In the midst of world-class entertainment, towering skyscrapers and a bustling metropolis Columbia College Chicago takes in the raw reality of the city and produces emerging new artists. CCC cannot be defined by any one building. Each building is a mecca in its own right. If someone wanted to get a glimpse of the school, the Hokin Gallery at 623 S. Wabash would be the place to go. The Hokin Gallery is a meeting place of the minds. It is nestled inside a grey brick building packed with gallery spaces, workshops, offices, and classrooms. One step inside and you are bound to see a smattering of flyers of what shows are up and coming around town along with the cool-mostly hipster kids that attend. The gallery space is open and well lit with track lighting showcasing student artwork. A café space in the corner keeps everyone caffeinated. The walls are usually full of talent-laden photographs, poetry, video clips, sculpture, etc. The last time I went the walls were bare setting up for the next show. There are tables and benches in the back where students can meet, study, eat, etc. A stage juts out of the front wall bringing in performances by comedians, singers, actors and more. The space itself is all about connecting and bringing artists together. The Hokin Gallery is a true Columbia experience. Artists’ work abound as does the artist. Indie music hums through the speakers above while friends gather throughout. The walls are a canvas of what we create and empty walls ache for the possibilities. The central location makes the gallery a great place to see the diversity and talent that Columbia has to offer.
Chaos week at Columbia College Chicago came just in time. With finals looming and students stretched thin, this end is near relief of school sponsored entertainment was better than expected. On Tuesday April 21st, Company of Thieves graced the Hokin Gallery at 623 S. Wabash. With a newly released, stunning debut album entitled Ordinary Riches, this indie band had me at hello. Or maybe the song I came in the middle of. I arrived between classes (it was a lunch time show) to a room filled with smiling students and beautiful photography. People were sitting on the floor, railings, and benches as the band played an intimate show. What caught my attention right away was the buttery voice of Genevieve Schatz, the singer of this Chicago based three-piece ensemble. She is a tiny figure with a booming voice that filled the space. She was amazing to watch as she sat in her barstool clapping her hands and waving her arms throughout the set as if any moment she would take off. She was animated and powerful. Accompanying her on guitar was Marc Walloch and Mike Ortiz on drum (a custom box drum with various drum noises hit with hands). There is a great camaraderie with the band and it was clear they worked as a cohesive unit to make a great record. The acoustic set was fitting for the open gallery space. It is shared by the Plum Café and is a place I’ve been to many time before. Having the show here made it so accessible to students on their way to and from classes or people just walking by. It was inviting even though I don’t remember seeing any advertisements for this particular CCC event. The advertisements I did see were for the comedy events and the Crystal Castles show, which I also attended. The show itself was fantastic. Company of Thieves let us into their lives as they shared anecdotes and song inspirations throughout. It felt as if we were apart of their day as they were apart ours. My favorite songs were still works in progress not on the album (which I bought at the end of the show), but “Pressure,” “Fire Song,” and “Oscar Wilde” were definite standouts judging by the audiences reaction and my own preferences as well. They were very humble and it truly was as if we were watching a group of our peers. At the end of the show there was a meet and greet where they were all thankful for the support and more than willing to sign posters and CDs. I think Chaos week in its entirety gave a great insight to what Columbia College is all about. It was diverse, thought provoking, stripped down, student created/attended, raw and accessible which is something I think holds true to the values Columbia has. Company of Thieves whose ‘abstract emotion’ was all of these things and more really set the tone for the week and reminded me of why I love this school so much. Company of Thieves is playing at the Bottom Lounge May 22nd and I will definitely be there.
With an ‘anything goes’ policy at Columbia College Chicago, I was half expecting to see torsos and skin in some type of artsy medium at the current exhibit entitled Topless USA. This “critical encounter” event is currently being shown on the 2nd floor of the library at 624 S. Michigan Ave. The afterthought of a space should have been a dead giveaway that this had nothing to do with sexuality, but instead on Mountaintop removal. Jeff Chapman Crane is the artist whose work is represented with one clay sculpture and a handful of paintings with a message of the destruction of mother earth. “The Agony of Gaia (Mother Earth),” the centerpiece of the show, cleverly depicts mother earth lying on her side forming a mountain. “I believe the earth is a living thing…I wanted to do a piece that conveyed the torment she must feel when she is abused this way,” reads a statement by the artist. She is in a fetal position with natural elements of twigs, moss and sand covering her body. Her hands are covering her face and bulldozers and tractors are ravaging her legs and midsection. Streams of tears fall down her face as earth-moving machines ravage her midsection exposing her ribs smattered with blood. The sky is beautiful and blue at her head and storm ridden and gray the further down the body/mountain you go. Proponents of mountaintop removal claim jobs and roadways, and land to build is why this is so necessary in the rural landscapes of Kentucky in particular, as well as other Appalachia residents. Without this their economy would be nonexistent and coal mining and steel would suffer. Besides the Gaia piece there are several paintings of native people of the Appalachia. Some of the residents want to preserve the mountains and have future generations cherish what they have come to love while other residents only care about wealth and getting ahead regardless of destruction of natural resources. In one piece a man is shown confident and smug, wealthy and an obvious benefactor of the mountaintop clearing. Another shows a young girl taken in by the beautiful mountains around her. The show is clear to show both sides, but with a focus of anti-top removal. It is clear that this Kentucky native is passionate about mountaintop removal and its affects on the land. Leaflets inform the viewer how terrible this practice really is. Mines blast the mountaintop off creating landslides, rubble and debris to pollute waterways and neighboring valleys of the site. Without the “Agony of the Gaia” piece this show would be worth missing and instead read up on. It highlights the issues of how the removal destroys the landscape we need to protect, and with Earth Day looming now is the perfect time to visit this insightful exhibit.
“At the entrance stand the public waits in a long queue in order to witness the accomplishment of the magical operation par excellence:”(Barthes, Roland) the unveiling of the new IPhone. People will wait for days on end outside in any weather for the chance to own the latest phoneresurrection.The earth stands still when its time for the period before the craze and we wait and wait like a heard of sheep often foregoing work and other responsibilities like childcare and school.
It is crack cocaine in the palm of your hand. It is outrageously addictive and readily available.For a small fortune, a dream gadget with endless life changing capabilities could be yours.You will join the masses of the IPhone cult.
The makers of the Apple IPhone are geniuses. They have consumers convinced that if your phone is merely a few months old it is time to get a new one.As soon as you have mastered all the applications on one, a newer version comes out that’s faster and smarter than the one before.What was wrong with the original? Nothing.
The phone itself is sexy and sleek. It’s shiny screen and playful colors beckon to be touched as they light up the room.It’s void of typical phone ‘keys’ and instead has a virtual touch screen. What you see and what you’re touching doesn’t exist. It’s what you perceive.Don’t see what you’re looking for? Flick the screen until you find what you’re looking for.If only we could flick away everything we weren’t happy with.When done with one, flick on to the next great thing.Keep on flicking to find games, music, pictures, everything. It’s not necessary to even leave your apartment if you have an IPhone.Everything will now come to you in the comfort of your home.
These “crackberries” on steroids are so important in our everyday lives that not having your phone with you is out of the question.It is reason enough, after traveling several dozen miles to turn around if you left it sitting on your counter. With gps applications readily available to download it’s amazing that we went so long without the IPhone telling us where to turn and where the nearest Starbucks is.
Face to face interaction is no longer necessary, and in fact is becoming the norm.Human interaction will become obsolete. Your shiny hand held personal assistant can do everything for you.The pocket genius can figure out your restaurant tip, find your friends gps location, entertain you, take photographs, transfer and wire money, play music, level furniture, simulate reality, gauge speed, countdown days, and inform you of the song and artist currently playing on the latest phone commercial.
It is a status symbol conforming you and the rest of the world.You can pay as you go or invest an arm and a leg to afford one.Even the President of the United States refuses to give up his life link to the outside world, something no other president has held on to.It is that vital to our existence can’t let go.And it’s good that we can’t let go.The government can track our precise location, playback incriminating threats, and add on charges to already exuberant phone bills that only a PHD can decipher.
Instead of talking on the phone or writing letters like generations of yore, now we can text.Not only can we text fragments and laughter LOL we can see pictures of whom we’re texting.We create symphonic orchestras to inform us of incoming calls and messages.We can create a ring tone that plays loud enough for everyone on the train to hear and we can yell back into the device just as loud.As if the person on the other end were missing a hearing aid battery, we can all attest to the conversation at hand.
Yes, the IPhones are the reigning cool and are here to stay.They are the necessary accessory for every hand and every wardrobe.If you want to fit in and be a productive member of society an IPhone will be your best friend.
The Hummer H1 is a symbol of pride and success. It is patriotic and has served troops since the early ‘80s. They have acted as “troop carriers, ambulances, weapons platforms, missile carriers, surface-to-air missile platforms and much more.” It is a vehicle that’s always there and can be depended upon in the worst terrain. Available to the general public in 1992, Hummer has had great success and offers a status symbol beyond anything else that is on the road. Hummers get blacklisted on many fronts, usually from people who see the size and automatically assume the owner as compensating for something. In reality, the Hummer H1 isn’t as bad for the environment as leftist eco terrorists would like you to believe. In fact in a study by CNW Marketing found the hybrid of hybrids the Toyota Prius had a total combined energy costing $3.25 per mile averaging out at 100,000 miles. A Hummer on the other hand offers a considerable savings costing $1.95 on the road with an expected lifetime of 300,000 miles. The nickel battery that is required by hybrids has left so much destruction that there is no life for miles of the Canadian plant that manufactures them. It is time these environmentalists look within themselves before attacking an easy target. http://www.targetofopportunity.com/prius_hummer.htm Hummer owners take pride in their vehicle and in their community. In 2003, the American Red Cross and the Hummer Club http://www.thehummerclubinc.com/About/Default.aspx?SN=8 united to create the Hope Club (Hummer Owners Prepared for Emergencies) which deploys Hummer Club members to drive “supplies and Red Cross personnel into disaster area where other vehicles might not reach.” They have been used in natural disasters, and in every imaginable terrain that other vehicles cannot traverse. Without the efforts of hummer enthusiasts there would be a countless number or lives not saved. http://www.thehummerclubinc.com/About/Default.aspx?SN=22 In the aftermath of the global economic crisis, Hummers have drawn an extraordinary amount of criticism. “Hummer was suddenly perceived as all that’s wrong with Americas dependence on foreign oil.” http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/business/31hummer.html?partner=rss&emc=rss Jim Lynch, the “world’s number one Hummer dealer” has saved countless tractor-trailers in snowstorms. I think he sums up the importance of having hummers around. He told the drivers he saved in one snow storm, “next time somebody tell you everybody should be driving a hybrid, you tell them about this (getting unstuck with the help of the hummer).” With an astounding 1.5 ton cargo capacity the Hummer H1 is the ultimate family fun. It’s the perfect size for hauling a soccer team and for serious shopping in today’s urban jungle. At 7,154 pounds Hummer H1 is literally a tank. At a base price of $109,000 the H1 is an investment with a 15-year service life. The performance is unsurpassed, and Motor Trend put the H1 to the ultimate test. The capabilities included “scaling a 22-inch vertical wall, traversing a 40 degree side slope, climbing 60-degree grades, and fording 30 inches of water.” http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/suvs/112_0201_2002_hummer_h1/index.html This car can survive basically everything so you can sleep at night knowing your family will be safe .
