Alaska News

ArtBeat: Erotic art and rolling balls highlight First Friday rambles

The Alaska Center for Alternative Lifestyles, 225 E. Fifth Ave., is holding a First Friday event for what they describe as an "erotic art show." Paintings by Dana Gogogadet will be on display through the month, but for the First Friday reception the center will also host building tours, fire spinning and live art models and sketching. The festivities start at 7 p.m., which is convenient in that the street parking is free after 6 p.m. Among the other unusual aspects of the reception, it's restricted to patrons 21 and over, but is a non-alcoholic event. You don't see that too often.

Elsewhere downtown, we're looking forward to seeing John Will's kinetic "rolling ball" sculpture at Sparc, 425 D St. Titled "One Man's Trash," the Eagle River artist's piece is "loaded with moving parts, switching tracks, flashing lights and stimulating sound effects consisting of almost entirely recycled materials" like old satellite dishes, truck parts, trash compactors and garage door openers that direct the ever-changing movements of six snooker balls. Sparc, which usually showcases work by people with disabilities, is one of the more dependably intriguing art spaces in town, but "One Man's Trash" sounds especially fascinating. See more at ballswillroll.com.

Next door to Sparc, at the International Gallery of Contemporary Art, Sonya Kelliher-Combs will display some of her recent work. Among the most productive and influential young artists in Alaska, Kelliher-Combs often deals with family, history and Native culture and this show will continue those themes. The International is often packed on First Fridays. It'll be worth viewing the work at quieter times. The gallery is open noon-4 p.m. Tuesdays-Sundays.

At Artique Ltd., over on G Street, oil paintings by Scott Switzer and his son, Francis, will be featured. Switzer Sr. is known for colorful impressionistic work, but we hear Francis Switzer tends toward a more realistic style. Also spotlighted are digital paintings of wildlife by Robert Arrington, best known as a photographer.

Back on Fourth Avenue, Sevigny Studios will present "nature-inspired" oil paintings by Karmen Staveland. The First Friday reception includes music by Ben Balivet.

At Anchorage Community Works, on Ship Creek, UAA printmakers will show work recently created in classes led by Michael Conti. Conti will be present at the "late salon," 8-11 p.m., a 21-and-over event with beer and wine, along with several students and the Portland-based punk/folk band Ghost Town Revival. ACW suggests a $10 donation.

Heading toward Midtown, Two Friends Gallery on Benson Boulevard has wearable art for your favorite dog and cat by Leslie Pruett, including eye-popping collars from her Ribbonworks shop. We've often noted a tilt toward pets in Two Friends' consignment art, but suspect that they'll be a major theme throughout the store this month.

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Also in Midtown, the Hugi-Lewis Studio on Northern Lights Boulevard has an exhibit of log cabin-related art curated by Donald Ricker in conjunction with the Anchorage Centennial Celebration. It shares space with jazz-themed art by Indra Arriaga and, in fact, the Spenard JazzFest kicks off at the studio on Friday. Yes, there'll be music.

The ever-expanding First Friday scene in South Anchorage will include Scott Clendaniel's Summer Art Extravaganza, featuring new paintings of Anchorage landmarks and scenery, at the Midnight Sun Brewing Company. This coincides with Midnight Sun's "Firkin Friday" event, featuring the tapping of a summer brew called Powerline Pilsner, the manufacture of which includes a cask conditioned with grapefruit, we're told. By the way, Clendaniel says he's open to doing commission work for Father's Day, a nice oil painting of Alaskana or maybe a portrait of Dad's favorite beer.

Huffman Square is also a First Friday venue, with nature and landscape photography by Didier Lindsey at Northern Made Creations Gift Shop and Gallery, 1120 Huffman Road. They're teaming up with the nearby 12-100 Coffee and Communitas, a nonprofit coffee and tea house at 12100 Old Seward Highway. The coffee house has multiple artists on exhibit, including "upcycled" art from a collective that call themselves Remade and the debut of photography by Zan Butler. Both venues are sharing some proceeds with local charities. Though this is being billed as "South Anchorage's first ever First Friday Art Walk," Northern Made owner Sarah Fuller says they plan to have First Friday events throughout the summer.

You oughta be in opera

Anchorage Opera is looking for a few good singing Alaskans for roles in next season's productions of "Carmen" and "The Mikado." The former unfolds on the Discovery stage Oct. 23-25; the company is looking for singing actors who can handle the smaller but meaty roles of Morales (baritone), Carmen's friend Frasquita (soprano), and the bandit smugglers El Dancairo and El Remendado (baritone and tenor). For "The Mikado," which runs April 15-17, they're looking for a Pish-Tush (baritone) and, to complete the trio of three little maids from school, Peep-Bo (soprano) and Pitti-Sing (mezzo).

Open auditions will take place 5:30-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 16, in the UAA Fine Arts Building. Start practicing your scales and contact production manager Russell Courter at rcourter@anchorageopera.org or call 279-2557, ext. 102, to get details about audition requirements.

Astor Piazzolla's "tango opera" "Maria de Buenos Aires" will fill out the season, Jan. 21-24.

Sexton reads at UAA

Last month we noted the publication of former Alaska Poet Laureate Tom Sexton's latest collection, "A Ladder of Cranes." Sexton is back in state after wintering in Maine (because Alaska's not cold enough) and will present a reading at 4 p.m. Wednesday, June 10, at the UAA Campus Bookstore.

Parking is free for this event and other talks planned at the bookstore -- and there are a lot of them. For instance, Regina H. Macedo, professor at Department of Zoology at the University of Brasilia, Brazil, and president of the international Animal Behavior Society will speak on "Avian Sexual Selection and Cooperative Breeding" at 1 p.m. Tuesday, June 9. These talks are carried on podcasts. Check 'em out at uaa.alaska.edu/bookstore/events/podcasts.cfm.

'Moose' on a roll

Tikahtnu Regal Cinema has extended its run of Chad Carpenter's all-Alaska comedy "Moose: The Movie." It will now run in Anchorage at least through June 11. Carpenter says the recently concluded run at Valley Cinemas, where the show debuted in April, nearly sold out eight times with box office payoffs that compared with "Night at the Museum 3," "Fifty Shades of Grey" and other hits with the Mat-Su audience.

The flick has now run in several smaller theaters in Alaska and Outside. Carpenter says the national Regal Cinema chain will pick it up for additional Lower 48 theaters with dates and locations to be announced soon. Meanwhile, next week, he's heading for Las Vegas to meet the Lionsgate production/distribution folks to discuss the national distribution of DVDs.

Machetanz Festival underway

The eighth annual Machetanz Art Festival is underway June 5-6 at Matanuska-Susitna College. Classes range from writing to drawing and are often full as soon as they're announced. Find out more at matsu.alaska.edu/departments/fine-arts/machetanz-art-festival.

Reach Mike Dunham at mdunham@alaskadispatch.com or 257-4332.

Mike Dunham

Mike Dunham has been a reporter and editor at the ADN since 1994, mainly writing about culture, arts and Alaska history. He worked in radio for 20 years before switching to print.

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