As the headline suggests, here are a few picks of art exhibition openings and shows to check out this weekend in Charlotte and the surrounding area — as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
• Art Show For The Homeless at Fine Furniture Direct on Nov. 20 & 21, 5-8 p.m.. Featuring abstract and contemporary works with mixed media by Greg Walker. To benefit the homeless in Charlotte. For more information, visit www.gregwalkerart.com.
Fine Furniture Direct, 2900 Griffith St. 704-334-1068.
• Clayworks by Sherudan Hathaway at Tres’ Chouette. Opens: Fri., Nov. 20, 7 p.m.
Tres’ Chouette Gallery, 1900 Shamrock Dr.
• Holiday Open House at UMAR Arts Center. Fri., Nov. 20, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Featuring ornaments, wreaths, manger scenes, bracelets, and a variety of other types of arts and crafts. The event will also feature portraits by artist/instructor, Randy Leibowitz Dean, in conjunction with UMAR artists. For portrait reservations, call 704-348-0994. Hot apple cider will be provided.
UMAR Arts Center, 1025 E. 36th St.
• Charlotte: Layered Perspectives at UNC-Charlotte. A collaboration installation by Sonja Hinrichsen and students of UNC-Charlotte. Continues through Dec. 10. 704-687-3315.
Rowe Arts Building at UNC-Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd.
• Abundance/Abundance Lost at Waterworks Visual Arts Center. By ARPA 10. Held in Norvell Gallery. Opens Nov. 20 and continues through Dec. 4.; Appalachians: End To End. Featuring works by Phyllis Steimel. Held in Stanback Hall Gallery. Opens Nov. 20 and continues through Feb. 13.; Selections from the Collection of Katherine W. Osborne. Held in Osborne and Woodson Galleries. Opens on Nov. 20 and continues through Feb. 13.; 2009 Artists Invitational Exhibition. Held in Young People’s Gallery. Opens Nov. 20 and continues through Feb. 13.
Waterworks Visual Arts Center, 123 East Liberty St., Salisbury. 704-636-1882.
THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON
**1/2
DIRECTED BY Chris Weitz STARS Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson
Hollywood’s second foray into the Twilight zone features enough fantasy and romance to satisfy most hardcore devotees of Stephenie Meyer’s vampire saga, but just as many viewers will notice that this is too often a case of the emperor — or, more specifically, buff teenage boys — wearing no clothes. Read the rest of this entry »
AN EDUCATION
***1/2
DIRECTED BY Lone Scherfig STARS Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard
Coming-of-age movies are a dime-a-dozen, but one as exemplary as An Education deserves nothing less than the opportunity to command top dollar on the open market. Sensitively directed by Lone Scherfig and exquisitely penned by Nick Hornby (adapting Lynn Barber’s memoir), this lovely drama set in London during the early 1960s stays true to its title by showing how its teen protagonist learns life lessons as they relate to issues of class, sex, schooling and her country’s own growing pains. Read the rest of this entry »
PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE
***
DIRECTED BY Lee Daniels STARS Gabourey Sidibe, Mo’Nique
“Kitchen sink realism” was the term invented to describe a specific type of artistic movement that took place in England in the 1950s and 1960s, and here comes Precious to borrow that expression for a more modern, decidedly Americanized look at life among the lower classes. Adding to the appropriateness of subletting that term is that fact that a good part of this harrowing drama is set in and around the kitchen, as a frying pan to the head and hairy pigs feet to the arteries both take a toll on the well-being of the story’s heroine, 16-year-old Claireece “Precious” Jones (Gabourey Sidibe). Read the rest of this entry »
THE BLIND SIDE
**1/2
DIRECTED BY John Lee Hancock STARS Sandra Bullock, Quentin Aaron
Precious is different in that it allows an African-American character to tell her own story, never ceding the camera to anyone else and remaining the focal point throughout. The Blind Side is more typical of the sort of racially aware films Hollywood foists upon middle America, purportedly focusing on a black protagonist but really serving as an example of the goodness of white folks. The only reason this young black boy exists, it seems to hint, is so that a Caucasian woman can feel good about herself. Read the rest of this entry »
Rep. Mel Watt of Charlotte, whose campaign coffers are well-stocked with banking and financial industry money, yesterday tried, but failed, to derail an amendment to a House Finance Committee bill which would open the Federal Reserve to public audits. The longtime friend and ally of former Charlotte mayor Harvey Gantt, and favorite of many local progressives, proposed his own amendment, presented as a “compromise” that would still increase transparency at the Fed. A close reading by the Huffington Post, however, showed that Watt’s amendment would have in fact decreased transparency by adding more restrictions. Watt’s amendment was supported by frantic, last-minute lobbying from Federal Reserve officials and a letter from a group of eight economists who were presented as a “political cross section of prominent economists,” although seven of the eight have extensive connections to the Fed, and half of them are on the Federal Reserve payroll.
Watt’s amendment was voted down, and the amendment to audit the Fed — proposed by two of the farthest-left and farthest-right Congressmen, Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) and Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) — passed in a bipartisan vote of 43-26. Democrats’ support for the Paul/Grayson plan to audit the Fed was solidified after leading progressive economists and labor leaders posted a letter calling for a rejection of Watt’s amendment.
Watt gets much of his campaign money from businesses with intense interest in what happens at the Federal Reserve. In the 2008 campaign cycle, Watt’s four top contributors were Bank of America, Wachovia, American Express, and the American Bankers Association. Of the $458,000 received by Watt by PACs, $217,000 came from banking, finance, insurance and real estate PACs. Figures are from the Center for Responsive Politics.
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, Nov. 20, 2009 — as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
• Free Music Night, “Rat’s Nest Harvest Hoedown,” featuring Bill Noonan & the Barbed Wires, Brandon Kirkley, The Loose Lugnuts, and The Pistoleros at Neighborhood Theatre
Brandon Kirkley will perform at "Rat's Nest Harvest Hoedown" at Neighborhood Theatre.
ThinkProgress.org calls Rep. Virginia Foxx “the gift that keeps on giving,” and today she gave us all a classic. On the House floor, Foxx, of “health care reform is more dangerous than terrorism” fame, claimed that the Republican Party “passed civil rights bills back in the 1960s without very much help from [Democrats].” Talk about revisionist history. The landmark civil rights legislation of the 1960s was introduced by JFK and pushed through Congress by Lyndon Johnson, both Democrats the last time we looked. A substantial number of Republicans did vote for the civil rights bills, but those were the days when the GOP included a hefty number of moderate or even liberal members of Congress. If those bills were introduced today, you can pretty much bet everything you own that the vast majority of Republican members of Congress would vote against them, since the party has essentially purged all but a handful of its moderates. The primary factor splitting supporters from opponents of those particular bills was geography, i.e., if a Congressman was from the South, he probably opposed them; otherwise, he was probably for them. Thus, Southern Democrats voted en masse against the civil rights legislation, while nearly all the other Dems voted for them. If you take out the Southern Democrats from the equation, a higher percentage of Dems voted for the bills than did Republicans. The bottom line, though, is that those bills were introduced and pushed through by the Democratic leaders of the House and Senate. And Foxx, as usual, comes across as a confused loony.
Check out these events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area this weekend— as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
Friday, Nov. 20
UniverSoul Circus Freedom Shopping Mart Center
Sick of the standard “Ringling Bros. and yadda yadda” circuses? Then head over to Freedom Shopping Mart Center for UniverSoul Circus, which features an international and multicultural brand of entertainment. This includes West African contortionists of Twisted Soul, Chinese Foot Jugglers, and a whole lot more.
• Music Tonight, – during NoDa’s Gallery Crawl – Neighborhood Theatre and The Rat’s Nest have partnered up to present a free music night, dubbed “Rat’s Nest Harvest Hoedown.” Bill Noonan & the Barbed Wires, Brandon Kirkley, The Loose Lugnuts, and The Pistoleros will perform. more…
• Festival The Beaujolais Wine Tasting Festival at Levine Museum of the New South offers a diverse taste of wines (including the 2009 Beaujolais nouveau) from France’s wine-producing region, Beaujolais, for sampling. more…
Saturday, Nov. 21
Yankee Tavern
Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte
Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte’s latest production, Yankee Tavern, is a teasing mystery that will have your pulse racing – and that’s without alcohol in your system. The play centers around a series of events that unravel, and ultimately suggest conspiracy theories to key events in American history.
• Food Plant-eaters will leave with their bellies full at Zizi’s Vegetarian (Vegan) to Go. The menu is full of a wide range of tasty choices for both vegetarians and vegans. more…
• Comedy Charlotte sketch comedy troupe Robot Johnson will deliver a crazy-funny performance tonight at Carolina Actors Studio Theatre. more…
Sunday, Nov. 22
Matt and Ted Lee
Park Road Books
Matt and Ted Lee will visit Park Road Books today to sign and discuss their new cookbook titled, The Lee Bros. Simple, Fresh, Southern: Knockout Dishes with Down-Home Flavor.
• Music Known for his powerful vocal chords and as the front man of The Who, Roger Daltrey will visit Charlotte for a rock hard performance at The Fillmore during his current solo tour. more…
• Music Tonight, Carolina Reggae Vibes and Reggae Central present the One Love Reggae Festival at Amos’ Southend. You can expect to hear reggae sounds from Capleton, Cocoa Tea, Jah Thunda, and Prophecy Band. more…
Every year I’m amazed by our city’s generosity during the holidays. We band together to make sure poor kids get toys from Santa, we donate through work, church and at the entrances of shopping malls. Also, every year, I wonder why we can’t be this generous year ’round?
Here’s my challenge to you: Every time you go to the grocery store, look through your pantry for non-perishable foods that your family isn’t going to eat. Set them aside.
Every time you go to to the pharmacy or a box store for paper goods, buy an extra package of toilet paper, an extra tooth brush, an extra box of bottle of cleaner. Set those items aside.
Once a month, haul those “extras” to the food pantry nearest your home.
For the first winter in its 34-year-history, Charlotte’s Loaves & Fishes pantry program is worried it may not be able to meet the needs of the community’s hungry.
The network of 18 Mecklenburg County food pantries is seeing record numbers of clients due to the recession, and a survey released Wednesday showed over a third of the clients are first-time visitors.
As of Oct. 31, Loaves & Fishes has served 81,717 clients this year, compared with 57,420 during the same period two years ago.
“That’s a 42 percent increase,” said Executive Director Beverly Howard. “I’m not one to cry ‘wolf,’ but this is the most serious crisis Loaves & Fishes has ever faced.”
Currently, over half the shelves are empty at the agency’s warehouse off Old Pineville Road in south Charlotte. Several major food drives are now in progress, and Howard hopes they’ll supply the agency’s holiday needs. Late winter is when problems may arise, she says. None of the 18 pantries will close, but potential cuts could include limiting what families receive or doubling the time they must wait between visits.
