This Chicago Whole Foods has constructed an entire tableau of classic Atari games out of cans of food. more ›

We thought there was an awful lot going on at the grand opening of the Southside Hub of Production (SHoP), a brand-new cultural center in Hyde Park, until we saw that the space the organization will be occupying was the Fenn House, a 16-room Victorian mansion across the street from the University of Chicago Campus. With that kind of square footage, there is room to offer something for everybody, which is what SHoP is aiming to do--and from a decidedly local perspective. more ›

Construction is underway on a 26-foot sculpture based on Marilyn Monroe's iconic subway grate pose in . The sculpture, by New Jersey artist Seward Johnson, will be completed Friday night. Regular Chicagoist Photos Flickr pool contributor Jonathan Lurie shared these shots of the construction of Marilyn's bottom half. more ›

Remember Can Mario? Yeah, that was great. Turns out it's part of a much larger project - CANstruction. During CANstruction, architecture and engineering firms compete to build amazing sculptures out of food cans. There are ribbons, prizes and all the food is donated to the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Whole Foods is a sponsor of the event - hence the great can Mario. The sculptures are on display until the end of May, and if you go to the Mart you can vote for your favs. Some of them are worth looking at - there's a Wrigley Field, a box of Fruit Loops and a tableau of the Water Tower during the Chicago Fire. Check them out! more ›

We found out about local artist Jeff Carter's IKEA hacking in October. Then, we wrote about his Gropius building models in response to the city's controversial decision to demolish the south side "Bauhaus campus." Then, in early February, three of Carter's works went up in Columbia's 310 Contemporary gallery on Michigan Ave. more ›

Well now, this is exciting. Alexander Calder and Contemporary Art: Form, Balance, Joy opens tomorrow at The Museum of Contemporary Art. One half of the first floor, bereft of wall dividers, is now one large space fillllllled with Alexander Calder sculptures, mobiles, and stabiles. The other half of the first floor has works by artists - Martin Boyce, Nathan Carter, Abraham Cruzvillegas, Aaron Curry, Kristi Lippire, Jason Meadows, and Jason Middlebrook - inspired by Calder. more ›

We've received more than a few tweets and emails about the giant eyeball going up at Pritzker Park. Fear not, it's but a simple art installation by University of Illinois at Chicago professor Tony Tasset. The "three-story steel reinforced fiberglass scuplture of a human eyeball," called, appropriately, Eye, is being erected in hopes of being something of a tourist draw. Said Ty Tabing, executive director of the Chicago Loop Alliance, "This is going to be a pretty provocative piece and we think that everyone is going to be talking about it." Tasset told CNN, "More than anything, I would like people to think it's cool. My first job is always to make the space more interesting and I wanted to make something with a big impact." Tasset hopes to have the sculpture complete by July 7th and it will remain up until October. more ›

Chicago dedicated a bronze bust in honor of a man once thought of as the founder of Chicago on Saturday, according to Chicago Breaking News. Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable was a Haitian fur trapper and the "first non-indigenous settler to the Chicago area," the report said. He was named founder of the city by the state of Illinois in 1968. The bust, which was donated by members of the city's Haitian-American community, is located on the east side of Michigan Avenue, north of the Chicago River. more ›

A sculpture dedicated to the victims of the February 2008 campus shooting was unveiled earlier this week. Created by NIU alumni Bruce Niemi, the piece is made of stainless steel and called, "Remembered." Niemi said of his sculpture, "When I create a work, I try to make it be positive and uplifting. No matter how bad things are, there's always something good that can come out of it. I hope people can walk away with this with a feeling of calmness and piece of mind.'' The cost of the sculpture and its installation - $150,000 - was paid for by a special fund created for such a memorial. [Sun-Times, Northern Star] more ›

There’s a hint of melancholy in the eyes of artist Tara McPherson’s characters—wan, porcelain faces that remind us of a cross between Blythe Dolls and the lovably macabre creatures born from Tim Burton’s brain. If you’re a fan of the scary fairytale style, head to Rotofugi this Saturday where McPherson will be signing her latest book, Lost Constellations. Published by Dark Horse comics, this new release chronicles the NYC-based artist’s most recent paintings, drawings, and sculpture. Also on display will be McPherson’s new Kidrobot mini-figure series, Gamma Mutant Space Friends. more ›

Tennessee native and storyteller Chris Roberson integrates sayings drawn from gospel hymns, hobo graffiti, and caves -- among other sources -- to make sculptures, carvings, and collages that reflect his Southern roots. In addition to found wood and magazine pictures, his media include watercolor-like dyes that he makes himself by running walnut hulls through a coffee maker. Stop by the Country Club at 1100 N. Damen to check out Caught Fever: Works by Chris Roberson, his first-ever solo exhibition. on Thursday, October 16 and Friday, October 17 from 6–10 p.m., or Saturday, October 18 and Sunday, October 19 from 12 – 6 p.m., Refreshments will be served on Thursday and Friday. more ›

A few weeks ago, a local gallery unveiled an "Oprah burial mask" by Indiana native Daniel Edwards. Now a gallery in NY has what appears to be the same bust, only this time with stuff on top. Art! Sometimes we don't get it. more ›

Liar, liar, half-man half-goat sculpture on fire! Turns out the Art Institute's "Faun" sculpture is a big fat forgery. The sculpture is not in fact the work of French post-impressionist painter Paul Gauguin but is instead a fake, made by Shaun Greenhalgh, whose family has been running an international art forgery business from England for the last 17 years. The Art Institute bought the statue from a private dealer in 1997, and the dealer... more ›

The cover story of the Red Eye today is the age-old topic of public smooching. The article itself is nothing special, but some of the quote are too good to pass up: "Licking each other's fingers and making out on a packed train is too much." "No one wants to see that...Everyone likes to get their groove on, but come on." "Back where I'm from, in nightclubs you can basically do what you want. I... more ›

A few minutes walk from Bubba Gump, Shakespeare Theater and the IMAX is this weekend’s Exposition of Sculpture Objects and Functional Art (SOFA) Chicago, bringing around 100 similarly eclectic galleries to Navy Pier’s Festival Hall. Considering the show’s artistic star power and the stacks of bills changing hands, Friday afternoon seemed positively mellow. Visitors seemed more intent on finding that perfect trinket for their living room or personal adornment than investing in the next Picasso.... more ›

That last hour on Fridays always seems to take forever. At least there's plenty of cool stuff cooking this weekend: more ›

There's a November-y chill in the air already, and the rolling out of Christmas decorations drives home the fact that winter is rapidly approaching. This year, Jack Frost is bringing more than just snow and seasonal affective disorder, though: Canadian artist Gordon Halloran is building a enormous ice sculpture in Millennium Park. Halloran's piece, "Paintings Below Zero," will be unveiled February 1, and will be a 95-foot long, 12-foot tall wall of pigmented panels... more ›

Chicago Calling, a collaborative festival linking Chicago-based artists with international friends and counterparts, continues tonight and Saturday, the exclamation point to Chicago Artists Month 2007. The festival as exchange program is perfect for an age where Skype, Google Talk, and unlimited wireless plans have dissolving the distance between us and our European, African, and Asian friends. If you’re commuting through the Thompson Center tonight, stop by the front plaza to hear Jennifer Karmin’s “Beast Poem,”... more ›

Starting Saturday, the MCA is free for all for 40 days to celebrate 40 years of bringing fun, engaging, and occasionally frustrating contemporary art to Chicago. Through November 14, your visit involves nothing more frustrating than remembering where you put your coat check tag and fighting massive crowds to see your favorite Warhol and Murakami. It’s a gift to Chicago to be sure, but also a chance to reflect on four decades of freaky sculpture... more ›

We're all down with sculpture gardens. But are garden-gardens art? That’s the question artist Chapman Kelley (warning: pdf) is putting to the Chicago Park District — via a federal suit. Kelley alleges that the garden he designed and planted in Daley Bicentennial Plaza is art protected under the federal Visual Artists Rights Act. Not everyone agrees, saying that the flowers have run wild and that the garden occupied too much space. The park district reduced... more ›

Here are some other news items of note while we're at Millennium Park enjoying Muhal Richard Abrams and Reginald Robinson: The U.S. attorney's office has joined an ongoing Cook County probe into the rogue actions of an elite squad of the Chicago Police Department . Blue Line passengers can expect (more) delays starting this weekend. The sculptor who created Berwyn's spindle claims that the shopping plaza where it sits is "prostituting" the sculpture under... more ›

What's 50 feet tall, weighs 162 tons, was forged in Gary, Indiana and has no name? No, that's not the start of a really bad joke, it's a description of the statue that Pablo Picasso gave to Chicago in 1967. Many of us local yokels know it as The Picasso. And it just turned 40. more ›

This sounds pretty cool -- the State of Illinois' third annual small-business challenge cited 13 winners for its $10,000 Innovate Illinois grant program. You can find out more about the program here. Don't stop believin' in anonymity when it comes to the mob -- as the much-anticipated Family Secrets mob conspiracy trial opens, jurors will share their backgrounds, views on issues and reading habits-but not their names. It's Police Superintendent Idol! Three and "possibly... more ›

There's a stretch of freight train track and pothole-marked road that runs parallel to 41st Street that makes a great shortcut to the southwest side via bicycle, particularly on days where we don't want to fight the congestion of Archer Avenue. A service road at 41st and Ashland allows freight rail employees easy access to the rails. It also dumps us off at the Ashland Avenue Swap-O-Rama. If you've never been to the Swap-O-Rama, you don't know what you're missing. What we were missing was Kiki D's Carnitas, located across the street. After the meal we had this weekend, we wished we'd kept missing it. The sign that once announced its presence is long gone, but the steady foot traffic from Swap-O-Rama customers keeps Kiki D's from totally fading in the background. Service is no-nonsense: walk in, take a number, give your order, follow the line to the check-out counter and avoid the kids hopped up on Mexican soda scurrying around your feet in the process. Meats and homemade pork rinds fill display booths, whetting an appetite that doesn't know what this place has in store. more ›

While we love art, we’re not huge fans of the occasionally pricey admission costs to get into museums and exhibits. more ›

Except for an art teacher over in Evergreen Park. Bruce Lupori, a sixth-grade teacher over at Southwest Elementary School allegedly participated in a "joke gone bad" whereby he apparently put a plastic bag (with a hole cut in it) over a student's head. The incident happened in February, but the school only heard about it when kids told administrators about it on March 23. That seems a little odd. Did they not tell because it... more ›

Normally we are proud of the fact that we don't own a car, what with auto fatalities rising, global warming, and the always increasing dependence on oil. But, those things mean nothing when the wind is nipping at you like a thousand angry piranhas. So this weekend we are going to get re-acquainted with our four wheeled counterparts. After that we are going to reserve a car here, or here, and enjoy our weekend. As... more ›

No. 5 is "Agoraphilia - Stage VIII" by only-connect. more ›

While we are huge supporters of art, we have to admit: the giant faces on the art installations in Millennium Park freak us out a bit. While the idea behind them is excellent — a work of art that reflects the city and its people, and provides fun entertainment for kids in the hot summer months — we don’t particularly like to be stared down by 50-foot-tall faces. However, the giantific portraits became even creepier when we discovered yesterday that the faces didn’t only look like they were watching us, but in fact, they were. more ›

• Federated is cutting 200+ jobs in Chicago right after the holidays. Hey, but did you know Frango is expanding past candies and into beauty products?
• The Chicago Police deny they are hiding homicides.
• A judge ruled that it is ok for Batavia school children to make fun of Italian-Americans. Or something.