Low Gallery : Porous Walker.

Comment: I get this email from Porous Walker the day before his Low Gallery one-day extravaganza saying that he's completed a portrait of ME with the word "deadass" in the title. It'll be on display at the gallery AND-- get this-- he will gift it to me gratis at the show. Imagine that! Tempting a chaste Midwest pureboy with graft, chicanery, dirty pool, and if that's not enough-- monkey business. Do I succumb to this unabashed inveiglement? A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a free portrait of my biggest fan-- ME? There I am, deep in the depths dilemmic despair, rife for defilement. If I dare appear at Walker's show and accept the kickback, my unimpeachably impeccable reputation for righteous non-agendized art world reportage (?) will be dust. You're on the edge of your seat, right? Will he? Won't he? You betcher sweet candy-apple ass he will.

Since I went, I might as well tell you about it. Everything is five bucks, so nobody's gonna go broke augmenting their collections. Most of the art lays in rows on the floor or leans against the walls. Walker's work combines performance, pottymouth, e-ROT-ica, absurdity, editorial comment, and last but not least, amusement. Highlights include a Bert Reynolds look-alike dude signing autographs, a large formless floorbound blob of Rice Krispies Treats (tm), a plethora of protuberant penilicisms including a cookie dough-encased dildo vibrating on a metal serving tray, and also for the eaters, a popcorn machine out front.

***

Crucible Steel Gallery at CELLspace : Video Installation and Photography by Bryan Hewitt.

Comment: Hewitt explores through video and photographs the ways colors change at the gloaming, or during the transition from light to darkness. He does not retouch or enhance his images, nor does he divulge their locations, preferring that the focus remain entirely on the colors, absent extraneous information. This lack of location data, in addition to advancing Hewitt's mission, imparts a dreamlike otherworld feel to the compositions, verging on abstract. I asked the price of one of the large photographic images-- $2400.

***

Amaru Gallery : Ink - Bay Area Cartoonists.

Artists: Andrice Arp, Fredo, Renee French, Justin Hall, Lark Pien, Jesse Reklaw.

Comment: Amaru is sort of two galleries in one-- one gallery shows local artists and the other shows a nice selection of Latin American arts and crafts. The venue is relatively new, having already undergone a floor plan makeover (I like the new arrangement better). Tonight's opening features illustration and cartoon art by local artists.

***

Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi : Mohammed Hourian .

Comment: Very competent work by Iranian-born artist Mohammed Hourian. The show includes prints, labeled "lithographs," the one I looked at priced $800. Upon close inspection, these "lithographs" appear to be offset photoreproductions of original works of art by Hourian (the same process used to print mass-market posters of art by famous artists). I'm prepared to stand corrected on this, by the way.

So OK. Soapbox time. Reproduction prints of originals-- whether they're digitial, photomechanical, or otherwise-- whether they're called offsets, lithographs, giclees, digital images, limited editions, or whatever-- are NOT art. They are copies of art. If they're hand-signed, for instance, they may have value as collectibles related to the artists who made the originals, but they have no value as stand-alone works of art. Never confuse original art with copies of original art. Lots of galleries make lots of money at the expense of lots of uninformed buyers by blurring the distinction between originals and copies.

***

66 Balmy Gallery : Tracing the Body - New Works by Susan Garry-Lorica.

Comment: Susan Garry-Lorica tells me she makes art from recycled materials (and we can never have too much recycling, although I'm a huge advocate of not using it in the first place, which doesn't really apply here, but I thought I'd throw it in anyway because you can never have too much respect for the earth, or for that matter, the people who live on it). See how art makes you think good thoughts? Meanwhile back at the show, Garry-Lorica identifies clues to nude female forms in the textures and surfaces of much of her reclaimed refuse. She revitalizes that refuse by accentuating those clues-- completing the forms-- so that the rest of us can see what she sees. Prices reasonable, most mid-hundreds.

***

National Product : Bad Taste Good - Ceramics by Andrew DeWitt.

Comment: The National Product website portends the licentious raunch with the directive "PARENTAL ADVISORY: Explicit Content" for those desiring to look at Andrew DeWitt's art online. And the warning's legit as DeWitt explores the bounds of propriety with a bona fide ceramic smutfest. Not everything's depraved, but in situations where you have excess alongside moderation, excess always sets the tone. The work is well-crafted, that's for sure, but all I can say is... niche market. Erotica collectors take note.

***

In Color 2 : Joe Brook - Flags.

Comment: Joe Brook, Photo Editor of SLAP Magazine , is best known for his skateboard photography. He tells me that early on, he took an interest flags and how they're displayed. So in his spare moments, as he travels the country on assignment, he documents flags, their circumstances, and their surroundings in photographs. He documents them well, he's got a fan base (not your typical art opening crowd), and he seems like a very nice guy. Images are priced by size, in editions of 10, ranging from $75 for a 5x7 to $650 for a 24x30, frames included.

***

SUB ROSA Salon Des Arts, 352 Sixth Street, San Francisco, CA 94103; 415.867.6005: B Sides.

Artists: Nestor Brito, Jushua G. Churchill, Chris Corales, Renee Delores.

Comment: Four artists present art other than what they're best known for. Pretty good show, actually. There's a couple of pesky "POR's" on the price list, but most priced art is in the low hundreds. If SUB ROSA keeps this up, they may have to go public and change their name to SUPER ROSA.

***

Woodward Flats : New Work by Joe Colley - I Wish I Could Take All of You With Me.

Comment: Don't be fooled by what appears to be a decidedly downbeat event, complete with a wall of nooses, and if that's not enough to bum you, a wall of red plywood polygons serigraphed with demoralizing aphorisms. Joe Colley explains the funereal pall in his liner notes, stating that one of the purposes of the show is to explore "uncomfortable psychic spaces." What impresses me about Colley is his unconventional flair and range of skills, not only how he displays and tags his nooses with signed and printed cards, and how he aesthetically glamorizes a wall with painted wooden forms, but also that he's produced a record (edition of 165) with eight infinite grooves, four of which play "no" and four of which play "no" backwards, or "on." Plus he's offering a small plastic case of cards, also available in limited edition. According to Colley, the records and plastic card cases have roots in Fluxus. This is his first show, he tells me. The nooses are free for the asking (one per victim), and the rest of the art is real cheap (well under $100). I'd keep an eye on this dude.

***

Needles & Pens : A Thousand Arms of Industry and Boredom - Mike Taylor, Caroline Paquita.

Comment: Mike Taylor from Rhode Island, Caroline Paquita from San Francisco, old friends, walls full of art, variety-pak, nothing over $300, most under $150.

Juice Design : Fundraiser for The Zine Unbound - Kults, Werewolves and Sarcastic Hippies.

Artists: Rebecca MIller, Crust and Dirt, Brion Nudah, Ryan Wallace, Paul Schiek, Paul Urich, Chris Duncan, Griffin McPartland, Aki Raymer/Attakai, Kris Chau, Jennifer Wofford, Sarah Smith and Robert Guitierrez, Judd Vatrone, Amanda Eicher, Sacha Eckes, Mary Joy Scott, Chris Wright, Jeremy and Claire Weiss, Jen Smith, David D'Andrea, Maya Hayuk, Crown Farmer, Good Together, Beautiful Decay, K-48, Alena Rudolph, Poketo, Kyle Ranson, Jason Mcaffee, Derrick Snodgrass, Mat O'brien, Lori D, Tim Gough , jovi schnell, YBCA, more.

Comment: Art auction/raffle to fund a catalogue for an upcoming exhibition at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts to feature zine makers "K-48," "Trinie Dalton," and "Hot and Cold."

Hayes Valley Market : The Most Powerful Sound.

Comment: Complete chaos. Get a curator.

Budget Gallery had a separate show in the parking lot, but I missed it, so the images are only from Powerful Sound. Hey-- nobody's perfect.

Anyway, here's the artists who participated in the Budget Gallery show: Nishimoto, Mark Santa Ana, Hannah Dancing, Madeline Behrens-Brigham, Lisa Sebasco, Alicia Debrincat, Daniel C. Boyer, Christina C. A. Arroyo, Mary V. Marsh, Kate White, Kevin Fox, Richard Fong, Andrea Raynor, Christian Ebert, Steve Lambert, Michelle A. Hydra, Tantra, Rommel Jamias, Lindsey Lyons, Ojo De Vidrio II, Adam Vermeire, Carter Hartsough, Lena Hartsough, Hannah B., Victoria Mara Heilwelll, Anna Marie Benson, more.

Addendum: