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Hi.

My name is Gary Zidek. Welcome to The Arts Section. Tune into the radio program every Sunday morning on WDCB 90.9 & 90.7 FM or listen to it online here. I'll be showcasing a variety of arts & entertainment stories.

Never a Lovely So Real: Glimpses of a Beautiful, Brutal City

Never a Lovely So Real: Glimpses of a Beautiful, Brutal City

WDCB's Gary Zidek visits the Art Institute's new photo exhibit, NEVER A LOVELY SO REAL: PHOTOGRAPHY AND FILM IN CHICAGO, 1950-1980.

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WDCB's Gary Zidek tours the Art Institute's new photo exhibit, NEVER A LOVELY SO REAL.

"It's a passage that I think speaks to the character of the city, what makes it so wonderful, but also what makes it so brutal. And I think what you see in this exhibition, with this constellation of projects is exactly this kind of character with all of its contradictions" - Michal Raz-Russo,  David C. and Sarajean Ruttenberg Associate Curator of Photography at the Art Institute of Chicago talking about the exhibit's title, which is taken from Nelson Algren's CHICAGO: CITY ON THE MAKE.

Yet once you’ve come to be part of this particular patch, you’ll never love another. Like loving a woman with a broken nose, you may well find lovelier lovelies. But never a lovely so real.
— Nelson Algren
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Over 160 vintage photographs and 12 films are on display in NEVER A LOVELY SO REAL.  

Valeria “Mikki” Ferrill. Untitled from The Garage, 1972. Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Valeria “Mikki” Ferrill. Untitled from The Garage, 1972. Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Photos of a Chicago not often seen by people outside of certain communities are on display in NEVER A LOVELY SO REAL.

Danny Lyon. Uptown, Chicago, 1965. The Art Institute of Chicago. Gift of Mr. Danny Lyon. © Danny Lyon / Magnum Photos, courtesy Gavin Brown’s Enterprise.

Danny Lyon. Uptown, Chicago, 1965. The Art Institute of Chicago. Gift of Mr. Danny Lyon. © Danny Lyon / Magnum Photos, courtesy Gavin Brown’s Enterprise.

Bob Crawford, Untitled (Fred Hampton) 1960/69

Bob Crawford, Untitled (Fred Hampton) 1960/69

Images from NEVER A LOVELY SO REAL

Images from NEVER A LOVELY SO REAL

Film screening within NEVER A LOVELY SO REAL

Film screening within NEVER A LOVELY SO REAL

Images of Sun Ra and murals captured by Alton Abraham and Aye Aton on display in NEVER A LOVELY SO REAL

Images of Sun Ra and murals captured by Alton Abraham and Aye Aton on display in NEVER A LOVELY SO REAL

NEVER A LOVELY SO REAL: PHOTOGRAPHY AND FILM IN CHICAGO, 1950-1980. is part of the year-long Terra Foundation initiative ART DESIGN CHICAGO.  The exhibit will be on display at the Art Institute through October 28.

NEVER A LOVELY SO REAL courtesy of the Art Institute.

NEVER A LOVELY SO REAL courtesy of the Art Institute.

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