PASSAGES
Painter Bhupen Khakhar, 69, one of the most influential artists of his generation in India, died Aug. 8 in Baroda, India, of prostate cancer. After meeting the painter Gulammohammed Sheikh in 1958, Khakhar decided to attend art school in Baroda, where he joined a circle of contemporaries who were shaping a new Indian art, reported The New York Times. His focus on narratives stood ‘in contrast to the abstraction and expressive figuration that prevailed among progressive artists of an older generation. He set himself further apart from the earlier generation in the 1980s when he made his homosexuality a chief subject of his art,’ The Times reported. ‘I was very much ashamed of my sexuality. I never wanted it to be known I was gay. Up to 1975, I felt that if my friends knew I was gay, I was prepared to commit suicide,’ he said.
Memorials
There will be a memorial service for longtime Chicago gay activist Jim Wickliff, during the day-long ‘Taoist Tai Chi on the Lake,’ at 1 p.m. Sept. 6, on the Lakefront near the Fieldhouse at Waverly. All are invited to share their memories of Jim, who passed away on Sept. 11, 2002, and join in some simple Taoist and Buddhist chanting. Jim was a member of one of the first classes of Taoist Tai Chi taught in Chicago. Call Jean Latz Griffin at (847) 506-4214; illinois@ttcs.org.
A memorial service honoring the life and activity of James Monroe Smith, AIDS activist and founder of AIDS Legal Council of Chicago, is set for Tuesday, Sept. 2, at the law offices of Jenner & Block, 40th Floor, IBM Plaza, 330 N Wabash. Reception starts at 4:30 p.m., program runs from 5-6 p.m. Further info: (312) 427-8990.