Puppeteers practice an ingenious breed of artistry that blends playfulness, resourcefulness and beauty to practical ends. That’s a fancy way of saying "Puppeteers are my favorite." Michael McCormick is a native New Mexican who’s built puppets, masks and props for The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth and Star Wars: Episode VI—Return of the Jedi . He’ll show his personal and commercial work and reconstruct part of his studio space at the William Platz Gallery in the Art Center Design College (5000 Marble NE). The exhibit will be on display through Friday, April 17, and the gallery is open on Thursdays from 2 to 7 p.m., Fridays from noon to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Culture Shock Photo Contest Time
I wait all year for this thing. Send us your stunning photographs for the Alibi photo contest, on stands April 9. Images can be e-mailed to photocontest@alibi.com or mail them to: 2118 Central SE, #151, Albuquerque, N.M. 87106. Please include your name, address and a daytime telephone number or e-mail address.
Culture Shock Robups And Pinbots
“Duality” acrylic on canvas
Ryan Singer’s art capitalizes on pop culture stereotypes and clichés, twisting and shining them until their nasty natures are revealed. He’s certainly not afraid of color, and his aesthetic is versatile—one minute a cartoonist, the next a realist; this painting is spare, this one’s cluttered. His show Robots and Pinups hangs on the walls of Atomic Cantina (315 Gold SW) through Tuesday, March 31, so stop in for a brew and admire Singer’s work, which is also viewable at maniaverse.com/ryansinger.
Culture Shock Zen And The Art
A dear friend lent me Natalie Goldberg‘s Banana Rose when I was in high school, and the sexy, funny novel about a painter in Taos was so different than anything I’d ever read, it drastically altered the way I wrote. And though I cringe at instructional writing books, I’ll probably buy you a copy of Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones for your birthday if we know each other long enough. Robert M. Pirsig, who wrote Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance , has this to say about her prose: "It’s the simple style of a Zen archer who looks like he’s not even aiming, yet sends arrow after arrow to the bull’s eye, time after time." Head over to Bookworks (4022 Rio Grande NW) at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 12, to hear Goldberg talk about her latest book on memoir writing, Old Friend from Far Away .
