Chicago Art Review - Industry of the Ordinary @ Packer Schopf

39 Verbs was a one night event put on by Industry of the Ordinary at Packer Schopf. 39 artists were invited to create works based on a list of verbs taken from the IotO website’s history. Though a few artists chose to put in pieces were from their extant work, most took to the project like assigned students, changing gears, adapting their processes to this random challenge, or working well outside their work’s continuity to make a one-off piece. The performative pieces were the standouts, including Jason Lazarus‘s Ask, in which he invited an ordained priest to come to the gallery and answer confessions via text message; Anna Kunz‘s Infect, which had her sticking felt parasites to the backs of attendees, and Tony Tasset/Judy Ledgerwood‘s breakout performance Walk, which amped delivery as attention fizzled. 39 Verbs was one of 2009’s most memorable art events, and could have been a successful month-long run, but was all the sweeter for being a temporary show.