Non-Pitchfork Artsy Things to Do
By Lauri Apple in Arts & Entertainment on Jul 17, 2009 8:40PM
Why you wanna go and spend your weekend standing in some litter-covered park, staring at scrawny musician types for hours on end? Those rock and rollers don't care about you, honey -- they'll just take your money and then move on to the next town or festival, leaving you with nothing to show for it except grass stains, foggy concession stand memories and some iPhone/gPhone/SLRphone pics.
Go hang out with your friendly neighborhood visual artists instead -- it's free. And if you want to spend money, you can buy their artwork -- it will look much better on your wall than your drunken snapshots of that Beirut guy's nose. A sampling of the fun, free art events you can check out this weekend:
This is a hot one: Unusual Suspects brings together 15 artists rooted in Chicago’s graffiti writing community. You won't see “graffiti” in the traditional sense; what you’ll experience is the funky, hip, and diverse approaches each writer has taken as an artist. The line-up includes Casper, Ish, Risk, Uneek, Zore, Hyde, Tsel, Flash, Kingdom, Pilot, Rooster, Thor, Poem, Traz, Flex (these would all make for great Sarah Palin offspring names).
2612 Space, 2612 W. Nelson. Opens Friday, July 17, 8-11 p.m., with an after-party at Lava Lounge, 1270 N. Milwaukee Ave. till 2 a.m.
Bucktown-bound? 360SEE is celebrating its first year anniversary with the opening of 1st Anniversary show: Fittingly, Works on and of Paper. New works by gallery artists Steve Bewley, Alejandro Chevatta, Chris Crites, Virginia Fleck, Curtis Frillmann, Matt Gagnon, Brian Mock, Suzanna Scott and Pat Swanson (not-so-good Sarah Palin offspring names).
360SEE, 1924 N. Damen Ave. Opening Friday, July 17 from 6-9 p.m. Through Aug. 27.
If you're a River Northerner, stop by the David Weinberg Gallery for Framework, featuring sculpture by Bob Emser and photographs by Mr. Weinberg himself.
David Weinberg Gallery, 300 W. Superior St., Suite 203. Opens Friday, July 17, 5-8 p.m. Through Aug. 29.
And if you're more southerly inclined, Bridgeport's Second Bedroom Project Space hosts That You Can Carry, New works by Allison Yasukawa. An MFA candidate at UIC, Yasukawa asked Senegalese expats to make drawings of their old neighborhoods, which she then used to create hats. And there's audio as well.
Second Bedroom Project Space, 3216 S. Morgan Street Apt. 4R. Opens Friday, July 17, 7-11 p.m.
On Saturday, head down to Pilsen for 6&7, a show by Design Boner co-bloggers Porcelain (Katie Brown) and Cardboard (Jessica Bartlett). The show is a project-in-progress, initiated in February 2007 as a challenge to find visual interest in the everyday. Both gals take a photo every Saturday (6) and Sunday (7); this exhibition showcases the best of their weekend images, as well as a sampling of four-panel mosaics published on their design-focused blog.
Chicago Art Department, 1837 S. Halsted. Opens Saturday, July 18, 6-10 p.m.
The Edgewater Chamber of Commerce holds its monthly Third Saturdays event, with entertainment, special deals and a free trolley that runs along Sheridan and N. Broadway. Storefronts will display art.
N. Broadway/Edgewater. 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Also on Saturday, Lakeview's Flourish Studios hosts Connections, a large-scale digital interactive installation designed by Chicago-based designer orginalLGB. Taking up over 400 sq. ft. in Flourish’s Envision Gallery, the project occurs in conjunction with an outreach on behalf of Erasing the Distance, an Illinois non-profit dedicated to generating increased understanding for mental health-related issues through theater. A percentage of all retail proceeds generated during the event benefits EtD.
Flourish Studios, 3020 N. Lincoln Ave. Opening reception Friday, July 24 from 6-9 p.m. Through Aug. 22.