A Barrio Logan Block Party and more

Doubtful by Nemo Gould, part of Creatures of Industry at Device Gallery

ART

Beastie Bots: There’s a creepy side of toys and robots, a tantalizing uneasiness that combines the pleasure and terror of industry and mechanics. You see it in Tool videos, in the scary moments of the first Toy Story, in the stitchpunk film 9 and in the works of art on display at the Creatures of Industry exhibition at the Device Galley at Glashaus (1815- B Main St. in Barrio Logan), which is part of a larger, art-oriented Barrio Logan Block Party. Featuring ingenious sculptures by Greg Brotherton, Nemo Gould, Jeremy Mayer and Guillermo Rigattieri, the show opens with a reception from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 4. But even if these works don’t get your cogs turning, Glashaus’ numerous other studios will also be open to the public for the night. devicegallery.com

Knitted and knotted: Of all the lampshades in the world, Korean designer Kwangho Lee’s knitted versions could easily be in the running for most original. Seriously, the guy makes lighting installations—tangled, illuminated nets that he knits using power cords—that put traditional lampshades to shame. See his latest installation, “Black Whale,” at Current, an art exhibition presented by local arts purveyors Set & Drift and also part of the firstever Barrio Logan Block Party. The show’s opening reception happens from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 4, at The Bakery, 1701 National Ave. in Barrio Logan. That night, you can also check out Mercantile, a design pop-up shop that will sell hand-crafted objects by eight American designers and artists, including furniture, prints, hand-stitched textiles and jewelry. setanddrift.org

Village vision: It’s been almost three years since CityBeat arts editor Kinsee Morlan wrote about architect Petar Perisic’s idea for a gallery / community space housed inside four stacked shipping containers in East Village— and two years since Perisic died unexpectedly. But his friends and former colleagues haven’t let PERI_Scope Project die. From 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 4, the innovative space hosts Assorted Happenings and Various Misgivings, an exhibition of work by Louis M. Schmidt and Jon Zuppan. It’s part of Open Spaces, an “unstructured” art walk for which nine East Village gal- “Doubtful” by Nemo Gould, part of leries—like Sushi, Space 4 Art, Suture and the Wonderbread Factory—will Creatures of Industry at Device Gallery be showing off what’s on display. There’s a downloadable map and list of par- Past work by Kwangho Lee ticipating galleries and businesses at sdspace4art.org.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Update: Click here to see a slideshow from the opening night of the Art San Diego Contemporary Art Fair.

Vin de feet: You might be surprised (or not) to know that selling, or serving, wine made from grapes stomped by human feet is illegal in the civilized world. So, the juice from the smushed grapes at the Grape Stomp Festa at Menghini Winery (1150 Julian Orchards Drive in Julian) won’t be used in next year’s Cabernet. But you will be able to taste Menghini wines and wines from several other local wineries at the 14th annual stop, from 11 a .m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 4. The $10 price ($5 for kids) includes the chance to partake in the stomping (there’s a barrel for kids and one for adults). There’s also a bocce ball tournament, activities for children, food, live music and crafts for sale. Put on by the Julian Chamber of Commerce, it’s how the town pays for everything from marketing to historic preservation projects throughout the year. Tickets are available at the event or through julianca.com.

Stick it to the man: For once, we’re warning you where not to be: If you’re a pedestrian and are afraid of mild head injuries, do not visit Little Italy on Saturday, Sept. 4, or Sunday, Sept. 5, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.  Six teams will be competing in the Annual Stickball Showdown. They’ll be heckling and taunting and swinging 44-inch broomstick handles at tiny rubber balls; everything on the street is fair game, from hubcaps to passersby. Of course, we’ll also recommend this as an exciting event you should check out, provided you promise not to sue if you get beaned. The games will go down at Columbia and Cedar streets and at India and Ash streets in Little Italy. littleitalysd.com

FILM

Gone with le vent: So, this coming Friday, Sept. 3, wouldn’t it be funny to respond like this, when your friends say you should join them for beers at some happy hour: “No, I’m afraid I can’t—I’m going to take in a 1940s French film at the San Diego Museum of Art”? They’ll roll their eyes and mutter, “Whatever,” but you’ll head to the Balboa Park museum’s Copley Auditorium (1450 El Prado), where Les Enfants du Paradis will screen at 8 p.m. as the first installment of the new First Friday Films series. Set in 19th-century Paris, Les Enfants du Paradis (Children of Paradise) tells the story of a beautiful courtesan as she’s pursued by four men—an actor, a mime, an aristocrat and a thief. The film’s original trailer called it the French answer to Gone with the Wind. Tell your friends that. $10. sdmart.org

DANCE