September 17 – October 30, 2016
George Kuchar: Bocko
Curated by Jordan Stein
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 17, 6 – 9 PM
George Kuchar (1942–2011) documented his gastronomic, meteorological, and libidinal desires in hundreds of film and video productions across four decades. An appetite for intimacy drove many of his first-person adventures, perhaps most tenderly in THE MONGRELOID (1978), a 16mm love-letter to his treasured mutt, Bocko. In nine absurd minutes, Kuchar walks the indifferent animal down memory lane, reflecting mostly on posterior matters: "How's your operation on your behind? You had that 400 dollar operation on your tushy, remember that?"
George Kuchar: Bocko brings together a collection of works, including a never-before-seen work on paper, that celebrate one of the great loves of Kuchar's life: his dog, Bocko. The exhibition, Kuchar's first in Chicago, underscores the artist's playful and loving spirit while paying homage to an unlikely muse. The works gesture toward the artist's New York roots, his adopted home of San Francisco, and the train ride that connects them.