Exhibitions & Events

Intuit is proud to welcome Professor Robert Farris Thompson to Chicago for another unique look at heaven. This lecture will explore a Yoruba (one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa) equivalent to heaven—an underwater city, Ode Kobaye, where those who lived correctly and generously on earth are rewarded by being transformed into immortal stones in water.

Robert Farris Thompson, starting with an article on Afro-Cuban dance and music published in 1958, has devoted his life to the serious study of the art history of the Afro-Atlantic world. His first book, Black Gods and Kings, was a close iconographic reading of the art history of the forty million Yoruba people of southwestern Nigeria. An accomplished writer, he has most recently published Tango: The Art History of Love. He has has been anthologized fifteen times and certain of his works have been translated into French, German, Flemish and Portuguese.

Join Charles Russell (professor emeritus of English and American Studies, Rutgers University, Newark) at Intuit for an informative look at how self-taught artists contribute to the ‘great stream of art’.

Russell will also be signing his latest work Groundwaters: A Century of Art by Self-Taught And Outsider Artists (Prestel Verlag, 2011). Copies will be available for purchase and signing at the event.

In August, 1994, more than 33,000 Cubans attempted to escape the island by sea. Two writers, friends since adolescence, are faced with a choice—continue struggling with the hardships of the island or brave the open water on a homemade raft. Ernesto Santana chooses Cuba, Jorge Mota chooses the Sea. This is the story of their struggles, their successes and the friendship that binds them. Filmed on location in Cuba, the U.S., and México.

Enjoy a film screening of Dream Havana followed by a Q&A session with filmmaker Gary Marks. Refreshments will be provided. Running time: 82 minutes.

In conjunction with HEAVEN+HELL, Intuit will present a careful selection of provocative films that address the literal, personal, and metaphorical interpretations of heaven and hell. This Film Series will challenge viewers conceptually, literally, and emotionally.

To kick off the series, join Dan Rybicky, Guest Film Curator from Columbia College, with colleagues Ron Falzone and Zoran Samardzija as they explore excerpts from their favorite depictions of heaven and/or hell as seen in film or television.

Films Series Includes:
March 8, 6pm: Stairway to Heaven (A Matter of Life and Death) (1946), directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Presburger
April 12, 6pm: Jigoku (or The Sinners of Hell) (1960), directed by Nobuo Nakagawa
May 10, 6pm: The Exterminating Angel (1962), directed by Luis Bunuel
June 14, 6pm: In a Dream (2009), directed by Jeremy Zagar