Ruling the Roost

After getting out of class at noon on Tuesday, I decided to stop by a store I saw while gazing out the 22 Clark bus windows.

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All photos were taken by Anthonia Akitunde

Roost (located at 5634 N. Clark), a vintage home decor store, has a hodgepodge of flatware, art, vintage books and oddities scattered throughout the store. With stacks of odd-ball and straight-off-the-farm items at every turn, I had fun poking my nose around the small and tightly packed store, inching around other customers to examine piles of old mason jars and salt shakers.

The store would suit someone who doesn't take design too seriously; someone who favors the kitschy over streamlined modernity. Placed on book shelves, ladders, couches and hutches, each item exuded an earthy whimsy that made me feel like I was inside the pages of "Little House on the Prarie."

For more pictures from Roost, watch the slideshow.

Louder Than A Bomb Erupts Sunday Night

On Sunday night I went to the Vic Theater after hearing word of a must-see event: Louder Than A Bomb, a teen poetry slam so fierce, so inspiring, I would be crazy to miss it. It was monsoon-like weather that afternoon, winds blowing so hard rain drops moved horizontally, making the most sturdy umbrella completely useless. But still, I followed the siren call and was not disappointed.

Named after one of the songs on Public Enemy's "It Takes A Nation To Hold Us Back," Louder Than A Bomb, presented by Young Chicago Authors, provides students from across the Chicago area an outlet for their thoughts. On the stage, they command attention. They have things to say and damn it, you're going to listen to them.

During the five hour competition and festival on Sunday, I was continually awed by how poised they were and their talent. If you look back at my old journals, my teenage angst was embarrassing in its...well...insignificance. But these kids are talking about real issues from domestic violence to living with a disability. Even the more "OMG" aspects of being a teenager take on an ironic spin through the deft pens of these young poets.

Take a multimedia walk through the event with me below.

A slideshow of pictures I took at Sunday's Louder Than A Bomb.

Performances

He Still Loves HER from iamchicago on Vimeo.


Gabbi's Ode to Lil' Wayne from iamchicago on Vimeo.

Gabbi's Ode to Lil' Wayne. For a complete listen, click here.

Chicago Public Radio had some of the students record their poems. These poems are posted on their website.

Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Well, you shouldn't be. Especially if we're talking about the Art Institute's Art After Dark event this Friday. The event series is definitely not one to be missed: you get to view relatively new exhibits (this month, Henri Cartier-Bresson's photojournalistic glimpse of Paris are on display), see amazing performance art courtesy of Collaboraction, dance, people watch, drink, and eat to your heart's content. The Art Institute (111 S. Michigan Ave.) intends to keep the party going with an after party at the Base Bar at the Hard Rock Hotel (230 N. Michigan Ave.). To order tickets, click here.

Found It!

Found objects have seemingly become a big part of indie art and culture. FOUND magazine, which has its roots in Chicago, is dedicated to reprinting objects found by everyday people: birthday cards, drawings, photos, angrily scrawled notes left on windshield wipers. What I like most about this magazine and its website is that its about being alive and the trace materials we leave behind for other people to find. Our emotions, our thoughts, our daily lives can be picked up and glimpsed into by strangers who happen upon our to-do-lists scrawled on receipts.

Here are a few of my favorites on the website, from Chicago and beyond (click on the more link for info on how they were found and how it affected the person who found them):



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(Ed. note: This reminds me of the day before we moved to our new home in Kansas City. My parents made me mad and I hid underneath an exercise machine and blankets. I eventually fell asleep and my parents were frantic, thinking I ran away until I woke up hours later.)


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I could go on and on...

Chris Ware and This American Life

This American Life, a radio show on NPR that was originally based in Chicago, is in its second season as a television show on Showtime. I haven't seen it as a show but love listening to the podcasts at work or on the radio as I drive around on the weekends. Here is a clip of a segment, animated by Chris Ware and featuring the amazing voice of host, Ira Glass.

Two Ways to Spend Your Weekend

Hyde Park Art Center's Creative Move 3: Moving Mountains, Friday - Saturday

I've been talking about this 24-hour party at Hyde Park Art Center (5020 S. Cornell) for the past week now, and if you haven't done any exploring yourself, you're probably wondering what this shindig entails. Well, let me tell you about it... stud.

Fire dancing! Pushing mountains! Interactive art! Improv! DJs! Dance! Music! Art! Brunch! A cafe grand opening! Japanese drumming! Multiple performances! and tons more.

For a complete schedule of events, click here.


(Kelly Kaczynski's Olympus Manger, Scene II, the inspiration for this year's Creative Move theme, "Moving Mountains")


(From Disinhibition: Black Art and Blue Humor: Tamasha Williamson, It Is...Ain't It? The African-American Vernacular and the King's English: Validation v. Degradation [Articulate], 2007, graphite on paper)

Hip-Hop Live + Reel, continues Friday - Sunday

Yesterday, hip-hop heads and film enthusiasts alike gathered at the Museum of Contemporary Art (220 E. Chicago) for the beginning of their four-day series Hip-Hop Live + Reel. Continuing until Sunday evening, Hip-Hop has something for everyone: performances from Chicago's only all Latina theater group Teatro Luna, documentary screenings, poetry slams and much more. Click here for more details.



(photo credit: Henry Chalfant, a documentarian whose film From Mambo to Hip-Hop: A South Bronx Tale, screened Thursday)

24-Hour Art People

The Hyde Park Art Center (HPAC) is one of my favorite Chicago museums. It stresses the importance of community involvement and education through the arts, making it more accessible to the every(wo)man without skimping on vision or integrity. The South Side art gallery will be celebrating its move and continued reign as the oldest alternative art space in Chicago with its 24 hour party, Creative Move 3: Moving Mountains, this Friday. Since 1939, the Hyde Park Art Center has served the Hyde Park-Kenwood communities of the South Side with its commitment to promoting and exhibiting the works of emerging Chicago artists and arts education and mentorship for its patrons and Chicago students.