San Diego Unseen: An Urban Portrait
Mary & Sara by Sara Escamilla
Riddle us this: One day, research scientists at UCSD will publish a paper in The Lancet that confirms what we’ve always known: CityBeat’s readers have faster, stronger, sexier brains than consumers of any other fish wrap in town. Until then, we invite you to prove your mental powers at our first-ever CityBeat Trivia Night. Staffers Dave Maass and Kinsee Morlan will host the pub quiz with off-the-wall categories and an illustration round. We’ll have prizes, including books, gift certificates and DVDs from film editor Anders Wright’s stash. The event kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 20, at El Take It Easy, 3926 30th St. in North Park. The entry fee is $5 per player, with a maximum of five players per team. Click here for more info.
Music
The homecoming: UCSD is probably best known for its science and engineering programs, but it’s also an incubator for some of the most cutting-edge avant-garde music being made today. To celebrate the university’s 50th anniversary, the Music Department will host Sonic Diasporas, a music alumni festival and symposium held at the Conrad Prebys Music Center and The Loft from Thursday, Jan. 20, through Saturday, Jan. 22. There will be panel discussions, lectures and 13 concerts featuring alumni like film composer Larry Groupe and bassist Mark Dresser. But the big draw (at least by the department’s esoteric standards) will be keynote speakers Paul Dresher, a playful Bay Area composer, and Diamanda Galás, who’s known as much for her operatic voice as her provocative performance art. For a schedule, visit music.ucsd.edu.
Art
Get introduced: If you haven’t heard of Art Meets Fashion yet, now is a good time to put it on your radar. Teams of artists, fashion designers and teachers have been working on art-and-fashion collaborations for a big finale in San Diego that’ll be held in April. One team, N-GOM, will do a little preview event from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 22, at Agitprop, 2837 University Ave. in North Park. Check out an installation by wacky artist Guy Lombardo, the work of strange-yet-sensual designer Anjela Piccard and some footage by the always-edgy video artist Katherine Sweetman, who’ll show clips from an Art Meets Fashion piece she’s shooting with the Media Art Center’s Teen Producer’s Project. artmeetsfashion.org
For the ladies: From a tough, uncomfortable, papier-mché casting of a bra to the sculpture of a women’s one-piece bathing suit, the opening of That’s What She Said will showcase a collection of art created by some bad-ass women—Shannon Freshwater, Kaeleen Wescoat-O’Neill, Katherine Guillen and Sara Escamilla explore ideas like fashion, gender, adolescence and femininity. Stop by Subtext Gallery (2476 Kettner Blvd. in Little Italy) from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, Jan. 21, before you lose sight of what it means to be a woman in contemporary society. subtextgallery.com
Photography
Hit the courts: The name of Charles Johnstone’s exhibition at Joseph Bellows Gallery (7661 Girard Ave. in La Jolla) is self-explanatory: Thirty-four Basketball Courts. Indeed, you’ll see photos of hoops courts, but perhaps not in the way you’d expect. Johnstone’s photos capture New York City courts in an unexpected way: completely empty. No players, no bouncing balls, no onlookers—no action at all. Rather than photographing busy courts, Johnstone chose instead to pay homage to Edward Ruscha’s Thirty-four Parking Lots, in which the photographer took shots upon shots of deserted parking lots. The effect is subtle and eerie and a sweet tribute to a New York cultural institution. See it for yourself at an opening reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 21. josephbellows.com
Theater
Highs and lows: The rock musical Next to Normal, which won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, tells the story of Diana, a suburban mom dealing with worsening bipolar disorder who tries a slew of treatment options from medication to electroshock therapy. That might sound like a big ol’ bummer of a plot line, but Rolling Stone dug the tunes and the Pulitzer folks don’t award the big prize to musicals too often (the last to win was Rent in 1996). Performances run through Sunday, Jan. 23, at the Balboa Theatre (868 Fourth Ave., Downtown), and proceeds from tickets for the Friday, Jan. 21, performance (8 p.m.) benefit the San Diego chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Tickets start at $22.50. broadwaysd.com
Activism
Calming influence: For years, San Diego human-rights activists have dogged Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio with loud, passionate protests, both locally and in Arizona. Called “America’s Toughest Sheriff ” by some, Arpaio will be back in town on Thursday, Jan. 20, but this time immigrant-rights workers and religious leaders are taking a different, calmer tack. “If we’re shouting at each other that doesn’t help,” says Enrique Morones of Border Angels, which is co-organizing the Interfaith Prayer Vigil with the First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego. Peaceful, rational activists are invited to assemble from 6 to 8 p.m. in front of San Diego Marriott Mission Valley (8757 Rio San Diego Drive). borderangels.org
Books
Shred the gnar: Riding bikes on pavement is cool and all, but taking your two-wheeler off road is the bee’s knees. Problem is, finding decent trails in San Diego can be a little tricky. There’s only so many times you can ride Morley Field or Florida Canyon before boredom sets in. Enter author and trailman Nelson Copp, who’s written the helpful Cycling the Trails of San Diego: A Mountain Biker’s Guide to the County. It’s a roundup of the best our county has to offer in the way of bike-friendly trails, and Copp will be in-person to offer tips and answer questions at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 20, at Upstart Crow, 835C W. Harbor Drive in Seaport Village. upstartcrowtrading.com
