Night Sky exhibit opens at Arts Center

A provocative and timely new art exhibition, "Night Sky," touching upon the "immutable act of looking up and speculating about our existence," opens this weekend at the Evanston Art Center, 2603 Sheridan Road, Evanston. The opening reception is Sunday, June 3, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m., with the exhibit to run through July 29, 2012.
 
According to the Center's press release, the show, curated by Vera Scekic and Karen Hanmer, asks, "How often do we stop and appreciate the beautiful nightscape above us? And when we do view the night sky today, what is it that we see? Light pollution from cities all but guarantees that, on any given night, two-thirds of the population in the U.S. will not see more than a sparse scattering of stars and planets. With the advent of technology and urban growth, our ties to the night sky have been severely reconfigured. Telescopes, satellites and planetary rovers have demystified what we see when we look up after dark.

 
...This exhibit seeks to explore the following questions using a range of media and conceptual ideas: Has the filter of science and technology altered our thoughts and perceptions to the point that they would be alien to our dark sky ancestors? Do we still feel awestruck and connected to something larger than us? Or has the night sky become a site of anxiety, a zone criss-crossed by spy satellites, missiles and the stray meteor that can bring devastation upon impact?"
 
The show is timely as we head into the most comfortable outdoor viewing weather but struggle to even see the stars in our over-lit urban night. The twelve featured artists, in a number of media, include several based in Illinois: Jerome Acks, Maria Dimanshtein, video-photographer Jason Judd, Prof. Susan Sensemann (emerita at the University of Illinois at Chicago), and sculptor-turned-furniture-designer Jason Meyer.
All exhibits are free and open to the public. Limited parking is available; consider walking, biking, or public transportation. For more information see www.evanstonartcenter.org or visit the Evanston Art Center on Facebook: www.facebook.com/evanston.art.