A Mild Uproar of Fun

On Saturday, I attended the William Eggleston exhibit at the Modern Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago. For those who don’t know, Eggleston, who hails from and lives in Memphis, is an influential photographer who revolutionized the use of color photography. His work is often described as having a snapshot quality with colors that are heavily saturated.

The exhibit was quite impressive in it’s scope, covering even Eggleston’s early dabble into black and white photography (several examples from Memphis Sate programs). But the main attraction were the dye imbibition color prints, many of which were quite famous as album covers, including the new record from Spoon. I really wanted to take a photo of the display with LP’s from Big Star’s Radio City and Alex Chilton’s Like Flies on Sherbert but photography is only allowed in the permanent collections. Even so, here are few photos from the opening day of the exhibit:

William Eggleston’s rare appearance for the opening, which was met with fever of excitement from his fans.

Eggleston signs a copy of his latest monograph books, William Eggleston: Democratic Camera, Photographs and Video, 1961-2008

The screening display for Eggleston’s film Stranded in Canton which my friend John Olivio edited.

It seems our neighborhood longs for the it’s past, gritty days when prostitutes, junkies, and criminals roomed the intersection of Milwaukee, North, and Damen. Hmm. Personally, I applaud the lack of such folks but could do without a bank on every corner. But that’s just me.

Curious about the title of this post? Here’s a clue.

Some of you might recall a few posts ago that right before the Christmas break, I received a jury duty notice from the City of Chicago. All these years of livin’ and this was the first time I had ever been asked to do my civic duty. Since I was only a standby juror, I had to call a number the day before in order to find out if my service, in fact, was needed. Since I was working on a shoot, Apryl made the call for me and texted me back the news: Only standby jurors with last names beginning with F to H. I just missed out.

However, the Chicagoist wasn’t as “lucky”?

If you are a dreamer, come in.
If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar.
A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer…
If you’re a pretender, come sit by my fire
For we have some flax-golden tales to spin.
Come in!
Come in!

“Invitation” Shel Silverstein from Where the Sidewalk Ends

Last week, Apryl and I partook in SHELebration, a free musical and poetry event celebrating the life and work of the late Shel Silverstein. Famously known for children’s books like Where the Sidewalk Ends and The Giving Tree, Silverstein was also an accomplished songwriter (”Cover of the Rolling Stone,” “A Boy Named Sue,” etc.), cartoonist, and screenwriter. The tribute, which was held at the beautiful Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park , was put together by Bobby Bare Jr. and starred a slew of guests including Bobby Bare Sr., Patrick Hallahan (My Morning Jacket), Sally Timms (The Mekons), Jon Langford (The Mekons), Will Oldham (aka Bonnie Prince Billy), and acting as the house band, The Bare Family Band. Why Chicago, you ask? Well, Shel Silverstein was born in Chicago in 1930. He even sold hot dogs at Comiskey Park when he was a kid and remained a lifelong White Sox fan. For more information about SHELebration, check out this great article from the Tribune.

Here are a few photos from the event:

Miss Lori and the Campus Kids from PBS read and act out the works of Silverstein.

Sally Timms sings “One’s on the Way,” made famous by Loretta Lynn.

Bobby Bare Jr. performs Silverstein’s most famous songwriting contribution, “Cover of the Rolling Stone,” originally recorded by Dr. John.

Will Oldham dons a ladies wig and performs another tune originally sung by Loretta Lynn called “Hey Loretta”.

The hilarious Bobby Bare Sr. entertains the kids as well as the adults.

And, here’s a short video of the finale, “Unicorn”:

For the fourth straight year, Apryl and I are attending the Pitchfork Music Festival, which occurs every year at Union Park. (Technically, the first year was the Intonation Music Festival curated by Pitchfork, but that’s nitpicking.) This year tickets sold out faster than any other year, so we’re expecting a far larger crowd than normal. Hopefully, it will still be manageable, since this is one of the few festivals Apryl is able to stand crowdwise. And as long as the predicted showers for Saturday and Sunday hold off, the temperature highs ranging from the low to mid 70’s should make the conditions quite comfortable (though I can imagine Apryl being disappointed in the idea of taking a sweater at night when it’s officially summertime). Below, a list of some of the artists I’m looking forward to checking out:

Built to Spill, The Flaming Lips, Yo La Tengo, Tortoise, Grizzly Bear, M83, Beirut, DOOM, Final Fantasy, The National, The Walkmen, Bowerbirds, and many, many more.

If you aren’t able to attend but still want to check out the festival, there will be a live stream here.

Sears Tower is now Willis Tower.

Check out the article.

The Dirty Projectors

The Sea and Cake

With temps in the 50’s right now, it’s hard to imagine that summer is right around the corner. However, if proof is what you need, just check out this extensive list of neighborhood festivals and street/block parties taking place in the next couple months in Chicago. Nearly all of these include music acts and are either free or ask a donation of no more than $5. Here is a small sample of musicians and groups I wouldn’t mind checking out under the warm sun:

Chicago Blues Festival: Pinetop Perkins, Bettye LaVette, Honeyboy Edwards, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings
Ribfest Chicago: Office, Jukebox the Ghost, Margot and the Nuclear So & So’s, Thao with the Get Down Stay Down, Annuals
Taste of Randolph Street: Dr. Dog, Urge Overkill, The Hold Steady
Wicker Park Festival: Elvis Perkins In Dearland, Junior Boys
Millennium Park Music Series: Dirty Projectors, Sea and Cake, The Feelies, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Pit Er Pat

And let’s not forgot the Pitchfork Music Festival (Built to Spill, Yo La Tengo, Tortoise, Flaming Lips, Grizzly Bear, The Walkmen, M83, Beirut, etc.) and Lollapalooza (which hopefully I get to work for a third year in a row)!

John Vanderslice at last week’s Metronome Music Festival in Logan Square.

And, Future Rock at the same festival.

Yesterday, Apryl and I took advantage of Free Week over at the Art Institute as the museum was celebrating the opening of its Modern Wing. The new addition of 264,000 square feet makes it the second largest art museum in the country!

Inside the new space, one can find contemporary art from 1960, early 20th century European art, new photography, architecture and design, and video media. The best part, which we didn’t get to try out, was the Nichols Bridgeway which is a walkway from Millennium Park to the third floor of the Modern Wing. No wait, the best part was that it was free! Check out photos from our trip:

The third floor entrance from the Nichols Bridgeway.

Inside the Modern Wing.

Jeff Wall’s The Flooded Grave. Silver dye-bleach transparency in an aluminum light box.

Apryl walking on the second floor of the Modern Wing.

In contemporary art from 1945-1960. Of course, this is Jackson Pollock. Greyed Rainbow is the title.

Apryl inside the contemporary art after 1960 section. Check out the Elvis Warhol!

David Hockney’s American Collectors.

More Warhol.

Roy Lichtenstein’s Brushstroke with Spatter.

Hey, I wonder why I like this one so much???

Two Candles from Gerhard Richter. Seem familiar?

Perhaps, this is why.

Inside the early 20th century European section. Above, Matisse’s Bathers by a River.

The Old Guitarist from Pablo Picasso.

They even had this maquette from Pablo Picasso of the 50 foot tall, 162 tons sculpture which was commissioned by the original Mayor Daley. Today, it can be seen at Daley Plaza in downtown Chicago.

Full photostream found here.