Category Archives: REVIEWS

I had problems with “Real to Real: Photographs from the Traina Collection.” Art Practical

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Larissa Archer

Real to Real: Photographs from the Traina Collection is flush with recognizable images, and for those who have only seen reproductions of them in books or online, the show is a necessary pilgrimage. In fact the exhibit can at times feel … Continue reading →

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Robert Reich spoke with City Arts and Lectures

Posted on May 20, 2012 by Larissa Archer

It was hard to gauge whether anyone who attended Robert Reich’s City Arts and Lectures talk at the Herbst actually learned anything from it, or had hoped to. Given the city, and the politics of the speaker, and the audible … Continue reading →

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Soaring in the Air, Writhing on the Ground: Bad Unkl Sista’s “First Breath, Last Breath” for Zyzzyva

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Larissa Archer

I could tell the performance I was about to witness late last month was extraordinary even before entering the auditorium, just from watching the audience trickle into Z Space in San Francisco. There was a man who had somehow fused … Continue reading →

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Take Me Back, Please: The Art Deco Preservation Ball, SF Weekly

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Larissa Archer

I could go on about what great clothing people wore to the Art Deco Society of California‘s Art Deco Preservation Ball on Saturday night, or what an appropriate venue the glitzy and historic Bimbo’s 365 Club is for any vintage-themed event, or how … Continue reading →

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“Without Further Ado, Pop-Up is Live!” for SF Weekly

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Larissa Archer

Can you envision a “live magazine?” How about an event that combines the best parts of your favorite magazine, like great writing, unusual and illuminating topics, and beautiful, challenging images, with the spontaneity, ephemerality, and added sensory elements such as … Continue reading →

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Alain de Botton’s “Religion for Atheists”: Zyzzyva

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Larissa Archer

Atheists and agnostics often dismiss religion’s tenets and rituals as being fashioned to exploit the human need for such things. Our fear of death is assuaged by the promise of an afterlife. Our despair in the face of injustices that … Continue reading →

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and after seeing Robert Moses’ Kin…

Posted on April 1, 2012 by Larissa Archer

What an amazing company! Not sure why Yerba Buena Center’s Novellus Theater wasn’t full. This was as interesting as anything going on in dance right now in the Bay Area and possibly beyond. My favorite piece was the first: The … Continue reading →

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Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, for Zyzzyva

Posted on March 31, 2012 by Larissa Archer

The experience of attending an Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performance is slightly different from that of most other dance company productions. The audience is more diverse both in age and race, and often treats the performance not as a … Continue reading →

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The Cult of Beauty: Victorian Avant-Garde at the Legion of Honor, for Art Practical

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Larissa Archer

The temptation to sigh and swoon through The Cult of Beauty: The Victorian Avant-Garde, 1860–1900, at the Legion of Honor, is strong. The mostly male artists gathered here have borrowed the French poet Charles Baudelaire’s concept of “Art for art’s sake,” … Continue reading →

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Trio, Francesca da Rimini, and Carnaval des Animaux at SF Ballet for Zyzzyva

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Larissa Archer

Helgi Tomasson, the San Francisco Ballet’s artistic director and principal choreographer, combined elements of modern and classical ballet to create “Trio,” set to Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence. While much of the ballet recalls the aggrandized ballroom prancing one sees so often, … Continue reading →

Posted in ART, ballet, dance, REVIEWS, San Francisco | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments