Thomas Wolfe mixes more than media. His collages conflate preying birds and preening beauties, substitute blossoms for bullet-broken plywood, and suggest something strangely glandular in irises and bull’s-eyes.
Pilsen
You May Not Know What Happened
by Spencer Mcavoy •
According to the Electromagnetic Spectrum, the “host” of “The 7 Person Chair Pyramid High Wire Act,” the play is supposed to “cover some important basics: the Yeti, Charles Darwin, miracles versus non-miracles, lying, fact-checking, rope-making methods of Siberia, and flying mammals.”
Empty Faces
by Isaac Dalke •
“Runs and Goses” opens at Slow, pairing Julie Potratz with Carol Jackson and Hillary Clinton with Angela Merkel.
Common Scents
by Jennifer Sung •
Zorayda Ortiz—perfumer, owner of Pilsen Bike Tours, community gardener, and former medical researcher—stands in front of a mural by Alejandro Medina on the corner of South Blue Island and Cullerton. She hoists her bicycle in the air.
Where the Wind Blows
by Olivia Dorow Hovland •
At the National Museum of Mexican Art, John Valadez’s “Santa Ana Condition” evokes a feeling of creative abandon—fitting for a collection that takes its name from winds that are notorious for starting wildfires.
Corporeal Creations
by Stephen Urchick •
When they could wrap us in a synthetic somnolence, the musicians completed “Corporeal”’s illusion, gently elevating the stage artists and slightly blurring reality.
Día de Los Niños
by Stephen Urchick •
Last Saturday in Pilsen, everyone was clustered together, waiting for the lead police car to sound its sirens, move ahead, and begin the 14th Annual Día de Los Niños (Children’s Day) festival.
At La Catrina, Coffee With a Nod Toward Mexico
by Mosum Shah •
The head of a smiling skeleton made famous in José Posada’s etching “La Calavera Catrina” graces the sign of La Catrina, a month-old coffee shop in Pilsen.
