Web Behrens

The phone rings at 7:58am, and the caller launches into a syntactically sloppy diatribe. "My message is, that why would you use squirrels who are so dirty and make a big deal about squirrels?" she demands. "They're the filthiest animals next to pigeons, and you're -- you're -- you're touting them like they were such cute little things! I mean, what are you people thinking?"

Clearly, people have strong feelings about these tree-dwelling rodents, which is precisely what the folks hoped at the Neo-Futurarium, the Andersonville home of one of Chicago's most inventive artistic companies and the target of those irate ramblings. All summer the company, best known for birthing the legendary "Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind," has been not only producing great theater, but also this year's most entertaining art show, "Squirrels on Parole." Currently confined at the Futurarium, the squirrels will be unleashed August 26, when high bidders at a silent auction will take their favorite squirrel home, thus spreading them throughout the city like Starbucks (minus the malevolence).

An interactive public art project, "Squirrels on Parole" was conceived by Development Director Jeanne Newman, who took her initial inspiration from 1999's citywide bovine display. Variations on the same-canvas-many-artists theme gestated in Newman's fertile head, but she's improved upon "Cows on Parade" by encouraging the public to be more than just spectators. Throughout the summer, the Neo-Futurists have shilled 8-inch-tall, gray-and-white plastic squirrels at ten bucks a pop to all who felt the spirit. A total of 450 have sold; so far, one-third have come back--painted, beaded, sculpted and/or surgically altered (let us now give thanks for the hot glue gun). The artists' muses range from Ryne Sandberg to the Wonder Twins to Andreas Serrano. One particularly marvelous entry places a squirrel in a diorama of the Chicago fire, brandishing a bunch of matches and a can of gasoline as the city burns. Its title: "Mrs. O'Leary's Squirrel, or The Cow Takes the Heat."

"I think people really welcome the opportunity to create art," Newman says. "That's the whole point of our company: that your life is worth creating art about."

"Squirrels on Parole" can be viewed for free at the Neo-Futurarium, 5153 North Ashland, (773)275-5255, through August 26. Admission to the benefit is $20 or -- in traditional Neo-Futurist fashion -- you can gamble with a thirty-sided die; pay what you roll. The evening includes free food, drink and a special edition of "Too Much Light." (2000-08-17)

Also by Web Behrens

WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE
When the savvy folks at Wizard magazine took over the Chicago Comicon four years ago, they expanded its focus: Now the Rosemont Convention Center annually hosts the (self-proclaimed) world's largest multimedia pop-culture gathering.
(2000-08-10)

NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Prior to the free screening of one of the country's most treasured films comes a tribute to Gene Siskel, featuring speeches and a short, sweet video montage spoiled by an excruciating soundtrack.
(2000-08-03)

BLAZING TRAILS
It's not just a parade anymore.
(2000-05-25)

OSCAR LAND
With nine days to go before the Academy Awards, all attention wasn't on Los Angeles or even on pre-Oscar buzz, but on the unassuming facade of the Northwest Chicago firm where Oscar is manufactured and sent out into the world.
(2000-03-23)

OSCAR LAND
(2000-03-23)

about Newcitychicago | about Newcity magazine | advertising | privacy policy | FAQ | employment