Pilsen
That’s all folk
Last Sunday, the auditorium of the National Museum of Mexican Art was filled to capacity, with young families and older couples chattering eagerly before the the Mexican Folkloric Dance Company of Chicago’s performance of Tardeada del Corazón. Stepping onstage, director of the company José Ovalle asked if anyone in the audience did not understand... »
The Right Perspective
Christian Saucedo bikes around Chicago, through residential neighborhoods and industrial overpasses. Equipped with masking tape and an eye for surfaces, he placates the police officers that question his motives. His canvasses are ceilings, floors, and walls; his tools are tape and a command of perspective. »
Nightmare Theatre
Dream Theatre’s Halloween-inspired production, “Audience Annihilated: Women Only Train”—a powerful and surreal theatrical experience that’s part psychological thriller, part horror film, and part haunted house, was performed five times a night for the ten nights leading up to Halloween, each cycle welcoming an audience of four people at maximum. »
A New Song
The flashing disco lights signal that a musical performance is about to begin. An artist picks up the mic, singing one of his old Mexican favorites, barely even looking at the screen for the correct lyrics. And this tradition is part of a larger project, called the People’s Stage. »
The New Chicago Imagist
Hopkin says that someone who’s been doing something for a long time develops a special complexity. His exhibition space (and apartment), fittingly named Slow, stands on 21st Street. Its intention: to defend what he calls “normal” local artists—the people who are happy to do what they love without concern for fame. John Henley is... »
Pilsen & Little Village
Pilsen and Little Village are cousins—not only because families often extend across the neighborhood boundaries, nor simply because they are both port-of-entry regions for recent Mexican immigrants. These two are a pair, now more than ever, because of a growing exchange between the two. »
Forever You
“All About You Forever,” by McDowell, a North-Carolina-via-New-York video artist, was last week’s showcase at ACRE’s intimate gallery space on the northwestern edge of Pilsen. In humble digs no larger than 400 square-feet, McDowell created a layered and dark exploration into the tenuous divide between video and viewer. »
Waste Not
Steps from a busy Pink Line stop in Pilsen, it is difficult to differentiate between discarded gallery opening flyers, crumpled McDonalds wrappers, and plastic bags floating above the sidewalk. This collection of litter, however, is not exactly trash. Each apparent piece of junk is part of While All Such Things End, the first exhibit... »
