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The Week In Art: February 12-18

By Amy Cavanaugh in Arts & Entertainment on Feb 12, 2012 5:00PM

2012_02_11_walther.jpg
Tom Walther Intersections, Conte, chalk, ink and tempera on paper 2012
• Monday

>> It’s not really arty, but it’s at an art museum and, besides, Galileo is awesome. Guy Consolmagno, a research astronomer and planetary scientist at the Vatican Observatory, speaks on Galileo in his Time tonight from 6-8 p.m. at the DePaul Art Museum. A Jesuit scientist, Consolmagno will look at how Galileo challenged the science of the day and how his reputation changed with the evolving fortunes of the Spanish during the Thirty Years' War.

• Tuesday

>> The second Tuesday of each month, the Museum of Contemporary Art hosts Culture Catalysts: Chicago’s Movers and Shakers, a talk at 6 p.m. This month’s speaker is Laura Letinsky, whose work is currently on display as part of the Chicago Works series. The talk is free with museum admission.

• Wednesday

>> We’ve been waiting for this one for awhile—the Smart Museum of Art opens Feast: Radical Hospitality in Contemporary Art with a free opening party at 7:30 p.m. The show looks at the act of sharing food and drink from an artistic standpoint. The party includes free beer served by artist Tom Marioni as part of his social artwork The Act of Drinking Beer with Friends is the Highest Form of Art and Michael Rakowitz’s Enemy Kitchen food truck will be onsite and serving regional Iraqi cuisine on paper replicas of Saddam Hussein’s china.

• Thursday

>> Doukan 7002, an open space for artistic experimentation and social engagement in West Rogers Park, hosts a party tonight at 6:30 p.m. to celebrate the completion of Doukan 7002 window-in-residency artist Tom Walther's new work, Intersections. BYOB.

>> Emily Pilloton, an SAIC alumna, discusses her nonprofit design firm Project H, which uses creative capital to improve communities and public education from the inside out, at the SAIC Columbus Auditorium at 6 p.m.

• Saturday

>> Artist Elaine Luther discusses her metalwork in “You Oughta Get a Medal for That!” a talk at the Harold Washington Library Center at 2 p.m. in the Art Reference Room.