Visual Art
Friday, May 25, 2012
Do This Arts Film Music Visual Art Cauleen Smith, John Parot, and other arty stuff to do this weekend
Posted by Elly Fishman on 05.25.12 at 12:39 PM
This weekend, Western Exhibitions presents "Excavation," a solo show by John Parot. Parot's new body of work builds on his interest in psychedelic patterns and hippie ephemera, and also explores his interest in ancient Egyptian tomb art. Parot’s paintings are large-scale and bright; one of his strengths is his ability to find patterns in everything from porn magazines to ancient symbols and bring them together in an interesting visualscape. "Excavation" is Parot's third solo exhibition at Western Exhibitions.
Fri 5/25, 5-8 PM, Western Exhibitions, 119 N. Peoria, Suite 2A
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Arts Visual Art Torkwase Dyson: Slip 'n Slide as art project
Posted by Elly Fishman on 05.24.12 at 04:57 PM
- Elly Fishman
- Torkwase Dyson
Crawl is part of a larger art-historical project in which Dyson revisits the canon of African-American art through an ecological lens. "With Crawl, I was thinking about the plastic, garbage, and waste that goes into our water, the politics of waste," she said. Dyson uses discarded materials as a form of political commentary. "This piece was from a winery—it was used to insulate wine," she explained, pointing to the bubble wrap. "But I’m interested in thinking about how it reflects light and can be used as a surface for watercolor." When Dyson says "watercolor" she doesn't use the term in the traditional sense—it's more a creative reuse of the word. Dyson's watercolor has water, and a metallic surface reflects some color, but there's no pigment. "My goal with Crawl, and the larger art history project, is to re-create these powerful moments in art history, with zero emissions. No energy except the sun."
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Music Visual Art Gig poster of the week
Posted by Luca Cimarusti on 05.23.12 at 07:52 AM
SHOW: Kurt Vile & the Violators, Black Bananas, and True Widow at Lincoln Hall on 5/20
MORE INFO: alextodaro.com
Friday, May 18, 2012
Do This Theater Arts Visual Art This weekend's art events, from "Sex, Spraypaint & Satire" to a fable festival
Posted by Elly Fishman on 05.18.12 at 09:18 AM
- Ray Noland
- Illustration for the Reader article
The Grass Gap
"Sex, Spraypaint & Satire: Parody without Humor"
You may have seen Ray Noland’s work during the 2008 Obama campaign; his images of Obama with the exclamation “Go Tell Mama!” were ubiquitous. Or you may recognize his work from several Reader covers and feature stories. Among Noland’s more visible pieces were his posters during Rod Blagojevich’s public trial, which depicted Blago—dressed in sweats and sneakers—running away. The project was titled Run, Blago, Run! Noland runs the Creative Rescue Organization (CRO) and often works under the same pseudonym. Noland’s work is hilarious, energetic, seductive, and a model of true craftsmanship. Tonight Noland will exhibit a new body of work.
Fri, May 18, 7-11 PM, Grand Bizzare, 1418 W. Division.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Boom! Arts Visual Art More on Mr. Lichtenstein
Posted by Elly Fishman on 05.17.12 at 11:02 AM
- Estate of Roy Lichtenstein
- We Rose Up Slowly
"What really comes out in this exhibition is Roy's sense of humor," explains Jay Dandy, former president of the Society for Contemporary Art and researcher for the Art Institute's new Lichtenstein retrospective. "I didn't really think of him as being slapstick, but he must’ve been really witty with a sly sense of humor. An excellent example of Roy’s humor is his Mirror series. He painted mirrors that reflect nothing. There’s a lot of irony in that."
Books Things I Love Arts Visual Art Q&A: New Yorker art editor Francoise Mouly on New Yorker covers, Maurice Sendak, and more
Posted by Jerome Ludwig on 05.17.12 at 07:25 AM
- Sarah Shatz
- New Yorker art editor Francoise Mouly in her office
We talked on the phone last week. An edited transcript follows.
You’ll be in town for the Comics: Philosophy & Practice Conference.
Yes, me and every important, interesting cartoonist in the world. It’s an amazing event.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Style Blotto Whoa Arts Style Week Visual Art "My breasts are now your art"
Posted by Elly Fishman on 05.15.12 at 06:32 AM
- Elly Fishman
- Ikram employees looking fly
This was “Crash the Gala,” the afterparty for the Art Institute’s annual gala. This year, “Crash the Gala” turned Terzo Piano, the sleek, minimalist Modern Wing restaurant designed by Dirk Denison Architects into the ideal setting for a John Hughes film. The ceiling was covered in balloons, and disco balls cast celebratory patterns across the room. Hot dog vendors, popcorn machines, and ice cream sundae buffets lined nearly every wall, and a handful of servers carried trays of corn dogs, potato chips, and heaping piles of bacon. Yes, just bacon. Of course, unlike actual prom, usually organized by student committees and stifled by teacher chaperones, “Crash the Gala” was hosted by Ikram Goldman, Michelle Obama’s stylist and owner of Chicago fashion boutique Ikram.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Do This Arts Visual Art Czech interviews, Scott Reeder, and other arty stuff to do this weekend
Posted by Elly Fishman on 05.11.12 at 05:39 PM
- From the NCSML collection
- It's Christmas!
Over the past three years, the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library (NCSML) has recorded more than 150 interviews with 20th-century Czech and Slovak emigres in the oral history project “Recording Voices & Documenting Memories of Czech & Slovak Americans.” The project, which has been organized into the exhibition “Leaving Czechoslovakia,” opens tonight at the Oak Park Public Library. The show focuses on why cold war-era Czechs and Slovaks immigrated, how they made it to the United States, and what happened once they started building their lives here.
Fri 5/11, 7-9 PM, Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake Street, Oak Park.
Scott Reeder
This weekend marks conceptual artist Scott Reeder’s first solo show at Kavi Gupta Gallery. Reeder is known for some of his more experimental methods—like painting with noodles in his series "Pasta Paintings"—and while he's worked as a painter for some time, tomorrow he premieres a series of new sculptural work. The medium may be different, but the humor and wit are still present. In addition to Reeder’s exhibition, Kavi Gupta also opens “I Am a Girl,” a show of Berlin-based artist Henning Strassburger's work. Strassburger is also a painter and conceptual artist whose work is influenced by impressionists and abstractionists alike.
Sat 5/ 12, 4-7 PM, Kavi Gupta Gallery, 835 W. Washington.
Music Visual Art Japanese Lady Gaga fans rule, unsurprisingly
Posted by Miles Raymer on 05.11.12 at 01:52 PM
- Terry Richardson
- Japanese Lady Gaga fans
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Do This Arts Architecture Visual Art UIUC students try to create a better coastal city
Posted by Elly Fishman on 05.10.12 at 02:38 PM
