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January 24, 2007
OGIC: My town, more than just an ursine cult
This week, I live in a city consumed. Only a game, you say? Tell it to the scamps who pitched themselves into Lake Michigan after dark on a day when the temperature did not exceed the freezing point. Aw, such an endearing waste of emergency resources! Every city loves a champion, but certain places embrace certain championship runs with special fervor and purpose. In Chicago, a championship run mounted by a defensive-minded Bears team is probably as heaven-sent as it gets, giving the real-life superfans a chance to flaunt their imperviousness to the elements and reaffirm solemn allegiance to smashmouth football.My point is this: it may seem from the outside—as it certainly does from the inside—that this is a town given over completely to ursine cultism and Superbowl anticipation. Through it all, however, cultural life in Chicago does go on. One case in point is the Art Institute, which will bravely kick off its free February on a Saturday when many Chicagoans will probably be busy buying the supermarkets out of Polishes, MGD, and blue and orange face paint. But wouldn't February 3rd be better spent at the AIC's debut of Q & Art? That day, more than 100 art experts will be posted throughout the galleries that day to field all questions, from the sublime to the ridiculous. I love the idea of this event, especially as a way to kick off a month of free access to one of the greatest museums in the world. From the museum’s press release:
On hand to answer questions and offer information will be the chief curators and department heads from American art; Medieval to Modern European Painting and Sculpture; African and Amerindian Art; the Ryerson and Burnham libraries; conservation; and Ancient art. Curatorial staff from all departments—Photography to Contemporary, Decorative Arts to Architecture and Design—will also be available throughout the museum. In the museum’s Fullerton Hall, historic and contemporary programs about the Art Institute…will run continuously from 2:00 to 4:30 p.m.
“Q&Art” is a major initiative by the Art Institute to make the museum as accessible as possible to all. The Art Institute hopes that Chicagoans will take advantage of its “open house” for the first three weeks of February and specifically on Saturday, February 3.
Offering access plus accessibility through personal contact, the Art Institute appears to be looking for a way to reach out to new audiences that's an alternative to the heavily hyped blockbuster show. Here's hoping they find some success drawing in new museumgoers and that other museums take notice—even if the act of God involving the local gridiron team deflates attendance, which, unfortunately, it well may.
Also in the home of the bean, the bona fide Broadway production of John Patrick Shanley's Doubt, hailed by Terry here, has five days and six performances left in its Chicago run. I’ll be there Saturday night.
Finally, inspired by Terry’s euphoric report from the Erin McKeown show last night, I checked her tour schedule. The diva dynamo lands at Schuba’s on Southport, her traditional and ideal Chicago venue, on March 1. I will so be there, with so many bells on, they'll hear me coming a block away.
Posted January 24, 2007 11:57 AM
