Arts and Culture
Banter on a Mission
Deanna Kimberly Burrell considers flirting to be an art. At a workshop last Friday in the Listenbee Collection Art Gallery, she bestowed upon eager attendees a variety of flirting tips, like the importance of setting up a hypnotizing rhythm when sending out romantic signals. She encouraged ladies to twirl their hair. Men can swirl... »
79th Street BBQ
Appearances can be a particularly difficult way to gauge the quality of a barbeque establishment. The best joints are often hole-in-the-walls, unseemly on the outside, adorned with tacky checkered patterns within, and often unheard of outside a small devoted community; their second-rate cousins, meanwhile, don’t look all that different. In a no-nonsense industry, everything... »
Artistic Symbiosis
Every second Friday of the month, Pilsen art galleries keep their doors open till 10, but the balmy, tinged-with-summer air of the most recent Second Friday created an especially jaunty and convivial atmosphere. Art enthusiasts roamed Halsted with bottles of craft beer and cups of sangria, some lounging near doorways, either barefoot or in... »
Controlled Chimes
Instructions: Fill space with female performers. On each performer, tie one chime to the left wrist, and one chime to the right wrist. During the performance, each performer can ring either the right chime or the left… So begin the simple directives, shared with the audience members, that guide the stone-faced, barefooted women standing... »
Persistence of Vision
As you enter the apartment at 55th and Hyde Park, the projector is on your left. Straight ahead, a canvas covered with what looks like multi-colored sponges hangs on a wall. When I ask about it, Julian Antos urges me to take it off their hands: “I just hate feeling like my home is... »
Doppleganger
Jack Clark is early. He hovers around the well-stocked bar, looking to quell his anxieties about the lighting at Jimmy’s. Dmitry Samarov arrives soon after. Bearded, tattooed, dressed in 501’s and a pair of beat up wingtips, he looks part hard man and part St. Nick. Samarov situates himself at a table perpendicular to... »
Peace Talks
The intersection of East 87th Street and South Commercial Avenue in South Chicago appears safe, spacious, and lively. Countdown timers usher groups of pedestrians across the wide streets, through an intersection framed by a dollar store, car dealership, and liquor store. The streets are made of solid and unblemished concrete, the buildings of weather-worn... »
Michael Ondaatje’s wise words
Tucked in the Performance Penthouse of the UofC’s Logan Center, Michael Ondaatje induced just as much laughter as he did thought at his talk last Monday, unafraid to admit that he’s neither working on any writing nor aware of the fact that students might dissect his work word by word. He settled the debate... »
