December 7, 2007

The Dark Ages

“Girls on the Verge” at The Art Institute

Thanks to Judy Blume (and Clearasil), you emerged from the trials of puberty relatively unscathed.

So now that you’re retainer free and smooth skinned, revisit your teen angst at Girls on the Verge: Portraits of Adolescence, the new exhibit at The Art Institute of Chicago.

The show highlights more than 40 photographs — both documentary and portrait — of the difficult but colorful stage, from artists like Lauren Greenfield, Rineke Dijkstra, Melissa Ann Pinney, and Tina Barney. It’ll bring you back to the days when boobs were a faraway dream and deodorant was but a novelty.

Smells like teen spirit.

Girls on the Verge: Portraits of Adolescence at The Art Institute of Chicago, from December 8 to February 24, 111 South Michigan Avenue, at East Monroe Street (312-443-3600 or artic.edu).

Photo Credit: Lauren Greenfield