Michael Workman

Even if you've never heard of The Roof, you're not likely to be surprised to find out that it's exactly what it sounds like: an art space on the roof of an apartment building. To get to the roof, you have to pass through the apartment of artists Siebren Veerstag and Amanda Ross-Ho. More a laboratory or project than any attempt at a committed exhibition space, The Roof invites artists to take advantage of the space by constructing billboards, which are occasionally presented alongside video and other works made by the artists' friends and colleagues. Half the fun of attending a show at The Roof is the intense feeling that you're crashing a party at which you may not know one single other person in attendance. That seems to work somehow to enhance the experience, giving viewers a chance to focus on the art while casually observing the social interaction. If you're too shy or disorganized to actually even schedule a visit, no problem. As The Roof's materials proudly boast, with billboards situated on the east side of the building, they are clearly "visible both from the street (Halsted) and the Green Line elevated train."

This week, The Roof presents "While walking around, we noticed 13 places and things worth seeing," six billboards with directions, booklet and video by Marc Fischer and Melinda Fries.

Enjoy the scenery

The outdoorsy theme continues with idea-based curatorial collaborative The Pond's opening this Friday of "The Impotent Landscape." Artists themselves, Pond members Jeff Ward, Howard Fonda, Peter Fagundo and David Coyle view their curatorial work "as an integral outgrowth of each member's solo studio practice." For this exhibition, however, Pond members have decided to merely host the show at their Wicker Park neighborhood space. Citing a resurgent interest in the use of landscape, this show seeks to examine the art-historical drubbing the genre has taken. Guest curated by Middlemanagement, a Canadian-founded/Chicago-based curatorial team made up of members Duncan MacKenzie and Shannon Stratton (whose works also appear in the show), a range of mediums are used to explore the subject. Drawings, paintings, video and more will make use of landscape to investigate "imagination, authenticity and the Real." The show features emerging artists from Britain, American and Canada, such as Montreal-based Christian Kuras and Victoria-based multimedia artist Luanne Martineau.

Camping out

Western Exhibitions--a self-described "portable gallery"--has opened in Bridgeport to exhibit works by Iowa-based artist Dan Attoe. Attoe's paintings, some of which are reportedly produced daily, are informed by his interest in "nature and camping, beasts large and small, punk rock, teen angst and a particular Midwestern sensibility." Depicting landscapes populated with figures that curator Scott Speh evaluates as self-portraiture, Attoe describes his environmentally responsive approach to painting as his way to affect patrons in a way similar to rock songs. Also on exhibit will be Attoe's hand-sewn tents, which he sees as "the most logical three-dimensional" extension of the naturalist thematic elements in his painting. The tents are embroidered with "revelatory and meditative phrases" and designed with unusual window-placements that presumably allow guests to effectively remain hidden while inside them. While recognizing the tents as sculpture, Attoe also uses them to actually camp out in.

Dueling DJs

When former Chicago-based artist Meg Duguid (she's recently left town to attend school at Bard) first put on her Silent Dance Party for the Museum of Contemporary Art's Summer Solstice, it was an immediate hit. Known for staging such punctual (and outright fun) performance actions as her "purse fight" in front of Prada and at other stores, her "food fights" and "spontaneous laughter" projects (including one aboard a morbidly silent El during the rush-hour commute), Meg's creative audacity is a marvel. Her most recent project was no slouch, either.

Picture a crowd of enthusiastic dance-partiers getting the lead out in a completely silent room, except for the swish of clothes and shoes tapping the floor. Only attendees graced with a pair of wireless headphones are privileged enough to actually hear the music being transmitted by the DJ. Meg-style dance parties are hard to come by, but if you happen to be a member of the MCA and missed the original performance, you're in luck. Stop in for the members-only opening of the Thomas Struth exhibit in a few weeks for a ramped-up version, this time featuring a dueling DJs component. With D-Jaded and Carl Warnick on the tables, the silence is likely to be louder than ever.

"While walking around, we noticed 13 places and things worth seeing" opens June 14 at 8pm at The Roof, 813 West Lake Street, through end of July. "The Impotent Landscape," group show at The Pond, 1152A N Milwaukee, (773)368-8484, through July 6. Dan Attoe shows at Western Exhibitions, 3012 South Archer, through July 5. Meg Dugid's "Dueling DJs" takes place at the Opening Night Party for the Thomas Struth exhibition on June 27 at 8pm at the Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 East Chicago, (312)280-2660.

(2003-06-11)

Also by Michael Workman

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Encountering The Renaissance Society space at the University of Chicago for the first time, we are told by the catalog copy that Brussels-based artist Joëlle Tuerlinckx (pronounced TUR-lynx) was struck by the context of the Society space.
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With a strong historical precedent like the much-lauded Hairy Who in the 1960s, art collectives are highly accepted and widely recognized in the city.
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Sex in Public
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