January & February Calendar Highlights

Hyde Park Art Center “Some Assembly Required” Through Saturday, Feb. 19 Curator Ben Rubin brings together the works of Monica Bock, Daniel Franke, Amy Toscani (work pictured at right), Ginger Krebs and Timothy Brower for this exhibition about the juncture between human and machine activity. Simple devices such as coat hangers, bicycles and dustpans have been altered and explored to reveal insights about human behavior. Monday-Saturday: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 5307 S. Hyde Park Blvd. 324-5520. Free.
Court Theatre Desire Under the Elms Friday, Jan. 21, through Sunday, Feb. 20 Court Theatre will continue its 1999-2000 season with Eugene O’Neill’s Desire Under the Elms, a co-production with Freedom Theatre in Philadelphia. Freedom Theatre is one of the leading African-American theaters in the nation, and its artistic director, Walter Dallas, will direct Court’s production. In this passionate play, a young man’s competition with his stepmother unexpectedly turns into a tortured love affair. Dallas transports the play from its original setting in New England during the 1850s to rural Georgia during the 1930s, providing a southern, multicultural exploration of O’Neill’s classic. Desire Under the Elms, a production for mature audiences, will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Sundays (except Feb. 20), Wednesdays and Thursdays and at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Matinee performances will take place at 3 p.m. Saturdays (Feb. 12 and 19 only) and at 2:30 p.m. Sundays throughout the run. 5535 S. Ellis Ave. 753-4472. $22 to $36. Senior, student, group and subscription discounts are available, and $9 student rush tickets may be available on the day of the show. http://www.courttheatre.org
The Renaissance Society Thomas Hirschhorn: World-Airport Sunday, Jan. 16, through Sunday, Feb. 27 An installation piece by Swiss artist Thomas Hirschhorn, World-Airport (pictured right) fills The Renaissance Society’s entire gallery space with a homemade airport and lounge area, a runway and airplanes emblazoned with nation-state colors and insignias from around the world. First exhibited at the 1999 Venice Biennale, World-Airport explores the global connections and contradictions afforded by contemporary international business, travel and information technology. The exhibition is presented in collaboration with The Art Institute of Chicago. Tuesday-Friday: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday: noon-5 p.m. Cobb 418, 5811 S. Ellis Ave. 702-8670. Free. http://www.renaissancesociety.org
Department of Special Collections “The Ecstatic Journey: Athanasius Kircher in Baroque Rome” Tuesday, Feb. 1, through Friday, April 7 Athanasius Kircher (1602-1680), a German Jesuit priest and professor of mathematics at the Roman College, was called to Rome in 1635, two years after Galileo’s trial and condemnation by the Roman Inquisition. He was charged with reconciling Church doctrine with experimental method and interpreting Egyptian hieroglyphs. Over the next 45 years, Kircher wrote more than 40 books; built mechanical devices of marvelous ingenuity; and delved into the findings of the microscope, the structure of the cosmos and the mouths of volcanoes. This exhibition will present first and early editions of Kircher’s books and related materials. Monday through Friday: 8:30 a.m.-4:45 p.m.; Saturday: 9 a.m.-12:45 p.m. Joseph Regenstein Library, 1100 E. 57th St. 702-8705. Free. http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/LibInfo/Libraries/SpCl/.