Following: Valentine's Day

Cupid has landed in Chicago and he’s aiming for YOU! This Valentine’s Day, join online-for-now couple Tyler Lumm and Luis Mejico for a special evening of orchestrated sentiment. Six months ago, Tyler and Luis tragically ended their relationship after Tyler’s move to California. But love always finds a way - and this Feb 14th, they’ll profess their love for one another in the only way they can: artworks that lament one another’s absence and unhealthy amounts of Dove Chocolate. Witness the lovers yearn for each other on a day reserved for passion, and enjoy their mediated displays of affection. Tyler Lumm will screen his video, "You Through Everyone." A remix of Harry Harlow’s contact comfort experiments, Lumm’s video will have you holding that special someone just a little closer. Luis Mejico will premiere "The Arrow’s Arrival," an opera that features an iMessage exchange between the lovers after Mejico’s admission to a… sordid encounter. This dramatic and brutally honest look into guilt, sorrow, and desperation will be performed by singers Clee McCracken and ALEXA GRÆ, accompanied by pianist Ryan Mastro. First 9 guests to arrive will receive Mixtape #2, a flash drive compilation of exclusive works, journal entries, and research documents, never to be posted on the site. Refreshments will be served in the form of Dove Chocolates, maraschino cherries, and chocolate-covered strawberries. $5 suggested donation - each donation earns a raffle ticket, with the prize of a Following T-Shirt, a copy of Mixtape #2, and additional surprise goodies! Presented by High Concept Labs. --------- About Following: Romantic couples who maintain online presence face augmented challenges. The mediation of affection through ever-evolving technologies produces lovers bound to each other and their fans by a hunger for validation and popularity. Following is a multi-media, online log that acts as commodity and correspondence between former lovers Mejico and Lumm, who ended their year-long relationship upon Lumm's move to California. Following tracks the continued bloom and decay of love between the two artists indefinitely after their split through its resulting body of work. yourefollowing.us ------- About the Artists: Luis Mejico is a performance artist based in Chicago, Illinois. He has performed and exhibited work at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Chicago, Links Hall, Zhou Brothers Art Center, The Oak Park Art League, The Uptown Arts Center, and Jan Brandt Gallery, among others. He was a 2015 ACRE resident, and recently curated Lecturas, a poetry reading by Hispanic writers in Chicago to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month in partnership with the Chicago Public Libraries. Tyler Lumm is an artist based in Los Angeles, California. He has exhibited in Chicago, Grand Rapids, Los Angeles, and Melbourne. His photography has been featured by online publications including Eigengrau, Lintroller and Hyperallergic. He is currently enrolled in the MFA Photography and Media program at California Institute of the Arts. ------- About High Concept Labs: High Concept Labs is a Chicago-born not-for-profit arts service organization and cultural platform dedicated to supporting working artists and engaging the Chicago community with arts and culture. Partnering with artists at every step of the creative process, HCL offers high-quality custom support services through its Sponsored Artist and Institutional Incubation Programs. HCL also curates and hosts Cultural Conversations, hosts artist showcases, presents special community events, and facilitates educational arts partnerships. With a vibrant cycle of programs, and process-support, High Concept Labs grows community alongside culture and fosters new audiences for the arts. highconceptlabs.org HCL is supported in part by the generosity of MANA Contemporary Chicago, the Chicago Community Trust, the MacArthur Funds for Arts and Culture at The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, The Norwottock Charitable Trust, The Samuel J. Baskin Charitable Trust, The Cliff Dwellers Arts Foundation, and individual donors.