Tag Archive
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... »
Scout’s Horror: Chris Smith’s gruesome survivalist art at antena Gallery
On the ground lies Geoffrey, a cat who has seen better days. His limbs are splayed out and his skin is peeled off. The apparatus that killed Geoffrey is constructed from simple materials: a plastic bag, an air mattress pump, hair, epoxy, and packaging tape. The bag is appended to the twisted form of... »
Decoding the Cheat Codes: “Lessons in Love” at antena
The turquoise title screen at the beginning of “Cheat Codes: lessons in love” puts love in terms of video games: juxtaposing cheat codes with relationships and comparing players to the viewers of the exhibit. The new video art installation at the antena gallery uses this opening statement more as a caution than a credo.... »
Art of the Living Dead: antena’s zombie-themed exhibit is hardly “A Mindless Affair”
Since opening in April 2008, Pilsen’s antena gallery has gained a reputation for exhibiting the weird and exotic. Past shows have included an “Orgy of Mutant Toys” and an electric chair; a current show features a fake Facebook account purportedly set up for Pilsen alderman Danny Solis—complete with risqué status updates. For Halloween, antena... »
The Surreal Life: Paul Nudd and Nick Black bring the weird to antena gallery
It was cold enough outside to catch me off-guard with the momentary conviction that Santa had set up shop in Miguel Cortez’s antena gallery. Sounds of running motors and clicking machinery came from an array of colorful objects placed sporadically throughout the room, creating a mechanical harmony. Viewers engaged with their surroundings, pulling knobs... »
A Lapse in Time: Pilsen builds a beacon for time travelers
No one is a stranger to daydreams of turning back the clock. Thoughts of time travel act as a fantastical conduit for our feelings of regret, perceptions of chances bygone and speculations on the consequences of our actions. Theories of time-space continuum manipulation abound in the world of physics. Notable literary figures have successfully... »
The Western Frontier: Pilsen’s other arts scene
Four decades ago, the Podmajersky family’s eponymous real estate company founded the Chicago Arts District in East Pilsen. Centered on the strip of Halsted between 18th Street and Cermak Road, the Chicago Arts District has experienced tremendous success and routinely draws large, lively crowds for its Second Friday gallery crawls. Last weekend’s 38th Annual... »
What Makes a Man Start Fires?: A new exhibit at the antena gallery mediates the relationship between the viewer and the world
You haven’t felt the meaning of stimulus overload until you’ve felt it in the hands of artist Noelle Mason. Immediately upon walking into the one-room antena gallery, a barrage of slaps, gasps, and giggles welcomes the newcomer. You progress through the physically interactive show, weaving across cables, tiptoeing over broken bits of a chandelier... »
