Ms. Smarty Pants Know It All

This past weekend, the boyfriend and I checked out the brand new The Raven street festival in Chase Park (corner of Clark and Leland). It was obviously a brand new event because the kinks were not all worked out yet. Still, that’s what made it feel so different. Everyone was very laid back and just enjoying the lovely day. It wasn’t jam-packed with drunken former frats and fratettes. It was also very well staffed with almost too many lime green wearing volunteers.

They made it very clear that the $5.00 suggested donation (and it really was a suggestion) and the funds raised from the event went to updating the park’s playground. In line with this community focus, there was a large kiddie play area with inflatable slides and a moonwalk. There were also pony rides, face painting, and rock walls.

The food and entertainment took up only one block, but I thought it was a good start. The massive communal tents with tables and chairs were a great touch. These became especially helpful if you wanted to get a slab of ribs from Cordis Brothers. Mmm. The litter pick-up crews went through consistently to keep the areas clean. For the most part, the attendees controlled themselves and didn’t dirty up the environment. This was another fine byproduct of a looser, friendlier crowd.

The music line up was also impressive. Rather than all the Chicago street fair staples and some weird cover bands, The Raven had some really talented independent acts from across the country. I caught the sets of Tulsa (from Boston) and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin (pictured). Music began at the top of the hour on alternating stages.

I hope the organizers will build on their promising start this year and continue this tradition. It’s only unfortunate that every time I hear or say “The Raven,” my mind wants to follow it up with “Nevermore.”

Tags: Chicago by M
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The Museum of Contemporary Art is hosting a Jeff Koons exhibition until September 21. On one of their free Tuesdays, I went to take a look at the collection.

Jeff Koons is a pretty big name in modern art. I expected to revel in his work. Instead, I found most of them empty and cold. “Hanging Heart,” which greets visitors at the entrances of the two large galleries, was one of the few I liked. In general, I enjoyed his inflatable series, in which metal is made to look like balloons, the most. The ones containing the lobster floatation devices though, they would have been more interesting to me if actual plastic pool floaties were used rather than the highly technical constructions.

That was part of the disconnect I felt with his work. They display amazing technical prowess, but I wondered “to what end?” Some of it was the pop sensibility of “look what can be art” but then he uses such precise artistic technique to create that “kitsch.” For me though, the idea of the work wasn’t strong enough to warrant such effort.

Also, he did not physically create all of the work. Scores of artists employ assistants, but there’s something old fashioned in me that wants the artist to be more involved than just being the idea guy. If all this technique is the result of his aides, then even that contradiction in presentation is not all that interesting.

It’s said that Koons is a love-him or hate-him kind of artist. Although I wouldn’t say that I hate his work, I’m going to be on the negative side for now. I don’t think he’s as clever or his ideas are as big as he himself seems to think. Am I missing the boat, bronzed or otherwise?

Tags: Art, Chicago by M
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It may not seem readily obvious, but Chicago is a great town for public art. We may not always understand them (the Picasso, the Bean) but we sure become proud of them.

There is a square in front of the NBC building on Michigan Avenue. Outdoor art regularly rotate through that space. I was walking down Michigan the other day and was really excited to get closer to this figure. As I approached, I couldn’t tell if it was stone or metal. It just looked really cool. I read the plaque. “King Lear,” it said, “by J. Seward Johnson” Nothing about the medium.

It feels geometric, gothic, and kind of Japanese. I studied it up close and finally felt it. Plastic! Huh.

I knocked lightly. Yup. Hollow. That makes this a copy, but I think it also makes this even cooler, don’t you think?

Tags: Art, Chicago by M
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