- Jeramey Jannene
On Friday night, the Art Institute opens its show “Light Years: Conceptual Art and the Photograph, 1964-1977” with an outdoor screening of Andy Warhol’s eight-hour film Empire. This is no simple movies-in-the-park affair: the museum plans to project Empire from the third floor of the Modern Wing onto 12 upper stories of the Aon Center, starting at 6 PM. Warhol shot this single, stationary take of the Empire State Building between 8:06 PM and 2:42 AM on July 25 and 26, 1964, slowing it down to achieve the eight-hour running time. It’s nothing more than a document of the transition between day and night—the point of the film, Warhol said, was to “see time go by.” Outdoor viewers can catch the show anyplace south of the Aon building, which borders Millennium Park on the north. The Evening Associates, the young-professionals affiliate of the Art Institute, is also hosting a party inside the museum (8-11 PM, $60-$80). It includes hors d’oeuvres, drinks, music by a DJ, and a sneak peek of “Light Years,” which opens to the public on 12/13.