Between 1966 and 1979, Martin Koenig ventured into Bulgaria to capture in black-and-white photographs the fast-disappearing traditional rural life of that country. When we look at the subjects of Koenig’s outdoor individual and group portraits, we feel transported back at least a century; there is not a hint of industrial technology, but for two stray bicycles in the corner of one of the prints, and, but for a couple of exceptions, the people have not learned to smile for the camera. That is not to say that Koenig’s Bulgarians are dour; they simply display the rural stoicism laced with contentment or displeasure that is the way of the world until industrial urbanization and consumer culture come into play. (Michael Weinstein)
Through September 28 at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington (312)744-6630.
Home Is Where the Family Is: A Review of Chicago Chiquito at Bridgeport Art Center This small but significant exhibition shows the history of Chicago Chiquito, or little Chicago, the nickname given to La Hacienda, a small town in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico. Its families have migrated north to find work for over one hundred years.
Resisting Marginalization: Jeffrey Gibson Reconsiders the Cultural Representation of Indigenous People "Sweet Bitter Love" is effective at "opening up" the Burbank portraits, in the sense that juxtaposing these portraits to work by a contemporary artist who has Indigenous heritage, whose ancestors persisted through the violence of settler colonialism, pushes us to re/consider these portraits with fresh eyes.
