Bulletin
Inventing the New American House
Howard Van Doren Shaw designed some of Chicago’s most prestigious housing in the then-trendy Arts and Crafts style just as the young city was beginning to mature at the turn of the twentieth century. He built houses in Hyde Park and then the Gold Coast, and helped establish the northern suburb of Lake Forest (Shaw’s own home, Ragdale, is in Lake Forest). Shaw’s “Market Square” in Lake Forest was the United States’ first planned shopping center; another Shaw building became Chicago’s first co-op. Shaw was associated with his better-known contemporary Frank Lloyd through a group of architects called “the 18,” but Shaw remained attached to the European traditions in which he had been trained even as Wright and his Prairie School were beginning to leave them behind. At this lecture, Shaw’s sentimental, Old-World-inflected vision will be presented by the architect Stuart Cohen, who has written a book on the subject. Glessner House Museum, 1800 S. Prairie Ave. Tuesday, May 5, 7pm. $10. (312)326-1480. glessnerhouse.org (Adam Thorp)
Ride the Waves: Exploring our Natural Connections
Ride the Waves is an unhurried group bike ride through Bronzeville, Chinatown, and surrounding communities intended to bring bicycling to all parts of the city. This ride is not the time to show off your speed or your Spandex, but is instead a meditative, languid turn through parts of the city unaccustomed to seeing many bikers. Part of a series of weekly rides organized by Slow Roll Chicago, whose mission includes making the whole city safe for biking, this week’s ride explores the near South Side. More well-behaved bicyclists on the streets in all parts of Chicago will make our city friendlier, slower, and safer for all. While the pace of the ride is comparable to the leisurely rolling of molasses out of a jar on a warm spring day, your bike ought to be in good working order. Don’t forget to pack a smile, and be ready to make new friends. Ain’t She Sweet Cafe, 526 E. 43rd St. Wednesday, April 29. Meet 6pm, ride 6:30pm. Free. (708) 831-3570. slowrollchicago.org (Lara Kattan)
Legal Teach-in for Rekia Boyd
CPD officer Dante Servin should have been charged with murder before his defense had called their first witness, Judge Dennis Porter wrote as he acquitted him. Servin had been charged with unintentional homicide, and, under Illinois law, Porter wrote, you cannot point a gun and shoot at someone unintentionally. Servin did, by all accounts, point and shoot at a group of people standing in an alley. One man with the group, Servin’s attorney says, had pulled out what seemed to be a gun. That man maintains that it was a cell phone; no gun was found. Rekia Boyd, standing nearby, was shot in the head and died. People interested in “supporting Rekia’s family and organizing around accountability for Servin” can join four lawyers from different legal aid groups to parse the legal decision and consider how to move forward at this event, co-sponsored by twelve legal aid and anti-police brutality groups. DePaul University College of Law, 25 E. Jackson Blvd. Wednesday, April 29, 6pm-8pm. Free. Child-care and food provided. wechargegenocide.org (Adam Thorp)
Jane’s WalkCHICAGO: Hyde Park North
Inspired by Jane Jacobs’s investigations of urban processes, Friends of Downtown’s Jane’s WalkCHICAGO project offers a chance to tour Chicago’s neighborhoods and learn about their historical development. Jane’s WalkCHICAGO: Hyde Park North aims to discuss the contested legacy of urban renewal, focusing on efforts to tear down and rebuild entire blocks of Hyde Park in the 1950s and 1960s. Fueled by worries that Hyde Park was becoming a slum, these efforts sought to reverse the process, leading to the construction of a number of modern townhouse developments. This tour promises to examine these developments to study relationships between homes and the neighborhood, stopping at I. M. Pei’s 55th Street townhouses as well as Harry Weese’s Coop Square, among other locations. The University of Chicago, 5525 S. Ellis Ave. Sunday, May 3, 10am-11:30am. janeswalkchicago.net (Peter Gao)
Explore the Art and Architecture of Bronzeville
Jane’s WalkCHICAGO and Friends of Downtown are hosting a tour of Bronzeville’s cultural attractions, consisting mostly of the neighborhood’s beautiful older churches. Bronzeville was untouched by the Great Chicago Fire, and much of the original architecture from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries remains intact. This free event on May 2 lasts only an hour and a half, and afterwards you can hit up Chicago’s Home of Chicken & Waffles at 39th & King. Pierce School, 4351 S. Drexel Blvd. Saturday, May 2, 10am-11:30am. janeswalkchicago.net (Sam Stecklow)
Second Annual 5K Walk for Peace
Lace up your sneakers on May 2 in the name of re-upholstery and community engagement. Teena’s Legacy, an Englewood-based organization that teaches the art of furniture repair and upholstery to young women, has organized a 5K fundraiser to raise funds for its summer apprentice program and the necessary fabrics and tools. The walk is only one part of the fundraiser; there will be music and food to follow, and community-based discussion throughout. For a donation of $150 or more, an apprentice will re-upholster one of your cat-clawed or fading seats, free of charge. Hamilton Park, 513 W. 72nd St. Saturday, May 2, 9:30am. (773)678-3638. (Emeline Posner)
Music
Lovers in May at Arie Crown Theater
It is spring, the sun is finally shining, and love is in the air. Right on cue, Keith Sweat, Mint Condition, and Donnell Jones descend from their respective thrones of R&B to croon foundational slow jams and catalyze the bloom of relationships, new and old alike. From Sweat’s classic “Nobody,” to Mint Condition’s “U Send Me Swingin’,” the slick, effortless harmonies and sensual bass form a timeless soundtrack to the season. Jones’s take on Stevie Wonder’s “Knocks Me Off My Feet” is a sweet, tear-jerking proclamation of love that’s solidified couples since 1996, and hasn’t lost its charm over the past nineteen years. These sleek and dance-inducing refrains will all be in one place on May 15 and are the perfect introduction to spring. Arie Crown Theatre, 2301 S. Lake Shore Dr. Friday, May 15, 8pm. $80. (312)791-6190. ariecrown.com (Kanisha Williams)
Bobbi Wilsyn at the Promontory
The multitalented singer Bobbi Wilsyn will perform at the Promontory this Friday along with Miguel de la Cena on keyboard, Marlene Rosenberg on bass, Harold Morrison on drums, and Jarrod Harris on sax. Raised in Los Angeles, Wilsyn, who has worked with groups like the Chicago Jazz Ensemble, the Thomas Gunther Sextet, and the Symphonic Jazz International, traveled the country with the famous Milt Trenier Show. Eventually settling in Chicago, Wilsyn now teaches private lessons and voice-related subjects at Columbia College, and has starred in musicals including Beehive, It Ain’t Nothing But the Blues, and Sophisticated Ladies. Join Wilsyn this Friday at the Promontory in a show hosted by jazz collective Mo Better Jazz. The Promontory, 5311 S. Lake Park Ave. W. Friday, May 1, 8pm. Doors 7pm. $15. (312)801-2100. promontorychicago.com (Clyde Schwab)
Smif-N-Wessun at The Shrine
Reggae-inspired Brooklyn rappers Smif-N-Wessun, who’ve been in the game since the early nineties, are coming to The Shrine on May 4. Smif-N-Wessun is probably best known as a member of the Brooklyn supergroup of Boot Camp Clik, an associate of the Wu-Tang Clan. Chicago’s own Vic Spencer and Christopher the Good Kid will be playing the show with Tek and Steele of Smif-N-Wessun. The Shrine, 2109 S. Wabash Ave. Monday, May 4, 10:30pm. $22.50. 21+. (312)753-5681. theshrinechicago.com (Sam Stecklow)
New Millennium Orchestra
If listening to live performances of Schubert, electric violin concertos, and Olga Bell’s alternative original songs without leaving your seat appeals to you, then this versatile, genre-bending showcase is for you. New Millennium Orchestra, which has steadily been gaining acclaim in Chicago for its talent, has a versatile repertoire that includes live remixes, improvisation, world music, and multimedia performances. Olga Bell, who will be sharing the spotlight with the orchestra in this performance, has a sound that has been described by Pitchfork as “some gnarly middle ground between Russian folk song, chamber music, and avant-garde rock music.” After the show, Bell will DJ from the stage and the concert hall will be turned into a dance floor. Thalia Hall, 1807 S. Allport St. Friday, May 8, 8pm, doors at 7pm. $22 in advance; $25-250 at door. (312)526-3851. thaliahallchicago.com (Lucia Ahrensdorf)
Stage and Screen
B for Battle, M for Morte Reading
Gaining insight into the life of one’s mother beyond that label is to discover her personhood—and that is no mean feat for any child. An associate professor of liberal studies, women’s studies, and English at the University of Illinois at Springfield, Rosina Neginsky attempts to navigate the subtleties of these ties of kinship in a theatrical reading from her epistolary novel-in-progress, B for Battle, M for Morte, in which the protagonist seeks to craft a novel based on the letters of his late mother. The production will be performed by actors of the Hyde Park Community Players as part of their monthly staged-reading series. Augustana Lutheran Church, 5500 S. Woodlawn Ave. Friday, May 1, 8pm. $5. hydeparkcommunityplayers.org (Darren Wan)
Godfather of Disco
Disco may be dead, but its godfather is alive and well. The Godfather of Disco— a documentary based on Paradise Garage: Keep on Dancin’ , the biography of pioneering house music artist, AIDS survivor, and social activist Mel Cheren—tells the story of one man’s journey through the thrilling rise and tragic demise of the dance music scene of the seventies. After the screening, in celebration of the long legacy of inclusion and collaboration in dance music, renowned DJ Lady D will spin records while Black Cinema House Film Fellow Marco G. Ferrari improvises projected visuals. Black Cinema House, 7200 S Kimbark Ave. Thursday, April 30, 7pm. Free. RSVP. blackcinemahouse.org (Lewis Page)
Pocket Guide to Hell
British labor leader John Burns once called the city of Chicago “a pocket edition of hell.” This Thursday, the Smart Museum of Art and Pocket Guide to Hell—an organization that runs tours and reenactments of the glorious and gritty micro-histories of labor, social justice, and true crime in Chicago—will co-present a cocktail hour and film screening. The event will serve as a guided tour deep into the hellish world of middle-class life in the sixties, when the Chicago sociologist Erving Goffman was busy examining what lurked beneath the surface of everyday life in his 1959 sociological classic “The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life.” Come for the cocktails and the special screening of the 2014 documentary “Smiling Through the Apocalypse: Esquire in the 60s;” stay for the interactive exploration of the sociological hellscape of mid-century polite society. Smart Museum of Art, 5550 S. Greenwood Ave. Thursday, May 7, 6pm. Free. (773)702-0200. smartmuseum.uchicago.edu (Lewis Page)
Lisa Robertson at Logan
Those hankering for a good dose of lyric beauty this week need look no further than a free reading by this Canadian poet. Born in 1961, Lisa Robertson is the author of numerous books of poetry known for their expansive themes and creativity (she has written works that take the form of weather forecasts). She has never earned a degree, but has published dozens of essays and academic texts on subjects including interpretation, translation, architecture, and even astrology. She currently teaches in the Master of Fine Arts program at Piet Zwart Institute in Rotterdam. This Thursday she will read from her recent and still-unreleased work. Logan Center for the Arts, 615 E. 60th St. Thursday, April 30, 6pm. Free. (773)834-8524. arts.uchicago.edu (Jake Bittle)
Get on Up: The James Brown Story
From small-town gospel singer to Grammy-winner, the Godfather of Soul boasted an illustrious six-decade career, influencing multiple genres of music ultimately giving rise to the genre we now know as funk, and redefining popular music forever. The film Get on Up: The James Brown Story follows the progression of Brown’s musical style from gospel to R&B to funk. It also provides a glance into Brown’s less glamorous childhood and a stint with drug abuse later in life when he struggled to take action and imbue meaning once again into his role as the Godfather of Soul. The DuSable Museum will be screening the 2014 biopic—which stars Chadwick Boseman, Nelsan Ellis, Viola Davis, and Octavia Spencer—this Sunday. DuSable Museum of African American History, 740 E. 56th St. Sunday, May 3, 2pm. $10. thedusablemuseum.org (Amanda Li)
Redmoon Theater’s The Devil’s Cabaret
In Dante’s Inferno, the third circle of hell is characterized by its never-ending rain. Cold and unrelenting, it extinguishes hope and happiness. After a brief experience with this circle earlier this year on the Chicago River, Redmoon Theater is determined to take back control of hell and orchestrate the fantastical fiery spectacle it has been working to create. This spring, Redmoon presents The Devil’s Cabaret, a spectacle recognizing “the Devil’s ‘greatest accomplishments’—The Seven Deadly Sins,” housed in the Redmoon warehouse. In the middle of the room, a rotating thirty-foot-tall crane equipped with stages for performances will serve as the centerpiece. Always ambitious, Redmoon promises aerialists, puppets, and craft beer, and a “special appearance by God.” Whether you want to take advantage of the Lagunitas beer bar, or seek an experience with the Great One, the event is sure to be memorable. Redmoon Theater, 2120 S. Jefferson St. Fridays, April 10-May 16, 9pm-12am. $25. Tickets available online. 21+. (312)850-8440. redmoon.org (Lucia Ahrensdorf)
Susan Giles: Scenic Overlook
In Susan Giles’ new exhibition, “Scenic Overlook,” one can view some of the world’s tallest buildings from above. Giles’ installation consists of large wooden sculptures modeled after the four highest observation towers in the world, the Tokyo Skytree, Canton Tower, CN Tower, and Ostankino Tower, all held up horizontally by steel structures. Giles takes advantage of the two-floor gallery space to allow observers to view these famous architectural wonders from above. Giles, a professor of art at DePaul University, got her MFA from Northwestern in 2009 and is known for her large-scale installations in venues across Chicago including the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and the Elmhurst Art Museum. Visit the Hyde Park Art Center to witness Giles’s exploration of the power of perspective, tourism, and architecture. Hyde Park Art Center, 5020 S Cornell Avenue. Sunday, April 19 through Sunday, July 26. Monday-Thursday, 9am-8pm; Friday-Saturday, 9am-5pm; Sunday, noon-5pm. Free. (773) 324-5520. hydeparkart.org (Clyde Schwab)
Loo Presents: We
Martha Clippinger’s art is loud, colorful, and, often literally, off the wall. Her work hangs in the space between painting and sculpture, exploring the effects of color, as well as shape, in three dimensions. Fittingly, the piece that is being used as a promotional image for her new exhibit, “Loo Presents: We” at Slow gallery, is bright orange and yellow, countered by a serene blue wave pattern, the corners of the paper curling away from the wall and projecting into the space beyond it. “Loo Presents: We” is a group exhibition featuring Clippinger’s work alongside pieces from video and performance artist, painter, and musician Guy Richards Smit and Chicago-based fibers artist Allison Wade. In the words of the gallery, “It’s not a competition, but they’re all number one.” Slow, 2153 W 21st St. Saturday, April 25 through Saturday, May 16. Saturday, noon-5pm. Free. (773) 645-8803. paul-is-slow.info (Robert Sorrell)
Project 1915
In 2012, artist Jackie Kazarian executed an intensely painful, personal exhibition in a hospital. Entitled “Breast Wallpaper,” her work drew on her own experiences with breast cancer, publicizing a personal trauma and offering an empathetic hand to others dealing with the disease. This year she is working to address another kind of trauma: the 1915 Armenian Genocide in which one-and-a-half million Armenians were massacred. One hundred years after the genocide, Kazarian, who has Armenian heritage, has created a massive mural to commemorate the event and to explore the intersections of memory and trauma, again in a deeply personal way. The comparisons to Picasso’s “Guernica” are apt, but the artist is taking on this difficult subject in her own style. The piece will premiere in Chicago at MANA before touring nationally and internationally. Mana Contemporary, 2233 S Throop St. Through Friday, May 29. Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm; Sunday, noon-5pm. Free. (312) 850-8301 manacontemporarychicago.com (Robert Sorrell)
Dmitry Samarov: Between Beverly & Bridgeport
Life through the lens of Russian artist Dmitry Samarov is intense: vivid colors and bold strokes bring otherwise ordinary images to a point of spirited, acute, and confused meditation. Documenting the two Chicago neighborhoods the artist has lived in, Bridgeport and Beverly, Samarov’s show will include pictures of interiors, still-lifes and cityscapes whose strength, according to the painter, comes as a welcome respite from the flashing screens and “bloops and bleeps” of digital life. Samarov, born in Moscow in 1970, immigrated to the US in 1978, attended the Parsons School of Design, Art Institute of Chicago, and Indiana University, and has worked as a cab driver since 1993. In 2011, he published Hack: Stories from a Chicago Cab, a book combining dreamy watercolors, gritty drawings, and wild tales from his time as a cabbie. The event is hosted by Rational Park, a Chicago event space, gallery, and creative studio. Rational Park, 2557 W North Ave. Friday, April 17 through Friday, May 1, hours by appointment. rational-park.com (Clyde Schwab)
Old Wicked Songs
First produced in 1996 by Jon Marans, Old Wicked Songs is the story of an aging Viennese music professor and his prodigal but burnt-out piano student. In a story that takes teacher and student to emotional extremes while discussing the ramifications of the Holocaust in Austria, Old Wicked Songs shines as a valuable lesson that reflects the importance of healing, music, and remembering one’s past. The play closely follows the “Dichterliebe” (A Poet’s Love), a collection of songs by Robert Schumann. The play is presented by Provision Theater, a Chicago company that broke into the scene in 2004 with an acclaimed production of Cotton Patch Gospel. Provision has since followed with productions including Smoke on the Mountain, the Boys Next Door, and Gospel. Provision Theater Company, 1001 W. Roosevelt Rd. April 29-June 7. Fridays, 8pm; Saturdays, 8pm; Sundays, 3pm. $10-$32. (312)455-0066. provisiontheater.org (Clyde Schwab)
Visual Arts
de.ma.rc.at.ed.
The main idea of this month-long showing in a new Hyde Park gallery is this: art does not exist in a vacuum, and neither does anything else. The work of Alberto Aguilar, presented at the 4th Ward Project Space with support from the UofC’s Arts + Public Life Initiative, explores the way different boundaries—art and artist, home and world, owner and object—work, both in themselves and in relationship to one another. This particular show, titled “.de.ma.rc.at.ed.,” decontextualizes functional household objects and presents them as “monuments” for the viewer to interpret. 4th Ward Project Space, 5338 S. Kimbark Ave. Enter on 54th St. Opening reception Sunday May 3, 4pm-7pm. Through May 31, 1pm-5pm on Saturdays and Sundays. (773)203-2991. 4wps.org (Jake Bittle)
Gabriel Sierra
Swing by the Renaissance Society right after breakfast to see Gabriel Sierra’s “Monday Impressions” at ten in the morning. Visit right before your midday nap around two to experience “In the Meantime, (This Place Will Be Empty after 5:00 pm),” or maybe take in “Few Will Leave Their Place to Come Here for Some Minutes” around four, right before the gallery closes. The title of the exhibit changes each hour, but the work of the architecturally-trained Colombian artist will be consistently compelling. An interactive exploration of the ways in which the human body relates to and experiences temporal and spatial environments, Sierra’s installation consists of a series of constructions made with natural materials that have been isolated, processed, and domesticated. The exhibit emphasizes the presence and experience of the visitor, begging to be walked over, stood in, and experienced firsthand, whatever the time of day. The Renaissance Society, 5811 S. Ellis Ave. May 3-June 28, Tuesday-Friday, 10am-5pm; Saturday-Sunday 12pm-5pm. Free. (773)702-8670. www.renaissancesociety.org (Lewis Page)
Mirrored Infinity
Inspired by Jorge Luis Borges’s short story “The Approach to Al-Mu’tasim,” visual artist John Whitlock inquires into existentialism, spirituality, and reproduction through black and white collages that are scanned and crafted into mixed media compositions. These are accompanied by a video feed of evolving geometric patterns on an infinite loop. The work uses simple shapes to create elaborate and semi-religious iconography, gold, with its connotations of preciousness and implication of age, and geometric distortions. Whitlock works primarily in collage and assemblage and is influenced by the surplus of stimuli in our culture and society, particularly in popular graphic images. Join Whitlock at the Chicago Urban Art Society’s debut in its new McKinley Park space in a show “about finding yourself in the search for another.” Chicago Urban Art Society, 3636 S. Iron St. Friday, May 1, 6:30pm-11:30pm through Saturday, June 27. Free. (773)951-8101. chicagourbanartsociety.com (Clyde Schwab)
ARC 40th Anniversary Exhibit
A 40th Anniversary show in honor of ARC, one of the oldest female-run art galleries and exhibition spaces in the country, will begin this Friday at the Beverly Arts Center. The show features over 120 current and former artists from the co-operative gallery in Chicago. Founded in 1973, ARC provides exhibition opportunities for emerging artists based on “excellence of artwork” and without discrimination regarding gender, race, class, and other factors. While ARC is an internationally recognized exhibition space, it also serves as an educational foundation, providing opportunities for emerging artists. Beverly Arts Center, 2407 W. 111th St. Friday, May 31, 7pm-9pm through Friday, May 1. (773)445-3838. beverlyartcenter.org (Clyde Schwab)
Imaginary Landscapes
Returning to a space of your past is the best way to wipe away the rose-colored nostalgia tint from your glasses. Through Imaginary Landscapes, Mana Contemporary presents an exploration of the relationship between space, time, and memory. Four Midwest-based artists delve into the uncertain space at the nexus of the three, and the result is a collection of sculptures and images gathered by Chicago-based curator Allison Glenn. Lisa Alvarado’s work features elements of shamanism as she critiques cultural appropriation and assimilation; Assaf Evron toes the line between photography and sculpture; deconstructing the mundane, Robert Burnier explores failed utopia; and, last but not least, Caroline Kent harnesses narrative and storytelling to ruminate on what it means to be an outsider in another country. Delve into the uncertainty that spans space and time. Mana Contemporary, 2233 S. Throop St., 4th floor. April 4-May 31. Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm. Opening reception April 4, 6pm-9pm. (312)850-0555. Free. manacontemporarychicago.com (Kristin Lin)
Nature’s Matrix
Like many of their fellow artists, Charles Heppner and Diane Jaderberg have turned to nature for inspiration. Instead of capturing the astonishing might of an ocean, or the tranquility of a peaceful sylvan landscape, they channel elements from nature and turn them into visual motifs, repeating and abstracting them to create pieces which are not just strange but nearly unrecognizable. Also important for their work and their new installation is the interaction between technology and nature, which is mirrored in Heppner’s use of digital media and computer software to create prints. Their joint exhibition, “Nature’s Matrix,” is taking place at the Hyde Park Art Center, where the two have been studying and creating since the mid-2000s. Hyde Park Art Center, 5020 S. Cornell Ave. April 5-July 5. Opening reception Sunday, April 19, 3pm-5pm. (773)324-5520. hydeparkart.org (Robert Sorrell)
Joe Hill 100 Years Part 4|
Since his 1915 execution before a firing squad in Utah, Swedish-American labor activist and songwriter Joe Hill has become emblematic of the struggle of itinerant workers in the United States. To mark the hundred-year anniversary of Joe Hill’s death, the URI-EICHEN Gallery in Pilsen will be showcasing the politically charged works of a dynamic duo of social activist artists: the late Colombian cartoonist Jorge Franklin Cardenas and the New York-based painter James Wechsler. Cardenas’ work, which includes caricatures of Che Guevara, John Lewis, and Francisco Franco, will be displayed for the first time in over forty years, after being released to the public by his Hyde Park-based daughter-in-law. Weschler will showcase his “Freedom of Information” series of paintings, inspired by the FBI’s Cold War era files on artists and writers. URI-EICHEN Gallery, 2101 S. Halsted Ave. Opening reception April 10, 6pm-10pm. By appointment through May 1. Free. (312)852 7717. uri-eichen.com (Lauren Gurley)
LURE
Gallery Guichard’s next exhibit, LURE, is encapsulated by its acrostic tag line: Love, Urban, Rawness, and Energy. Featuring six Midwest-based African-American artists, LURE draws upon a wealth of experience and artistic talent. James “Drew” Richardson renders the disparate experiences of young individuals; Derrock Burnett uses figure and portrait to evoke the visual sound of hip-hop; Roger Carter bridges the gap between graffiti and abstract expression; Walter Bailey is a pioneer of aCRYLONIC aRT, a technique of graphic design on acrylic polymer panels; Rodney Wade draws upon his experiences growing up on the South Side; and Just Flo is, among numerous roles, a tattoo artist and a mural painter. Explore the ways in which these artists probe broad questions of experience and identity. Gallery Guichard, 436 E. 47th St. Opening reception April 24, 6pm-10pm. Free. RSVP required at galleryguichardsocial@gmail.com. (773)791-7003 or (708)772-9315. galleryguichard.com (Darren Wan)
Snuff
The word “snuff” conjures up different things for different people, whether it be a video of murder, the 1976 splatter film, or for those of us still into the nineteenth century, fine-ground tobacco. But next weekend, Slow is taking on the heavy topic in an art show featuring Tony Balko, Todd Chilton, Jeffery Grauel, and Diego Leclery. Slow, an independent exhibition venue, features contemporary art that is “introspective and vulnerable (read slightly nerdy),” demands exploration, and is brutally frank and witty. From Balko’s flashing-color nostalgia to Chilton’s vibrant pattern painting, from Grauel’s seemingly barren work to the over-my-head work of Leclery, if you want a take on snuff, some excellent art, or a chance at free booze, visit Slow next weekend. Slow, 2153 W. 21st St. Opening reception Friday, April 25, 6pm-9pm. Through May 16, Saturdays 12-5pm. Free. (773)645-8803. paul-is-slow.info (Clyde Schwab)