He muses on SOFA, the Tropicalia exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Art Institute’s decision to auction a Chagall painting, and the sudden appearance of White Sox images at local arts venues.

Next, art critic Margaret Hawkins highlights some scary cultural trends, including the River North gallery district’s overwhelming neighbors and the Pompeii exhibit at the Field Museum. Then Yood turns our attention to haunting but beautiful Rosehill Cemetery.

Finally, we hear about “Stages of Memory,” a new exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Photography exploring the ways we remember—and are beginning to forget—the Vietnam War.

SOFA: The International Exposition of Sculpture Objects and Functional Art was held October 28-30, 2005, in the Festival Hall at Navy Pier, Chicago.

Tropicalia: A Revolution in Brazilian Culture is on exhibit through January 8, 2006, at the Museum of Contemporary Art.

Pompeii: Stories from an Eruption is on exhibit through March 26, 2006, at the Field Museum.

Stages of Memory: The War in Vietnam is on exhibit through December 17, 2005, at the Museum of Contemporary Photography.