January Highlights

eighth blackbird

The University of Chicago Presents
eighth blackbird
7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 13
Mandel Hall, 1131 E. 57th St. 702-8068. $20 general, $11 students.
In a concert titled ÒModern Masterworks,Ó the UniversityÕs Artists-in-residence eighth blackbird will present a diverse program of modern pieces spanning nearly 100 years. Works include Arnold SchoenbergÕs Pierrot Lunaire, Steven MackeyÕs Indigenous Instruments, Gordon FitzellÕs Violence and Chen YiÕs Qi. Mezzo-soprano Julia Bentley joins the ensemble for SchoenbergÕs piece.

Gyula Varnai (Hungary), Magic, 2003, Still from video

The Renaissance Society
ÒNew Video, New EuropeÑA Survey of Eastern European VideoÓ
Sunday, Jan. 11 through Sunday, Feb. 22
10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; noon-5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.
Room 418, Cobb Hall, 5811 S. Ellis Ave. 702-8670. http://www.renaissancesociety.org. Free.
The second exhibition in a two-part series on Eastern European artists, ÒNew Video, New EuropeÓ is a group show featuring continuous screenings of several short video works, including Anri SalaÕs Intervista and Pavel BrailaÕs Shoes for Europe. In Intervista, Albanian-born Sala interviews his mother as she watches restored footage of her participation in various communist rallies and ceremonies. Shoes for Europe features secretly recorded footage of a railway station at the Moldavia-Romania border where rail cars must undergo Òadaptation,Ó a process in which the cars are outfitted with wheels of a shorter axle dimension to complete the journey from east to west. As casual documentary these works chronicle an interim state of affairs as the regionÕs economy and politics must adjust and readjust with varying degrees of certainty about precisely what the future holds. ÒNew Video, New Europe,Ó with work by over 36 artists from 16 Eastern European countries, documents the uneven development in a region where video has become a staple of contemporary art practice. There will be an opening reception from 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 11, featuring a talk with several of the artists from 5 to 6 p.m.

Charles Weidman and José Limón, c. 1935.

The Lesbian & Gay Studies Project of the Center for Gender Studies
Queer Origins of Modern American Culture Series
4:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 22
Classics 10, 1010 E. 59th St. 702-9936. http://humanities.uchicago.edu/orgs/cgs/-lgspqueerorigins.htm. Free.
Room 418, Cobb Hall, 5811 S. Ellis Ave. 702-8670. http://www.renaissancesociety.org. Free.
Spearheaded by George Chauncey, Professor in History and the College, the Queer Origins of Modern American Culture Series explores the role gay composers, poets, playwrights, choreographers and visual artists played in defining national culture in postwar, Cold War America. In this second lecture in the series, Nadine Hubbs, professor of English and theater at Northwestern University, will examine this question from the perspective of concert dance in a lecture titled ÒMaking a (Queer) American Dance: José Limón, Merce Cunningham and Alvin Ailey.Ó A reception will follow.

The Pacifica Quartet coached students who will present a chamber music showcase

The Department of Music
Chamber Music Showcase
3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 18
Fulton Recital Hall, 1010 E. 59th St. 702-8069. Free.
Students in the UniversityÕs chamber music program, coached by the UniversityÕs quartet-in-residence, the Pacifica Quartet, will present an array of works in an intimate setting suited for small ensembles.