago). This event is free and open to the public. Details here.
Dixie Longate wants to make one thing clear: she's throwing a REAL Tupperware party. It's the gimmick that makes her show, the aptly named Dixie's Tupperware Party, unique, bold...and a little odd. Is it a comedy show where you can buy the props, or a Tupperware party where the host is in drag and loaded with jokes?
It's both.
Part salty satire, part comic infomercial, Tupperware Party started off-Broadway and comes to Chicago as part of a national tour. Tapping into the spirit of party-shows like Tony n' Tina's Wedding, Flanegan's Wake, or Late Nite Catechism, Dixie (an alter ego of performer Kris Andersson) spends the minutes before the show passing mints around and meeting her guests. She can greet them all by name, because everyone is asked to don a nametag immediately after walking into the theater. There are no programs, just Tupperware catalogs, complete with order form. Once the show begins, Dixie wastes no time before showing us her true colors. She demonstrate how her sheet cake caddy can double as a tote for jello shots. We learn the benefits of drinking Jack Daniel's from a sippy cup. And we hear the story of Brownie Wise, the inventor of the Tupperware party -- an uplifting story that contrasts with the raucous, raunchy humor that dominates the show-- returned to each time things start to get a little too silly.
Growing up in Evanston, IL, Jen Bosworth had an upbringing similar to many of today's suburban youth. The daughter of Ines and Chuck Bosworth and sister to Cecily, Jen attended Evanston public schools and eventually made her way to DePaul University where she auditioned and was accepted to the Theater Conservatory. Not exactly sure which career direction she wanted to go in life, theater seemed as good a path as any. After graduation Jen was cast as the lead actor in the Steppenwolf Theater's production of The House on Mango St. Following the success of her public stage debut, Jen continued acting, starring in the television series "ER" and "Early Addition"-- both filmed and produced here in Chicago. Seeking a life of greater fortune and promise, Jen abandoned her local fame and headed west to L.A. where she promptly quit acting.
Dumping her trained skill in the land of the silver screen where actors are born and careers are launched wasn't exactly planned as Jen describes her cross country move.
"I'd come all this way to find what I was looking for and was surprised when acting wasn't it!"
If you haven't made plans for Friday yet, consider buying a ticket for Urban Gateways' 50th Anniversary Gala &/or Gala Undone After Party. Gala starts at 6pm, and tickets are a steep $350, but the after party (Gala Undone) is affordable for normal folks, with tickets going for $40 in advance or $50 at the door. The event will feature veteran Urban Gateways artist James "Casper" Jankowiak, who will create an interactive mural during the event, a performance by Urban Gateways touring artists and resident performing ensemble of the Chicago Human Rhythm Project, BAM! and a late-night dance party to the music of DJ Mister Wolf (of Only Children). Also on hand will be plenty of munchies, an open bar and a silent auction.
Gala Undone will take place this Friday, April 1 from 9:30 to midnight at Venue One (1044 W. Randolph). More details here.
Comedian Rodney Perry, who is also Oscar winner Mo'Nique's co-host and sidekick on BET's "The Mo'Nique Show," returns home for a full weekend of stand-up comedy.
The Chicago native, who has appeared on various stand-up comedy shows including "Martin Lawrence Presents 1st Amendment Stand-Up" and HBO's "Def Comedy Jam," will also appear in Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family, due out next month.
Catch Rodney Perry, along with comedian D.L. "DeMarco" Monroe and host "Baldhead," Friday and Saturday, April 1-2 at Jokes and Notes, 4641 S. King Dr. Show times both nights are 8:30pm and 10:30pm; tickets are $20 and can be purchased at the box office. For more information, call 773-373-3390.
Award-winning writer and filmmaker Jackie Alexander'sBirthright is the third production in the ETA Creative Arts Theater's 2011 season. Directed by Vaun Monroe, the play is the story of a beloved local reverend and how he deals with his unraveling dark past.
Birthright runs through May 8 at ETA Creative Arts Theater, 7558 S. South Chicago Ave. Show times are 8pm Thursdays through Saturdays; Sundays at 3pm. Tickets are $10-$30 and can be reserved by phone, 773-752-3955.
Photographer Todd Diederich has been documenting the city's ball scene as part of an ongoing project funded by The Propeller Fund. Earlier this month, he arrived at a South Side karate studio for a ball, and instead found himself at a seminar on "dry humping" for lesbians.
Bertolt Brecht's The Caucasion Chalk Circle is presented by Theatre Mir in a quirky, amusing, and thought-provoking performance. Caught in the middle of a civil war, a lowly servant girl, Grusha, is compelled to rescue an abandoned baby of royal blood. She sacrifices a chance for escape and selflessly takes the child along on a journey of survival.
Under Jon Berry's direction, actors are recycled throughout the performance, transforming into different characters, stagehands, and musicians. The haphazard transitions on the Viaduct Theatre's stage- when actors are "off stage" they are often visible, preparing to join in the song or switching characters- prove distracting at times, but the multi-talented cast manages to sell each of their performances.
The musical numbers provide light-hearted and sometimes comedic moments to a heavy plot, and although the vocals are not on par with the acting, Chance Bone's original score is entertaining nonetheless.
The Caucasian Chalk Circle runs through April 3rd, Thursdays through Sundays, at the Viaduct Theatre.
Hey everyone. I've been doing a ton of traveling both for work and fun in March--four trips this month--and, as a result, I have been missing screenings in Chicago and haven't been able to see some big releases. Actually, I've been lucky so far, in that I've caught most of the major releases, but this week I miss a film I've truly been looking forward to seeing, writer-director Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch, opening today. I won't even attempt an educated guess as to what the film is about or whether it's any good, but since I've enjoyed a great deal his remake of Dawn of the Dead, 300, and Watchmen, I'm guessing Sucker Punch will appeal to me on at least a visual level, plus their appears to be a bevy of beautiful women starring in this film, and there's nothing wrong with that. Time will tell when I get back from my travels. Enjoy the few reviews I can send you way...
Win Win
Writer-director (and sometimes actor, but never in his own films) Thomas McCarthy has made two wonderful films (The Station Agent and The Visitor) about loners reconnecting with the world around them by making friends with strangers. But the first thing you notice about the lead character in McCarthy's third film, Win Win, is that Mike Flaherty (Paul Giamatti) is that he is by no definition of the word a loner. Mike is a lawyer whose business is struggling, but his family and friend base is strong. His wife, Jackie (Amy Ryan), is a rock; his co-worker (Jeffrey Tambor) is a good man; and his buddy and fellow high school wrestling coach Terry (Bobby Cannavale) is perhaps his greatest (and funniest) asset. The team that Mike takes time to coach after work is terrible but an essential part of who he is and was.
Art Club is a concept to bring purpose and support to a community of discouraged artists. Artists are given from March 4th to March 24th to create a (pre-chosen) concept-based piece, one of which can be spent in-gallery working in an open studio.
The word "steep" to be interpreted by the artists and create reactionary work based on their definition.
BYOB Chicago (organized by Nicholas O'Brien and Brian Khek) has invited more than 30 Chicago-based and international artists to create a collaborative happening of moving light, sound and performance. The dynamic structure will no-doubt be enhanced by a series of ad hoc installations, performances and special projects, creating an immerse environment of DIY spontaneity and experimentation.
The Chicago iteration of this international project will occur on Saturday, March 26 at the Archer Ballroom from 7 to 10pm.
A Gaia poster bomb on 18th Street; photo courtesy of the artist
Internationally lauded street artist, Gaia, is officially here-- all over the place. A series of projects showcasing Gaia's work around town, collectively titled GAIA: Resplendent Semblance launched a few weeks ago with a bunch of work pasted up all over the city, a collection of work at Pawn Works (which opened last Friday) and a show of new, large scale paintings and collages at Maxwell Colette Gallery, which will open this Friday.
Steve Schapiro: "Jodie on Couch" (1975); photo courtesy of Catherine Edelman Gallery.
To have Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese secure brilliant, attractive actors as your subjects, to have the perfect movie set as your background, to have the lighting already flawlessly arranged for each shot, then for the two famous directors to invite you in to capture it all on film - that is a photographer's dream. Steve Schapiro is a lucky bastard.
Here is a comprehensive list of artsy options for the weekend. These are mostly all opening receptions, with a few performances, benefits and artist lectures thrown in. Most of the events today start around 5 or 6pm, but some of the Saturday and Sunday events start earlier. Click on the links for details. See you around!
Hubbard Street dancers Penny Saunders and Jonathan Fredrickson in Ohad Naharin's THREE TO MAX.
THREE TO MAX, a new work incorporating elements of past works Three and Max by artistic director Ohad Naharin, was an innovative representation of anti-dance but ultimately fell short of its promise, due in no small part to the varying skill of the performers. The repetitions of the moves highlighted the imbalance of certain performers. Naharin's choreography is built on strength and one fall or wobbling limb was apparent and a distraction during the show.
Despite this situation, the choreography was, at many times, humorous and a frank play on elements of different dance genres. Each vignette not only deconstructed the dancer's body but also how the audience views and engages with dance performances. A dancer would conform to the dancers around him or her, and then break apart from the crowd. Despite the action surrounding him or her, the audience would ultimately feel compelled to focus on the individual. As a statement to the ethos (if there is any) to anti-dance, it was a compelling one.
For all his bad romantic-comedy attempts or just bad movies (hello, Tiptoes), I still find Matthew McConaughey an actor worth supporting. When he gets his teeth into a character in films like Dazed and Confused, Lone Star, A Time to Kill, The Newton Boys, Frailty, We Are Marshall, and Tropic Thunder, he's kind of unstoppable. And for a guy who is so well known for showing his shirtless torso in every damn movie, what has always fascinated me about his approach to acting is what he's capable of doing with his face. He can go from seduction mode, concern, fear, and intimidation all with a few tilts of the eyebrows or slight adjustments in how much teeth he shows--not that I've ever freeze-framed his face repeatedly watching The Wedding Planner or anything creepy like that. Heh. But as L.A. attorney Mick Haller in The Lincoln Lawyer, McConaughey gets to use all of his acting prowess, and the result is probably the best purely dramatic role he's every played.
This Saturday night Collaboraction will throw its most revolutionary fundraising party to date with their 9th annual CARNAVAL: Let Them Eat Cake! party at the Double Door. The venue will be transformed into a party battle zone with live musical performances, radical costumes, burlesque, immersive theatrical interludes, two floors of dancing and bottomless drinks.
"With revolution in the air, Collaboraction gathers its diverse and vibrant colony of artists to create an immersive artistic experience that vibrates with bacchanalian insurrection. Part party and part living art installation, our 9th annual CARNAVAL will be a debaucherous deconstruction of the history of revolution in France and throughout the globe," said Anthony Moseley, Artistic and Executive Director of Collaboraction, in the press release.
Meet "Flyboy," the goggle-wearing hero in artist Hebru Brantley's solo exhibition, Afro-Futurism: (Impossible View), who takes children mired in an abyss of socioeconomic obstacles and celebrates their unwavering spirit to survive and succeed despite it all. Brantley, a self-taught painter and illustrator from Chicago's South Side, conceived Flyboy via "attempts to commercialize the idea of an ethnic hero," something not always visible in the general cultural landscape.
Afro-Futurism: (Impossible View) opens Friday, March 18, 7pm-10pm, and runs through April 25 at Zhou B Art Center, 1029 W. 35th St. For more information, contact curator Michael Zhou at m@zhoub.com or 773-523-0200.
A few months ago, I had the experience of watching people get on stage and sing songs, read journal entries, poems, and one person read a selection from 125 handwritten pages of a story based on the film Jurassic Park. What these pieces shared in common was that they were all written when the readers were under 21 years old. This prompted me to think -- I've got boxes of old spiral-bound notebooks, composition books, and cloth-bound journals from my youth, all moldering in my basement; what would happen if I cracked them open?
Mortified is a reading series that plumbs the depths of our youth at our angstiest, our most unintentionally hilarious, and our most impressionable, before we learned the nuances of the adult world and how to navigate it. Based in L.A., Shay DeGrandis directs the Chicago chapter of Mortified, which started in 2006. When she's not directing Mortified, DeGrandis works at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she schedules classes, among other things. "LA and NY seem to have a more consistent stream of applicants than we do here," she says, "I imagine it's because of their high per capita actor ratio -- they have a lot of willing people who desire an audience. People in Chicago have amazing stories to tell but it's harder to get them to participate, to be vulnerable, to get on stage and bear their most private moments. But when they do, they touch the audience's heart as well as their funny bone... and sometimes other places, too."
There has been alotoftalk (and a little controversy) about nanny-cum-street photographer, Vivian Maier, whose work was discovered in 2007 when storage units containing it were emptied due to late payment and the work was sold to an auction house. Maybe you've even seen her exhibition at the Cultural Center (up through April 3). In a sense, she is our new Henry Darger--a talented Chicago-based outsider artist whose work has earned her posthumous fame. The difference is that her work is genuine documentation of the city and the people in it rather than the zany imaginings of a madman (not that there's anything wrong with that).
But just like the prices for Darger's work rapidly skyrocketed, Maier's are on their way up, and now you have a chance at a piece of the pie.
In his debut one-man show, Tim Paul's Retarded, Annoyance Theatre veteran Tim Paul reveals what happens behind the closed doors of a group home. Supplemented by pop-cult video segments to add context, he recounts true (and horrifying) stories from his years working at a group home for adults with developmental disabilities and behavioral disorders, exploring society's all-too-comfortable relationship with the r-word. The result is a challenging piece of theater with its fair share of tongue-in-cheek laughs.
Tim Paul's Retarded opened last Sunday and will run every Sunday at 9:30pm through April 3 at The Annoyance Theatre (4830 N. Broadway). Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at theannoyance.com or by calling the box office at 773-561-4665.
Chicago's own beloved Threadless has teamed up with Thermos to make adorable new crowdsourced lunch accessories for Target. Artists submit their designs to be voted on by the Threadless community of nearly 1.5 million members to help decide which designs are printed on the Thermos + Threadless line of products, in the same manner that Threadless' t-shirts are chosen/produced. Each product in the new line features an artist statement on the packaging detailing the inspiration for the selected design and giving context to the images. The newly-launched Thermos + Threadless line currently consists of eight designs on stainless steel hydration bottles and six designs on lunchboxes.
I don't know about you, but when I was a teenager, lunchboxes and other manufactured eating accessories were vehemently taboo among the cool crowd. Kids turned their noses up at them in favor of brown paper bags. This may change that.
The cast of Hair at the Oriental Theatre. Photo credit: Joan Marcus.
Before you ask -- yes, there are naked people in the Broadway in Chicago production of Hair, running through March 20. It was the first thing my theatergoing companion asked me about when I invited her to join me for last week's preview. Having grown up with the music of Hair, but never having seen the film or the stage production, I didn't know about the nudity. Sure enough, at the end of Act I, the stage lights dimmed to a predawn glow and the entire cast stood before us, naked as the day they were born. My friend Grace turned to me and whispered: "See, I told you there were naked people." And God bless them for keeping it true to the original hippie-dippie, freeloving original; if it was me up there I would have demanded a merkin. Who knows, maybe they were wearing merkins, I'm no expert on the subject. "Wow," I said to Grace, "that's more naked people than I've seen all year" (and I work in a gym).
Chicago native Esther Ku is making her mark in the world of stand-up; with appearances on NBC's "Last Comic Standing," television commercials and even as a finalist in Howard Stern's "Hottest/Funniest Chick" contest, this up-and-coming comedienne is entertaining audiences all over the country with her bold style. Here, the former Rogers Park resident discusses women in stand-up, "dirty" comedy and her penchant for performing in front of black audiences.
I read that your comedy career was born after you were fired from a job for laughing too much--was there a "no laughing on the job" policy there?
[Laughs.] I was working for a Chicago-based pen company and they let me go for laughing too much. When the recession was just starting, pens were the first thing to go because everything is on computers, people were using styluses or whatever, and I was there selling pens. I guess it was like, "Okay, the laughing Asian girl has got to go."
Well if ever there were an example of when getting fired works out...
It did. I'm happy now--well, that day I cried--but it all worked out in the end.
A heavy bill is set for Mortville tonight; a few of the bands have traveled long distances to grace Chicago with some serious music. Check them out and have some fun while gazing into the installations reminiscent of the Garbage Pale Kids.
If you want to go, you've got to figure out the address for yourself. You can thank the city'sPPAdrama for that. Hint: It's in Little Village.
Cinema Q, a new film series that highlights LGBT movies filmed in Chicago, will hold a series of screenings at the Chicago Cultural Center. The free screenings will take place over four Wednesdays, March 16, 23, 30, and April 6, in the Cultural Center's Claudia Cassidy Theater, 78 E. Washington.
The first film featured in the series is Ron Pajak's Quearborn & Perversion: An Early History of Lesbian & Gay Chicago, the story of the evolution of the intersection of Dearborn and Division as "the nexus of gay life in the 1950s." Other films include Go Fish, JoJo Baby, and Were the World Mine.
All films screen at 6:30pm and feature post-discussion with various filmmakers, cast, and crew members. Note: Films contain mature subject matter; viewer discretion is advised. For more information on Cinema Q, visit www.ChicagoCulturalCenter.org or call 312-744-6630.
Criticallyacclaimed comedy troupe Octavarius is premiering a new show series titled "Octavarius: Battle for the Belt," tomorrow night (March 13) at 7pm at Stage 773. Additional performances will take place on March 20 & 27. Colt Cabana, former WWE and current Ring of Honor superstar, is a special guest of the series, making an in-person appearance on night two (the 20th) and video appearances on night one and three. "The Ego" Robert Anthony, CZW Heavyweight Champion, will make a surprise appearance on the final night of the series (the 27th). The stage will be transformed into a wrestling ring, complete with ropes, turnbuckles and a Jumbotron. Tickets are $15 per show, or $25 for a ringside pass to all three nights. Audience members are encouraged to make a sign cheering or jeering their favorite Octavarius superstars, and receive tickets at a discounted rate of $12. For more information, visit Octavarius.com.
Also, tomorrow we've got Karen Bovinich & EJ Hill's There is no I in it opening at The Hills Esthetic Center and Candida Alvarez's Black/Dinner Napkin Paintings opening at Peregrine Program.
This article was submitted by freelance writer John Greenfield.
When I was choosing the next roadway to tackle as part of my project to walk the lengths of all of Chicago's major thoroughfares, Pulaski Road sprang to mind as one the city's iconic streets. So far I'd hiked Milwaukee, Western, Halsted, Archer, Grand, 63rd, Kedzie, Belmont, 79th, King and Lawrence, discovering a wealth of tasty eats, historic sights and friendly folks.
Named after Casimir S. Pulaski, the Polish-American hero of the Revolutionary War known as "the father of the American Calvary," Pulaski Road stretches 21.7 miles across this city, said to have more Poles than any town but Warsaw. But the street was originally named Crawford Avenue after early Chicago pioneer Peter Crawford, and the name change created a controversy that lasted almost two decades.
In a way, I guess I understand some of the initial negative response to this big, loud summer movie released in mid-March, but I don't necessarily agree with most of it. As an alien-invasion exercise, it works pretty successfully at creating a real-world scenario where aliens suddenly land on the shores of our world and begin a brutal campaign to extinguish human life (or at least enough human life to get done what they came to do). The story is told from the vantage point of a Marine staff sergeant (Aaron Eckhart), who has seen his fair share of action, most recently in Afghanistan, and he's ready to call it quits after 20 years in the service.
Local artist book shop and exhibition space Golden Age continues to present a strong line-up of curated and solo exhibitions. For their latest, New York City-based artist Erik Lindman will be in attendance for the opening of his latest solo exhibition, One Year Edit. Constructed of cast-offs from other paintings, Lindman's four unique abstract works combine varying surfaces with more formal compositions. As Golden Age co-director Marco Kane Braunschweiler noted, "You go out, find your subject in the world, come back, edit out what doesn't work and if you've done what you've intended, you present something resonant. It's a bold and cutting edge way of working because it doesn't present any hint of the artist as a traditional, avant-garde painter."
One Year Edit opens Friday, March 11, from 6 to 9 pm. The exhibition runs through April 17. Golden Age is located at 119 North Peoria, #2D.
Dan Telfer wants your laughs. A local finalist for the Chicago and Montreal Just for Laughs festivals, Telfer is performing tonight at the Red Bar Comedy Club in River North to seal the deal. A stand up's performance is only as good as the audience, so why don't you get out there and give some laughs; thankfully, Dan is hilarious. He offers more incentives (if paying $5 to be cracked up just isn't enough for you) in the the video below.
Filmmaker Amy Grappell has featured works in Sundance film fest, winning honorable mention. She has also shown work at SXSW, Rotterdam film fest, and among many others. Now, she will be presenting work at University of Chicago's contemporary art gallery The Renaissance Society.
The opening reception will take place this Sunday (March 13) from 4pm to 7pm, and will include a discussion with Grappell from 5pm to 6pm, in room 307 at Cobb Hall.
Theater aficionados have quickly taken to The New Colony, a fledgling local company who've won fans over with their sharp, clever, devised works. Their play, That Sordid Little Story, was extremely well-received by both audiences and critics, and now New Colony has further explored the piece and produced a short film that follows some of the characters from the show. The film premiered at Collaboraction last month, and is now available for viewing online.
Yael Bartana is a female video artist who works from Amsterdam and Tel Aviv, whom recently was awarded the prestigious Artes Mundi Prize. Her work explores the complicated implications of social and political discourses revolving around the age of globalization.
This Saturday The Garden is hosting a one night event from 8pm to 1am that will feature too many talented Chicago artists and musicians to wrap your head around. Brett Manning (a girl), is the curator along with the help of others. This isn't an event to miss and then cry about later when you hear all your friends were there. It is a small world after all.
Visit the P&P blog for more information.
This Friday from 6pm to 9pm the Co Prosperity sphere is opening a new show in conjunction with the old Uncle Freddy's Gallery of Northwest Indiana. Uncle Freddy's was a space where artists who didn't fit the mold of the traditional gallery scene would be able to show their most heartfelt and intense work.
If you're looking for a little lively art talk today, look no further than UIC's Gallery 400. Today at 5pm they're hosting an artist's talk with Kalup Linzy-- a multidisciplinary artist whose practice includes videos, performances, and music. I am not familiar with his work but it sounds like a lot of fun, and (potentially) part of the Post Black movement-- one of the most exiting contemporary art movements, albeit underrepresented. (Pulled from the press release:)
His satirical narratives--inspired by soap operas, telenovelas and Hollywood melodramas--deal with race, sexuality, gender, class, and the art world itself. Serving as writer, director, cinematographer, editor, and actor, he performs, often in drag, a series of memorable, defiant characters. Simultaneously salacious and poignant, Linzy's works fuse dramatic intensity with melodramatic irony and gut-busting comedy.
Gallery 400 is located at 400 S. Peoria St. in the West Loop. For more information about Linzy, visit his website.
I caught one of the last runs of Hercules at the Lyric on Monday and I am so glad I did, although when I left the theater I wasn't so sure about that. Peter Sellars offers us a vision Hercules as an American soldier in modern fatigues, and I do appreciate the focus on current events, but I feel like the correlations were already there without having to be spelled out so blatantly. There is also the question of Hercules fighting for the US -- he is a god after all. So some of the director's choices raised questions, but the performances were stellar across the board.
The recent rainy Friday evening did not detract from the opening of SAIC MFA-alum Chinatsu Ikeda's solo show at the Nicole Villeneuve Gallery being well attended. Indeed, the weather seemed an appropriate fit for Ikeda's paintings, some of which feature falling rain and snow, and are made up of tiny washy marks.
The show, comprised of eight recent works on canvas and paper, ranges from oil to watercolor. A particularly strong example of what can perhaps be described as a contemporary interpretation of impressionistic mark-making can be found in an untitled oil painting featuring a clown-like figure situated between a fork and a spoon. The picture is enveloped in a variety of Ikeda's tiny marks that could be falling rain or snow, but in areas alternate between resembling popcorn or rice (further evidenced by a tiny orange bowl in the lower left corner). Elsewhere these same marks help to form the face and arms of the figure-- notably the figure's broad, bright red lips.
The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago presents Same Planet Different World Dance Theatre offering a program filled with a variety of dance choreography, including a world premiere.
In Grey Noise, choreographed by company Artistic Director Joanna Rosenthal and inspired by 1940s and '50s film noir, five dancers perform an intensely physical and emotional piece that depicts people consumed by an edgy and unpredictable environment.
Also on the program is the world premiere of HIT, by choreographer Carl Flink, where dancers are depicted in a "singular event" atmosphere and where collision, not victory is the goal. Additional performances include To Have and to Hold, with choreography by Daniel Shapiro and Joanie Smith, and a free, family-friendly dance matinee on Saturday, March 12.
Same Planet Different World Dance Theatre performs Thursday through Saturday, March 10-12, at 8pm, at The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, 1306 S. Michigan Ave. Tickets are $26-30. The Family Dance Matinee takes place Saturday, March 12 at 3pm; children age 12 and under are free; adults, $15. For tickets, call 312-369-8330. For more information about SPDW, visit spdwdance.org.
This month, Columbia College Chicago presents Story Week Festival of Writers: Class Acts. Put on by the college's Fiction Writing Department in conjunction with the Chicago Public Library and Metro, this six-day festival, now in its 15th year, will contain a variety of performances, panel discussions and author readings, all designed to ignite conversations about classism and its role in creative arts and the world of publishing.
The festival will feature a diverse group of guest writers who will read and discuss their works in a number of different events at the college and throughout the city; among them are Chicago native Jennifer Egan, author of the New York Times bestseller A Visit from the Goon Squad, Irvine Welsh, author of Trainspotting, and Columbia College Chicago professor and author Audrey Niffenegger. Other festival highlights include readings and workshops by acclaimed actress and playwright Regina Taylor, comedy by Stephanie Shaw and "Chicago Classics," hosted by Rick Kogan.
Story Week Festival of Writers: Class Acts runs Sunday, March 13 through Friday, March 18. The festival is free and open to the public; check the website for full schedule and event locations. For more information, contact 312-369-7611.
Today is the first Friday of the month, which means there are a bunch of art shows opening tonight. Here's a quick sampling of what's going on around town:
Matt Austin Talking with Fear about Dying Tomorrow at Johalla Projects
Science fiction and love stories so rarely work well together, but when they do, it can be a beautiful thing. And I think it's safe to say that first-time feature director George Nolfi (who adapted the Philip K. Dick short story "Adjustment Team") has melded these two elements rather perfectly, so that neither one is slighted nor its impact lessened. Now, some may argue that The Adjustment Bureau isn't technically science fiction, and those people would be wrong. No matter what you call the mysterious men in hats who seem to nudge citizens like you and me into following a prescribed and predetermined path so that foreseen events will take place as they should, they are classic science fiction tools that may or may not also represent religious deities of a kind. They're also really cool dressers.
Former Gapers Block contributor, banana enthusiast and (above all) photographer Brian Leli has begun selling prints of his photographs on his website to facilitate the taking of more photographs. Prints are $80 each and come with a hand-written letter from Leli and (apparently) a date (if you live in Chicago). Good deal. Pictured above is the first print for sale on his website.
Local comedian Mo Welch debuts her "one woman show", Weird Girl, at the Lincoln Lodge tonight. For the show she combines her trademark characters from "The Mo Show" with her real life upbringing. Welch also adds her original short films, making the show both multi-media and interactive. Although "The Mo Show" is nascent, it has already received a good amount of press, with appearances by some of Chicago's top comedians. Welch's Weird Girl: One Human Show promises the same wacky abandon.
Weird Girl debuts at 9pm tonight at The Lincoln Lodge, and runs again tomorrow (March 4)-- same place, same time. Tickets are $10. More information can be found at mowelch.com. Buy tickets ahead of time at thelincolnlodge.com.
The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago's re-vamped monthly party, First Fridays, continues to combine music, visual arts, and exclusive events. March's theme is Robots and includes selected tunes by DJ Josh Madden and an appearance by Billy Bot of Slideshow Theatre.
Compared to previous iterations of the event, March's celebration is fantastically heavy on the museum's bread and butter, the arts. Club Nutz return to the museum after a week-long summer residency as part of Here/Not There. In its latest presentation, visitors can view a robot stand-up comedian, a robotic magic show, an open mic, and DJ dance parties. Visitors also get a behind-the-scenes look at the filming of artist Kirsten Leenaars' soap opera based on MCA staff members. As well, Takeshi Moro, the latest artist in the UBS 12 x 12: New Artists/New Work series open his solo exhibition of photographic works and designed objects.
First Fridays: Robots takes place Friday, March 4 from 6 pm to 10 pm. Tickets are $10 for MCA members, $13 in advance, or $18 at the door. All tickets include museum admission, live entertainment, and hors d'oeuvres. For more information, visit mcachicago.org.
Leaving through the back door (first photograph of the trip), silver gelatin print, 2010
ACRE, in conjunction with Johalla Projects, presents TALKING WITH FEAR ABOUT DYING TOMORROW, a solo exhibition of new works by Chicago-based artist and educator Matthew Austin. The latest installment in ACRE's year-long series of solo exhibition by 2010 ACRE summer residents, Austin's new work was born out of a month-long road trip following his summer residency.
In his series of photographs, Austin carves into trees or poses for a tourist photo as a means of exploring and documenting the ways in which an individual interacts with his or her environment. Austin reiterates personal messages and tangible artifacts of an individual experience as a way to highlight the universality of such interactions.
In addition to the photographs, Austin will be releasing an edition of news prints and a monograph of new work. On Saturday at 4 pm, Austin will also exhibition his first contribution to HomeSchool, a traveling institution for experimental pedagogy.
Matthew Austin: TALKING WITH FEAR ABOUT DYING TOMORROW opens Friday, March 4 from 7 - 10 pm. The exhibition closes this Saturday, March 5. Johalla Projects is located at 1561 N Milwaukee and is open Thursday, March 3 from 3 - 7 pm and Saturday, March 5 from 1 - 6 pm.
This is the story of Chicagoans Mohamed Ali Kabba and his sister Fatima, refugees from Sierra Leone.
Every year thousands of refugees migrate to the United States. In 2009, the Chicago area accepted around 2,500 new refugees alone. Organizations like Interfaith Refugee and Immigrant Ministries here in Chicago support them for three months. In that time refugees work fast to learn English, find a job and assimilate before their funding ends and they make the leap into American culture.
Founded in 1976, the Poetry Center of Chicago is an independent not-for-profit literary arts organization that continues to build access to poetry through readings, workshops, residencies, and arts education for Chicago's diverse population. The Poetry Center fortifies its history of provocative and enriching guest performers (Allen Ginsburg and William Burroughs gave the center's first reading in the basement of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago) with a keynote performance from Iranian poet/playwright Ezzat Goushegir on Saturday, March 5 at 3 pm. She will be reading from her one-woman play, The Bride of Acacias, about the life of poet Forough Farrokzad.
The performance is one of many events taking place over the next couple of days, and weeks, as the Poetry Center officially moves into the Chicago Cultural Center. Now located in the pedway of the Cultural Center, the new offices include a public art gallery, Welcome Center, workshop space, and the center's administrative headquarters. Other re-opening celebrations include a public reception and commemorative readings beginning Friday, March 4 through Saturday, March 5, noon - 5 pm.
The Poetry Center of Chicago is located within the Chicago Cultural Center pedway, 78 East Washington.
I am super excited about an upcoming show I want everyone to know about, and it isn't just because I can finally write about soccer in the arts section. My passion for art is immense, I love doing studio visits with fellow artists, and ChicagoArts exists because I can't keep from talking about great work and trying to let people know how awesome art is. So there are only a few things that get my mind off creativity and the arts, one of those things is soccer. Remember that The Onion article "Nation's Soccer Fan Becoming Insufferable"? Well, that was me.
Starting March 18 and running through May, an ongoing discussion series will be staged at Links Hall, 3435 N. Sheffield Ave., on a weekly basis on Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 7pm. To Art & Profit -- performed by panels of artists, scholars and creative advocates -- will address art as knowledge in discussions defining purpose and building solidarity. Tickets are $15, or $10 for students.
Flannery is both a warm and hilarious storyteller; the show spins what seem like tall tales but in fact are real-life experiences of the baffling number of ways Flannery has nearly killed himself (or friends, or siblings), as well as other just plain dumb things one does when drunk and lives to tell about (don't we all have a Taco Bell parking lot story?). The show also features the only acceptable use of a Power Point presentation.
I sat down to my laptop last week to ask Sean a few questions about the show and comedy in general.
