Amy Sarkisian | Morbid Curiosity + Eslov Wide Shut

Morbid Curiosity: The Richard Harris Collection at the Chicago Cultural Center January 28 - July 8, 2012
Morbid Curiosity showcases collector Richard Harris’ nearly 1,000 works, including creations by many of the greatest artists of our time, which explore the iconography of death across a variety of artistic, cultural and spiritual practices from 2000 B.C.E. to the present day.

The two major components of this exhibition are the “War Room,” highlighting the atrocities of war in notable works from the 17th century to present day in the 4th floor Exhibit Hall; and the “Kunstkammer of Death,” a modern-day “cabinet of curiosities” housed in the Sidney R. Yates Gallery, featuring a wide-ranging survey of mortality across cultures and spiritual traditions.

The centerpiece of the “War Room” is Mr. Harris’ collection of five great war series featuring prints by Jacques Callot, Francisco Goya, Otto Dix, the Chapman Brothers and Sandow Birk, which he has acquired over the past 30 years. This exhibition marks the first time that all five series will be exhibited together in their entirety.

Related Events:

Friday, January 27 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. - Opening Reception


Saturday, January 28 at 3 p.m. - Gallery Talk with British artist Jodie Carey and Guerra de la Paz artists

Sunday, January 29 at 3 p.m. - Gallery Talk with collector Richard Harris

Friday, February 3, 12:15 p.m - University of Chicago First Friday Lecture
Plato the Poet: Socratic Visions of Afterlife
Claudia Cassidy Theater
Katia Mitova, Instructor, Basic Program, University of Chicago discusses the elaborate myths of the afterlife in Plato’s dialogues Gorgias (523a – 537e), Republic (614b – 621b) and Phaedo (110b – 114e), and the relationship between morality and poetic imagination.

January 13 – March 7 - Forever 27: Music Superstars Gone to an Early Grave
As a companion to the exhibition, Project Onward presents a new exhibition in the Garland corridor of the Chicago Cultural Center. The exhibit will feature portraits of musicians who have died at age 27 such as Jim Morrison, Amy Winehouse, Janis Joplin and Kurt Cobain, among others.