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First published on ecofabulous.
A Friday night party at Peace Industy’s showroom (which moved the whopping distance from Octavia to Hayes recently) promises new artwork by Melina Raissnia and Kelly Defayette. The duo designs the rugs that have brought beauty to Hayes Valley twice over, and they’ll be bringing their geometric paintings and prints together to start the weekend. Champagne to be on hand, of course.
Infinite City: A San Francisco Atlas is the type of book one picks up in a museum gift shop and buys not for themselves, necessarily, but for a roommate or partner so it can live on a shared shelf or table. Author Rebecca Solnit has assembled an amazing team or cartographers, designers, writers, and research for a soft cover look at local history and geography. Its variety is fantastically browsable: between glances at the Mission (“North of Home, South of Safe”) and film hot spots, there’s a Where’s Waldo-esque look at the origins of the chemicals and cheeses that go into San Franciscans’ bodies. The part atlas, part urban policy tome is visually arresting–so much so that it’s even worth buying a copy for no one but yourself.
After touring the newly opened GLBT History Museum in the Castro this weekend, I could hardly be more excited for the dramatic rendition of “Tales of the City” opening this month at A.C.T. and the corresponding Litquake event. The musical minds behind great bands (think Scissor Sisters) and musical theater (a la Avenue Q) will be combining their creative prowess for a show whose creators’ description is more poppy than anything I could think up:
“On the bustling streets of 1970s San Francisco, neon lights pierce through the fog-drenched skies, disco music explodes from crowded nightclubs, and a wide-eyed Midwestern girl finds a new home—and creates a new kind of family—with the characters at 28 Barbary Lane…’Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City’ unleashes an exuberant celebration of the irrepressible spirit that continues to define our City by the Bay.”
Litquake will be hosting a special Maupin night at Swedish American Hall on Thursday night, and the evening of readings and music will feature Michelle Tea and Precious Moments among others. If you can’t wait until later this week, Laura Linney’s striped dress from the film is at the GLBT Museum.
I’m happy that independent film showcase Cinema Speakeasy is bringing rock ‘n dialysis story D Tour to the Gray Area Foundation for the Arts screen on Thursday. The film follows musician Pat Spurgeon as he tours with Rogue Wave and awaits a second kidney transplant, and both filmmaker and subject will be on hand at the evening event. Healthcare issues and hard rock to be discussed.
Southern Exposure’s annual fundraiser and art auction MEGA MEGA MEGA isn’t limited to a single fancy gala (though there is one on Saturday night) but is to include music, creative projects, and live and silent bidding. The roster of participating artists reads like a who’s who: Lisa Congdon (she of A Collection a Day), Libby Black, Todd Hido, Mel Prest, et al. Browsers and collectors alike can see the 160 pieces up for auction through Thursday, and the “famously fun” weekend gathering provides direct support for the organizations public art and education programs.
“A Collection A Day” doesn’t read like other books, and that’s because it’s not like other books, coffee table or otherwise. Illustrator and general creative type Lisa Congdon has assembled a softcover series of a year’s worth of ephemera, and its presentation in a small metal box reminded me of my own sets of Girl Scout badges and POGs.
Inside a set of photographed and drawn “small treasures and curious things” includes vintage art supply packaging, old and colorful prayer cards, and plastic and wood rings. But that’s not all. “Mid-century paperbacks with awesome cover design and typography”! Japanese notebooks! Candy jars! It’s well worth a flip through the digital preview to see the breadth of Congdon’s inspiration–but I’d suggest owning one (or the corresponding 20×200 print) to appreciate the bizarre wonder of baby doll hands, aggregated.
At this week’s ODC conference Women Who Frame the World: A Symposium on Creativity, I was deeply struck by the work of sculptor and creator Beverly Pepper. It takes a lot to stand out in a group of presenting artists that included novelist Carol Gilligan, sound artist Kui Dong, and documentarian Eleanor Coppola (even a sampling of the total group reads like a coffee table book about major creative contributors, no?).
Pepper’s talk–Monumentality, A Life in Art–at the B’Way Theater focused on her “amphisculpture.” It includes very large scale sculptures with watercolors (“Sol y Ombra,” Spain, top right), cast iron, stones (the Italian “Omphalon,” top left), and steel. She’s as humble–”when I think about bodies in conjunction with my work, it’s mostly how I can’t get hit by it during the construction”–as she is visionary.
How does she know when one of her large scale pieces is complete? “When you step away from it and the only reaction is ooooohhh.” The same went for her dialogue with local lady artists.
This weekend the San Francisco Ballet opened Giselle, and I’m glad they brought it back to the stage after its local premiere in ’99. While the villager costumes in the first act felt overdone, they made the bride spirits in their white veils that much more striking at the start of the second act. Principal dancer Yuan Yuan Tan is fantastically dynamic to watch as the doomed protagonist, and you can see why she’s been the lead in Swan Lake, Romeo & Juliet, and The Sleeping Beauty among other area performances. You only have until Valentine’s Day to see her in action.
When multimedia storyteller Pauline Bartolone reached out about a photo-centered art auction fundraiser she’s hosting for friends detained in Iran, I was ecstatic about the idea. Saturday night’s event at SOMArts Cultural Center has 80 local artists presenting in the name of freeing documentary photographer Shane Bauer and fellow hikers (you can learn more at FreeTheHikers). And buy art–just know that I call dibs on Camille Seaman’s ”Uneditioned,” below.
