Photographer Christopher Schneberger’s new series Glimmer: The Haunting of the Graham House opens at Printworks Gallery this evening. While these photographs would be intriguing year round, Schneberger’s images are aptly haunting as we approach Halloween. 

The featured image of the show, Glimmer, shows a blonde teenage girl comfortably dressed in pajama-like attire sitting on the bathroom counter casually painting her toenails red, in what appears to be her own middle to upper-middle class bathroom with shiny, dark granite counters, clean white sinks, and matching white window trim. After a long second, the viewer notices a ghastly female figure seen only inside the mirror, next to the blond girl’s own reflection. One assumes that the blonde teenager is unaware of the ghoulish figure, but she could also be familiar with the haunting presence. In stark contrast to the richness of the rest of the photograph, and to the youth of the pajama-clad teen, the ghoulish girl, has grey, dead-looking skin, her dark hair swept away from her face. She is wearing a ruffled, flower-print dress that is certainly outdated by at least a century.

This photograph has an interesting back story. Schneberger had done a lot of research on ghosts, and he has exhibited them in previous photographs, usually showing them existing in physical rooms and spaces. For this series, the Graham family (name changed for secrecy) approached Schneberger and told him that “our ghost lives in the mirrors”, not in visible spaces. Skeptical of ghosts, but interested in the Grahams’ story Schneberger asked if he could move into the Grahams’ house to further investigate andhopefully photograph the supposed ghoul. At first Schneberger didn’t see any girl, and thought his skepticism was correct.  John, the dad, pleaded, “She doesn’t know you yet; sometimes I wish she didn’t know me.” After several visits Schneberger was ready to write this off as yet another hoax, until one evening when Sarah, the mom, called from the bathroom, “She’s here!” Schneberger ran to find a young woman in the mirror, as if she were standing next to Sarah.

Schneberger decided to move in after that, and the Grahams agreed. These series of photographs are from the two months the Graham family granted him full access to their Victorian home.

For further information on this photograph, please click here or visit the Printworks Gallery website.

Some of Schneberger's other photograph series include the following titles: Being Nowhere, Magic and Murder, A Case of Levitation, Croswell Twins, and Governess. If this Glimmer series doesn’t whet your ghoulish appetite, I’m not sure what will. Decide for yourself by visiting Printworks Gallery. The opening is tonight October 19, and the exhibition runs until November 24, 2012.

Glimmer Series, Christopher Schneberger

Glimmer Series, Christopher Schneberger

Glimmer Series, Christopher Schneberger

Logan Launch Festival is happening this weekend, an appropriate time for joviality considering October is Chicago Artist’s Month (CAM). The three-day festival is a celebration surrounding the opening of the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago.  The Center will serve as a hub for the vibrant arts scene at the University and a destination for the South Side and greater Chicago area.  This weekend's festivities are free, open to the public and happening now through Sunday, October 14.

Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts
Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects
Photos by Tom Rossiter
© The University of Chicago

Numerous events are occurring throughout the weekend ranging from site-specific sound installations, multiple performances, plays, films, orchestra ensembles, discussions, lectures, readings, workshops, a live broadcast, as well as visual artworks. There are a few ongoing installations, such as Sonic Environments: The Work of Richard Lerman: Sound Installation Piece, as well as exhibits MFA: On Display, and Wall Text both presented from the Department of Visual Arts, as well as Self-Guided Tours.
 
Multiple performances are shaking up this evening, Friday, October 12, so be sure to check out the full schedule. Ricardo Basbaum’s “Would you like to participate in an artistic experience?” addresses complex social transformations through the circulation of a deceptively simple object, one of his “New Bases for Personality (NBP)” which is ongoing all day Friday. Music Department Piano Showcase, Los Cenzonties with David Hidalgo, Monk and Mingus: Performance by University Jazz X-Tet, Uballet, Deeply Rooted, The Ransom Notes, Student Performance of Tony Award-Winning Play “Proof”, and Spektral Quartet are all exciting events ranging from music to performance to dance, or some combination of the above. There will also be a chance for you and your friends to participate in informal performances at the Logan Cabaret Series Kick-Off at the Performance Penthouse from 9-11pm, Friday, October 12. More performances will be held throughout the weekend, including the Turtle Island Quartet concert on Sunday at 3pm.
 
Several discussion panels, lectures, and conversations will develop this weekend including a few this evening.  Beware the Stairs Are Always Moving: A Conversation with architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien takes place tonight from 6-7:30 pm.  Later on, from 8-9pm in the Café, Café Scientifique sessions invite the public to explore and debate current issues and interesting topics in science research at the University, for the price of a cup of coffee or a glass of wine.
 
Family programming will take place all day Saturday including Family Telling Workshop; Barrel of Monkeys, “That’s Weird, Grandma”; Animation Workshop; and StoryTelling with the Ase Youth Ensemble. There will also be Arts Trolley Rides from noon - 5pm where guests can visit museums and cultural institutions across the University of Chicago campus including the Oriental Institute Museum, Renaissance Society, and Smart Museum of Art.
 
Open House Chicago (OHC) organized by the Chicago Architecture Foundation is an annual weekend festival providing free behind-the-scenes access to many of Chicago’s greatest places and spaces. The Logan Center, selected as one of OHC’s “Top Twenty Sites to Visit,” will offer self-guided tours for OHC participants that feature “backstage” areas of the performance spaces as well as private studios on Sunday from 10-5pm. Logan Center presents Scheduled Tours on Sunday to explore the Logan center with a knowledgeable guide. Hear about the building’s history, architecture, and role within the University with visits to the performance hall, blackbox theatre, digital media center, classrooms, gallery and more.
 
Look for more detailed information and a full schedule of events on the Logan Center for the Arts website, so you can participate in this dynamic community with its intriguing, intellectual, and enjoyable events.
 
Festival hours:
Friday: Noon – 11pm
Saturday: 10 am – 11pm
Sunday: Noon- 5pm

Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts
915 East 60th Street
Chicago, IL 60637

Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts
Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects
Exterior construction view from the north
Photo by Tom Rossiter
© The University of Chicago

Chicago Artist’s Month (CAM) continues, and this weekend, on Saturday, October 13, Chicago Gallery News' Saturday Gallery Tours in River North and the West Loop will feature work by select Chicago artists on view in participating galleries.  On these tours, a gallery representative leads visitors to four art galleries in River North and the West Loop.  Tours are ongoing and happen all year round, but this Saturday’s tours are special CAM events.

The Jean Albano Gallery is leading the River North tour this Saturday, which will feature Chicago artist Gladys Nilsson’s vibrant, compositionally intricate watercolor paintings.  Visitors on this tour will also get the chance to visit the Roy Boyd gallery, which is currently hosting its 40^th anniversary exhibition.  Perimeter Gallery and Addington Gallery are also taking part in the River North tour.  To participate, meet at 750 N. Franklin Starbucks by 11am. 

Gladys Nilsson, Jumping, Jean Albano Gallery

 Kasia Kay Art Projects Gallery will be leading the West Loop tour, which features “Palisades,” the gallery’s first solo exhibition for Los Angeles based contemporary painter Elisa Johns.  Johns’ oil paintings display a combination of abstract, dream-like landscapes and distorted figures, which fuse together as a narrative mechanism. 

Elisa Johns, Muses, Kasia Kay Art Projects Gallery

The Chicago Artists Month featured artist Jeremiah Lee’s cigar box guitars are being exhibited at the Packer Schopf Gallery, another destination on the West Loop tour.  At 3pm there will be a music performance using the instruments from Lee’s show.  The Linda Warren Projects Gallery and Mars Gallery are also taking part in the West loop tour.  To participate, meet at 215 N. Aberdeen (Kasia Kay Art Projects Gallery) by 1:30pm.  These tours are free, and no reservations are required.  For more information, including the tour schedules, visit Chicago Gallery Tours. 

But wait, there’s more!  This Saturday and Sunday from 11am-2pm at the Art Institute of Chicago, you can get interactive with the art at “The Artists Studio: Mini Model Sculptures.” Build a small-scale version of your favorite public sculpture, or design your own monument for your favorite spot in the city. This is a great activity for children and adults of all ages!  Visit their website for more information.  And if sculpture is your thing, there is also a Reception and Trolley Tour of Chicago’s Sculpture Exhibit on Sunday at 3pm that spans Lakeview, Lincoln Park and Wicker Park/Bucktown.  For details about this sculpture tour, click here.

Picasso, Maquette, Richard J. Daley Center

Michael Young, Looking Up, Chicago Sculpture Exhibit

The Zhou Brothers will celebrate a new show this Friday evening, September 28, at the Zhou B Art Center, and they'll be opening it with typical great fanfare.  To help them with the festivity, the Chicago Sinfonietta will also be taking part.

Li - The River of Souls is an entirely new series of paintings inspired by the Li River in China, where the brothers were born. The brothers describe the river and the area as peaceful and serene - considered as the soul of Guilin. It's been an inspiration to artists for thousands of years.  The brothers have found inspriation in

many sources over the decades of collaborating and working together, but this muse is particularly personal. The abstract landscape paintings that will be on display are smybolic of the river Li and the journey that Shan Zuo and DaHuang have taken together: "The river winds like a green silk ribbon, while the hills are like jade hairpins" - by HanYu (768-824), a famous Chinese poet of Tang Dynasty (618-907)

Special VIP Opening

The exhibition opened last Friday, Septebmer 21, but this weekend visitors are invited to come to the Center for a special reception to witness the Zhou Brothers creating one-of-a-kind art inspired by a live ensemble performance of the Chicago Sinfonietta under the baton of Maestro Mei-Ann Chen. The reception will include delicious food and drinks, and a collaborative live performance of painting inspired by the Sinfonietta's innovative sounds. The genre-bending PROJECT Trio and young percussionists Shuya Gong and Eric Goldberg will join the Sinfonietta on stage for the main performance. This event will raise much-needed support for the Sinfonietta's 25th Anniversary season and education outreach programs.

VIP guests will receive an exclusive gift bag, a certificate for a complimentary Sinfonietta performance, and a signed copy of Maestro Chen's first CD with the orchestra.

Click this link to see the Zhou Brothers' Divergent Minds live painting performance at the Coronado Theater in Rockford, Illinois with Rick Nielsen and Donald Fraser from 2008.

ZHOU BROTHERS

Li - The River of Souls

September 21-October 6

Zhou B Art Center, 1029 W. 35th St. (60609)
Tel 773-523-0200
M-F 10-5; Sa 12-5
zbcenter.org

This weekend should be the height of Chicago's warm fall weather... So get outside while you can!  The Randolph Street Market thankfully takes place all year round now, but there's still something special about the sprawling outdoor extravaganza set-up.

On Friday evening, yours truly will get a sneak peek of the market, since I was chosen to be part of RSM's Annual Editor's And Designer's Choice For Charity.  A whole host of media and design figures will be checking things out early and selecting favorites that will then be showcased to benefit individual charities. I couldn't refuse a free cocktail and a chance at an early preview, but the chance to highlight a few unique items while making selections to benefit a favorite charity were really motivating. I'll be sure to Tweet and post about my own 'choices' so that you can check them out for yourself over the weekend.  I imagine it'll be hard to resist buying my own favorite items!

The markets are really fun and unique to Chicago. Hundreds of dealers set up shop for the weekend, and depending on your own needs or just your mood, you can spend hours browsing through vintage magnets, patches or pins. You can get silver candleabras for a steal (I still regret not picking up a fabulous pair back in February...), and you can find vintage clothing to die for. You can also use the market as an excuse to shake things up - buy a few pairs of vintage specs to give out to friends for a party, or to just avoid getting stuck in an eyeglass rut. You can find a range of furniture and accessories that will be right at home in a chic modern apartment, or perhaps you're looking to try your hand at reupholstery and you're looking for some pieces with good bones in need up an update. Trust me, it's all here, and you can find it if you just keep your eyes open and look. Overall, the place is just whacky, which adds to the fun. Sally and her team also always keep things interesting by making sure there's good food and music.

See you there!

Who are these 'Editors?' Here's a sampling: Kevin Aeh/Time Out Chicago, Rebecca Taras/Refinery29, Ginny Van Alyea/Chicago Gallery News, Arianne Nardo/Interiors, James Barra/Interiors, Rebecca Michuda/Today's Chicago Woman, Talia Pines/CS, William Bragadoccio/Men’s Street Fashion, Molly Each/Chicago Sun Times Splash, Ana Founa/chi-stylemaven.blogspot.com, Haley Giambalvo/Design Improvised, Jaye Goody/Curvatude, Barri Leiner Grant/m&b Vintage Smitten, Mitch Obstfeld/i4design, Tricia Royal/bitsandbobbins.com, Lisa Skolnik/Writer, Meg Mathis/Michigan Ave, Ashley Nicole Catherine/ashleynicolecatherine.blogspot.com, Carmen Rivera/Chicago Magazine, Rochelle Vayo Adkinson/Bring it Home, Jessie Kalin/Windy City Live, Katie Cahnmann/Nowyouknowevents.com, Candace Jordan/Candid Candace, Jen Luby/Second City Soiree, Cait Weingartner/prettyandfun.com, and Alison Fraker/Brown Eyed Style.

Interior designers include: Grace Sielaff, Lisa Simeone, Marshall Erb, Michael & Lori Anthony, Ramsey Jay Prince, Julia Buckingham Edelmann, Jennie Bishop, Erin Shakoor, Divas N Design, Linc Thelen, Kenneth Walter, Richard Abrahamson, Fernando Soler, Shane Inman, Michael Del Piero Good Design, Edyta Czajkowska and more picking the best booth designs as well!!

Randolph Street Market: September 29+30, 2012
1340 W. Washington, Chicago • Over Eight Acres of Indoor & Outdoor Shopping, Rain or Shine

10am-6pm Sat & 10am-5pm Sun • Admission Good For Both Days
kids under 12 FREE • Free Downtown Furniture Delivery  • Trolley from Water Tower Place • *Pet Friendly

Advance discount tickets available now - click HERE to purchase

• General Admission: $10 at the gate, $8 in advance
• Early Buying Preview Saturday: Outdoors at 8am and Indoors at 9am: $25 at the gate, $20 in advance
Early Buy benefits Chicago House for people living with HIV/AIDS
• Student Discount Admission: $5 at the gate, $3 in advance