Chicago tips

An-My Le Photos / Museum Of Contemporary Photography

photography, culture, current calendar

The Museum of Contemporary Photography here in the South Loop is a wonderful resource.  It was founded by Columbia College in 1984 and is the leading photography museum in the Midwest.  As such it exhibits local, national and international work and projects. The permanent collection shares this focus.   

Just opened is an exhibit of the work of acclaimed photographer An-My Le, entitled Small Wars.

An-My Le was born in Vietnam in 1960, lived in France for a portion of her childhood and came to the U.S. in 1975 as a refugee.  She received BAS and MS degrees from Stanford University, a MFA from Yale University and a Guggenheim fellowship in 1997.  Her work is in the collections of  the Whitney Museum, MOMA, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY, among others.

The current exhibit includes images relating to the war in Viet Nam and current interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Her approach to both is oblique.

"Instead of addressing her subject by creating reportage images of actual shocking events, she photographs places where war is psychologically anticipated, processed and relived."  The exhibit is impressively thought provoking in a broader sense than the experience one might find viewing more common images of the horrors of war.

Concurrently a related exhibit entitled, "War Fare"  includes photographs by Sarah Pickering, Ashley Gilbertson, Sean Hemmerle, Martha Rosler and Sean Snyder.  All may be seen through January 6.

Karen Irvine, will discuss both exhibits, Tuesday December 5 at noon in the galleries.  Karen is the curator of both exhibits and a terrific lecturer. 

You can have a fine time on the museum's website  http://www.mocp.org perusing their permanent collection.   Works of noted photographers may be seen there along with their bios. 

The Museum of Contemporary Photography, 600 S. Michigan, M-F 10-5; Thurs. til 8, Sat, 12-5.

Swim In A Vintage Pool Or Just Peek Inside

architecture, culture, services

I'm guessing that you've abandoned Lake Michigan for the season;  however, here's an elegant alternative.  This pool is an architectural gem that many locals don't know.  It's tucked inside the Intercontinental Hotel, the building with the Art Deco facade and an historic Chicago Landmark just north of the Tribune Tower.

The Roman style pool was built in 1929 as a facet of  the Medinah Athletic Center.  Here, you'll discover vintage tile, European style resort furniture, palms and decorative elements of another era.  There's an adjoining and up to date fitness center.

A local membership for the center and the pool combined is $295 for 3 months, $555 for 6 months and $955 annually.  Corporate memberships (for three or more) are a bit less.  Alternatively, you can swim in the pool once for $15 or purchase a packet of 10 passes for $120.  They're good for a year and this dramatic change of venue might get you through some dull gray days.  What a fine holiday surprise for the right person!

The swimming pool and fitness center at the Intercontinental Hotel, 505 N. Michigan Av., 312.944.4100.

Those Silken Steps At The Art Institute

culture, current calendar

Wow!  Try approaching the Art Institute from Adams Street.  You'll love the impact of this new take on banner ads, all touting the Silk Road activities at the grande dame of art  here. 

There's a huge calendar of events to choose from among the various sponsors.  Check out the Silk Road project initiated by famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma at http://www.silkroadchicago.org.  Click on "event calendars", top right.  That's the best way since other pertinent sites don't seem to be up to date.

The Chicago Symphony, the city via its' Office of Tourism and the Chicago Cultural Center as well as the Art Institute are  sponsors of this vast project which will eventually reach other cities.  The idea is to familiarize people of all cultures (and there surely are many in Chicago) with ideas from the past as well as modern day interpretations.  Travellers on the Silk Road included Ghengis Khan and Marco Polo.

Silk Road are at galleries and other venues all over town and they change constantly.  All this will cease in June of 2007 and you've missed much already so keep checking that magic website  to keep in touch.

Free "Directory Assistance" For Cell Or Home

services

I'll bet you're as disgusted as I am re those up to $2.50 "directory assistance" charges on your phone bill.  Despite our busy lives, my friends and I complain to one another about such things.  My friend Salli to the rescue with this free 800 number.  It is:

1.800.373.3411 or 1.800. FREE 411.

This really works.  It is free for residential and business numbers and you may be subjected to a short "sponsored by" ad. 

My daughter-in-law, Valeria rightly complains that it can be time-consuming, especially if your cell minutes are limited but once you get the hang of it it works pretty well.

You can use it with your land line or on your cell.  Tell your friends too.

David Mamet Live. Noon, Friday the 13th

culture, current calendar

David Mamet, our native Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright will become the recipient of the Carl Sandburg Literary Award for lifetime achievement this evening at the Chicago Public Library. Since he's in town he'll be speaking tomorrow at noon at the main branch of the library at 400 S. State.

He's known to be reclusive with regard to public appearances and difficult to interview once he's been nabbed, so of course that tends to make one particularly curious to hear whether this highly talented writer might indeed offer some pearls of wisdom. As far as I can determine this is a "stand alone" talk.

Mamet has written 35 assorted plays as well as movie and television scripts and is known for his clipped yet powerful dialogue.  The Pulitzer was awarded for Glengarry Glen Ross, the on target look at the underbelly of the real estate scam game.

This event is free and open to the public.  A library attendant suggests arriving early.

David Mamet, October 13, 12 noon at the Cindy Pritzker Auditorium of the Chicago Public Library, 400 S. State.

La Brea Bread from LA In Chicago Now

food and drink, shopping

I insist that my bread is crusty on the outside and I'm fanatic about this.  One of the first bakeries to go national with distribution of artisan par baked bread, which is bread that is partially baked and then finished at the point of sale, is La Brea Bakery of L.A. You can barely tell the difference between this and bread fresh from the oven.

The great news is that this bread is readily available at local Jewel stores.  From years of experience seaching for good bread I was astonished to find it in an actual supermarket, the usual home of squishy crusts.

My favorite is a whole grain loaf which is especially delicious toasted, but there are other varieties available; sourdough baguettes, roasted garlic, a pecan cranberry combo, ciabatta loaf, French and a few more.  There's a display that looks like this one and the bread is, of course, baked fresh daily.

I take my choice to the deli counter where they graciously slice it.  Then I wrap it in heavy foil and a freezer bag and freeze what I'm not using immediately.  This way I'm ready for any dinner guest without a special bread foray and I can reheat what I need in a 425 degree oven for about 15 minutes.

These breads are reasonable, mostly under $4.  My only complaint is that often they're out of the bread I want.  A morning trip is advised for the best selection.  If we all start buying these great breads perhaps management will clue in to the greater market potential.

La Brea Bakery products at your local Jewel.

Meet Those Local Artists! October Is Chicago Artists Month

current calendar, culture

For 11 years now, October has been Chicago Artists Month.  There are scads of events all over town and to get the scoop on the 250 gallery, museum, and cultural center exhibits you can select from, keep your eyes peeled in the art friendly places around town or go directly down to the Cultural Center (where there are numerous exhibits too) and into the entrance at Randolph and Michigan to grab a copy of this booklet.  It will definitely help you find your way through the city's myriads of choices.

As a fan of the Chicago Imagists I know I'll be paying a visit to the Jean Albano Gallery and to the newly renamed Chicago History Museum (formerly the Chicago Historical Society.)  At the former you'll find an exhibit featuring four members of the Wirsum-Gunn family;  Karl, his wife Lorri Gunn and their offspring, Zack and Ruby.

I loved this recent photograph, "L.A. Slide", above right, taken by Ruby.

Surely you think of Karl Wirsum's highly visible and delightful "Plug Bug", below left as an old friend.  Because of current constuction activity on the west side of State St. between Randolph and Washington, it won't be anyone's friend for very long now so you'd better stop by a lot while you can.

The late Ed Paschke broke away from the Imagist group, creating his own remarkable ouevre.  A major retrospective has just opened at the Chicago History Museum and it will run through February 19.  You can view some of his electric images at his own website which is still under construction but already riveting  www.edpaschke.com.  The history museum currently has a deplorable website but hopefully this will be rectified soon.  The Paschke exhibit is a don't miss event.

Jean Albano Gallery, 215 W. Superior, www.jeanalbano-artgallery.com  and Chicago History Museum at Clark and North Av.

The Near North SRO Looks Very Promising

architecture, services, culture

I'm always looking for exciting new buiding construction, although recently I've pretty much given up.  You may know that I'm decidedly "anti McMansions" since I consider them and their often poorly constructed townhouse cousins a scourge on the city landscape.  I figure they're for wealthy young professionals with royal pretensions that just don't get the marvelous architectural history of this city and perhaps are innocently contributing to its destruction when participating in a "tear down".

Ironically the inventive metal clad building pictured here is an SRO (single room occupancy) apartment building still under construction but it's clear even from this rough pic that it's going to be something special and will far outclass those McMansions architecturally.  I wouldn't be at all surprised if it wins an architectural prize.  It's on Clybourn, just a bit north of Division and it resembles an updated version of a streamlined train.  Even if you're not a modernist you should take a look.

Helmut Jahn, the well-known architect has designed the building which will generate a portion of its own power with wind turbines and will harness solar energy via solar thermal collectors.  Additional green design principles will be utilized.

If you know someone who might qualify for residence, the contact numbers for leasing are 312.447.4500 or 312.447.4621.  The building is scheduled to open by February of 2007.   

The project is called Near North SRO and it's a project of Mercy Housing Lakefront.  The aim is to combine a cost effective approach to ending homelessness using major design innovations.  The project which will contain 96 apartments, each just 300 square feet but with private bath, kitchen, central a/c and heat.  There will be tenant lounges on each floor and a community room for socializing and education.  There will be an on site manager and full time desk clerk.

The units are reserved for people on the CHA waiting list (50%) and another 50% will be set aside for homeless people in the community which abuts the disappearing Cabrini Green housing complex.  This is a part of the City of Chicago's plan to create a mixed income community with affordable rentals, single family homes as well as commercial space.  If you haven't visited this area near Division and Clybourn you'll be astounded at the changes that have taken place in the last five years or so.

Try Biking SOUTH Along The Lake

parks

Our son was visiting from Seattle so we decided we all might enjoy biking along the lake on the south side of the Loop.  The traffic is oh so much less that the experience is a real joy, especially compared to the (especially) weekend madness on the north side.  We got there by cheating a bit to avoid the north side crush.  We've got a bike rack for the back of our car that makes us much more mobile for jaunts hither and yon.

The Japanese garden in Jackson Park and a bit south of the Museum of Science and Industry offered a restful pause.

The weather was perfect, although we were waylaid briefly by an intense rainstorm.  We made a dash for the Marina Cafe in the nick of time.

Storm over, we headed north again where we enjoyed an extensive view of the Loop and I took these two pix, honestly within moments of each other.

I wouldn't be surprised if the great blue heron hangs out in this spot on a regular basis.  It's very serene, and thus ideal.  When you get to the small parking lot just south of 31st St. proceed carefully on your bike toward the lake, beyond the yellow uprights and peek around the corner;  that's how my son found him, motioning for me to approach quietly for a lengthy view and photo. (Do watch your footing!)

The whole afternoon, I thought, was fully as glorious as the northwest but right here in our own front yard.