Robert Gober - Untitled

Sometimes, art is just weird. Robert Gober’s untitled work at the Art Institute of Chicago is a prime example. In the contemporary art portion of the museum, viewers will have a chance to walk through a room entirely dedicated to this work of “art.” Upon entering the room, viewers will be surrounded by some of the strangest art that has ever been created by man. A wallpaper featuring two repeated 4”x4” pictures, one of a white woman sleeping, and one of a black man being lynched, covers all four walls from floor to ceiling. At the center of the room there is an empty wedding dress held up by a sculpture of wires, and at the base of the walls the viewer will find several bags of cat litter. Unless you are mentally unstable enough to decode this one on your own, there is also a description on the exit wall written by Gober. According to Gober, the wallpaper represents the “ugly and unforgettable reality of the United States’ history.” Understandable. The wedding dress represents “the supposed white purity that often triggered or justified the violence depicted on the walls.” This is also understandable. The strangeness starts to kick in as Gober describes the bags of cat litter as “sculptures.” Anyone who views a bag of cat litter as a sculpture must have some screws loose somewhere. The rationale behind the litter is that it “absorbs the stench of excrement (the wallpaper) and it allows for domestic intimacy (think diapers).” Some might call this “art,” but a better home for this piece would probably be in a dumpster out back.

Nicolas Poussin - Landscape with Saint John on Patmos

While navigating the maze of galleries that make up the European painting and sculpture portion of The Art Institute of Chicago, viewers will become immersed in a vast collection of biblical scenes and portraiture of royal figures from centuries of European talent. One painting that is sure to stand out is “Landscape with Saint John on Patmos” by seventeenth century French painter Nicolas Poussin. This was a very influential painting for its time as it is one of the first paintings in the history of art that features landscape with the intent of depicting its natural beauty. The painting’s overall content features ruins of roman architecture in a beautiful landscape of green trees and lush rolling hills set on the banks of a clear blue river. Saint John’s image is depicted in the foreground in a relaxed position as he peacefully studies from a scroll juxtaposed alongside a dark brown bird that appears to be his companion. The painting is peaceful and serene and contains no suggestion of movement or conflict within either the landscape or Saint John’s figure. Its strong influence on the art world could be credited to that very simplicity and serenity. It is easy for the common viewer to relate with, as it does not incorporate any of the heavy religious symbolism or deep coding common to that time period. Overall, it is the beginning of a new era in art which does not require an art scholar to understand, it is simply painted as an appreciation of the beauty of the natural world.

Jason Burhmester's "Black Dogs"

“The possibly true story of classic rock’s greatest robbery.”
In July of 1973, one of the greatest robberies in the history of rock ‘n’ roll took place as $203,000 went missing from Led Zeppelin’s safe deposit box at the Drake Hotel in New York City following a series of three sold out shows at Madison Square Garden. Jason Burhmester’s Black Dogs offers us a fictional take on what may have gone down on that famous night. The story follows a group of four deadbeat teens from Baltimore, Maryland including the main character, Patrick Sullivan, and his gang of criminal friends, Keith, Frenchy, and Alex as they plan and carry out this famous heist.

Patrick, who had recently left his life of crime behind to move to New York City to work as a caterer, becomes the ring leader of the operation after he learns that Led Zeppelin is paid in cash following each of their shows. Being an avid hater of the band, stealing that cash seems like the perfect idea to resurrect him in the eyes of his friends who he had left behind after their most recent failed robbery attempt landed Alex in jail. As soon as Alex’s uncle Danny gets involved in the matter however, things start to get a lot more complicated for the crew. While robbing the local pawnshop of their prized ’58 Les Paul, Danny decides it would be a good idea to steal a safe out of the back room. As it turns out, the safe is a very important possession to the owner of the pawn shop who is also the leader of a notorious local biker gang. Conflict quickly erupts following the theft of the safe as the owner, Backwoods Billy, tracks down the boys and demands that it be promptly returned to his possession. What would seem like a simple choice to just return the safe becomes more and more complicated though as the local district attorney learns of its theft and shows a strong interest in retrieving its contents. As the day of the heist approaches, the boys continue along with their plan despite the extreme conflict surrounding them, but just as in their other heists, nothing ever goes according to plan.

The writing style used in Black Dogs is a very simple, laid back, and easy to read tone and the dialogue between characters is what most people would expect from a group of teenagers with its frequent use of profane language, violence, and sexual content. Overall the book is a quick and easy read at only 250 pages, and the constant action from page 1 will keep readers locked in until the conclusion. Burhmester’s premier novel will not likely be taking home any literary prizes, but it will serve as great entertainment for a weekend on the beach or for any Led Zeppelin fan who wants to put a story behind the heist that occurred on that famous night in 1973.

Shutter Island

Shutter Island is the story of two U.S. Marshalls (Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo) who are sent to a psychiatric institute to investigate the case of a missing mental patient. The film begins with a very intense and unsettling soundtrack as the two main characters arrive on the island to begin their investigation of the missing patient, Rachel Solando, who is reported to be the murderer of her own children. The investigation begins with a search of the island which turns up nothing more than a small note found in Rachel’s room that says “The law of four, who is 67?” There are 66 patients on the island, and the question is, who is the 67th? The next step of the investigation involves the questioning of some of the patients on the island. After questioning a few patients, Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, Teddy Daniels, begins to wonder if there are mental experiments being performed on this island. Soon after, he has a dream of his past. In the dream he is a World War 2 soldier involved in the raid of a concentration camp. At this point Daniels thinks he has uncovered a conspiracy and begins to search the island to find out what exactly is going on there. He begins discussing the conspiracy with his partner and relates the possible mental experimentation on the island to what was happening in Nazi concentration camps during World War 2.
The next day, as he resumes his search of the missing Rachel Solando, he also begins to investigate the conspiracy. Just as he begins to scratch the surface of the conspiracy though, Rachel is found. The plot line continues to twist as Daniels continues to have dreams of his dead wife and his experiences in the war. Soon thereafter, a storm overtakes the island and all of the patients are released as the electronic door locks fail. Daniels sees this as a perfect opportunity to continue his investigation of the conspiracy since he is now able to wander the island without being deterred and misled by the institutional workers. At this point he decides to go to ward C, which is where all of the most dangerous patients on the island are housed. Just after entering the facility, he runs across one of the guards who has been showing him around the island. Strangely, the guard allows him to continue wandering around the restricted access ward. While inside the ward, he comes across a man who he apparently knows and begins to question why he is there. Once again, Daniels has visions of his wife, but this time she is inside the cell with the man. Daniels is now determined more than ever to uncover the conspiracy so that he can get his friend off the island. The last place to be checked on the island is a lighthouse just off the coast which Daniels decides to investigate by himself. Upon reaching the top he finds all of the answers he has been looking for and Daniels uncovers the truth. He is actually the 67th patient, and the conspiracy was all a fabrication of his mind.