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A Dirge for Marshall Field's Holiday Displays

From Chicagoland to the Promised Land.

Thursday Dec 08, 2005.     By Joanne Hinkel

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Nothing figures quite as prominently on Chicago's cultural and physical landscape as the Marshall Field's on State Street. In a sadly regressive step away from honoring Chicago's history, next year the famed department store will be renamed "Macy's" following a corporate change of hands. Be sure to admire the grand holiday window displays this year, which have been an artful tradition since 1897, before the New York-retailer assumes the gig. In honor of Field's, Can of Culture names top picks for art experiences that consider "place."

Wendy Cooper Gallery
"The Promised Land"
opening reception 6-9 p.m. Friday
through Jan. 28
We're not talking Winter Wonderland here; we're talking "The Promised Land." While the latter term carries with it religious and political connotations, this group show focuses on the idea of a place that offers "peace, prosperity, health and happiness." The resultant exhibit is a smorgasbord of meditations on the landscape: from a video of German people buried in fields and singing harvest songs (Sabine Linse) to a photograph of a guy about to jump off a diving board into a vast ocean (Tim Barber). The remaining nine artists on display are Dan Attoe, Tim Barber, Chris Dorland, Jin Lee, Sabine Linse, Kim Krans, Shona Macdonald, Nancy Mladenoff and the OODA Group (Shaun Owens-Agase, Tyler Peterson and Kristof Wickman).

John Galt Gallery
"Feed the Artists, Feed the People" Art Auction & Benefit
benefit/auction 6-9 p.m. Friday Never mind the starving artist cliché: There are thousands of people starving in their own homes in Chicagoland. Mark Thomas, owner of the Alley stores in Lakeview, opened this gallery in the same 'hood and made a commitment to Chicago charities to host six openings and six charity wine tastings throughout the year to give back. Friday night's party will feature the work of 18 artists, including photography, collages and paintings, in a silent auction with proceeds to benefit the Lakeview Pantry. In an effort to make the art a bit more affordable, the gallery has made interest-free financing available. This is a win-win situation: Purchase a loved one artwork for the holiday and help to feed some of the thousands of Chicagoland residents whose average monthly income is less than $400.

Museum of Contemporary Art
"Stan Shellabarger"
through Dec. 31
Those boots are made for walking and that's just what Stan Shellabarger is going to do. In a departure from the usual three-dimensional works that fill the 12 X 12 New Artists/New Work Space, the MCA features a performance artist, one known for works that "leave a mark on the landscape," in its monthly exhibit devoted to emerging artists. The show culminates with a performance in the MCA's sculpture garden on Dec. 21; Shellabarger, wearing sandpaper-covered soled boots, will pace from sunrise to sunset (more than eight hours of continuous walking) until a colorful pathway in the figure of an "X" will have eroded. The inside exhibition includes photographs that document Shellabarger's past performances and artist books that detail his very existence with fingernail clippings, pieces of hair, butter wrappers and more. The artist leads a tour of his exhibit this Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.

Muse Cafe
through Jan. 4
One thing is a constant in the Chicago landscape of restaurants, cafes and shops: change. Often this change is for the better, as with the newly opened Muse Cafe, a coffeeshop-meets-fine arts gallery in River West that was formerly known as Bon Appetit Cafe. Paintings by the current resident artist Miro Ledajaks enliven the red walls in this mini-gallery. As eye-opening and reinvigorating as a shot from the espresso bar, vivid blues, yellows and reds swirl in abstracted impressions of the city, nature and memory. A self-taught artist, Ledajaks paints as though he were from the Caribbean, not Prague. With a blank pad and colored pencils at each of the cafe's tables, you can be the artist yourself at this inspiring hang-out.