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. http://chicagopresents.uchicago.edu/. $20 general, $11 students.
In a concert titled “Modern Masterworks,” the University’s Artists-in-residence eighth blackbird will present a diverse program of modern pieces spanning nearly 100 years. Works include Arnold Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire, Steven Mackey’s Indigenous Instruments, Gordon Fitzell’s Violence and Chen Yi’s Qi. Mezzo-soprano Julia Bentley joins the ensemble for Schoenberg’s piece.

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

The Renaissance Society
“New Video, New Europe—A Survey of Eastern European Video”
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, “New Video, New Europe” is a group show featuring continuous screenings of several short video works, including Anri Sala’s Intervista and Pavel Braila’s 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 “adaptation,” 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 region’s economy and politics must adjust and readjust with varying degrees of certainty about precisely what the future holds. “New Video, New Europe,” 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.
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 “Making a (Queer) American Dance: José Limón, Merce Cunningham and Alvin Ailey.” 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 University’s chamber music program, coached by the University’s quartet-in-residence, the Pacifica Quartet, will present an array of works in an intimate setting suited for small ensembles.