04/29/08
Sometimes, something so perfect crosses my desk, that I feel compelled to stop, inhale ... and immediately put it on my blog. This press release from Simon & Schuster is one of these.
"Recently, I sent you a copy of HOW TO DUCK A SUCKAH: A Guide to Living a Drama-Free Life (February 2008) by Big Boom, author of the Essence bestselling book, If You Want Closure in Your Relationship, Start With Your Legs (2007). . . In HOW TO DUCK A SUCKAH, Boom explains his controversial past and why he has decided to take a stand against suckahs by guiding women out of the 'sitting duck syndrome.' Big Boom was once a player/pimp/hustler and...
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04/28/08
A few playful catcalls greeted the architect Louis Sullivan last week at the Union League Club. Actually it was a photo of Sullivan flashed on a movie screen, a preview of an upcoming documentary by the Chicago filmmaker Judith McBrien about the architect and city planner Daniel Hudson Burnham. The movie, called Make No Little Plans, is slated to premiere next year in Millennium Park, part of a summer-long centennial salute to Burnham's 1909 Plan of Chicago. You can see the film's trailer here...
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04/25/08
Art Chicago descends upon us this weekend, and, along with it, that age-old question of "What is Art?" For every awesome Jaume Plensa sculpture or Tony Oursler video, there is something raggedy, like a twisted old rope mounted in a canvas or an ugly naked lady holding a dead flower. You try to act polite and not stare and whisper to your friend, What the hell??? But then you drink too much Grolsch at the opening party and end up wearing a trucker hat and getting all vocal about things and the “shushing” starts and … OK, enough about last night. Between beers, I managed to take some photos for a little game called Art—or Not Art?...
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04/17/08
After seeing Laurie Anderson in concert last night, I have to say that I'm a convert. Anderson's blend of performance art isn't for everyone. Even Anderson herself will admit as much. But in her latest work, Homeland, it's clear that she's let go of some of the visual gimmickry of years past. The topics are serious (national security, global warming), but the delivery is, actually, kind of funny. It's almost a bit Jon Stewart, if Jon Stewart were a pixie-haired, 60ish art rocker...
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04/15/08
Just saw Sarah Ruhl's latest, Dead Man Cell Phone, at Steppenwolf. I loved the Edward Hopper-inspired staging (one of many suggestions that Ruhl makes in her script). The premise isn't that earth-shattering—a woman answers a stranger's cell phone and pieces together his life post-mortem—but Ruhl injects enough of her brand of whimsy and magical realism that you're quickly steered beyond the predictable. OK, so some weird and pretty unlikely things happen (a delish-looking make-out session in a stationery store; a monologue from the grave...
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04/10/08
As fashionable as Chicago thinks it is, it's still a major event when one of the top New York-based designers cruises into town. This week, it was Zac Posen, who brought along a full-on runway show, courtesy of Saks Fifth Avenue.
I blanked completely on the event, didn't dress appropriately, and wandered in the stately Murphy Hall on Erie Street in a full-on turtleneck and a dress I'd accidentally shrunk in the dryer. Everyone else was head-to-toe designer; what do you do? If you're me, hold your head up high and squeeze through the crowd to find Zac Posen for a photo...
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03/11/08
Project Runway is over for the season, and I'm looking to fill the Heidi
Klum-shaped void in my life. Lucky for me—and you, too—the Chicago Fashion
Incubator launched at Macy's on State last night, affording us the
opportunity to follow the careers of six local designers from
the classroom to the selling floor. The group (Glenn Mallory, Kate Coxworth,
Agga B. Raya, Lidia Wachowska, Kristin Rosynek Hassan, and Yana German)
shares three 11th floor offices in the State Street store, plus a stark
workspace full of...
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03/05/08
Who knew that nearly three hours worth of PowerPoint presentations could gather and keep a crowd? Well, it turns out it's a global phenom. Last night's Pecha Kucha at Martyrs' (3855 N. Lincoln) showcased 14 creative minds—photographers, architects, artists, and writers—each armed with 20 slides and just under seven minutes per person to present them. Topics included projects, concepts, absurd histories, and one life's work. And with the stage open to anyone, the lecture-hall stuffiness quickly dissolved into a sea of chatter...and beer...
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02/26/08
It could have been due to the snow—or perhaps the subject matter—but the audience at last night's Heat Wave opening was a little … sparse, which is sad and a little ironic. In July of 1995, our city failed to take responsibility for more than 700 heat-related deaths. It was a complete societal breakdown where everyone (the City of Chicago, the media, and civilians) was accountable for one of the worst meteorological disasters in the history of the United States. It's a story worth remembering. So, why all the empty chairs?...
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02/19/08
It started in a bar, as so many ideas do: an NCAA-tournament style bracket for singles. A friend of mine and I had been weighing the benefits of one
arty activity over another, with the deciding factor being, well, men. As
in, when you're over the Saturday night bar scene, where else can you go to
meet people? It got me thinking: what if you canvassed the arts & culture
scene and plotted out the possibilities on a bracket? ...
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48.0F
Coda is a blog by arts and culture editor Cassie Walker, who, love it or hate it, always has an opinion. During the course of her weekly culture hunting, she reviews high art and pop culture events so you'll know what you need to check out and what you can miss.
