Arts & Events

FRIDAY, APRIL 6 -more-

FAIRY TALE PROJECT AT ALBANY LIBRARY -more-

A very important painting belonging to the university’s Berkeley Art Museum is about to be auctioned off at Christie’s April 18 sale. The large oil is by the renowned 19th-century painter Vasily Vereshchagin (1842-1904), whose paintings are honored in their display at Moscow’s Tretiakov Museum of Art. The picture, entitled Solomon’s Wall, depicts the West Wall of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. It is part of the artist’s Palestine series and was shown in the 1880s throughout Europe and also in New York. -more-

Dorothy Vance (called Dotty by her childhood friends in Colorado and Dart by her Berkeley friends), radical, anti-nuclear protester and jailbird, rebel girl and woman for peace, vegetarian, feminist, champion of the poor and foe of the powerful, resident of Berkeley for 50 years, and of the Elmwood for 35, friend extraordinaire, mother of three and grandmother of four, the best sister in the world, sociologist and college teacher, librarian, early receptionist for KPFA back in the days when it was upstairs over Edy’s on Shattuck, former drunk and smoker to the end, assertive yet modest and self-effacing, breadmaker, playwright and short story writer, graphic artist, potter and tile maker, creator of award-winning appliqué quilts of great good humor, some on historical, political or cultural themes, others simply whimsical, fundamentally dubious about labels and categories such as those above, died in her home on Russell Street in late February. She was 76. -more-

By KEN BULLOCK -more-

Ken Loach’s new film The Wind That Shakes the Barley, opening this weekend at Shattuck Cinemas in downtown Berkeley, is the story of the nascent Irish Republican Army and its struggle against British occupation in the early 1920s. -more-

The documentary category is consistently one of the few categories in the Academy Awards in which every nominee genuinely seems to be worthy of the attention. This year’s nominees were all high-caliber films whose selection can hardly be questioned. The winner, however, was An Inconvenient Truth, its high visibility and great cultural impact perhaps earning greater recognition for the film than its inherent quality would merit. Jesus Camp, for example, was more compelling, and Iraq in Fragments was a unique artistic triumph. -more-

It’s one of those discussions that only Arts and Crafts people would have, because we’re weird. The basic question is, “What would Stickley do with a computer?” (Gustav Stickley, for those who don’t know, was a famous furniture designer and proponent of the Arts and Crafts movement during the first two decades of the 20th century.) There seem to be two points of view on the question: the “Oh, he’d just stick it out on a library table” camp and the “No, he would have designed a special piece of furniture for it” camp. -more-

Everybody up and at ‘em! Shop till you drop! It’s time for spring plant sales! -more-

The East Bay is a special place for so many reasons including architectural history. Now, I’m a technical guy (for a sensitive male) and the history that turns me on involves silly things like pipe threading and wire soldering. I love museums of mine shafts and light bulbs. I get no kick from champagne but a museum of science and industry makes my pulse race. In other words, I’m a geek. The one that all the girls moved away from at the junior high school dance and now, years later I can proudly come out of the closet, with my phaser held high and admit my affiliation with those who collect glass doorknobs and vacuum tube radios. -more-

Run to a safe place? -more-

FRIDAY, APRIL 6 -more-

TUESDAY, APRIL 3 -more-

YOUTH PERFORM ‘365 DAYS / 365 PLAYS’ -more-

On a blood-red tile floor stained with the sepia of age, rust or dried blood, before a great stucco arch which later becomes the outline of a full moon, The Mother (Scarlett Hepworth) puts a knife which her son The Groom (Ryan O’Donnell) has handed to her on an empty chair in front of the one in which she sits. She stares at it mournfully: “How can it be that something as small as a pistol or a knife can kill a man?” -more-

I first met Tiny when she came to my law office to talk about working off her parking tickets. She had pink hair spiking off in various directions and was dressed in a biker punk combination of clashing prints and colors. I remember thinking she looked awfully young, but then again, something about her contradicted that youthful impression. Now reading her extraordinary memoir I understand the reason for the double image. -more-

A couple of years ago (have I really been doing this for a couple of years?) I wrote about the sneaky reproductive tactics of the brown-headed cowbird, one of a handful of bird species that are brood parasites. Instead of building their own nests and raising their own young, they dump their eggs in the nest of a host and go away. Apart from the New World cowbirds, avian brood parasites include Old World cuckoos, some African finches, African and Asian honeyguides, and the South American black-headed duck. Opportunistic egg-dumping occurs among swallows, waterfowl, and others, but these guys are pros. -more-

EDITOR’S NOTE -more-

TUESDAY, APRIL 3 -more-