Cyclops are nasty creatures. If Homer’s Odyssey is to be believed, the one-eyed monsters consume mostly sheep’s milk, but prefer to munch on humans. When caught, it takes the cunning of Odysseus—not to mention a red-hot sharpened stick to the eye—to escape their clutches. “Performing for Cyclops,” a group exhibition of contemporary video art opening at The Pitch Project Gallery & Artist Studios, 706 S. Fifth St., on July 12, from 5-9 p.m., presents a less violent way of distracting the brutes.
Five internationally exhibited artists present works varying in size, subject and seriousness. On the lighter side, Jonathan Gitelson documents the smoking of his last cigarette while the mood is set with an original banjo score composed by Nils d’Aulaire. Not Now Nor Then, by Kambui Olujimi, uses the missing Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 to ask, “If our perceptions of total connectivity are wrong and the world is not in fact flat, then I ask you, what is on the other side?” “Performing for Cyclops” will be screened until Oct. 12—perhaps to leave time for repeated one-eyed viewings.
Plein Air Event: Wustum Garden Art
Wustum Museum
2519 Northwestern Ave., Racine
“Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,” urges the poet Robert Herrick. Don’t forget to paint them first. You’ll have the opportunity to daub a canvas en plein air in the immaculate gardens of Racine’s Wustum Museum on Saturday, July 12. Register for the morning (9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.) or afternoon (1-4 p.m.) sessions and stick around for the results of the jurying process, which will be announced at the beginning of the artist reception (5-6 p.m.). Children, ages 7-16, are also invited, but must be registered for either the 1-2:30 p.m. or 3-4:30 p.m. sessions.
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“Preservation Forum: The Mary Nohl Artist Environment”
Lubar Auditorium of the Milwaukee Art Museum
700 N. Art Museum Drive
It is estimated that half of American films made before 1950 and more than 90% (!) of films made before 1929 are lost. If your heart sinks at this statistic, I can offer no more compelling argument for the importance of art preservation. Prompted by plans to relocate the Fox Point environment of artist Mary Nohl, a public forum will be held on the theme at MAM on Thursday, July 10, from 7:15-9 p.m. Discussants will include the director of the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, a curator and professor from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, a preservation architect and a local historian.
