California transplant David Randolph describes himself as “a sculptor painter.” Not a sculptor-slash-painter, mind you, or a painter-slash-sculptor, but as both simultaneously. A few minutes in the cubed and multifaceted world of his new show, Visual Reports From the Digital Universe, and you'll grok the distinction: Randolph fuses dimensional form with planes of light and shadow no matter what medium he's working in. Tonight, at his artist's reception at Abbate Fine Art (713 Canyon Road, Santa Fe) at 5pm, plunge into a fragmented (yet aesthetically satisfying) reality with pieces like the acrylic painting “Santa Fe Descending a Staircase” and the limited-edition print “Canyon Road Goes Digital,” which connect cubo-futurism to landscape painting by way of Wreck-It Ralph. His series of “Catwize” cast-stone sculptures shiver with gem-sharp, light-refracting planes softened by affection. Like a Rubik's Cube, Randolph's art bends the mind just enough to make a game of seeing. Abbate Fine Art, Santa Fe • Fri Nov 29 • 5pm • View on Alibi calendar
Take two steps into the Festival of the Cranes Arts and Crafts Fair and you’re bound to eye something exquisite. So keep your moola handy—whether you’re in the market for stained glass or scented soap, the fair beckons with a medley of artsy/giftsy offerings from regional makers. You’re likely to appreciate the organic feel of Olaf Heintz’ deceptively simple woodwork furniture, or fall in love with the elegant, symbol-rich Acoma pottery of Caroline Lucario. Expect, also, expertly crafted jewelry from Leandro Garcia of Santo Domingo Pueblo, earthy clay vessels and décor from Cazuelas Pottery, eclectic natural imagery on A. Leon Miler’s paintings, t-shirts and cards, and plenty more. Open at the Historic Garcia Opera House (110 Abeyta Ave. West, Socorro) from 9am to 5pm tomorrow and Saturday, Nov. 22 and 23, and 10am to 2pm on Sunday, Nov. 24, the arts fair is completely free and jam-packed with a full schedule of musical entertainment. And while you’re down Socorro-way for the weekend, you might want to glance up at the sky—I hear it’s a good season for bird watching. Historic Garcia Opera House, Socorro • Fri Nov 22 • 9am-5pm • FREE • ALL-AGES! • View on Alibi calendar
No matter how snow-sparkled and gingerbread-housed your childhood may have been, working a retail gig at Christmastime is enough to turn anyone into a total Scrooge. I spent a good 15-plus years vending knickknacks and gift certificates to an only occasionally grateful public, and I’ve gotta say—it changed me, maybe not for the better.
Yes, I’ve endured hearing A Charlie Brown Christmas on repeat hour after hour, week after week, until the Vince Guaraldi Trio became the stuff of nightmares. I’ve borne customer bellyaches about out of stock items, pawing listlessly through the back room for products I knew perfectly well wouldn’t be unearthed until January. I’ve been on the receiving end of customer jeremiads for no other reason than that—shocker—the store was really busy. And by no means did I suffer the worst of what the season has to offer. Can you blame me for feeling decidedly meh this time of year, even if it’s been ages since I had to touch a cash register?
And the point is, folks, that Albuquerque’s Twinkle Light Parade is coming and you’ve got one more day to register your floats.
But I’m not entirely a lost cause, because one thing still has the capacity to rise above it all. One sparkling night of cheer, one public act of guileless sweetness. One word that cannot be said angrily or critically.
Twinkle.
You’re with me, right? Twinkle is the most cheerful word I know. Twinkle twinkle twinkle. I get giddy just typing it. Twinkle! And the point is, folks, that Albuquerque’s Twinkle Light Parade is coming and you’ve got one more day to register your floats.
Choose from one of nine categories of (try “Misfit”—that sounds like a good one, doesn’t it?) and pay your entry fee (nada for government, $25 for single families and single vehicles of a non-commercial nature, $50 for nonprofits, schools and community entries, and $100 for commercial entries). Visit the city website for deets and the application—the deadline is mañana, Friday, Nov. 15. The parade happens in conjunction with Nob Hill’s Shop and Stroll on Dec. 7.
In 2012, it may have been the only event in New Mexico to involve milk jugs, sanding discs, hot air balloon material, bike tubes and a sailboat jib, all paraded down a catwalk by smiling models—so you can only imagine what Recycle Santa Fe’s Trash Fashion and Costume Contest will bring in 2013. Luckily we’ve made so much new trash in the past year! Participants, competing for cash and prizes, transform cast-off ephemera into works of wearable art. Extracting finery from refuse, some outfits are elegant, some are funny, and all flaunt a praiseworthy creative spark. Tonight's fashion show, which gets going at 7pm at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center (201 W. Marcy Street), kicks off the 15th annual Recycle Santa Fe Art Festival, a gathering of over 80 artists from all over the country to sell and exhibit their artworks made with, at a minimum, 75% recycled materials. Fashion show admission runs $15 to $20 and includes entry to the festival. If you can’t make it to the show, the festival’s $5 tonight and free Saturday and Sunday, so pick up some charming tin-can earrings and feel good about doing your part for the environment. Santa Fe Convention Center, Santa Fe • Fri Nov 15 • 7pm • $15-$20 • View on Alibi calendar
“Chaos is a big part of how I psychologically operate,” Shawn Turung acknowledges. “We’re wandering through a vast sea of things; I like talking about it through my imagery.” Her large-scale paintings grapple with that vast sea by marshaling bursts of chromatic energy into checkered fields of color, and she distills many of the outlandish, though recognizable, figures populating them down to their simplest outlines. In the process, the chaos is tempered, but not quashed. To explicitly folkloric and allegorical symbols—what she calls “human condition stuff”—Turung adds a vivid dash of humor. In her 10-foot-plus “Epic,” for example, she situates a Pac-Man Pez dispenser and a leonine creature in fishnet stockings amidst self-conscious echoes of Picasso’s “Guernica.” “Every person we meet, every event that takes place,” she tells me, “it’s not a simple interaction. … Everybody uses humor to communicate with each other. It’s something we’re able to understand.” Turung’s exhibit Loaded, showcasing more than 15 pieces of playful and exploratory new work, unveils at Exhibit/208 (208 Broadway SE) tomorrow from 5 to 8pm. Exhibit/208 • Fri Nov 8 • 5-8pm • FREE • View on Alibi calendar
This is about the words. Words that cut across vast leagues of time and space to bring to life the history, triumphs and complexities of Cuba. Words that retain the beauty and mystery of the original Spanish. Coming off a two-week run at their Santa Fe theater, Teatro Paraguas brings Dos Patrias: la poesía de Cuba to Albuquerque this weekend only. Letting the words shine means relying on minimal staging—the floor painted to look like Spanish tile, the actors seated in a line like a second audience and the poems’ English translations projected simply onto a screen at one side. Standout pieces include Nancy Morejón’s haunting “Amo a mi amo” (“I Love My Master”), the waggish “Mirando un grabado erótico chino” (“Looking at an Erotic Chinese Engraving”) by Luis Rogelio Nogueras and Nicolás Guillén’s Santeria-inflected gambol “Sensemayá” (“Song to Kill a Snake”). With foot-stomping dance and the susurrations of flamenco guitar in addition to impassioned lyrical recitations, Dos Patrias is sure to please Spanish-language learners as much as lovers of language and poetry. Catch it on tonight or Saturday, Oct. 26 at 7pm and Sunday, Oct. 27 at 2:30pm at the National Hispanic Cultural Center (1701 Fourth Street SW). Free, though donations are accepted. National Hispanic Cultural Center • Fri Oct 25 • 7-8:30pm • FREE, donations accepted • View on Alibi calendar
Back in September, the Albuquerque Museum (2000 Mountain NW) opened a show culled from the Smithsonian's vast collection. African American Art in the 20th Century exhibits 103 diverse paintings, photographs, sculptures and prints by 43 black artists. Now, in conjunction with the exhibit, Albuquerque Poet Laureate and all-around arts champion Hakim Bellamy presents Hymns, Hers and Hip-Hop at the museum’s monthly 3rd Thursday event. He’s designed the evening around the idea that the complexity of the African-American experience and its ongoing impact can be best expressed only through an amalgamation of mediums. Poets, musicians, singers, rappers, DJs and b-boys will bring meticulous beats, keen observations and adroit movements that explore and expand on the exhibit’s themes and connect them to modern hip-hop culture. The free performances shake out from 5 to 8:30pm tonight, and African American Art in the 20th Century will be on view until next January. Albuquerque Museum of Art and History • Thu Oct 17 • 5-8:30pm • FREE • View on Alibi calendar
Remember, for city elections, an ID is required. According to the city’s website, though, they’re pretty liberal about what constitutes voter identification:
• Government-issued card containing the voter's name and photo
• Driver's license
• Student identification card
• Credit or debit card
• Insurance card
• Union membership card
• Professional association card
• City Clerk-issued identification
• Other membership cards with the voter's name and photo
It’s certainly nice to see that if you’re one of the folks who could be negatively impacted by a voter ID law, you can at least present your Costco card in lieu of a driver’s license.
Municipal elections aren’t the sexiest of the elections (and that’s really saying something), but they represent a chance for normal people like you and me to have a say in what happens close to home. Take a few minutes to vote today and you’ll be justified in complaining about the results for the next 364.
Back in May, Alibi told you about Edward Goodman, the attorney and animal rescuer seeking artists to transform some humble wooden bowling pins into knockout pieces of art for a worthy cause. Happily, Goodman’s work has paid off. On Saturday, Oct. 5, Corrales will be home to Bowled and Beautiful, an art show to benefit homeless dogs. Twenty-five quirky, humorous and beautiful sculptural objects made from those vintage bowling pins—everything from toucans to saints to cat Picassos—are being sold by silent auction, with all proceeds benefiting Second Chance Animal Rescue and NMDog.
Goodman says he’s “most impressed that, with a budget of ‘zero,’ we have been able to put together a fantastic one-of-a-kind art show and fundraiser.” Indeed, judging by all the swag the event’s managed to round up, Bowled and Beautiful seems to have struck a chord with the community.
Vegetarian and vegan hors d’oeuvres are being donated by Perea’s Tijuana Bar and Restaurant, the Bistro Brewery and the Oasis Desert Bistro, while the Corrales venue, St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church (4908B Corrales Road) has also been offered up at no charge. Even the jazz is donated, thanks to Corrales ensemble Mood Swing. Along with the artworks, products and services contributed by local businesses are up for bid in the silent auction.
With so many thousands of animals in New Mexico shelters, Bowled and Beautiful creatively tackles a serious cause. Put your bid in on a one-of-a-kind artwork to help some one-of-a-kind critters.
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