Friday 1/10 – Thursday 1/16
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11 SATURDAY Rabbits are social animals that make great pets–as long as owners know what to expect. According to the experts, they should be spayed or neutered, can be trained to use a litter box, need plenty of chew toys, and should have the run of at least part of a bunny-proofed home. The animals are the first topic of discussion in the society’s new Critter Care series, which starts today with a lecture by a representative from the Red Door Animal Shelter, a Chicago group that takes in many of the rabbits that wind up at the Anti-Cruelty Society. It’s from 1 to 2:30 at the ACS’s Education and Training Center, 169 W. Grand. It’s free, but registration is required; call 312-644-8338, ext. 344, or E-mail tbouschor@anticruelty.org. Coming lectures will cover ferrets (January 18) and other small pets.
12 SUNDAY The second installment in Michael Cook’s four-part project Veneer is intended to explore questions of memory, the past, and transfiguration. “It’s a funerary room,” says the Albuquerque-based artist (and former Chicago resident). “But it’s not meant to be didactic.” Titled Dirge, the installation includes 30 charcoal drawings of faces based on six basic head shapes that Cook says are “archetypes of human memory,” as well as a ten-minute video that asks the viewer to question the nature of individuality and a painting based on a Civil War photograph of a Georgia battle in which some of Cook’s ancestors died. “This is the death part,” he says. All will be on display at the Evanston Arts Center as part of Remembrance, an exhibit also featuring work by Deborah Boardman, Alicia Henry, and Bill Conger. The free opening reception is today from 1 to 4 at 2603 Sheridan Rd. in Evanston, and the exhibit runs through February 18; call 847-475-5300.
16 THURSDAY The ways in which high-style architectural design filtered down to Main Street, U.S.A., are the topic of today’s free “LunchBreak” lecture by Anthony Rubano of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Covering the period between 1830 and 1980, he’ll show how art deco, modernism, postmodernism, Victorian Italianate, and other architectural styles influenced small towns throughout Illinois. The lecture will include about 100 examples, including a Louis Sullivan-based building in Westmont, an English Country revival building in Libertyville, and a postmodern strip mall in Palatine. Main Street Commercial: What Style Is It? starts at 12:15 at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington (312-744-6630). Bring your own lunch.
