TUE 4/15
André Breton and the old Surrealist gang would have swooned over the Dream Art Exchange. Those worshippers of the subconscious devised all kinds of clever strategies for translating dreams into art and writing. Their methods may have been pure genius or total bunk, but there’s no arguing the fact that Dali, de Chirico, and their cohorts produced some of the most beautiful and seductive art of the 20th century.The Dream Art Exchange is partly an exercise in automatism, but with an added twist of “exquisite corpse.” Co-curators Tristy Taylor and Monika Del Bosque brought together thirty local artists, paired them off, and asked them to trade dream-descriptions, then make art pieces based on each other’s dreams. The results will be on exhibit at JFK University’s Arts and Consciousness Gallery (2956 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley) from April 15 through May 7.
“Untitled Bed” by Leah Libow, 2003 Rob Crow Dave Brubeck
Taylor is an artist, dream worker, interfaith minister, and JFKU Arts & Consciousness MA candidate. Del Bosque is also an artist and JFKU MA candidate whose artwork has always centered on dream imagery. It’s positively surreal, says Del Bosque, how many seemingly unexplained synchronicities they’ve observed among the finished art pieces. “The power of dreaming and its ability to tap us into the collective unconscious has been very evident,” she observes. “Many of the ‘isms’ of life have been broken down; men and women have discovered shared hopes and visions, and people of different backgrounds have found they shared the same fears and worries.”
You won’t see any melting watches (sorry!), but the show features plenty more, from painting to sculpture, photography, works on fabric, audio, and even a videotaped performance piece by Shanti Gibian, who projected her own paintings onto herself and taped it. Nancy Lund made a 3-D sculpture out of living grass. Chris Oatey’s totally black painting speaks volumes about the dark dreams of his partner, Elizabeth Costello. And Leah Libow’s piece, in many respects the most ambitious of all, is an ingenious installation that includes a full-size bed! Libow cleverly sets up the scene so that viewers unwittingly reenact the artist’s dream as they walk around the bed on a dirt path and read the poem inscribed on the sheets. The show’s opening reception will be from 7-10 p.m. on April 19. Please wear your favorite sleeping attire. — Lindsey Westbrook
THU 4/10
Pinbacked
Talk about your preemptive strikes. In February, Rob Crow played at the Ramp in Berkeley. Now this Thursday at 9 p.m., Pinback, the lo-fi post-pop consortium that is Crow, Armistead Burwell Smith IV, and Tom Zinsor, will hit the Oakland Metro (201 Broadway), though their two new EPs won’t drop until later this year, and the full-length won’t appear until 2004. Oma Yang and the Rum Diary open. Advance tickets are sold out, but there will be tickets available for $12 at the door. — Stefanie Kalem
THU 4/10
Jazz Rondo à la Dave
Attention, jazz fans: The Brubeck Festival is worth going on the road for. Beginning Thursday night at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton with legendary pianist Dave Brubeck performing with the Stockton Symphony, the five-day event includes concerts by bassist Christian McBride, the Turtle Island String Quartet, Dave’s sons Chris (trombone) and Dan (drums), clarinetist Bill Smith, and of course generous helpings of Dave’s piano in a variety of settings. The festival concludes with the Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet at Yoshi’s, Monday, April 14. Want to know more? www.brubeckinstitute.org — Kelly Vance
MON 4/7
Rolling Out
When is a bowling lane not quite so straight? When it’s being played on by members of the Out and About Bowling League, that’s when. This and every Monday at 6:45 p.m., folks of gay and lesbian persuasion, plus their straight family and friends, congregate at Manor Bowl (887 Manor Blvd., San Leandro) to play in the handicap (not scratch) and ABC/WIBC-sanctioned league. The team’s spring season began on February 3 and continues through July. Players compete in teams of three, with each participant ponying up $15 for lane fees and prize funds (what, no snazzy shirts?). E-mail [email protected] for more info. — Stefanie Kalem
