Tag Archives: REVIEWS

“Desert Jewels” and “Anima and Tuareg” at the Museum of the African Diaspora

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Larissa Archer

The Museum of the African Diaspora is hosting two small but excellent shows this month. “Desert Jewels: North African Jewelry and Photography from the Xavier Guerrand-Hermès Collection” features tribal jewelry and nineteenth-century photographs from an era when  advancements in photographic … Continue reading →

Posted in ART, jewelry, photography, REVIEWS, San Francisco | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

My “Best of 2012” arts round-up, Art Practical

Posted on August 16, 2012 by Larissa Archer

As futile as it is to try to sum up the best arts events a cosmopolitan city like San Francisco offered in a year, especially with a mere 1200 word-count, I gave it a try for Art Practical. I settled … Continue reading →

Posted in ART, ballet, burlesque, damn good, dance, photography, REVIEWS, San Francisco | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Feedback as Music, “Tron” as prophesy. Southern Machine Exposure Project. Art Practical

Posted on July 20, 2012 by Larissa Archer

On Saturday, June 30, Wobbly’s aural installation complemented Jason Brown’s witty lecture by juxtaposing visceral and intellectual responses to our increasing comfort with technology’s escalating presence in our lives. Wobbly (a.k.a. Jon Leidecker), focusing on feedback as the “intrinsic voice … Continue reading →

Posted in ART, Music, REVIEWS, San Francisco | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in ART, photography, REVIEWS, San Francisco | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

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 →

Posted in ART, butoh, damn good, dance, REVIEWS, San Francisco, theatre | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in books, damn good, publishing, REVIEWS | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

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 →

Posted in ART, damn good, REVIEWS, San Francisco | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

Chroma, Beaux, and Number Nine at SF Ballet, for Zyzzyva

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Larissa Archer

The San Francisco Ballet’s Program 2, which finished its run late last month, started strong. Wayne McGregor’s “Chroma” — one of three works making up the program — looked more like contact sport than ballet, an effect strengthened by the … Continue reading →

Posted in ART, ballet, REVIEWS, San Francisco | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Joan Baez at Yoshi’s, Zyzzyva

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Larissa Archer

As diverse as the music performed in concerts is, so are the appearances of the audiences. James Mollison documented a spectrum of what he calls the “tribes” of attendees in his photography project and book The Disciples, a rough census of personae … Continue reading →

Posted in damn good, EVENTS, Music, REVIEWS, San Francisco | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment