San Diego Unseen: An Urban Portrait
The Absinthe Drinker and the Hostile Silence by Pamela Wilson, on view at Distinction Gallery
Special Events
Sensory feast: The Museum of Contemporary Art closed its popular exhibition Viva La Revolucion: A Dialogue with the Urban Landscape in January and then quietly opened three new exhibitions: Hendrickje, featuring the paintings of Cuban-boartist Raúl Cordero; Madame Curie, a museum-commissioned piece by Jennifer Steinkamp; and The Shape, the Scent, the Feel of Things, a five-channel video installation by Joan Jonas. What better night to check out these new exhibitions than at the party that is TNT? Head to the museum’s Downtown location and, from 7 to 10 p.m. Thursday, March 10, check out the exhibitions, meet Steinkamp and Cordero, see sets by local bands Cuckoo Chaos and Jamuel Saxon, participate in interactive art and snack on some tasty street food from MIHO Gastrotruck. Talk about sensory overload. $10 general, $7 students. mcasd.org
Film
A fort-night: Local artist Wes Bruce works in a unique medium: fort building. He builds forts that could evoke nostalgia in pretty much anyone—giant structures that mimic the modest ones made by children. One of his forts was last seen in the California Center for the Arts’ exhibition Leveled: An Interactive Experiment in Art, and that’s what the documentary A Film About a Fort chronicles. Filmmaker Bryan Bangerter followed Bruce around as he built one of his most elaborate and interactive installations. The film premieres at 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 16, at the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park. A reception begins at 7 p.m., featuring Bruce’s site-specific fort installation in MoPA’s atrium and music by Joel P West. $10. mopa.orgArt
Re-mastered: History is only as good as we reinterpret it. For its March exhibition, Distinction Gallery (317 E. Grand Ave. in Escondido) has invited 14 artists to riff off the great masters of fine art, from classical painters to pop-culture pioneers. For example, surrealist Jeff Christensen improves on the gruesomeness of Goya’s “Saturn” while Mexican artist Macsorro channels pin-up legend Gil Elvgren in his portrait of an antlered hottie and her flower-robot. Painter Ivan Unwin re-imagines the Iwo Jima memorial with soldiers standing a flag on a mound of naked bodies. The Pillars of the Earth: A Tribute to the Masters opens with a reception from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, March 12, with live music and complimentary locally produced wine and beer. Free. distinctionart.com
Becky the builder: In 1999, Becky Guttin moved from Mexico City to San Diego and began building little houses. Some made from industrial materials, others drawn on handmade Korean paper, they represent the simple and universal human desire for home and shelter. This month, her exhibition Above Us Only Sky, transforms San Diego Mesa College Art Gallery (7250 Mesa College Drive in Kearny Mesa) into a small village representing more than a decade of Guttin’s work and inspired by Hebrew, Asian and South-American traditions. The show opens with a reception at 4:30 and an artist lecture at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 10. The exhibition runs through April 17. Free. sdmesa.edu/art-gallery
Stuck-on cats: Maybe you’ve seen Nancy Carp’s cats around town—grinning, squat creatures affixed with wheatpaste to walls, utility boxes and street signs. (One even found its way into CityBeat’s office.) Carp documents her cats’ appearances, as well as other folks’ street art (mostly local) on her blog, randomcatsofkindness.com. And, on Saturday, March 12, she’s cohosting Stick ’Em Up, a sticker swap and street-art show happening at Visual Art Supply, 3524 Adams Ave. in Normal Heights. Artists like Chikle, N.O.M.A.D., Jason Acton and Stencil Hooligan will exhibit a range of street art from screen prints to stickers to stencil work. Boomboxx Chuck, whom we profiled in our March 2 issue, will have some of his custom-decorated boomboxes on display. The event starts at 6 p.m. visualartsupply.com
Photography
Behind the mask: Josue Castro got our attention last year when Little Italy’s Jett Gallery exhibited Equal = Secret Identities, his series of photographs depicting folks from the local S&M and bondage communities, their faces hidden or obscured. Titillating subject matter and social commentary aside, Castro’s skill with poses and lighting gives his photos an iconic quality. He’ll be showing new additions to the Equal = Secret Identities series at Noel-Baza Fine Art (2165 India St. in Little Italy). The exhibition opens with a reception from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, March 11. Castro will be on hand to photograph attendees willing to dress in some manner of disguise (bring your own or choose from Castro’s collection). On display through April 23, the exhibition is being shown in conjunction with Hugo Crosthwaite’s Drawing Theresa. noel-bazafineart.com
Music
Tune in, turn on: Sure, you can go to festivals like Coachella to see lots of bands you know, love and can sing along with. That’s easy. The hard work has been staying local and getting yourself to San Diego IndieFest to see a bunch of musicians you’ve probably never heard of. This year’s fest moves to the NTC Promenade at Liberty Station (2640 Historic Decatur Road in Point Loma), where dozens of acts, including headliner We Are Scientists, will play on four stages. The music starts at 11:45 a.m. Saturday, March 12, and continues through the evening. Also, the Mental Eclectic Indie Film Stage will screen features, docs, shorts and videos starting at noon on Saturday and continuing through Sunday, March 13. Tickets: $22-$25, free for kids 12 and younger. See the full schedule at sandiegoindiefest.com.
Best birthday ever: Poet Adrian Arancibia is turning 40, but just like Dylan Thomas, he’s raging against the dying of the light. A founding member of the Taco Shop Poets, a collective that rocked the spoken-word scene in San Diego in the ’90s and early ’00s, Arancibia will begin his fourth decade by performing alongside fellow Taco Shop poets and tapping his toes to the music of the seminal Latin-rock / punk band Los Illegals at his community-wide birthday party at El Comal (3946 Illinois St. in North Park) at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 12. The Taco Shop Poets haven’t performed together for eight years, and Los Illegals haven’t stepped foot in San Diego for 20, so, yes, this night is a big deal. The Taco Shop Poets, by the way, aren’t officially getting back together, but there’s talk of a new e-book. Donations accepted. atacamapoems.com
