Reader’s Choice Roots & Culture Roots & Culture is noteworthy for both what it is and what it isn’t. It is a centrally located storefront space with regular hours and good lighting—not to mention exceptional food at gallery openings, thanks to director and part-time chef Eric May. It’s also a noninstitutional, nonprofit gallery with a community focus and a national scope. It doesn’t have icky blue-chip-collector aspirations or host embarrassing shows by hack interior-design artists, but neither is it furnished with dirty couches and a keg of Old Style. Young artists create immersive installations here, featuring everything from vivid paintings and collages to huge plush animals, photocopied libraries, giant drums, and melted gelatin. There are lots of wonderful free events, including an artist-based film-and-video series curated by Alexander Stewart. With the forgivable exception of one lackluster Columbia College Book & Paper Center grad exhibit, I have yet to see a mediocre show in this space.  1034 N. Milwaukee, 773-235-8874, rootsandculturecac.org. —Bert Stabler
Readers’ Choice Intuit and Las Manos (tie) 756 N. Milwaukee, 312-243-9088, art.org; 5220 N. Clark, 773-728-8910, lasmanosgallery.com. Send a letter to the editor.
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Ted Glass at 7:32 PM on 6/28/2008
How can the Reader allow Bert Stabler to pick Roots and Culture when less than a year ago he curated a show there? This is a clear conflict of interest. From Roots and Culture's website:
"Brown River" 7/4/07- 7/21/07 A Group Show curated by Albert Stabler
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Josia at 9:57 AM on 6/29/2008
why is it a conflict of interest? did Stabler profit from the exhibit?
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Ted Glass at 6:57 PM on 7/2/2008
With the following sentence he has, in effect, reviewed his own show "With the forgivable exception of one lackluster Columbia College Book & Paper Center grad exhibit, I have yet to see a mediocre show in this space." The show he curated was there, since he curated it he must have seen it, and since it wasn’t the Columbia show it wasn't mediocre.
By raising the level of this gallery and its programming, programming which he has been at least in one instance responsible for, he is gaining- if not financial capital then cultural capital. He can now say that he curated a show at the Readers top gallery in Chicago, how wrong is that?
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Bert Stabler at 12:13 AM on 7/4/2008
I really do think of Roots & Culture as a gallery uniquely deserving of recognition, but I csn see why others would argue that I shouldn't be the one gving them a "best of" blurb. Honestly, I don't personally think of this as a major conflict, but I respect that my readers and my editor certainly might. In the future I won't put the paper in such a position. I sincerely apologize for any damage done to the perceived integrity of the Reader, and I take full responsibility.
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Jason at 10:31 AM on 7/9/2008
What does Bert have to gain from doing this? Clout? influence? prestige? social cachet? There's so little to be gained from this move that it barely strikes me as a problem. In Chicago, where there's basically no art market, it's just friends supporting friends. Who is going to give props to the gallery if not the local art critic and curator? Likely Bert has his hand in many jars, which means he is involved and engaged. Everyone around here can use a little more cultural capital anyway.
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Frunobulax at 11:37 AM on 7/11/2008
Ted Glass has a good point. Any responsible writer volunteers little conflicts of interest like that. I've seen Reader writers do that numerous times, because, yes, lots of them are engaged in the fields they write about. So why didn't Bert S. volunteer this information? Leaving aside the unlikely possibility that he forgot he curated a show there, perhaps he left out that information because it would've looked embarrassing. Looks even worse now.
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Silas Dilworth at 2:27 PM on 7/16/2008
Bert's ethics aside, RnC is still the best gallery in town since 1R was in Pilsen.
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