Art
Ferris Bueller, Vodkamelons, and Other Youthful Follies
BERKELEY, California — Adam Parker Smith's new show Forever 21 at Ever Gold Gallery is an investigation of youthful aesthetics taken seriously.
Ben Valentine
Art
Pop Music's Love Affair with Contemporary Art
For too long there has been a large divide (whether real or imagined) between visual art and music. After all, what we came to call art most likely formed out of traditional ceremonies with music, dance, shrines, costumes, and ritual objects all working together. Now, that boundary is collapsing aga
Art
The Dangers of Crowd Funding Art
In a recent panel, San Francisco's Artstech contingent explored the power of crowd-funding for art. The discussion drove me to a question: How can we help solve some of the problems of crowd-funding and avoid Kickstarter burnout?
Interview
What Would a Revolution Look Like for the Yes Men?
A question for the Yes Men as they launch their Kickstarter campaign to fund their film: You say that this film is about revolution. What would a revolution look like for the Yes Men?
Opinion
Berkeley's Giant Bonsai Trees
BERKELEY, California — Berkeley's unusually large population of giant Bonsai-like trees has caught my attention since moving from Brooklyn. Why are they here and what do they mean?
Art
A Combo Gallery-Studio-Workshop Activates Oakland's Art Scene
BERKELEY, California — When I visited The Compound Gallery and Studios in North Oakland, it was the first time I felt like I was back in Brooklyn's art scene since I moved to California. The multipurpose space was very active and full of art projects, ranging from a residency program, to different g
Opinion
Painted Pigeons: Political Commentary or Pop Street Art?
BERKELEY, California — Artists Julius von Bismark and Julien Charriere have teamed up to create a hilarious installation first in Venice and now in Copenhagen entitled, "Some Pigeons Are More Equal than Others" (2012). The performative work exists on multiple levels: a hanging sculpture (pictured be
Art
Revisiting the Radical Energy of 1968
Currently on view at the Oakland Museum of California is The 1968 Exhibit, which focuses on the culture of that unforgettable year. Organized by the Minnesota History Center, the Atlanta History Center, the Chicago History Museum, and the Oakland Museum, this expansive show explores the tumultuous y
Art
Playful, Sinister, and Simple Ceramics
Just north of UC Berkeley's campus, hidden away in a small patch of woods, is the Berkeley Art Center, currently showing the exhibition Local Treasures: Bay Area Ceramics. Wanting to know more about the Bay Area's art scene — craft included — I felt compelled to visit. The beautiful, small building
Art
The Impossible Joy of Finding Meaning
BERKELEY, California — Ratio 3 gallery's new show of work by Lutz Bacher is a must see. The large, skylight-lit, raw gallery space is perfect for Bacher's captivating installation of audio, visual, and sculptural work. Upon entering the gallery one immediately focuses on the small black spheres scat
Art
The Art of Apperception
SAN FRANCISCO — Lyndi Sales's show Apperception at Toomey Tourell Fine Art is a beautiful study in intricate complexity and light. Despite its prettiness, the work has an undertone of desperation; the artist started the series after being diagnosed with an astigmatism, a defect in the eye's curvatur
Art
Capturing Time
BERKELEY, California — Keeping Time is a large group exhibition at Kala Gallery documenting and exploring creative ways of expressing or marking time from the obvious to the poetic. Although the science of keeping time has fascinated many for centuries, the intensely subjective nature of experientia