Visual Arts
Final Metal
Physics professor Sidney Nagel held up two forks: one metal, one plastic. “Who would like me to stick this one in there?” Nagel asked, gesturing with the metal fork to a nearby electrical socket. “No one? What about this one?” He held up the plastic fork. “Doesn’t matter, right?” This was the opening exchange... »
Art in Bloom
On a small canvas, saplings emerge from the ground and leaves dot the turquoise sky. A red building stands out in the background. The piece resembles a postcard sending a cheerful spring greeting, and is just one piece evoking the season in the “Springen” exhibit at 33 Contemporary in Bridgeport. »
Body Image
What connects the cacophony of a basement punk show with the solidity of geometric shapes? Or a young suburban woman with thick green clouds of smoke? Seductive pastel nudes with gold coins? Matt Maniscalco, Jennifer Cronin, and Ian Mitchell Wallace all manage to harmonize these seemingly disparate concepts in “Embody,” a display of contemporary... »
Fill in the Blank
Walk along 18th Street in Pilsen and you’ll pass taquerías, cafes, clothing shops and liquor stores. But if you turn north at the intersection of 18th and Carpenter Street, the latest installation of Candy Chang’s interactive art piece “Before I Die” lies waiting, asking what you want to do before you die. »
Out but not Down
Just as the modest wooden structure in the yard at 57th and Woodlawn brings together events from different times and places, SHoP was intended from its beginnings in October 2011 to provide a meeting point for differing perspectives. SHoP’s current arrangement, however, will soon be coming to an end in the summer with the... »
Atypical Type
The third annual “Typeforce” opening at Bridgeport’s Co-Prosperity Sphere is bustling. More than 500 people are expected to attend tonight. The crowd is a mix of fashionably-dressed twenty-somethings and an older set dressed more suitably for the weather. They are all here to see one thing: letters. A noticeable energy pervades the room, but... »
A Vile Attraction
My companion Chris sits at a decade-old computer adorned with a webcam and surrounded by eight ornate red candles, patiently reading a blog post linked from the desktop: “Born like this / Into this / As the chalk faces smile / As Mrs. Death laughs / As the elevators break / As the political... »
Pretty Grotesque
“To dignify life is an underpinning of my work. You see a hare dead on the road, remember it had life to it once,” says Joan Goldin brightly from behind her thick blue spectacles. “Myself, I have a very normal life—a husband, three children. I’ve been fortunate not to have too many problems. So... »
