Arts & Events

Arts Calendar

Wednesday February 11, 2009 - 06:56:00 PM

THURSDAY, FEB. 12 -more-


Don Clausen: A Life in Art

By Valerie Gladstone Special to the Planet
Wednesday February 11, 2009 - 06:56:00 PM
Whitgul is one of the Clausen paintings on exhibition at Alta Galleria.

When Don Clausen looks out over the hills from his house in Piedmont, he sees the countryside where he came of age and realized his dream of becoming an artist. Though his life has not been easy, he conveys a sense of contentment only afforded individuals who have lived their passions. “I always search for new ways of seeing things,” he says. “I’m an incurable experimenter. I live for art.” -more-


The Friends of Negro Spiritual Sing Out in Oakland

By Ken Bullock Special to the Planet
Wednesday February 11, 2009 - 06:58:00 PM

It’s the “Collaboration of the Year.” The Oakland East Bay Community Chorus, directed by Bill Bell, will perform spirituals, and the Friends of Negro Spirituals will present the African American Museum and Library of Oakland with In Our Own Words, their 10-DVD compilation of oral histories concerning the learning of and preservation for spirituals, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. this Saturday at the museum. The performance will be followed by a panel discussion with some of the “Heritage Keepers” who were recorded for the DVD set. -more-


‘In the Other Room’ at Berkeley Rep

By Ken Bullock Special to the Planet
Wednesday February 11, 2009 - 06:59:00 PM

Describing Sarah Ruhl’s play In the Next Room, or The Vibrator Play, now onstage at Berkeley Rep, directed by Les Waters, it begins to sound like a fairytale or fable, albeit one for adults, perhaps part of its appeal. At the start of the Electrical Age, a female patient of an unconventional doctor, who has been treating her for hysteria, and the doctor’s wife start using the therapeutic equipment on themselves—and discover The Orgasm. -more-


CCCT Presents ‘Nine’

By Ken Bullock Special to the Planet
Wednesday February 11, 2009 - 07:00:00 PM

A famous Italian filmmaker, in the throes of midlife crisis, hides out from the world (and his producer) at a renowned Venetian spa, hoping to rekindle his imagination—and his marriage. But his producer descends on him, he’s recognized everywhere, his wife is hounded by reporters ... and he’s surrounded by women who either fawn on him or impugn him. He decides the movie he needs to make will be the musical his producer demands—but of the adventures of Casanova. -more-


Reading to Benefit KPFA, Poetry Flash

By Ken Bullock Special to the Planet
Wednesday February 11, 2009 - 07:01:00 PM

Hearts Gathering: Poetry, Laureates and Music for Valentine’s Day,” a benefit for KPFA and Poetry Flash, with performances by poets Diane Di Prima, Michael McClure, Carol Muske-Duke (California Poet Laureate) and Al Young (former California Poet Laureate, 2005–08), accompanied by Dan Robbins on bass, as well as famed didjeridoo player Stephen Kent and vocalist Eda Maxym, with performance artist, Buddhist teacher and author Wes “Scoop” Nisker as emcee, will be held Saturday at King Middle School Auditorium, co-sponsored by the Daily Planet and Moe’s Books. -more-


Anna Recording Live at Anna’s

By Ken Bullock Special to the Planet
Wednesday February 11, 2009 - 07:01:00 PM

For a soulful Valentine’s Day, it’s time for soulful love songs!” reads the calendar listing on the website for the Saturday show at Anna’s Jazz Island. The show, titled “Love in the Lost and Found,” will feature proprietor Anna de Leon recording live songs from the “Soulful American Songbook.” -more-


MOVING PICTURES: Motion and Emotion in F.W. Murnau’s ‘Sunrise’

By Justin DeFreitas
Wednesday February 11, 2009 - 06:58:00 PM
George O’Brien and Janet Gaynor in F.W. Murnau’s classic Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927).

In its first year—and only in its first year—the Academy Awards split its top honors for best film into two categories: Best Picture and Unique and Artistic Production. And, having made manifest the schism between the commercial and the artistic in American filmmaking, in which the latter so often suffered—and continues to suffer—at the hands of the former, the academy immediately discontinued the practice. -more-


Model Trains in Golden Gate Park

By Steven Finacom Special to the Planet
Thursday February 12, 2009 - 12:38:00 PM
Model trains and miniature San Francisco landmarks create a diverting landscape in the western end of the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park through April 19.

While the De Young Museum and the new Academy of Sciences building are the star draws in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park these days, a good time can also be had just around the corner in their enduring elegant Victorian cousin, the glass Conservatory of Flowers. -more-


About the House: Underwater Real Estate and Other Acts Of Faith

By Matt Cantor
Wednesday February 11, 2009 - 06:53:00 PM

Real Estate Owned properties (REOs), which are essentially bank owned properties, are all the rage right now and rage may be the operative word once you’ve taken possession. So take your time, pry open those cavalier jaws and say “Ahhhhh.” -more-


Community Calendar

Wednesday February 11, 2009 - 07:24:00 PM

THURSDAY, FEB. 12 -more-