Artsquicks

More stuff going on this week...

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Mark Dion's become a regular in Philly lately. His exhibition with J. Morgan Puett at the Fabric Workshop, "RN: The Past, Present and Future of the Nurses' Uniform," was a hit, and rightly so. It was informative, intellectually charged and great fun, too. Now Dion's an artist in residence at the American Philosophical Society, and he's created an "Urban Field Station" in the Society's Jefferson Garden at Fifth and Chestnut, a space never before open to the public. Dion says the work was inspired by a city-as-frontier philosophy, a desire to take a closer look at city inhabitants like pigeons and rats, which he sees as the bison of the urban environment. Fresh from his well-received Armory Show installation in New York, Dion has made an interactive tent that'll be up through the end of July for the public to explore. This Friday, he'll give a slide lecture about this project, which he's calling "an urban summer camp," and his other work inspired by natural history. Fri., April 2, 6 p.m., American Philosophical Society, 427 Chestnut St., 215-440-3427.

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Robert Hughes, probably the most famous art critic of our time, will give a slide lecture based on his recent book, Goya (Knopf), a mammoth examination of the life of the Spanish master. Hughes -- Time's no-nonsense, often controversial critic, author of The Fatal Shore and creator of the popular The Shock of the New BBC series -- appears as part of UPenn's Locks Foundation Distinguished Artists Series. A rare, must-see appearance from a witty, accessible thinker in the world of art history. Wed., April 7, 6 p.m., free (reservations required), Irvine Auditorium, University of Pennsylvania, 3401 Spruce St., 215-898-3900.

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