The Magic of Magritte

Shooting a Real Story About a Surreal Sort of Guy

The first thing you notice is the dark. The galleries of Regenstein Hall are as dimly lit as a movie theater and as haunting as a dream.

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An extraordinary look at everyday objects, the Art Institute’s summer blockbuster show is Rene Magritte: The Mystery of the Ordinary. You can’t miss it.

Sexy, scary, and absolutely puzzling, the exhibition will make you reconsider things you take for granted. The imagery can be shocking, disturbing, playful – this is an artist who inspires an over-use of adjectives.

One problem of shooting an art show of this caliber is that some of the lenders have not agreed to permit filming of the works. So there are a handful of splendid paintings you won’t see on Chicago Tonight. Just to make things confusing, there's a great picture called "Not to be Reproduced"... which is available for reproduction.

But rest assured, there are plenty of reasons to watch.

For one, our ace cameraman Roy Alan shot the heck out of the story, constantly adjusting his iris from shadows to brightly lit canvases. He has a set of wheels that he attaches to his tripod and moves through the exhibition. People sometimes think we use a Steadicam, but really all we need is a steady cameraman. Smooth floors help, too.

And the Art Institute curator Stephanie D’Alessandro is our gracious guide on this tour of the weird and wonderful. Watch it and you’ll want to see these works in person – including the ones we couldn’t show you. Rene Magritte might make you unthink what you think you know.

Rene Magritte: The Mystery of the Ordinary runs through Sept. 23 at the Art Institute of Chicago.

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