Life Magazine Photographer Henri Dauman At The Art Center Highland Park
The Art Center Highland Park in partnership with The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Arbor Terrace Highland Park presents the work of internationally renowned Life magazine photographer Henri Dauman. Dauman’s photography documents some of the most momentous events and prominent personalities of the twentieth century, from the Kennedys, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Buddhist priests in Vietnam and the Castro revolution in Cuba. “What is even more extraordinary about Henri Dauman is how he defied the odds as an American immigrant after surviving the horrors of the Holocaust,” the Art Center reports.
“Born in France, Dauman was only nine when his father was taken by the Nazis to the Auschwitz concentration camp where he died that same year. Dauman and his mother escaped and hid for several years. His mother died when he was 13 leaving him an orphan. At 17, he was invited to New York City by his uncle. ‘He asked if I wanted to come and live in the United States, and I said, “Sure.” I had been dreaming of New York, seeing it in the movies and photographs. It’s such a photographic city. It’s like a big movie set.’” The Art Center Highland Park’s exhibition will be Dauman’s first exhibition in Illinois and the Center will offer community events, including a question and answer with the artist on October 3, 2pm-4pm, as well as a screening of the documentary about Henri’s life, “Henri Dauman: Looking Up.” More here.
Kavi Gupta Presents “Surface Is Only A Material Vehicle For Spirit”
Kavi Gupta presents “Surface is Only a Material Vehicle For Spirit,” a group exhibition spotlighting the work of eight voices within the field of contemporary abstraction, guest-curated by artist Kennedy Yanko. “Is there a metaphysical side to materiality? Sculptor Kennedy Yanko’s curatorial debut with Kavi Gupta explores the complex perceptual relationships that exist between the surface realities of aesthetic phenomena, and the illusions and transcendental insights experienced by artists and viewers of the work.” “What is the disconnect between our innate knowingness and our optic interpretations of the world around us?” Yanko asks. “Surface is Only a Material Vehicle For Spirit” features a new, site-specific installation by Katie Bell, along with works by Pamela Council, Alexandre Diop, Gracelee Lawrence, Charles Mason III, Monica Rezman, Jessica Stoller and Chiffon Thomas. More from Kavi Gupta here.
DESIGN
Jeanne Gang Builds On The Past
“Sometimes the best new building is the building that already exists. ‘One of my mottoes is “Start with what’s there,” ‘ says architect Jeanne Gang, whose Chicago-based firm, Studio Gang, has become a go-to for environmentally conscious and architecturally adventurous design. Gang’s philosophy leans heavily on community input, ecological awareness, and knowing when to reuse existing structures and materials instead of building anew,” reports Fast Company. “This idea of obsolescence is outdated,” she says. “It’s obsolete.”
Behind The Struggle To Preserve The Avalon Regal Theater
“We need all hands on deck. I think the entire civic fabric of the city of Chicago needs to get behind this project right now,” keeper of the Avalon Regal Theater Jerald Gary tells David Roeder at the Sun-Times of the $10 million or so needed to reopen the ornate space. “Since taking over the property in 2014 in a still-evolving private venture, Gary has secured the place and overseen the start of plumbing work. There is vast restoration left, but it starts with a fabulous canvas and a place in the heart of African Americans who remember it as an elegant showcase for performances by Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie and many others, some depicted on an outdoor mural along one wall that dates from the 1980s… Gary gets the skepticism but chalks up some of it to pushback whenever a disadvantaged community seeks self-sufficiency. He tries to focus on the possibilities. ‘We’re three minutes from the Obama [Center]… It just takes time. This is going to be the new Harlem, the new Brooklyn. I’m just hopeful that we can hold on.’ ”
Open House Chicago 2021 Includes In-Person, Indoor Visits
Chicago Architecture Center (CAC) has announced that Open House Chicago 2021, its eleventh year, will offer its popular in-person, indoor site visits, providing rare behind-the-scenes access to more than a hundred venues and over thirty Chicago neighborhoods and select suburbs on the weekend of October 16-17. The festival has been expanded, with opportunities for engagement and guided exploration throughout October. Programs start with member-only and public preview programs on September 28 and 29. Programming continues through October, accompanied by an Open House Chicago mobile app, available from October 1. Open House Chicago is one of the largest architecture festivals in the world and remains free and open to the public. Locations and other details here.
DINING & DRINKING
Dave’s Red Hots, Chicago’s Oldest Hot Dog Stand, Found To Be Even Older
Memories were jogged by a recent piece in the Trib by Louisa Chu: Dave’s Red Hots is even older than believed. Writes Chu, using history just uncovered: “Dave’s Red Hots opened sometime in the early 1930s. That means the oldest hot dog stand in Chicago is older than we thought. We don’t know the exact year, but do know it was earlier than previously believed, in 1938. The city’s historical license records only go back to 2002 [but the] Kaplan family historical data… goes back through intertwined lives… On a recent beautiful sunny day, the three families behind Dave’s Red Hots met for the first time at the oldest hot dog stand in the city.” The piece overflows with photos of the families.
FILM & TELEVISION
Jason Sudeikis Wins Emmy; Thanks Chicago Improv Instructors
“This show is about family, this show is about mentors and teachers, this show is about teammates,” Jason Sudeikis said after receiving an Emmy for the Apple TV series, “Ted Lasso.” AP reports via the Sun-Times: “He expressed gratitude to three Chicago theaters where he performed early in his career — Second City, iO and the Annoyance — singling out… Mick Napier… The former ‘Saturday Night Live’ performer also tried to thank producer-for-life Lorne Michaels, who was missing. ‘I want to thank Lorne, who went to go take a dump, now, perfect.’ ”
MEDIA
Alden Global Capital’s New York Daily News Now Has An “As-Needed” Editor-In-Chief Who Lives In Hartford
“Robert York, the editor-in-chief of The Daily News of New York, is being replaced on an interim and ‘as-needed’ basis by Andrew Julien, the editor and publisher of its corporate sibling The Hartford Courant, who will remain in that job while a search for a permanent editor takes place,” reports the New York Times.
MUSIC
A Thousand People Got To See Metallica At Metro Last Night
Monday morning was the announcement of a Metallica secret show at Metro, with a thousand-plus capacity. The impromptu shredfest sold single tickets at the door only. Block Club Chicago on the scene: “As word spread of the $20 concert, a line formed down Clark Street as fans tried to score tickets. The line wrapped around the historic venue’s entire block, snaking from Clark to Racine to Waveland and back to Clark. Metallica, which is marking its 40th year together, played for just 500 people Thursday at San Francisco’s The Independent, a show that was also announced on the same day.”
Jon Langford To Play At Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
Music veteran Jon Langford and his partner John Szymanski will perform in Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum’s plaza on Saturday, September 25. Patrons will be treated to an acoustic performance in the plaza at 11am and again at 2:30pm. He will also be interviewed in the State of Sound Studio between sets by exhibit writer and author, Dave Hoekstra. More here.
Rembrandt Chamber Musicians Open Season
Rembrandt Chamber Musicians will hold its season opening concert, the world premiere of Stacy Garrop’s commissioned piece “Chiaroscuro,” on Sunday, October 10 at 2pm in Evanston’s Nichols Concert Hall and Monday, October 11 at 7:30 pm at Chicago’s PianoForte. The concert marks the farewell performance of Rembrandt founders Sandra and Robert Morgan as longtime Rembrandt violinist John Macfarlane takes over as artistic director of the over thirty year-old group. More here.
R. Kelly Sex-Trafficking Trial Moves To Next Phase
“Prosecutors at the R. Kelly sex-trafficking trial ended their case Monday after calling dozens of witnesses over the past month who detailed the government’s sweeping allegations against the singer in lurid detail,” reports AP via WGN-TV.
STAGE
Ericka Ratcliff Named Congo Square Theatre’s New Artistic Director
Congo Square Theatre Company, one of the nation’s premier African American theaters, announced longtime Company member Ericka Ratcliff as its new artistic director, only the fourth in the company’s history, and the first woman in that role. Hailing from Baltimore, Ratcliff first performed with Congo Square in the premiere production of Lydia Diamond’s “Stickfly” in 2006. Ratcliff is also an emeritus ensemble member with The House Theatre of Chicago and an artistic associate with Lookingglass. She is a graduate of Roosevelt University. Joining executive director Charlique C. Rolle, women now hold both top leadership roles at Congo Square Theatre for the first time in the theater’s history. More on Congo Square here.
ARTS & CULTURE
Nice Normal City You Got There
In the press conference wrangling through all the proposals for the next year’s city budget, Mayor Lightfoot pronounced, “We stand on the precipice of our new normal.” She continued, “On the eve of the 150th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire, let’s match and exceed the determination of our ancestors who literally rebuilt this city out of the charred ashes… We are making no small plans.”
