Art shows to see now
Amalia Pica, Eavesdropping (version #2), 2011. Photo: Robert Wedemeyer.
"They Seek a City: Chicago and the Art of Migration, 1910–50" | Art Institute of Chicago
Rarely seen works by artists such as Elizabeth Catlett reflect the experiences of the hundreds of thousands of people who moved to Chicago to escape persecution or poverty in the South, Eastern Europe and elsewhere during the first half of the 20th century. Through May 23.
"Amalia Pica" | Museum of Contemporary Art
In her first major solo museum exhibition (co-organized by the MCA and the MIT List Visual Arts Center), the London-based Argentine artist examines communication—in particular, the act of listening—and civic participation through drawings, sculptures, installations, projections, large-scale photographic prints and live performances. Incorporating simple materials such as flags, banners, confetti and brightly colored drinking glasses, her works are not only thoughtful but beautiful to behold. Through Aug 11.
Youth Lagoon at Metro | Pictures and review
Trevor Powers brought his Wondrous Bughouse and a sense of unease to the Metro.
On Youth Lagoon's latest record, Wondrous Bughouse, Trevor Powers looks inwards while channeling a lush, psychedelic sound that envelops his abstract odes. It's a slight departure from the intensely intimate anthems that populated the 24-year-old's debut record—songs which were characterized by a sense of immediacy and honesty.
Playing to a dense crowd at the Metro last night, Powers and his band seemed intent on letting their newest compositions breath, making their way through a set filled with extended interludes and outros. Easing into the woozy shuffle of "Mute," the group began the evening silhouetted by an array of multi-colored lights that illuminated a backdrop of large white sails. Stationed behind an array of keyboards, Powers casually conducted each track, occasionally picking up his microphone to belt out a particularly impassioned verse.
5 things to do during Chicago Craft Beer Week
Look, I know you want to get into swimsuit shape, but it's Chicago Craft Beer Week, and it's not going to drink itself. The 11-day festival kicks off today, running through May 26. There are dozens and dozens of events on the schedule, spread all over Chicagoland, from downtown to Elgin, Rosemont and Oak Park.
The complete schedule might be a little overwhelming. Turns out, people really love beer. Ancient humans brewed beer before they learned to make bread. Fortunately, food has caught up and many restaurants celebrate CCBW with pairings and tasting menus.
Below are five highlights.
Best weekend events in Chicago
Rodriguez
FRIDAY
Manifest Urban Arts Festival Columbia College's annual showcase for its graduating students takes over the South Loop. The 12-hour schedule includes art and photography exhibitions, dance performances, lectures, film screenings and the opportunity to test out some newly developed video games. Various Columbia College venues in the South Loop. See colum.edu/manifest-2013/schedule for the full schedule. 8am–8pm.
Rodriguez + Jenny O Though the 1970 album has long been a cult must-own amongst music nerds, Rodriguez's Cold Fact hit a startling level of fame recently thanks to the Oscar-winning doc, Searching for Sugar Man. The 70-year-old guitarist now rightfully seeks belated fame for his arresting, lightly psychedelic folk-rock songs. Arie Crown Theater. 8pm. $25–$50.
Fall Out Boy, Blink 182, Violent Femmes to headline Riot Fest 2013
Blink 182
Riot Fest Chicago, the last of Chicago's summer festivals, announced the lineup for its second three-day outing in Humboldt Park, September 13 through 15. And the bill looks like a strange lovechild of the Warped Tour and Ravinia Festival. Fortunately, there's far more Oi! than Oy.
On one hand you have a load of '90s pop-punkers—Blink 182, AFI, Rancid, Sublime with Rome, Bad Religion, Pennywise, Screeching Weasel. Then there's a more far reaching nostalgia with acts like Blondie, X and the Violent Femmes. Lollapalooza snagged New Order; Riot Fest offers Peter Hook playing Joy Division. Rounding out the bill is what amounts to the CDs littering the floor of my car in high school—Quicksand, Public Enemy, Dinosaur Jr., Rocket from the Crypt, etc. What, no Fishbone?
The Dismemberment Plan also returns to show off its first new material in over a decade. Time to get that Bad Brains T-shirt out of storage. It should be a blast.
Check out the complete lineup below. Tickets are on sale now.
Lillie's Q to reopen mid-June
Best New Barbecue winner: Lillie's Q
After a fire shuttered this much-loved barbecue spot, Lillie's Q announced today that it will be rising from the ashes sometime this June. The Wicker Park restaurant (which won Best New Barbecue in the 2011 Eat Out Awards) was forced to close after the hot-water heater in its basement malfunctioned, causing fire and smoke damage, on March 14 of this year; the new French Market location has been operating with a very limited menu as a result. As he works to rebuild the restaurant, chef/owner Charlie McKenna is also heading down to Memphis this weekend to compete in the annual Memphis in May barbecue competition, where he's entered the whole pork-shoulder category, in which he took home first place in 2007. "We're hoping to put together a really amazing finish at Memphis In May this weekend, and ride that wave right into getting the Bucktown location of Lillie's Q open," McKenna said in the press release.
5 things to do today: Thursday, May 16
Shout Out Louds
ART & DESIGN
"Image Structure—Sonnenzimmer." Sonnenzimmer (a.k.a. Nadine Nakanishi and Nick Butcher) experiment with the tactile and sculptural qualities of quilts in this new exhibition based on a collaboration with Club Club, who won the Chicago Architectural Club's 2012 "Future Prentice" competition. Nakanishi and Butcher also show recent abstract paintings exploring landscape. Public Works Gallery. 2pm–5pm.
CLUBS
Loco Dice + Robert Dietz + Chuck Flask Germany's Loco Dice came up in hip-hop but now stands tall as a Euro-house monster. The rave vet keeps the beat lean, mean and nocturnal. Spy Bar. 10pm. $20, advance $15, early bird $10.
Broadway League honors Gov. Pat Quinn, Illinois legislature
Gov. Pat Quinn
The Broadway League, a trade association for what it terms "the Broadway industry," announced today that Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and the Illinois state legislature are recipients of a "Star of Touring Broadway" award. The legislature and the governor received the honor for passing and signing, respectively, the Live Theatre Production Tax Credit Act.
Similar to the state's film tax credit, provides breaks for commercial producers of "pre-Broadway" shows or of long runs (eight weeks or more) in houses of 1,200 seats or more—in other words, the producers and road presenters represented by the Broadway League. In a statement announcing the award, Broadway League executive director Charlotte St. Martin praised the tax credit for supporting the tryouts of Kinky Boots and Big Fish.
Because of its limitation to "pre-Broadway" shows and/or very large theaters, the act doesn't apply to Chicago's longest-running commercial productions. Million Dollar Quartet has been running for more than four years at the Apollo Theater, while Blue Man Group has logged about two decades at the Briar Street Theatre. Yet the theaters' respective capacities of 461 and 625 don't meet the tax credit's requirements.
Not all Broadway in Chicago presentations qualify, either. The League's announcement quotes Daryl Roth, a lead producer on Kinky Boots, praising Illinois's elected officials for finding "a way to entice producers like myself to think of Chicago first." Yet Roth's Love, Loss and What I Wore, which ran more than three months at BIC's Broadway Playhouse in 2011, wouldn't have earned the credit based on that theater's capacity of 549.
Expo Chicago announces 2013 exhibitors
Wendy White’s installation of two paintings, 68 Catherine and R6, appeared in the Andrew Rafacz Gallery booth at Expo Chicago 2012.
Expo Chicago: The International Exposition of Contemporary and Modern Art returns to Navy Pier September 19–22, and the 2013 participating galleries were announced yesterday. Let's do the numbers:
- 120 galleries—one-third of which are exhibiting at Expo Chicago for the first time—will participate, representing 34 cities and 16 countries (Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland and the U.S.)
- 18 Chicago galleries are among them, 4 of which are new to Expo: moniquemeloche, Carrie Secrist, R.S. Johnson Fine Art and Zolla/Lieberman. (Last year featured 12 locals.)
- 18 galleries will exhibit in the EXPOSURE section (reserved for those that have been in operation for seven years or fewer), and 10 are participating in Expo Chicago for the first time.
- Galleries were selected by 4 committee members: Rhona Hoffman (Rhona Hoffman, Chicago), Michael Kohn (Michael Kohn, Los Angeles), Anthony Meier (Anthony Meier Fine Arts, New York) and Chris D’Amelio (David Zwirner; London, New York).
- 27,000 visitors attended the inaugual Expo Chicago in 2012, and 3,000 attended the opening-night preview, Vernissage.
- I enjoyed 17 free cocktails and 13 sliders at Vernissage. (JK)
Stay tuned for more Expo info and a countless number of enthusiastic quotes by president and director Tony Karman.
