SFR Picks—Week of April 25

Closure

In February, when the Center for Contemporary Arts opened the Ciel Bergman show, The Linens, SFR's arts writer noted that the pieces—massive, looming linens emblazoned with abstract paint and symbols and hung in a flowing fashion throughout the Tank Garage gallery space—were "raw, strange and full of power." These are also apt words when referring to the closing event this Saturday evening, which finds highlight acts curated by local label Matron Records performing among Bergman's works as a statement on philosophy, feminism and artistry.

There are numerous acts set to appear; the big three, as it were, come in the form of local songstress PSIRENS and Albuquerque-based weirdo projects Lady Uranium and Bigawatt. For PSIRENS' part, Santa Fean Paris Mancini has graced our pages before thanks to her one-woman army of loops and vocals ranging from the sublime to the bizarre to the ethereal and back again. Lady Uranium, meanwhile, fields similar sounds, though with myriad effects and fearless experimentalism. Lady U's Mauro Woody (also of Albuquerque's bass-heavy indie act Chicharra) has consistently proven a boundless creativity. Bigawatt's Marisa Demarco (also of Chicharra, also occasionally of SFR freelance journalist fame) writes songs like a robot in love with futuristic hip-hop might, expansive and strange but cohesively dance-worthy and toe-tappy.

"I hadn't really seen any of Ciel's work prior, but it seemed like a fun thing to collaborate on—not just in terms of her work, but in terms of what CCA is trying to do with bringing in more performance art," curator and Matron Records founder Eliza Lutz tells SFR. "I think this body deals a lot with her feminism through themes of sexuality and physicality; there are a lot symbols in the work I thought would be fun to explore—the [performers] also found what they wanted to explore within that."

Lutz also performs within the duo Gender Flitters, a movement piece she describes as taking on the gender binary in a visual way. "We wanted to explore: What's a female sound? A male sound? A female movement or a male movement?" she asks. Albuquerque arts collective GRAFT Gallery rounds out the night with a performance piece that embraces similar uses of symbology and linens as does the Bergman show. (Alex De Vore)

The Linens Closing Reception and Matron Records Performance: 
5 pm Saturday April 28. $5.
Center for Contemporary Arts,
1050 Old Pecos Trail,
982-1338

A Thousand Words

Every year, your pals at SFR send out a dragnet for the best photography the shooters of the area can muster, and every year those shooters do not disappoint. Oh sure, it's a ton of work sifting through hundreds of incredible landscape, wildlife, portrait and artsy photos, but it all becomes worth it once we create large-scale canvas prints and auction them off at the Violet Crown Cinema to benefit student journalism internships. All the winning pics appear in our Santa Fe Manual, which hits the stands May 2, so this is actually a sneak preview. Really, it's just about finding a little moment of beauty in the everyday and … y'know what? We might just show up to try and outbid the public for some of these prints—they're gorgeous. (ADV)

SFR's Santa Fe Manual Photo Show: 
6 pm Wednesday April 25. Free.
Violet Crown Cinema,
1606 Alcaldesa St.,
216-5678.

Brutal

Sculptor Debra Baxter's propensity for crafting armor and weaponry-adjacent pieces from metal, stone and wood belies the subtly elegant touches rampant throughout her work. It's a place where a necklace might recall chainmail, but sits so softly atop a collarbone we're more taken aback by its beauty than its implied practicality. It's a place where brass knuckles with jagged minerals jutting skyward are terrifying yet mesmerizing, and where wood and metal transpose yet complement one another with clean lines and bold shapes. Representational this is not; intriguing and borderline dangerous it is. Good luck not getting sucked in. (ADV)

Debra Baxter: Tooth and Nail: 
5 pm Friday April 27. Free.
form & concept,
435 S Guadalupe St.,
982-8111.

A Thousand More

If SFR's photo show didn't scratch your itch for images (or even just light a fire under your own photographic ass), the Photographic Society of Santa Fe knows just what to do: Pop by for a free meeting and peer review session. Pretty much everybody has a decent camera in their pocket at all times these days, but what do you know about presentation or artistry? Have you wanted to expand or refine your chops? Grab up to five of your best works, digital or printed, and get 'em assessed by some of our local best. You're already most of the way to greatness. (ADV)

Photographic Society of Santa Fe Meeting:
6:30 pm Tuesday May 1. Free.
St. John's United Methodist Church,
1200 Old Pecos Trail,
982-5397.