Chicago Critical Mass Art Show

The 8th Annual Critical Mass Art Show opens today from 6-11 pm at HighSchool (1542 N. Milwaukee, 3rd floor). The show features bike-themed art, anti-car art, and art about public transportation. The opening is a potluck, so bring food to share and meet some of Chicago's coolest cyclists while taking in all kinds of interesting art.

Red Line Lake El stop temporary closure

Attention Red Line riders! Starting tonight, the Lake stop will be closed on weeknights (9:00 PM to 5:00 AM) and all day on the weekends. The closure will be in effect until late summer, due to construction being done on the station. See the CTA site for details.

Around the Coyote Winter Arts Festival

This weekend marks the Around the Coyote Winter Arts Festival, with visual art, theater, performances and film screenings taking place Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights in Wicker Park and Bucktown. Visual art can be viewed Friday 6-10pm, Saturday 11-10pm and Sunday 11-6pm. There will be exhibitions and performances by more than 100 visual artists exhibiting a diverse collection of photography, paintings, sculpture and mixed-media works in the Flat Iron Arts Building at 1579 N. Milwaukee. The ATC Winter Theatre Festival provides a venue to examine the unique collaboration between playwright and director. This festival features several short, raw plays--each of which has been born out of artistic partnerships between local playwrights and emerging directors. The ATC Short Film & Video will be held at Rodan, 1530 N. Milwaukee, on Friday and Sunday. They'll have some of the moviemakers at the screening both nights to field your comments and question. There will also be voting for the winter winner of the Audience Choice Award. We will show two sets each night, one nice and the other "naughty".

"Shot Through the Heart" Art Show

I'm not sure putting what we got about this one into sentence form would do it any justice, so here's the info we received:

an evening of Love and Pain featuring:
CRUSHIN'
a crush reunion & international art show curated by rebecca grady
after party with performances by:
HANDSTRING HEARTJOB
THE JEALOUSY
BRRRN
and special events:
LOVERS and FIGHTERS PRIZE BOXING
MULTIMEDIA KISSING BOOTH & CONFESSIONAL
ZINE SALE, VALENTINE & TELEGRAM DELIVERY
djs:
CASTRATION DJ, JOHNNY LOVE & SURRA THE HUN

*_Diamonds on Archer (1st floor)_
3012 S. Archer Ave.,
Chicago, IL 60608*
(on Archer between Lock St. and Broad St.)

*_To get there:_*_ _
*by train:* take the orange line to ashland, walk two blocks northeast along archer ave.
*by bus:* take the #9/ashland bus or #62/archer bus to lock st.
*by highway:* I55 - exit at Damen, head south on Damen, left on 33rd, left on Archer and continue to Lock St. I90/94 - exit at 18th, head west on 18th, left at Halsted, right on Archer

Nudes @ 4Art Gallery

4Art Gallery invites you to attend the opening reception of "Nude," an exhibition of all nude artwork, in many different styles and media. The human form will be portrayed through the sculptures, paintings, drawings, digital art, and video of more than a dozen Chicago artists. The opening reception is tonight from 6 pm to 10 pm. Featured Artists:  M.R. Shebesta, Vince Chiaramonte, Jerod Schmidt, Susan Clinard, Nefty Centeno, Ned Broderick, E.K. Buckley, Phil Onofrio, Melanie Lieb, Clara Batton Smith, Zsofia Otvos, Andy Barker. The show runs through March 3, 2005. While you are there, explore the rest of the Chicago Arts District. There will be more than a dozen galleries and studios open this Second Friday, all within walking distance of each other. The 4 Art Gallery is located at 1932 South Halsted, Unit 100. Regular gallery hours are Tuesday–Saturday, 10 am–6 pm. For more information about the gallery or its services, please contact Jerod Schmidt or Robin Rios at 312.850.1816. 

The Dr. Wolfram & Zordak Show Opens

Everyone needs love, even diabolical supra-geniuses and unholy demon princesses. But relationships are tricky, even if you're perfect for each other. Just because you're both interested in the same things (bullying subordinates, panda enslavement, world domination) doesn't mean that you won't have your problems. And that those problems won't be hilarious! The Dr. Wolfram and Zordak Show is a romantic comedy about the trials and tribulations of love viewed from the dark side. Because even super-villains can be brokenhearted. This show has it all - video, music, and a giant panda! The Dr. Wolfram and Zordak Show runs Friday nights, February 11 - March 4, at 9pm at Donny's Skybox Theater, 1608 N. Wells, 4th Floor Piper's Alley. It is presented by ChicagoImprovAnarchy.

Idol Rock Revue @ Empty Bottle

In honor of PISTIL’s forthcoming Idol issue(due in mid-March), the magazine will host The Idol Rock Revue at the Empty Bottle (1035 N. Western Ave.) on Friday, February 11. The show will feature the music of Comasoft, The Grackles, The Manaconda, Vee Dee and M.O.T.O. Attendees are asked to dress up as their idol, and PISTIL will be rewarding the top idol costumes. The party starts at 9:00 p.m. and has an $8.00 cover. All proceeds benefit PISTIL Magazine.

V-Day Special TMLMTBGB

This weekend: Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind Valentine's Edition: 30 Loving Plays in 60 Passionate Minutes. Written and performed by The Neo-Futurists. Patrons are encouraged (but not required) to dress in costume, for which they may be rewarded with candy. Friday and Saturday, February 11 and 12 at 11:30 pm (doors open 11 pm) and Sunday, February 13 at 7:00 pm (doors open at 6:30 pm). Tickets are $7 plus the roll of a six-sided die (i.e. $8 - $13). Performances take place at the Neo-Futurarium, 5153 N. Ashland (at Foster). Free and metered street parking spaces are available. No reservations are accepted. For more information, call the Neo-Futurists Hotline at 773-275-5255.

Chicago Auto Show @ McCormick Place

The 2005 Chicago Auto Show opens to the public today, and runs through Sunday, February 20. The nation's largest auto show includes numerous auto-related exhibits, competition vehicles, antique and collector cars, and some sneak previews of various auto makers' upcoming models. The show happens at McCormick Place; see the auto show Website for complete details.