Legos, fashion, orchids, caravans and wildlife
Lots of Legos, lots of fashion and lots of wildlife photography, plus the usual bevy of orchids, are among the more intriguing items on the calendar for Chicago’s museums and nature parks in the year’s first handful of months. And then there’s the whole fascinating question of a rock festival in an art museum.
Here are some of the exhibitions, events and openings I’m eagerly anticipating:
“Imagine the Moon” and Lunapalooza: It’s been a while since the Adler Planetarium premiered a new sky show in its state-ofthe-art central theater. And what better excuse than Jan. 20’s total lunar eclipse? Created, as usual, in-house, the moon show will explore the origins, cultural significance, and lore of our giant natural satellite on that breathtaking domed screen. And then on the night of Jan. 20, the space museum hosts Lunapalooza, its lunar eclipse watch party (tickets required). “Imagine the Moon” opens Jan 18, 1300 S. Lake Shore Dr.; adlerplanetarium.org or 312922-7827.
“Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time”: This major show curated by and debuting at Northwestern’s Block Museum of Art, before it moves on to Toronto and Washington, D.C., will be the first to showcase the “splendor and power of the lost kingdoms and commercial centers” of medieval Saharan Africa using artifacts from the period. Included will be rare treasures on loan from African museums and the British Museum, and one of the spotlights will be on Mansa Musi, the 14th century king of gold-rich Mali believed to be the wealthiest man history has known. Jan. 26-July 21, 40 Arts Circle Dr., Evanston; blockmuseum.northwestern.edu or 847-4914000
“Prisoner of Love”: “I suspected black people were going to be moved by it,” filmmaker Arthur Jafa told ArtNews when it wrote about his 2016 short-film sensation, “Love Is The Message, The Message Is Death.” “But I have to say, the most unexpected thing has been how strongly white folks, or nonblack people, have been moved by it.” The seven layered minutes explore the African-American experience with images ranging from President Obama singing “Amazing Grace” at a memorial service to police handcuffing an unarmed black woman in front of her kids. This MCA show brings “Love Is the Message” to Chicago for the first time, and museum Senior Curator Naomi Beckwith places it amid works from the collection critiquing American society. January 26 - October 27, 220 E. Chicago Ave.; www.mcachicago.org or 312-280-2660
Reinstalled African art: Rethinking and reworking presentations is a constant for museums, or for good ones, anyway. The Field in late 2018 announced plans to redo its Native American halls, and this February, the Art Institute will debut a new look at its African art. Included will be new works, including 10 loans from the Field, and new labeling meant to provide “a deeper view” of the continent and its artistic culture, as the AIC member magazine put it. Opens Feb. 9, Gallery 137, 111 S. Michigan Ave.; artic.edu or 312-443-3600
“In the Tropics: The Orchid Show”: Chicago Botanic Garden’s chance to visit with this storied class of flowers is now a traditional relief from midwinter blues. This year’s show, with 10,000 plants on display, will focus on orchids in tropical climates, which produce the greatest diversity of orchid species. Supplementary events will include live music and cocktail parties. Feb. 9-March 24, 1000 Lake Cook Road, Glencoe; www.chicagobotanic.org Midwinter fest: Please do not set your drinks on the sculpture pedestals. Anyone involved in museums has to be intensely curious to see how the Art Institute will handle a three-day pop music fest in and about its galleries and theaters. For the first time, the museum and Pitchfork are teaming up to present dozens of cutting-edge contemporary artists in settings where people typically talk with hushed reverence, if they make any noise at all. And the backdrops will be not only visually interesting but, often, priceless. Feb. 15-17, 111 S. Michigan Ave.; midwinter.pitchfork.com
“The Whole World a Bauhaus”: If you aren’t an architecture or design geek, you may not know the world is celebrating Bauhaus100, the centenary of the April 1, 2019 founding of the influential German art and design school. What better place to host the only U.S. landing for this traveleing exhibition than the Elmhurst Art Museum, whose grounds include one of only three U.S. homes built by Mies van der Rohe, who was the final director of the Bauhaus and, of course, a towering figure on the Chicago skyline? Out of the school came Gropius, Kandinsky, MoholyNagy and a whole lot of the Chicago design aesthetic. Feb 16April 21, 150 S. Cottage Hill Ave., Elmhurst; 630-834-0202 or elmhurstartmuseum.org “Thomas D. Mangelsen — A Life in the Wild”: Mangelsen is one of the most renowned photographers of nature. This exhibit will showcase some of the Nebraska native’s most celebrated work. Feb. 16-June 2, Noteba ert Nature Museum, 2430 N Cannon Dr.; 773-755-5100 or naturemuseum.org
“Art on the Mart”: New spring program: The new public artvideo screen on the massive south facade of the Merchandise Mart debuted late in the Riverwalk season. The first spring and summer with it will be a real test of how people are going to react to the bold step of mounting a nightly curated selection of video work on what organizers say is the largest such permanent installation in the world. (By permanent, they mean there’s a 30-year agreement with the city.) A new program featuring new works debuts March 1. Visible from the Riverwalk and Upper Wacker Drive.
“Wired to Wear”: What little I know so far about this big show from the Museum of Science and Industry certainly whets the whistle. The exhibition will examine “the many ways fashion and technology are combining to create new opportunities for every person to be and do more than they dreamed possible.” That sounds like a lot more than a running jacket with a cutout to slip your earbuds wire through. Opens March 21, 5700 S. Lake Shore Drive; www.msichicago.org
“Wildlife Photographer of the Year”: Field Museum is bringing in this take on the very popular annual show from the London Natural History Museum, which has hosted the contest, said to be the world’s most prestigious, since 1964. The exhibition features the 100 most recent winners and promises to tell us much about the natural world. Opens March 22, 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive; 312-922-9410 or www.fieldmuseum.org
“Silver Screen to Mainstream: American Fashion in the 1930s and ’40s”: This one is in part for fans of film noir and other genres from Hollywood’s golden age. The exhibit will present 30 ensembles exploring “how the glamour of the silver screen influenced and shaped American fashion” from the Great Depression through World War II. Opens April 8 at Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark St.; www.chicagohistory.org or 312-642-4600.
Legos amid nature: In “Brick Safari,” Brookfield Zoo will present more than three dozen life-sized Lego sculptures of animals in natural settings. Further west, in a return engagement for “Nature Connects: Art with Lego Bricks,” Morton Arboretum showcases 15 “largerthan-life nature-themed displays” from New York artist Sean Kenney. “Brick Safari,” opens May 11, 8400 W. 31st St., Brookfield; brookfieldzoo.org. “Nature Connects, May 24-Sept. 15, 100 Illinois Route 53, Lisle; 630-968-0074 or www.mortonarb.org.
“Virgil Abloh: Figures of Speech”: Tickets went on sale before Thanksgiving for this June, 2019 show organized by MCA Chief Curator Michael Darling, which gives some indication of the level of interest the museum anticipates. Abloh is the Chicago-reared fashion designer, the son of Ghanaian immigrants, who first became known through his work with Kanye West. Highly collaborative, Abloh has since gone on to do high-profile work with Nike and launched his own fashion brand, Off-White, which brings a streetwear aesthetic to the runway. June 10 - September 22, 220 E. Chicago Ave.; www.mcachicago.org or 312-280-2660