Eric Futran, primarily known for his opulent food photographs, will be taking a walk on the wild side with a collection of humorous shots compiled for a special Couloir Bleu exhibition during April and May.   Eric is also a musician and will play with his band, the Noshers, at a fun Opening, Friday, April 6th   All are welcome to come for music and to meet the artist.
   Perhaps there's no better way to describe the show than by the following Artist's Statement:


               Eric Futran/ 40 years Searching for the Punch Line
 
     In the 40+ years I’ve made a living as a photographer, I’ve always beenon the lookout for odd or amusing images. Some of these photos were assigned by publications (for the early Reader, or Hyde Parker, for example). But most were just magic grab shots, taken in the moment when God is gracious enough to provide you with a visual pun or wisecrack.
     Mostly, they’ve all been sitting in hard drives or print cabinets for years.I’ve gathered them together into an odd sort of juxtaposition. These pictures were captured both locally and internationally. I’ve also chosen a wide variety of pictures: black and white, color, large prints and small. Children, adults, animals (as you can see, I really dig pigs).
     I know that while most of these pix are fairly amusing, I have included several ‘quieter’ images. “Why “, you might say, “did you provide us with actual ‘serious’ pictures?” And the answer is, ”because I like them!”
     So there!
     I certainly spared no expense in mounting the show. The frames were gathered from some of Chicago’s finest (and not so fine) resale shops.  Anyway, I hope you like the result. It was fun putting it together.
 


To contact Eric and see more of his work (including more pigs!), go to www.chefshots.com.   For videos with some of Eric's music, try www.kidknish1.com.   Fun stuff.

      At 7 PM, SATURDAY MARCH 17th, Wishbone will again be hosting the acclaimed duo, JAMIE O'REILLY and MICHAEL SMITH, for a celebration of Irish traditional song--through the lens of a bygone (and more innocent) childhood in America with the Church.
      Subtitled "The Age of Reason," the evening's musical journey is aimed to "bring us to our lives; to cherish what is simple; know what is lost; heal what is hurt.   And to remember the best of times..." 
    If you've never heard them, you're in for a heartfelt, liberating personal  portrait of  Catholic America of the 40s, 50s, and 60s with traditional songs punctuated by quirky tales and school day lore that will bring out memories of a shared past.   O'Reilly and Smith are well known performers on the Chicago scene and have recorded (and interpreted) many of the great songs associated with St. Patrick.
       Tickets are $20 in advance through Jamie's weblog (using PayPal) at
http://www.jamieoreilly.com/317-smith-oreilly-wishbone/ You may also phone or text (773) 203-7661.   
       A ticket purchase will reserve seating in the main dining room where you may order separately St. Paddy specials of food and drink--prepared by Wishbone, of course!
       Why not make St. Paddy's something meaningful and a charming introduction to Irish culture . . . ?  This is for kids of all ages . . .

     The current exhibition in the Couloir Bleu features works by Beatriz Ledesma and Jon Randolph--complimentary visions of life to the South of us, both in dream and quotidian life.   The "official" OPENING
to greet the artists will be MARCH 10TH from 6 to 9 PM with some refreshment provided by Wishbone.

BEATRIZ LEDESMA
 
      Beatriz Ledesma identifies herself as an immigrant from Buenos Aires.  Her paintings are primarily oil on canvas with bold, vibrant colors as an expression of her Latin American roots and a strong, archetypal emotional content.  
     The images are figurative but set in dreamlike compositions to suggest a timeless internal world constantly responding to personal history and surroundings.  
Ledesma intends for the viewer to be transported into a space of self reflection and insight about memorable and incongruous aspects of life.
      You can see more of her work at www.beatrizledesmastudio.com
 
JON RANDOLPH
 
            For twelve years, Jon Randolph worked as staff photographer for Channel 11—PBS Chicago— shooting their shows (Soundstage, Book Beat, Sneak Previews, etc.). and sharpening his skills as documentary photographer.   Among his awards, he received a New York Art Directors award for an opening photographic essay on Cook County Jail and an Emmy nomination for slide/wild sound essays for Gene Sickle’s show Nightwatch.  In 2012, the post office issued a commemorative stamp for  Gwendolyn Brooks based on one of Randolph’s photos.
            Jon continues to free-lance editorial and location photos and his work has appeared regularly in the Chicago Reader, Chicago Enterprise magazine, Illinois Issues, Down Beat, Rolling Stone and others.
            In pairing with Ledesma’s colorful  and almost shamanist paintings, Jon decided to present works from his travels to Guatemala chronicling day-to-day life.  
You can see more of his work and contact him through: jonrandolph.com

Live Music, special Menu featuring Cajun, Creole and Southern Dishes, feathers, masks and French Quarter cocktails like the famous HURRICANE.

WE'RE OPEN THIS TUESDAY, FEB 13TH and THERE'S NO COVER or obligation other than having fun!  The CAJUN VAGABOND TRIO will be stirring things up between 6 and 8:30 PM and we can set up party tables or more intimate arrangements as you like.

In addition to Mardi Gras sample platters, you'll be able to order Salmon Papillot (cooked in parchment), Jambalaya, Gumbo, Crawfish Etoufee, Blackened Catfish and Shrimp Dishes to take your breath away.  Lucy has even baked some King Cakes  where you can win a drink if your slice has a hidden baby.

Why celebrate Valentine's Day with ashes?  We'll have Abita Purple Haze on tap along with Abita Root Beer and other drinks for the occasion.

Reservations by calling are recommended.  (773) 549-2663.

     Start the New Year with a civilized Musical Night (no cover!) and a "morning after" Breakfast with Blackeyed Peas for good fortune.
     It will be a full moon so you know you'll want to go out . . . At Wishbone the Roy McGrath Trio will be playing swing, funk and 2nd line New Orleans jazz starting at 6 PM.   Our chef will have SPECIALS including Salmon Papillot and Roast Ribeye (in addition to our regular menu) and PRIX FIXE DINNERS FOR TWO for the extended banquet from appetizers to dessert.
      Champagne and special cocktails will flow . . . and we pop the cork to herald 2018 at midnight (Buenos Aires time) or 9 PM here in arctic Chicago.  So you have time to get home , make resolutions or pull out your Tarot deck for meditation.
     For New Year's BRUNCH, we'll be serving the traditional Blackeyed Peas for Good Fortune along with our regular Brunch Menu, some specials and $15 Bottomless Mimosas.  We take reservations for 8 or more and serve from 9 AM to 4 PM . . . No dinner that night.

           Esperanza Gama was born and educated in Guadalajara, Mexico where she received her BFA from the School of Fine Arts at the University.  She then moved to Paris to study printmaking at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and later, Chinese painting at the Gakukai Sumie Center in Tokyo—influences readily seen in her mixed media pieces in the current exhibition.
          In 2005 her work was featured in Poetas y Pintores, a traveling exhibition of contemporary Latino art and poetry. In 2006, she became the first Latina to exhibit at the Union League Club Gallery of Chicago with a series entitled Los Magicos.  That same year she created an installation at the Snite Museum of Art at the University of Notre Dame for a national conference on Catholicism:  Guadalupe, Madre de America: Narrative, Image and Devotion.  
           From this, her fascination with iconography led to the life and work of Frida Kahlo and a piece she created for a special exhibition in Mexico City honoring the 100th anniversary of the artist’s birth.   A related interest in the icons connected with el Dia de los Muertos/Day of the Dead led to a Sor Juana project exhibited in 2008 at the University of St. Thomas in Houston.
            Gama’s work has since been featured in solo and group shows in Europe, Mexico and around the United States, earning grants, acquisition for permanent collections and numerous awards.  From mural restoration to childrens’ book illustrations, Gama’s palette of colors is inspired by both the innocence and darkness exemplified in her series on Frida Kahlo.   The recent Op-Ed piece by Salma Hayek on the “monster” in her own screen homage to Frida (mental abuse and sexual harassment), underscores the complexity and contradictions in approaching this Mexican artist and the barriers that still remain in appreciating her life and work (that in many ways are inseparable.)
            The present exhibition at Wishbone has prints, mixed media works with hand printed re-creations of pre-Columbian designs . . .and original paintings.  It is a kaleidoscope view of Frida . . . and of Esperanza Gama’s own dreamlike world.
            The OPENING RECEPTION is Thursday, December 21st from 6 to 9 PM and a very fitting celebration of the Winter Solstice.   Please come by to meet the artist and certainly take an extended look at the Couloir Bleu show that will be up through the month of January. 
Enjoy!  LINK TO A YouTube video created by ESPERANZA:  right here!

We won't tell.  And with Wishbone it will be "home cooked" the long way--without processing, chemistry and from scratch.   From sliced SMOKED BRISKET to whole  BUTTERMILK PIE, we have trays of food for pick-up as late as 4 PM Christmas Eve.   1/4 and 1/2 pans make for a guaranteed balm for stress.  Call early to place your order!

     After a vigorous campaign to guess the weight of our  pumpkin, "Bruce," the orange giant was weighed Halloween night and the fishbowl picked through to find the closest guesses from a total of 237 submissions.   The three closest guesses will be getting emails notifying them that they have won either a Dinner or Brunch for Two.   This year the majority of guesses were much on the low side (the Age of Trumpery) perhaps suspecting "Bruce" was dessicated or hollowed out . . . but the range was from 38 lbs to 890 lbs.

     Congratulations to the Winners:  Sarah Bush, B. Tanner (the closest) and Jackson Smith.   Thank all of you for joining in the fun.   . . . including Blanca.

    A new photo exhibit now graces the Couloir Bleu gallery at Wishbone featuring stunning works by DAPHNE WALSH.  The reception for the artist is this Friday from 6 to 9 PM and the show will continue through the end of November.
     Autumn in Chicago is a time when melancholic memories catch us with the slanting sun, the return of boots and twilight settling over the broken asphalt.  Daphne's photos are little jewel boxes of urban nostalgia from grainy black and white exteriors to quirky flashes of summer over the neighbors' hedge.  
     One part of the collection she calls the "Water Damage" series from droplets spattering the lens to strange liquid smeltings of faces and bodies submerged. . . . These are photos that evoke emotions, that pull you through time and the kaleidoscope of memory and what better time for a journey than now . . .?
     Daphne offers no commentary or artist statement.  The photos are left to speak for themselves, so linger a bit to savor the rich perfumes of these "fleurs du mal" of Chicago.  For more information about her works, check out the curated blog by Kay Whitfield that features more of the photos you'll see.  http://www.classicchicagomagazine.com/daphne-walsh-a-self-proclaimed-secret-photographer-of-chicago/
     For the discerning, I should also mention that Daphne has priced her framed jewels very reasonably and can be contacted through her site:  DAPHNEWALSH.COM

Steve James of HOOP DREAMS, The INTERRUPTERS, and STEVIE fame, has made another gem of a documentary that brings out some of the best (and, to a lesser extent, worst) faces of the human condition.   Many know a little about the story of the only American bank indicted for criminal fraud after the great  meltdown of 2006.   The rough outline is that a Savings and Loan owned by the Sung family in New York's Chinatown was  selected by NY Attorney General Cyrus Vance, Jr. (yes,--the son of that Cyrus Vance) to be an example of how the system can hold banksters accountable.    But ABACUS (the name of the bank) is not the story you think you've watched a dozen or more times about rogue Wall Streeters, mathematicians and con men.  Matt Taibbi does put in an appearance; there is a trial; there is a run on the bank; there are crooks . . . but that's NOT why you should see it.  
Beyond the suspense and heroes and villains, the film evokes sympathy for our own, man-made disasters, for a different segment  of our immigrant mix and winds up flipping what we think we know about victimless crime.  More to the point, there is a lesson here for all Americans in what it means to save face; to rely on family and to find our better angels.  James focuses once again on the flesh and blood stories  that dangle far below the headlines   To say more is to be a spoiler.  See it because it is RESTORATIVE!  There's a glimmer of hope that shines through the darkness . . . and, wonder of wonders, some really likeable people. 

Kudos to Steve James, to our producing friends at Kartemquin Films and to PBS and Frontline for airing something special that everyone should see.