MANHORSE 7 Dollars

San Francisco artist J. Otto Seibold has a show of new paintings opening this Friday at Grass Hut in Portland. Besides a successful career illustrating children's books, J. Otto Seibold also creates fantastic paintings featuring horse-people, mountains, and mushrooms.

J. Otto Seibold "MANHORSE 7 Dollars"
Friday, May 1, 2009 - 6 to 9pm
Through Sunday, May 31, 2009
at Grass Hut
811 E Burnside
Portland, Oregon

Superhero Complex

Erik DeBat "RISK" will have a show of new paintings opening tonight at Piccolo.

Reception is from 8 to 11 pm
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Superhero Complex
Piccolo
859 N Damen Ave
Chicago, IL

Black Gate Sessions: Beat Diggers and Paint Pushers

Black Gate Sessions: Beat Diggers and Paint Pushers, originally uploaded by Brooks Golden.

This lovely event is running 'till 8 pm tonight. Pick up some artwork and records from some great Chicago people like these awesome prints by Mr. Brooks Golden...

New Prints, originally uploaded by Brooks Golden.

These are limited to an edition of 50 and are priced at a highly affordable $15 each.

DJ sets by Maker, Intel, Trew, Risa, and Hersh.

Noon to 8 pm Sunday, April 19, 2009
$2.00 entrance
Black Gate Sessions
2313 W North Ave
Chicago, IL

It's Record Store Day!

Indie record stores around the country are participating in this event and are releasing limited edition vinyl records by all kinds of people. More info on their site www.recordstoreday.com. The Chicago Reader has all the local Chicago info here as well as a list of all the special in-house performances going on at each record store.

There's also this great record fair going on today, CHIRP, which is also a fundraiser for the Chicago Independent Radio Project. Here's the info from their site...

7th Annual CHIRP RECORD FAIR & OTHER DELIGHTS
April 18-19, 2009
Saturday 10am-5pm and Sunday 10am-5pm
(Saturday Pre-Admission 8am-10am)

NEW VENUE!! Chicago Journeymen Plumbers Union,
1340 W. Washington Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60607 Chicago, Illinois

Regular Admission: $7/$5 with any CHIRP RF ad/receipt from any record store dated 4/18/09 ($25 pre-admission Sat. 8am-10am)

CHIRP is a non-profit organization formed to bring a new community radio station to Chicago. This station would be independently owned and operated by the group, and would provide a voice for independent music and views. In order to be able to apply for a new station, CHIRP is working to encourage the FCC to make a rule change, and Congress to pass the Local Community Radio Act, which would open up new frequencies for low power FM radio licenses in urban areas. Right now, such signals are restricted to rural and exurban areas.

And, today's the last day for the Joseph Yoakum show at Intuit.
He was an African-American artist who worked with several traveling circuses in the middle of the 20th century. He later made artwork based on places he said he'd been to. His drawings are really fun to see and he influenced many Chicago artists in the late 60's/early 70's.

Admission to Intuit is free and they're open 11 to 5pm today, Saturday.

Intuit
756 N. Milwaukee Ave (near the Chicago Blue Line CTA station)
Chicago, IL

Jim Zimpel at Hungry Man

Jim Zimpel has a show titled Western opening tonight at Hungry Man Gallery. I don't know what he's going to show tonight but if his past work is any indication it'll be clever and obsessively well done. Come for the art, stay and marvel at how much Jim sounds and looks like Dale Gribble from King of the Hill.



Jim Zimpel at Hungry Man
Opening reception is from 6 to 11pm
Friday, April 17, 2009
2135 N Rockwell at Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL

The Version Festival User-Directed Super Raffle and V-Bay Buy-it-NowArt Auction

Photograph by Casey McGonagle, as posted on Lumpen, Version, Public Media Institute's Flickr page.

Version Fest, an annual art and culture fest, and one of the things that I like about Chicago, is holding a fundraiser this Friday at Country Club. Featuring work from a lot of great artists including Logan Bay, Cody Hudson, Juan Chavez, Matthew Hoffman, Aron Gent, Chad Kouri, James Jankowiak, and more. You can buy raffle tickets at the door and then you place them under the artwork you most desire. That way if you win you'll be sure to get something you want. The drawing for the artworks will be held at 11:30 pm. and winners must be present. If you really want a piece you can also just buy it on the spot as well.

7pm to midnight, Friday, April 17th, 2009
Country Club
1100 N. Damen Ave
Chicago, IL

Who is Bozo Texino?

From Mess Hall's site...

Friday, April 10, 2009
8:00p-10:00p
Film Screening: Who is Bozo Texino?
Chronicling the search for the source of a mythic rail graffiti drawing seen on railcars for over 80 years, Bill Daniel's gritty black & white film uncovers a secret society & it's underground universe of hobo & railworker graffiti. Including interviews with legendary boxcar artists: Coaltrain, Herby, Colossus of Roads, and The Rambler. Shooting over a 16 year period, Daniel rode freights across the West carrying a Super 8 sound camera and a 16mm Bolex. During his quest, he discovered the roots of a folkloric tradition that has gone mostly unnoticed for a century. For more info: www.billdaniel.net

I saw this movie a few years ago and thought it was really well done. The grainy black and white film has a mesmerizing quality to it.

Mess Hall
6932 N Glenwood (1/2 blk south of the CTA Red Line Morse station)
Chicago, IL

King 157

The West Coast's King 157 and ZORE64 will have a graffiti art show opening tonight at 54B Gallery in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood. Featuring canvases, t-shirts, and posters.

6pm - 2am Friday, April 10, 2009
54B Gallery
2128 S Halsted Av
Chicago, IL

Postal Truck show

4-10-09, originally uploaded by _saro_.

Customized toy USPS trucks. On view beginning tonight at Bleeding Heart Bakery. Home of the best vegan baked goods in Chicago.

Bleeding Heart Bakery
1955 W Belmont (at Damen Ave)
Chicago, IL

Opening reception is 7 to 9pm Friday April 10, 2009

You're Breakfast

I love the animation in this video by Dutch group Le Le. Not safe for work though.


Check out more of illustrator Parra's work here.


Thanks to Billy Danze for the head's up on the video.

We Are the Champignon

champignon1, originally uploaded by Daniel Ramone.

This made me smile. Illustration by Brazilian artist Daniel Ramone.

The Dill PIckle Club

Tonight's the opening for Brains, Brilliancy, Bohemia: Art & Politics in Jazz-Age Chicago
From Mess Hall's site...

This exhibition of 1910-1920's hobohemian ephemera is the first known overview of visual culture produced during the hobohemian era and a precursor to present day cultural resistance. The exhibition material draws heavily from the archives of the Newberry Library collection of handbills, fliers and posters from the Dill Pickle Club.

In a video installation will be Marc Moscado's "The More Things Stay the Same", a short documentary examining the life of Dr. Ben Reitman (1879-1942), known in his day as "the Clap Doctor", "King of the Hoboes", and "the most vulgar man in America". Also included in the exhibition are photocopies from 1910's pulp novels by A-No.1 Tramp (Leon Ray Livingston). An audio interview with Studs Terkel and biographer Roger Bruns on Dr. Ben Reitman will also be available.

This show is curated by Marc Moscato. It'll be up from today through April 15th, 2009. Hours are 1-5pm Tuesday - Friday, and 12-6 Saturday & Sunday.


Mess Hall
6932 N Glenwood
Chicago, IL

1/2 block south of the CTA Red Line Morse Station

Holding down the block

There's a couple of good shows opening up tonight on the same block. The first one is by Chicago artist Skeptic. He'll be showing recent paintings at Novem Studios from 6 to 10 pm. Novem is a design collective with a storefront that carries their t-shirts and other clothing. They just released their new Spring collection including these two great designs...





Rebecca Shore is showing these paintings at Corbett vs. Dempsey. There's an opening reception tonight from 5 - 9 pm.






And while you're on the block, Dusty Groove Records is always great for browsing. They carry the latest as well as the rarest vinyl and cd's in the city.

Novem Studios
1104 N Ashland Ave
Chicago, IL

Corbett vs. Dempsey
1120 N Ashland Ave 3rd flr
Chicago, IL

Dusty Groove Records
1120 N Ashland Ave 1st flr
Chicago, IL

Your Pal, Cliff

Tonight's the opening for the Smart Museum's exhibition, Your Pal, Cliff: Selections from the H.C.Westermann Study Collection. H.C. Westermann arrived at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1947 after having served in the U.S. Marines during World War II. He enjoyed building things from wood when he was younger and practiced acrobatics when he was in the military. These experiences influenced the body of work he produced later in life.



The Smart Museum has a large study collection (largely donated by his wife and friends) that includes many of his prints, drawings, tools, correspondence, and sketchbooks. Westermann enjoyed illustrating his letters to friends, like the one pictured on the right. This was a short, but to the point, letter to his friend and art dealer, Allan Frumpkin, asking him to send him some money because of creditors.




Westermann was stationed at sea during World War II and witnessed the deaths of fellow Marines during kamikaze attacks. These experiences were depicted in drawings and sculptures that were part of his Death Ship series.






April 2 – September 6, 2009
Smart Museum of Art
at The University of Chicago
5550 S. Greenwood Avenue
Chicago, IL 60637

Nap Time

Saturday april 4th show, originally uploaded by Matthew Briar Bonifacio Rodriguez.

Artist Matthew Rodriguez is doing big thangs down in Austin, Texas. I love finding his candy corn faces in New York but these mattresses are on some next level shit. Art you can admire and sleep on.

His work will be up as part of the Emerge: ATX Graffiti Art Show featuring work by SLOKE, MEZ, WAKE, SPAIN, SPIK, DEGAS, AWK, BELIEF, EL UNO NUEVE, ZACH MCDONALD, SMILE, CLARISSE NOELLE, REKS, WORM, GAGLIA, PAUSE, NIZ, JSEN, MESAGE, & JASON MIKA.

9pm - 2am
Saturday, April 4th, 2009
United States Art Authority
2908 Fruth St
Austin, Texas