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A/C

Overheard Illustrated Mon Nov 28 2011

Overheard Illustrated: "Go Up"

click for larger image
Thursday, November 24, Division Road--Indiana

Mark Addison Smith

Feature Mon Nov 28 2011

Interview: Ryan Walker

A documentary about "the most blacklisted author in the history of Iowa," Zielinski toes the line between black comedy, government conspiracy theory, and poignant portrait of the artist as an old man. The film's directors, Ryan Walker and Chase Thompson, embarked upon the film after meeting John M. Zielinski in Columbia, Missouri. I caught up with Ryan to find out more about public access television, conspiracy's funny side, and the man behind the rhetoric.

Zielinski-Film1.jpg

Continue reading this entry »

Jordan Larson / Comments (1)

Art Fri Nov 25 2011

MCA Screen: David Hartt, Stray Light

Johnson Publishing Company, publisher of Ebony and Jet magazines, has long been a staple of African-American culture; however, the sale of the South Michigan Avenue corporate offices to Columbia College Chicago in 2010 was to the dismay of many devotees of the magazines.

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David Hartt, Award Room, 2011. Edition of 6 + 1 AP. Courtesy of the artist and Corbett vs. Dempsey, Chicago.

Curated by James W. Alsdorf and part of the Museum of Contemporary Art's new "MCA Screen" series, Stray Light, the latest work by Chicago-based Canadian artist David Hartt, explores the timeline and sociocultural impact of this legendary cultural institution via film and photographs.

See the opening of Stray Light on Saturday, Nov. 26 at the Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago; museum hours vary. Tickets are $7-$12 and are available online or at the box office. Exhibit runs through April 29, 2012. For more information, call 312-397-4010.

LaShawn Williams

Art Fri Nov 25 2011

Art Around Town

Well, there's not much going on on the visual art front this weekend -- at least as far as I can tell. If you know of anything, please do leave info in the comments section.

There is one thing, though, which looks pretty darn cool, going on all day today: a Chicago Data Portrait. Today from 10am to midnight, 50 Chicago dwellers have volunteered to record their movements using an app that tracks their GPS data. They will also record a narrative of their day. The data and narratives will be curated into One Image, Fifty Stories, an exhibit at the RGB Lounge design co-op in Wicker Park, Chicago opening January 5.

It's probably too late to volunteer, but the show should definitely be worth checking out. Details here.

Kelly Reaves

Column Wed Nov 23 2011

The Muppets, Hugo, My Week with Marilyn, The Heir Apparent: Largo Winch, Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey & The Last Rites of Joe May

The Muppets

At this point, another review of The Muppets seems superfluous, but hell, the movie is so damn good, it can't really hurt. I'll admit, I held my breath when I saw the "Smalltown, USA" sign, marking the community where Gary (Jason Segel, who also co-wrote the film with Nicholas Stoller) and his pal Walter (the film's new Muppet character) grew up together as huge fans of the Muppet TV show. That little detail seemed a little too quaint, but it took about five minutes and one catchy tune to win me over. Segel and Stoller are such devoted fans that they know what about the Muppets is sacred ground and what they can play and tinker with a little bit.

Continue reading this entry »

Steve Prokopy

Sixty Inches from Center Wed Nov 23 2011

Moments of Possibility - An Interview with Dave Murray

By Amanda Mead*

In September, I attended an exhibit at the LVL3 Gallery titled This is the Same as That, a joint exhibit between New York artist Letha Wilson and Chicago artist Dave Murray. The show dealt with examining the real and the unreal, the physical and the imagined. The exhibit included photography, sculpture, and installation that dealt with the duality of materiality and material limitations.

So in October, over the din of silverware scrapes and the clank of beers at the Exchequer Pub (a supposed SAIC graduate student spot), I was finally was able to interview Dave Murray between his trips from North and South East Asia stopping in Singapore, Taipei, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Beijing, and his next trip to India and the Middle East including stops in Mumbai, New Delhi, Kuwait, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi. As the Assistant Director of International Admissions at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Dave's job involves grand travels. In a few weeks he will be traveling to Portugal and Turkey.

Our conversation varied from kindergarten to the Tower of Babel, and in between we had some great discussion about art.

Continue reading this entry »

A/C

Dating Wed Nov 23 2011

Chicago Dating 2.011: The Best of the Worst

Previous Entry: The THIRD Date
Next Entry: To Be Normal

I have to admit that I've never really had a terrible, awful, make me reconsider the spinster lifestyle, kind of date...at least on Match.com. I've had awkward dates, I've had ugly dates, I've had dates I just wish would end so I could put on my sweats and watch Parks and Rec. But I've never had one of those truly terrible dates that you always fear when joining an online dating site.

For the most part I've found that my Match dates, if nothing else, have tried. They are on Match to date and therefore put a bit of effort into being entertaining or at least inoffensive. Even when I knew in the first two minutes that this would be our only date, I still usually had some genuinely enjoyable conversations. And even though three first dates a week can get exhausting, I generally still felt like humanity was good by Friday.

But despite my relative luck, I have heard some online horror stories from friends, dates and readers. With their permission and often blessing, I'm going to regale some of you with some terrifyingly real stories. Coincidentally, all of these happen to be first dates, which, for obvious reasons, were not followed by a second date. I hope the sharing of these experiences is cathartic and healing for anyone who has ever had a terrible date.

Continue reading this entry »

Niki Fritz / Comments (1)

Art Wed Nov 23 2011

Thanksgiving Reads: Hope Dies Last: The Lasting Scars of Difficult Times

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Here's an excerpt and link to a new cover story recently published over at Chicago's alt-weekly, Newcity on the human costs of unemployment. Above illustration: Zeke Danielson. Courtesy Newcity. -MW

In America, there is no more terrifying a ghoul than the threat of sustained, cripplingly high unemployment. We hear about it all the time. Have maybe even decided just to tune it out or maybe the ubiquity of the bloodless discussion of it has just inured us to the subject. It's just numbers, right? It'll get better eventually. Figure it out. After all, it's hard to get a sense of what's happening from those chatterboxes in the news, those talking heads feeding us an endless tickertape of statistics, empty percentages; high here, low there. We treat it like the weather. Numbers. Never any stories. Why does it always have to be numbers? Maybe it's too much, what's happening. Too garish, what's happening to them, how the poor behave. How low.

Ask yourself. What actually are the effects on a family slipping below the poverty line, of losing their home in a foreclosure, of a family unable to afford gas, utility bills, clothes? Its effects aren't just felt for a month or two, or something you get past in a year. There's a price. And it's one paid almost entirely by the less fortunate. And that's what defines our society: how we treat our less fortunate and what price they pay for other's prosperity. And if we're a privileged society, maybe all that means is that the privileged get to ignore the silent anguish of the poor. But the cost of it doesn't go away, ever. It stays with us as a people, changes and defines us psychologically and emotionally, and sometimes we lose one. But surviving it doesn't fucking make you stronger, it scars and mutilates. CONTINUE READING

Michael Workman

Theater Wed Nov 23 2011

Review: The Jackie Wilson Story @ Black Ensemble Theater Cultural Center

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This past weekend, fans of the Black Ensemble Theater enjoyed the opening of the new Black Ensemble Theater Cultural Center, 4450 N. Clark St., with the kickoff of the 2011-2012 season entitled "Legendary Season of Rhythm and Blues."

The Jackie Wilson Story, an audience favorite that was revamped for the new season, premiered at the new, sleek and modern 299-seat venue, to a host of both old and new fans. Written, directed and produced by theater founder and director Jackie Taylor, the story serves as the ultimate tribute to the late soul singer.

Continue reading this entry »

LaShawn Williams

Interview Tue Nov 22 2011

Interview: Joel Kim Booster

Last month's Queer Comedy (Contest) at Zanies narrowed ten contestants down to three winners. Joel Kim Booster, who won first place, will return to stage tonight in his Zanies debut. I talked with him recently about the contest, being a queer comic and Louis CK.

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Winners from last months Queer Comedy (Contest) at Zanies, L to R, Joel Kim Booster, Caitlin Bergh, Homer Mars, with host Adam Guerino. Photo by Alexandra Moskovich.

Continue reading this entry »

Nellie Huggins

Overheard Illustrated Mon Nov 21 2011

Overheard Illustrated: "Relic"

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Wednesday, November 16, DePaul University--Lincoln Park

Mark Addison Smith

Art Mon Nov 21 2011

Briefing Room Interview: Cynthia Plastercaster Writes Her Autobiography (Finally)

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Originally published at ARTINFO.COM, where I write a regular column, "True Stories" on Chicago and international art subjects. -MW

Cynthia Plastercaster, nee Cynthia Albritton, has earned a place for herself among the world's most famous groupies, if not THE most famous groupie. A product of the sexual revolution, she began making plaster casts of famous rock stars' penises in the mid-1960's, counting Jimi Hendrix and Jello Biafra among her collection of "babies." An iconic and legendary figure in Chicago, she has never told the story of her intimate encounters with the rock gods who populate her collection...until now. She recently began a Kickstarter campaign to buy herself some time to finish the writing, and "True Stories" sat down with her to get the skinny.

You're working on writing your autobiography, finally, after all these years.

After a certain point in my life I couldn't help but notice I'd led a really interesting life, unlike any that I'd heard of and I thought it would make a good story. I've kept journals since I learned about Samuel Pepy's diary about the plague. I've also been into documents and that actually made me a really great file clerk. CONTINUE READING

Michael Workman / Comments (2)

Event Fri Nov 18 2011

Art Around Town

Tonight:

  • HUNGRY BELLOWS OF THE MINOTAUR @ FM*Gallery
  • GOMEZ/WILSON: Windows & Mirrors @ New Capital
  • CURRENT @ 33 Contemporary
  • Mind and Reality @ Roxaboxen
  • Tantalized: 20 Paintings by Andrew Ek and Dana Toft @ VG
  • Head @ Slow
  • Tilo Schulz, Artist Talk @ University of Chicago
  • ANGELICIES: A Look at the Moderna Day Angel @ Jackson Junge Gallery
  • LEVEL EATER 2 @ Co-Prosperity Sphere
  • Seth Sher: Nominal Mystique @ The Hills
  • Connie Noyes: Pink Space @ Blanc Gallery

  • Saturday:

  • Stephanie Brooks: Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments. @ Terrain
  • Public Collectors: Collection Show and Tell with Ricki Hill @ Gallery 400
  • Marilyn Manson Without the Makeup @ 1dM
  • Recursion @ 2612 Space
  • Roots & Culture 5th Anniversary Party
  • Elliot Reed: 'Till The World Ends @ Lemonspace
  • FOTA's Fall Fair: Art Lab @ Reynold's Club
  • The DIY Trunk Show @ Broadway Armory
  • CAMP @ Octagon Gallery
  • Karen Reimer: The Domestic Partnership of Heaven and Hell @ moniquemeloche
  • Tony Tasset & Sayre Gomez @ Kavi Gupta

  • Sunday:

  • Jim Ricks: Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want @ Peanut Gallery
  • Coppice and Andrew Furse present Apiary @ Packer-Schopf Gallery
  • Caleb Yono Lecture @ Julius Caesar
  • JOSHUA SAMPSON / A DEVICE FOR SEEING @ ACRE
  • Stitchy! @ Roxaboxen
  • Play: New Work by David Linneweh & Leslie Mutchler @ What it is
  • Spudnik Press Cooperative: Portfolio Review
  • Kelly Reaves

    Column Fri Nov 18 2011

    The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1, The Descendants & Happy Feet Two

    The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1

    How does one even begin to discuss any of the Twilight films without sounding like an outsider looking in? Up until the latest installment, the first of the two-part conclusion of Breaking Dawn, I'd seen these films getting slightly better with each new film. Part of the reason for this was that the choice of directors was improving with each new movie, and I thought that would be the case when I heard Bill Condon (Gods & Monsters; Dreamgirls) was on board for the climax of this story of young love, supernatural creatures, and shirtless men. But Breaking Dawn, perhaps in an effort to drag this story out to roughly four hours across two films, feels like its moving in slow motion.

    Continue reading this entry »

    Steve Prokopy

    Film Thu Nov 17 2011

    ¡Viva la Local!

    Cinelatino-RooftopWars-RESI.jpg

    A still from Rooftop Wars, which will be featured on Cine Latino this Saturday. Photo courtesy of CAN-TV

    For those of us who prefer to stay in on amateur night, Chicago's (fantastic) CAN-TV has a new program called "Cine Latino," featuring short Latino films every Saturday at 8pm. Although "Cine Latino" features films made from all over the world (From Peru to Spain), this Saturday's program features a film shot in Pilsen! More info here.

    Kelly Reaves

    Dating Thu Nov 17 2011

    Chicago Dating 2.011: The THIRD date

    Previous Entry: The First Kiss
    Next Entry: The Best of the Worst

    I vividly remember being in high school and hearing the third date "rule" on one particularly scandalous episode of Sex in the City. (For those not schooled in the Sex Bible according to Carrie, the Third Date Rule, is basically you must have sex on the third date, no exceptions.) My 15-year-old puritanical self couldn't help but think what kind of slut sleeps with a guy on the third date.

    However years later, after freeing myself from the sexless prison known as Green Bay via to the liberating hippies of UW-Madison, I now find myself trying to quantify dates or round up, if you will. Can I count that first date as two dates since it was really dinner AND a movie, which is like two separate activities and therefore two separate dates? What about that 3-hour phone call where we talked about his fear of turning into his father and my fear of Asian cartoons as date number two? And there was that one particularly witty Facebook exchange of wall posts...the sharing of honey badger and keyboard cat is really one of the more intimate Facebook acts.

    All this justification just to get me to the magic number three so I can justify my slutty sexy fun time.

    Continue reading this entry »

    Niki Fritz

    Video Wed Nov 16 2011

    Kyles' HR X-Files

    You know Kyra Kyles from her column in the Red Eye. What you may not have known is that she's also an aspiring filmmaker. Kyles and her sister, Kozi, recently released the trailer for their first project, "Human Resources," a web series starring puppets that she describes as "'Sesame Street' meets the 'X Files'" that debuts today.

    You can read a full interview with the Kyles sisters in Tuesday's Truth B Told newsletter.

    Andrew Huff

    Performance Tue Nov 15 2011

    Celebrating the Season: "Holliday for the Holidays"

    For 30 years, Walt Whitman has led the Soul Children of Chicago, a gospel choir that is renowned for not only its soul-stirring performances but also its mission to use music to motivate and inspire youth. Here, he discusses the impact of the Soul Children in the community, as well as performing in an upcoming holiday concert with Grammy and Tony award-winning singer and actress, Jennifer Holliday.

    SOUL CHILDREN.jpg

    Soul Children of Chicago

    The Soul Children of Chicago has been around for decades, motivating children through music and the art of performing--talk about how you've sustained longevity, especially in a society where kids are easily distracted with so many other things.

    We're driven by purpose. We tap into the spiritual side of kids and we create such a family atmosphere for kids to tap into their creativity and who they really are. Soul Children kind of brings the best out of a child and helps kids to become leaders--it's really a leadership development program--that's the best way to describe it--with music used as the medium for which we develop the leadership and potential out of every child that comes through the program.

    Continue reading this entry »

    LaShawn Williams

    Art Mon Nov 14 2011

    Enough Space in the Head to Breathe

    I had a great time today at kasia kay art projects, hanging out at the Diane Christiansen show. Let me start by saying that this is a very understated show, at first it doesn't seem like much. The show consists mostly of a number of relatively small oil paintings on plaster. These are not frescoes; the oil paint is applied on top of cured plaster where the paint is layered and sanded, and layered and sanded. Many of the pieces in the show reference landscape, they create a significant amount of space and it should be said that Diane uses a number of techniques and styles to create her work.

    Continue reading this entry »

    MartinJon

    Overheard Illustrated Mon Nov 14 2011

    Overheard Illustrated: "Hear"

    click for larger image
    Saturday, November 12, my dining room--Uptown

    Mark Addison Smith / Comments (1)

    Interview Fri Nov 11 2011

    Interview: Urlakis & Cusick

    Sean Cusick (L) and Dave Urlakis (R) met while both were cast members of the critically acclaimed religious satire, The Best Church of God. Already seasoned veterans of comedy, the two got together and created a two-man show in which they discuss everything from parenthood to death. The show opens this Saturday, November 12th, at Stage 773. Here's what the two had to say about finding time to write, parenthood and comedy.

    urlakisandcusick_pbd.jpg

    Continue reading this entry »

    Nellie Huggins

    Event Fri Nov 11 2011

    Art Around Town

    Tonight:

  • Read/Write Library Opening Celebration
  • Warrior's unite....!! @ Q4/MultiKulti
  • Division|Collective presents NETCAFE
  • Boogie Art II @ The Fountainhead
  • Marwen's Art Fair 2011
  • Amos Kennedy Print Sale & Screening of Proceed & Be Bold @ Lillstreet Art Center
  • Lift A Glass Wine Tasting & Auction @ Chicago Urban Art Society
  • Rahmaan Statik: Creative Liberation @ RGB Lounge
  • Fine Arts Building Studios' Second Fridays Open Studios
  • HOLOCENE OVERKILL @ Defibrillator Performance Art Gallery
  • Lumpen 20th Anniversary Party + Release of The Chairman @ Maria's
  • TEEBS @ Pawn Works & Lady Luck After Party @ Beauty Bar
  • Scott Jarrett: In the Lining @ Heaven
  • Art Sale @ Comet Vintage

  • Saturday:

  • Family Tattoo Art Show
  • [BUY LOCAL IN PILSEN] CRAFT FAIR @ Chicago Urban Art Society
  • "Aqua Interlude & Reflection" Glass Mosaic Project @ Columbus Dr. & Roosevelt (underpass)
  • they go on whistling @ Crawlspace
  • Faheem Majeed @ Iceberg Projects
  • Mike Pocius: Mike's Kind of Town, One Town That Won't Let You Down @ Cobalt Studio
  • COWBOY // New Work by Yasi Ghanbari @ ACRE Projects
  • CLAIRE ASHLEY: SOLO DISCO @ Happy Collaborationists
  • Comedy: Stand-Up & Improve @ Roxaboxen
  • Beverly Art Center Competition & Exhibition

  • Sunday:

  • SYMPOSIUM: THE HOME IN/AS COMMUNITY @ Hyde Park Art Center
  • The Renaissance Society's Fall Poetry Reading Series
  • Rebecca George: Bunny Paintings @ Portage ARTSpace

  • Thursday:

  • Artist Talk and Open Gallery Night: Antonia Contro @ Cultural Center
  • Kelly Reaves

    Column Fri Nov 11 2011

    J. Edgar, Jack and Jill, Melancholia, Into the Abyss, The Women on the 6th Floor & Revenge of the Electric Car

    J. Edgar

    I don't tend to let things like bad old-man makeup change my opinion of a film, or even distract me, so I'm not going to harp on the absolutely terrible job done on aging Leonardo DiCaprio and Armie Hammer in Clint Eastwood's J. Edgar. A great performance — and both men give truly great ones here — tops waxy-looking skin and a healthy smattering of fake liver spots every time. And that's the last we'll speak of that. If you find J. Edgar difficult to engage with it will be because the script by Dustin Lance Black (Milk and several episodes of HBO's "Big Love") is spotty. You can spot the shortcuts and the moments where single sentences are meant to sum up a character's motivations or the movie's themes a little too just so.

    But then there are other moments in the screenplay that are undeniably poignant. When Black is focusing on material having to do with Hoover changing the face and prominence of the Federal Bureau of Investigation during his nearly 50-year reign as its chief, the film is informative but not especially elevated. However, when the script puts a microscope on Hoover's relationship with other people — his domineering mother Annie (Judi Dench), faithful secretary Helen Gandy (Naomi Watts) or longtime companion and number-two man at the bureau Clyde Tolson (Hammer) — J. Edgar is close to extraordinary.

    Continue reading this entry »

    Steve Prokopy

    Sixty Inches from Center Thu Nov 10 2011

    Spoke Exit Interview: Part 1

    By Zachary Johnson*

    Spoke-Title-Image2.jpg

    Kristin Mariani, "A Sample of Making", 2009. Spoke, Chicago, IL. (Photo courtesy of Spoke)

    Spoke, a mixed project and studio space in the West Loop closed its doors in August after hosting over forty artist projects, events, experiments, and residencies in its nearly three years of programming. What always struck me about Spoke was how public its programming was. Once while wandering around their building at 119 N. Peoria, I knocked on their door and was soon let into the middle of an artist's project under construction. I assumed I was interrupting, but the artists chatted with me, explaining their project, and inviting me to stay if I had time. Visiting a later opening, I was taken back by the SAIC cheerleaders, mini-marching band, fake sports mascots, and kooky drum major who had crammed into Spoke's small project space to accompany "Game On", their interactive opening full of nonsensical artist-made games. Through art parades, beer making projects, international collaborations, and more, Spoke's programming proved to be unique, surprising, and full of variety.

    Continue reading this entry »

    A/C

    Stand-up Thu Nov 10 2011

    Preview: Side Mullet Nation

    side mullet nation.jpgCameron Esposito combines stand-up with special guests and hand-drawn animation to create a world-class quality yet personable storytelling experience. Side-Mullet Nation was commissioned for inclusion in TBS' Just for Laughs Chicago and has played to sold out crowds in Chicago and New York. Garnishing such acclaim as Time Out Chicago "Critic's Pick," Time OutNew York "Critic's Pick," The Onion's AV Club Chicago "Best of the Fest" and Chicago Reader "featured show." The show runs Thursdays through Dec. 15 The Comedy Bar, 157 W. Ontario St. Tickets and more information can be found here.

    Nellie Huggins

    Theater Thu Nov 10 2011

    tlhIngan QISmaS cha' 'oH DoH (A Klingon Christmas Carol is Back)

    After a successful run last year, A Klingon Christmas Carol is back for the holidays. The first play ever to be produced entirely in the Klingon language, A Klingon Christmas Carol, Commedia Beauregard's production mixes the classic Dickens tale with the language and culture of the Star Trek warrior race to tell the story of SQuja' and three spirits who attempt to save him from a life of cowardice and dishonor. The play is performed entirely in tlhIngan Hol (aka Klingon), with English subtitles projected above the stage for those of us not fluent in the language.

    A Klingon Christmas Carol runs from Nov. 25 to Dec. 31, with previews Nov. 16, 18 and 19, at the Greenhouse Theater, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave. Tickets are $32 ($10 for the previews) and are available online or at the theater box office.

    Andrew Huff

    Dating Thu Nov 10 2011

    Chicago Dating 2.011: The First Kiss

    Previous Entry: The Second Date
    Next Entry: The THIRD Date

    The weight we give to the first kiss seems to be disproportionately heavy considering the silly physicality of it, the putting together of two relatively unimportant body parts. And yet for as important of an act as this seems to be, I don't think I have been fully sober for a first kiss since I was 12.

    Yes 12, when I kissed my first boyfriend at Jackie Delie's beginning of summer party. Oh, the magic of Truth or Dare in the basement with 20 other sixth graders watching! At least I didn't have to eat a pickle dipped in peanut butter and hot sauce.

    Continue reading this entry »

    Niki Fritz

    Comedy Thu Nov 10 2011

    Marimachas!

    The women of Teatro Luna* have brought Latina theatre to Chicago's stages for 10 seasons, and as they kick off their eleventh they're even venturing into new territory with the launch of Marimachas! A New Latin Comedy Series. For years Teatro Luna has offered an outlet for local Latina theatre artists, and with this new venture the company hopes to expand their support to the comedy arena.

    Teatro Luna Artistic Associate Christina Igaraividez, who is also one of the performers this Friday, describes Marimachas as, "a safe place for the performers. Everyone performing just wants to have a good time with the audience. It isn't a transaction type of environment where the performer tells joke then audience provides laugh. We are sharing, commiserating, hoping, loving, laughing all the way through with you." Marimachas is this Friday at 7:30pm at Calles y Sueños (1900 S. Carpenter). Tickets can be purchased online or at the venue for $20, and the price of admission includes an "Ay, Virgen!" Teatro Luna's signature cocktail.

    *Whom the author has worked with before and thinks are the cat's pajamas

    Dyan Flores

    Dance Wed Nov 09 2011

    Spectacle and Science: The Matter of Origins at the MCA Chicago

    Dance Exchange: Liz Lerman's "The Matter of Origins" from MCA Chicago on Vimeo.

    The MCA Chicago continues its year of in-depth, audience-focused changes with its latest MCA Stage production, The Matter of Origins. Choreographed by original Dance Exchange artistic director Liz Lerman, this multimedia-heavy and theatrical performance continues to push the boundaries of contemporary dance. The work is co-presented with the Chicago Humanities Festival, whose 2011 theme of Technology runs through the core of the dance work.

    In a press release, Lerman said that The Matter of Origins examines, "how the human mind flips and stretches to comprehend things that are incredibly small, large, fast, or far beyond the categories of known experience." For the traditional dance fan, the performance offers a one-of-a-kind experience that draws on both history and the reactions of audience members.

    Continue reading this entry »

    Britt Julious

    Feature Tue Nov 08 2011

    Interview: Amanda Rountree

    Amanda Rountree has been performing, teaching, directing and producing comedy in Chicago since 2007. Her one-woman show, The Good, The Bad and The Monkey, is running this week and next, in a very short but very anticipated re-launch. I recently chatted with her about all things comedy, and monkey. Here is what she had to say.
    Thumbnail image for amandarountree.jpg

    Continue reading this entry »

    Nellie Huggins

    Art Tue Nov 08 2011

    Black Gossamer at Columbia College Chicago

    This month, explore the relationship between fashion design and art at Columbia College Chicago's Black Gossamer exhibit; this showcase, curated by Camille Morgan and featuring work by contemporary black artists including Aisha Bell, Marlon Griffith and Columbia Assistant Professor of Photography Myra Greene, examines how clothing, fabric, material, etc., are used as artists' inspiration and how they are used to reveal various expressions and meanings of black identity and culture.

    bglarge1.jpg
    Marlon Griffith, Louis (Schoolgirl Series)

    See the opening of Black Gossamer at Columbia College Chicago's Glass Curtain Gallery, 1104 S. Wabash, on Thursday, Nov. 17 from 5pm to 8pm; regular gallery hours vary. The exhibit is free and open to the public; closes February 11, 2012. For questions, contact Justin Witte at jwitte@colum.edu or 312-369-8177.

    LaShawn Williams

    Overheard Illustrated Mon Nov 07 2011

    Overheard Illustrated: "Children"

    click for larger image
    Friday, November 4, Dominick's--Lincoln Park

    Mark Addison Smith

    Event Fri Nov 04 2011

    Art Around Town

    Tonight:

  • MATIAS: Somewhere Between Right and Wrong There Is Nothing Left @ Alderman Exhibitions
  • Adrift @ David Weinberg Photography
  • Aftermath @ BOLT Residency Project Space
  • Brian Dettmer: Paperback @ Packer Schopf
  • Jamie Adams & jin soo kim @ Zolla/Lieberman Gallery
  • Noland + Csicsko @ Judy A. Saslow Gallery
  • Paints, pigments & knives: SOFA hospitality night
  • Dawson and Hoffman @ Addington Gallery
  • Melanie Parke: Looking Through Windows @ Anne Loucks Gallery
  • Artist Talk with Ivan Lo @ Elephant Room
  • Winter Showcase Group Art Show @ Inkling
  • CAC presents Aftermath & Pine Feather Period
  • A Paler Shade of Yellow: Larry Lee at Kirk's Apartment
  • First Friday Art Salons: Art & Technology @ Art Lab 123
  • The Female State @ Links Hall
  • Archival Impulse @ Gallery 400

  • Saturday:

  • Ron Terada: Being There @ MCA
  • Post Synapse: New Work by Joe Anderson @ Space 1858
  • Dealing with New Demands @ Comfort Station
  • Gozamos' Día de los Muertos Party @ Chicago Art Department
  • Cole Pierce & Rusty Shackleford @ Hinge Gallery

  • Sunday:

  • Mike Edison Reading // Performance // Book Launch @ The Renaissance Society
  • L. Lee Junge & M. Jackson Artist Talk @ Jackson Junge Gallery
  • Open House @ Rumble Arts
  • WAX/WANE // New work by Liz McCarthy @ ACRE
  • TWIRL // Opening Reception and Performance @ JULIUS CÆSAR
  • Kelly Reaves

    Column Fri Nov 04 2011

    Tower Heist, A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas, Like Crazy, Le Havre, The Double & Urbanized

    Tower Heist

    I'll admit, there was a part of me that thought the latest from director Brett Ratner might actually have something to it, even if that something was Eddie Murphy's somewhat return to comedic form. But saddled with a PG-13 rating (in a role that is screaming to be set free by an R), a producer credit, and surprisingly little screen time, Murphy is at best slightly funnier than we've seen him in many years. All we actually get is Murphy yelling a whole lot and acting tough in a story that treats his character as something served on the side, rather than the main course.

    Tower Heist seems like a fairly timely endeavor. The staff of a luxury Manhattan apartment building is swindled by one of the building's residents, a Wall Street tycoon played by Alan Alda, who is arrested by the FBI and held under house arrest while he awaits a court date. Initially, it appears Alda is friendly with the staff, led by building manager Josh (Ben Stiller), but when their entire pension fund vanishes, the staff turns against Alda.

    Continue reading this entry »

    Steve Prokopy

    Dating Thu Nov 03 2011

    Chicago Dating 2.011: The Second Date

    Previous Entry: Match in the Midwest: The Art of Polite Judgement
    Next Entry: The First Kiss

    Ahh, the glorious second date or, as I like to call it, the Match first date.

    The literal Match first date, the one that occurs on a humble and hasty Tuesday night, the one which involves consuming one to two and a half drinks that are possibly paid for on separate checks, that date that resembles a multiple choice exam of match this date with that occupation, family structure and weird phobia (really, you can't use wire hangers?), the one that usually ends in a slightly awkward hug, handshake or high five, you know that one, that date is not really the first date.

    That date is the recreating of a "normal" meeting, it is the date on which you pretend, at least subconsciously, to have met organically. As you walk into that bar, for your first meet and greet, you opportunistically forget that you know this man or woman's pet preference, religious background and top five songs. You pretend you are seeing this person for the first time, that you catch their smoldering eyes through the masses at a classy but understated bar, engage in some witty but unassuming banter and perhaps tickle each other's fancies a bit as the first step in the totally normal, socially acceptable ritual called DUI, dating under the influence.

    Continue reading this entry »

    Niki Fritz / Comments (1)

    Dance Wed Nov 02 2011

    River North Remixed, Renewed

    Al Sur del Sur, choreographed by Sabrina & Ruben Veliz_Photo by Sandro_Michael Gross and Jessica Wolfrum.jpg

    Michael Gross and Jessica Wolfrum

    Michael Gross and Jessica Wolfrum are busy. The life of a River North Chicago Dance Company member demands a lot, but the rewards are plentiful. And for a company as distinguished and praised as River North Dance, the rewards can be as abstract as personal connections to each choreographed dance piece to performance trips around the world.

    Gross and Wolfrum are freshly back from a trip to Germany where the company performed their "On the Edge," and "Flavors of American Jazz" program. Each program showcases the diversity of the company's repertoire, with works that vary between the accessible and the abstract.

    "I have found that the pieces we have in our repertoire provide a very diverse range of techniques and styles to consistently provide challenges for the dances," Gross began. "We like challenges. They are the things that help us to constantly push ourselves to improve and become the most versatile artists that we can possible be."

    Continue reading this entry »

    Britt Julious

    GB store

    Architecture Tue Nov 03 2015

    Paul Goldberger Describes the "Pragmatism and Poetry" of Frank Gehry's Architecture in His New Book

    By Nancy Bishop

    Architecture critic Paul Goldberger talks about Frank Gehry's life and work in a new book.
    Read this feature »

    Steve at the Movies Fri Jan 01 2016

    Best Feature Films & Documentaries of 2015

    By Steve Prokopy

    Read this column »

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