Internationally renowned musician and composer Michael Zerang talks with Rachel Thorne Germond about his Chicago roots and involvement with the experimental dance, performance and theater scene here, including Links Hall.

By Alicia Eler

Chicago and Leipzig seem like random cities to pair together for one photography/video show, but in the instance of "Three Hours Between Planes: Contemporary Photography From Leipzig and Chicago," it makes perfect sense.

By Sally Magallanes

A few years ago I was in a downtown hotel and started speaking with two very interesting young women. They asked me if I knew of Redmoon Theater. Eager to educate me and to have an opportunity to market this unique artistic entity, I listened as they tried to describe what Redmoon was all about. However, many cultures and art forms must be personally experienced, as a verbal description alone cannot do them justice.

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By Rachel Thorne Germond

An interview with Denise Jefferson, Director of the Ailey School, who was recently in Chicago to audition young dancers at the Chicago Academy of the Arts for the Ailey School’s Summer Intensive, Certificate and Independent Study Programs. Following her visit the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will be performing at the Auditorium Theatre April 16-20 (see our video preview).

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By Joe Frey

How is success weighed? In some respects, it is, like ethics, subject to situational relativism; an endeavor deemed successful in one context may be viewed less favorably in another. But some accomplishments are beyond the reproach of subjective judgment, achieving success as definitive as a platonic ideal, as axiomatic as arithmetic. Aesthetics seem to be especially subject to this disquieting paradox, and an interesting object lesson of it now stands in plain view just east of North Michigan Avenue.

By Alicia Eler

James J. Peterson's show, Snooping for a New Lexis of Peace, forces viewers to consider all the recent art shows about war and re-examine them in a new light.

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By Alicia Eler

Saying "Ben Butler works with systems" is somewhat of a generalization, but it's a good, accurate one. Especially with this new body of work, Butler creates systematically, almost methodically, to churn out geometric wooden sculptures. The paintings he makes by the same hand, however, are another story.

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By Bram Ritchie

65GRAND is an alternative gallery located on the third floor of 1378 W. Grand (entrance on Noble) in West Town. Converted to a gallery from a studio, the space presents work from artists in Chicago and all over the United States. Recently featured in Artforum, this interview is from a conversation with 65GRAND gallerist Bill Gross about the beginning of the gallery, its evolution to a serious artistic space, and its place in the Chicago art scene.

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By Eathan Janney

This article began as brief history of free jazz and the avant-garde but my investigations led me to the conclusion that a brief history would be inadequate. I hope instead the reader will be able to move beyond simple facts and dates and develop a sense of the trends and cultural currents to which these terms refer.

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