The Burbs

Last night I met up with my very talented Artist friend and her boyfriend to head out to the Barrington Library, where she had an opening for an exhibit of her carnival-themed pieces called Spectacle. I had no idea what to expect. I had to been to art openings in the city for various friends as well as strangers, and they all seem relatively similar--there is usually a table with some info about the artist, and maybe some cheese and crackers and possibly (hopefully) a few bottles of Two Buck Chuck from Trader Joe's or something. Everyone quietly views the pieces and mutters to each other, and the artist stands around awkwardly, making herself available in case people want to talk about her art. I always thought it must be exhausting being the artist in the situation--people come up with the weirdest things to ask you, and you have to just grin and bear it because maybe they will purchase some art or recommend your stuff to someone rich enough to purchase some art. It is a necessary give and take one must do in order to facilitate one's dream to be able to support oneself via one's craft. I get that. But dang that must be tough.

So I go to this thing feeling a bit unsure about what I am in for. Because this is the burbs, people. And not just any burbs. The Illinois burbs. Which I have found to be an extra special kind of weirdness in my few ventures out there.

Well it was definitely different.

First off the Barrington Library rocks! I could not believe how lovely the architecture was! Long wooden reeds reached high into the sky and held up a very tall glass ceiling above the lobby area. There was a cozy fireplace near the magazine area, and a great open space for my friend to display her art exhibit. There was even a very spacious community room where this particular Friday night, a jazz trio was performing for a slew of old timers. The senior citizens munched on free snacks provided by the library, bobbing their heads to the smooth tones of the jazz music. If I was an old lady in Barrington, IL, I think I would take advantage of all the free stuff they offer and hang out there every day. Between my friend's art show and the free jazz music and the tasty hors d'oeuvres, what a classy night a bunch of old timer buddies could have! Also I should mention that I took a moment to peruse the DVD selection near the art exhibit, and was amazed to see they had everything from most recent blockbusters to obscure TV movie disasters like Camp Cucamonga (Jennifer Aniston's finest work, I am sure). If I lived near this library, I would pretty much save tons of money on DVD rentals and never be bored again!

Secondly, my friend's exhibit went swimmingly and she got to be famous with the locals for the night. Everyone loved her pieces (how could you not love this stuff?) and she even sold a few things. So it was a success for sure.

Now for the weird things.

Replacing the wine and cheese were circus peanuts, cookies, and sparkling punch. I realized through this experience that just having a little alcohol available really helps take the awkwardness out of an opening, both for the artist and the art viewers. The missing element was glaringly obvious to me as we all struggled to make small talk with strangers and find the right words to say about the awesome art pieces. Or maybe it was just me, the resident boozer that noticed that.

There were some local weirdos that seemed to have crawled out from under their rocks to join us art lovers for the evening, and their presence made for some interesting moments. One guy fired about seventy questions at my friend while she was clearly in the midst of preparing things for the exhibit, and he barely paused between each one to actually hear an answer from her. After we rescued her from that trap, we watched him move from person to person, cornering them and firing more questions at them in rapid succession. He clearly does not get out much. Then there was the man who just happened to be at the library that night, and wandered over to check out the art, then proceeded to talk at my friend (notice I wrote "at" and not "with") for almost 30 minutes straight with no interruptions allowed. I swear, I read an entire issue of People Magazine while waiting for her to finish nodding while he spoke. She later said she tried to escape to go to the bathroom, and was vocal with him about this need at least twice but he just would not stop. The funny thing is, he was not talking about art or my friend's work or anything related to her show. He was talking about the Bible. The whole freaking time she was there nodding, the guy was spouting about Jesus. Which is fine, you know, when you are not dominating someone's time at the freaking opening of her art exhibit! People are so socially inept sometimes. It shocks me.

So those are some of the highlights of our adventure into the art world in the burbs. The library was truly a treat, the people were slightly off and wacky, and my friend's work was delightful to see on display for all the suburbanites to see. A very fine way to spend a Friday night, indeed. Would have been better with booze, of course. But really, what situation isn't better with booze?