If anyone was ever in doubt that Chicago has been a world center of photographic creativity for scores of years, their misgivings will be dispelled by the lavish display of images in this generous selection from the famous Bank of America LaSalle collection. Covering the period from 1930 to the present, the show is most of all a history of the generations of masters (Walker Evans, Harry Callahan, Barbara Crane and Brian Ulrich, to name just a few) who have practiced their art in our sweet home through the modern, modernist and postmodern eras in every conceivable genre, always innovating and never simply following the fashions of the day. With more than sixty artists represented and more than a hundred images on view, the show regrettably has no center and no theme, and it lacks sufficient wall text to provide meaningful context, forcing a focus on the individual images, which are unfailingly powerful. To get your bearings, find Jason Lazarus’ color shot of a wall in a Cabrini Green apartment on which a poem has been scrawled: “I’m leaving my love here and taking it also to my new home.” We might all say that, even if we have not literally been evicted. (Michael Weinstein)
Through January 4 at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington, (312)744-6630
Fleeing Desperation: A Review of Ada Trillo at Chicago Center for Photojournalism In this heartbreaking yet visually beautiful exhibition, Ada Trillo implicates herself within her subjects to shine a light on both the hope and the hopelessness of their lives. If you are not moved by these images, surely your heart is made of stone.
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.
The Roots of Pride: A Review of Jerry Pritikin at The Chicago Center for Photojournalism The show “When Then Was Now” gives a glimpse of early LGBTQ+ life in San Francisco—Harvey Milk became mayor and gay activism was gaining momentum. Pritikin, a legend of reportage, takes us back to a time before AIDS reared its ugly head and shows us how the movement looked all those decades ago.
