Arts

The radical movements of 1968 eventually collapsed beneath the weight of two competing forces; the politically radical and the socially radical. Some tried LSD, some tried SDS. Some turned to Eastern spirituality as a form …

Downtown Champaign, with its two movie theatres and its many bars, restaurants and cafés seems to be a perfect locale for small film festivals: movie buffs can watch a film and then talk about it …

Play every note loud — especially the wrong ones. – Dizzy Gillespie Poet Patrick Rosal visits Author’s Corner at the Illini Union Bookstore today as a guest artist in the University of Illinois’s Carr Reading …

In the early going of Jesus Christ Superstar, Judas Iscariot works himself to a boil. He’s come to recognize that the entire messianic enterprise that he’s hitched his star to isn’t necessarily a surefire success. …

I’m going to be honest. Going in to see this film, I was blissfully unaware of what the title Stop-Loss meant. I thought perhaps it was a strangely-worded political statement on the filmmaker’s position on …

“In the 21st century, with all of the chaotic things going on around you, you lose sight of the person standing right beside you,” Zev Steinberg, senior in Theater at the University of Illinois says. …

DJ Delayney, or Douglas Layne to his friends and family, spins some of the best records in town. Growing up, inspired by his father and brother’s penchant for music, Delayney came into his own and …

Measure for Measure marked Shakespeare’s final comedy before embarking upon the series of tragedies, which confirmed his legacy. Written after the monstrous Hamlet and succeeded by Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, it seems appropriate that …

Derek Winstanley’s sculpture entitled, “Prehistoric Dolphin with Modern Technology”, has been chosen as the featured image for the 2008 Boneyard Arts Festival. The panel of local arts professionals, Jenny Southlynn, Joan Stolz, Kim Curtis, and …

Long before the Coen brothers garnered Oscars for their own pseudo-western masterpiece, screenwriter/director John Huston crafted the definitive tale of greed giving birth to violence amidst the barren landscapes of the southwest. That No Country …

One of the great injustices in modern cinema is that visionary filmmaker George A. Romero lacks a larger forum from which to deliver his vital movies. Of course, the fact that he uses flesh-eating zombies …

It begins with a decapitated cat. Today begins the Station Theatre’s presentation of Martin McDonagh’s comedic experiment in absurd ultra-violence, The Lieutenant of Inishmore. McDonagh, best known for the award-winning The Beauty Queen of Lenane, …

House shows are apparently no longer a thing of the past. For those of you looking for a change of scenery from the regular bar venue fare, be sure to check out one of the …

If you missed the release of Cloverfield> at the local cineplex, you have another chance tonight and Thursday at the Virginia Theater. And wouldn’t you know it, the lead actor, Michael Stahl-David, and I both …

Dilawar was very proud to be able to provide for his family by driving his taxi. Not as adept as his siblings with work on their farm outside of Yakubi, Afghanistan, the young man was …

The Canaan Baptist Church is a fixture in Urbana. Take a leisurely stroll down Main Street on your way to Strawberry Fields or the Farmer’s Market, and you’ll see it on your left: a pleasantly …

If Jason Patterson isn’t sleeping, he’s probably painting. And if he’s not painting, he’s most likely at work. And if he’s not at work,… well, you get the idea. Patterson is originally from Champaign, but …

Inner Voices, a University of Illinois social issues theater group, presents the last of three performances of Endangered Black Girls tonight at Armory Free Theater. The play was written by Ruth Nicole Brown, assistant professor …

The street railways run between Champaign-Urbana and used to connect our two towns. Now many of these trains merely pass through neighboring cities and states transporting goods. Learn more about the history of the trains …

Scott Mutter, the creator of many well-known images and surrealistic super-imposed photographs, has died. He was 64. The Champaign-Urbana and University of Illinois communities have lost a prominent contributor to the visual arts. Mutter earned …

The Real Dirt on Farmer John is a colorful documentary that tells the story of John Peterson and the struggle to keep his family farm alive in rural Illinois over the past thirty years. Peterson’s …

From a financial point of view, it makes sense that Lionsgate Films is promoting its latest, The Bank Job, as another hyperkinetic, seizure-inducing, Jason Statham actioner. After all, the actor has amassed a loyal fanbase …

The execution of a vision is the thing that breaks or makes a film. The more vast and imaginative the vision, the harder it is to see realized. But in the case of director Todd …

Telluride’s Mountainfilm on Tour, a touring short film festival, makes an appearance this evening at Champaign’s Virginia Theatre. Ten short films (mostly documentary shorts, with some animation and political satire mixed in) will be screened, …

Zsolt Bognar is from Urbana and his brilliance at the piano is stunning. This Sunday, Bognar will return to his hometown and perform at the Krannert Center. He ever so graciously answered a handful of …

It’s the phone call we all dread. The one that begins with, “I’m afraid we have a problem. Your father has been found writing in the bathroom with pieces of his own shit.” Yep, it’s …

French painter Edgar Degas often depicted whimsical ballerinas with fluid brush strokes, creating art that depicted movement so gracefully, the paintings seemed almost to move. This Saturday, Champaign Park District presents an homage to the …

During an election season, Henry IV should be required viewing for the voting public. Ever the cynic, Shakespeare portrays politics as a complex of interactions; leadership not for the public good but for lineal obligation, …

What exactly is the aim of U2 3D? It’s not the best concert film the band has made, and it isn’t a showcase of their best show on the Vertigo tour. Instead, it is a …

This Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon, the Krannert Art Museum is hosting Kids @ Krannert, a free art event for children and their guardians, parents, friends, and family. It is held twice a semester …

It comes as no surprise that Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis has been nominated for an Oscar in the Best Animated Feature category and has won a bevy of other awards as well. Though …

With places like Forever 21 or Urban Outfitters gobbling up artists’ ideas and designs and calling them their own, originality seems hard to find these days. As I was feeding my craving for handmade jewelry …

For many of us Americans, Africa exists as only a giant multi-colored mass on our world maps. The worst thing about our ignorance of Africa is that people don’t seem too uncomfortable with it — …

Last Saturday, Krukid & The Sugargliders left everyone speechless at Mike ‘N Molly’s. If you missed this show, check his schedule and make it to the next one. You won’t regret it.

Back in July 2005, on an otherwise forgettable Thursday morning, a writer by the name of Oronte Churm sprung onto the national literary scene. That day, he turned up as a new columnist on McSweeney’s …

The Asian Educational Media Service continues its impressive series of screenings with The Blood of the Yingzhou District tonight at 7 p.m. This Oscar-winning documentary chronicles the lives of various orphans in the rural Chinese …

Tonight, thanks to the designmatters campus-wide initiative to inspire innovation, Mark Frauenfelder, the editor-in-chief of Make Magazine (an O’Reilly Media publication) and co-editor/co-founder of Boing Boing, will be giving a talk entitled, “A Brief History …

Sink into the seats at Virginia Theatre to take in what is arguably the greatest movie of all time. This Saturday, the historical downtown theater unspools the film Citizen Kane, the American Film Institute’s number …

On seeing the trailer for the new romantic comedy Definitely, Maybe, my initial reaction was that it was too bad that a film with so many actresses whose work I enjoy would be ruined by …

OPENSOURCE is encouraging artists to submit relevant work to a new exhibition, “The Audacity of Desperation,” coming to the Independent Media Center, located at 202 S. Broadway, in Urbana. The organizers, Jessica Lawless and Sarah …

Will Leitch, editor of the sports website Deadspin and former sports editor of the Daily Illini, will be appearing at the Illini Union today, Tuesday Feb. 12 at 4 p.m., to speak and sign copies …

Although he often self-deprecatingly describes his occupation as “typing about sports,” Will Leitch has a better sense of perspective than most of his colleagues in American sports journalism. In the introduction to his new book, …

Shows at Urbana’s cozy Station Theatre are always a treat. The intimate, theatre-in-the-round setting makes the spectator feel nearly a part of the performance. Certain shows lend themselves better to this atmosphere than others of …

When life gets so busy that you don’t know which way is up, it’s a good idea to stop and appreciate the little things that make life worth living. For me, one of those things …

William Shakespeare’s plays have seen more adaptations, re-imaginings, and contemporary reinterpretations than, perhaps, any other artistic works in literary history. He laid the foundations for so much of what came after, that writers and directors …

Stuck inside and slightly depressed today? Flowers can actually make you happy. How cliché. With the drab weather outdoors, a bright yellow chrysanthemum ($3.50 a stem) could keep you from going stir-crazy. Maybe. Pick one …

Wind Water and Light, an artisans gallery, opens an exhibit dubbed The Real Politik — just in time for February’s political rumble, Super Tuesday, on Feb. 5. A relatively new kid on the block in …

The landmark we all know and love, Alma Mater, gets giddy over the inclement weather in Champaign-Urbana.