"Cultural Savant: The Art and Collections of Joe Willie Smith"
Some might call him a scavenger, others a "picker." The Valley prefers to think of Joe Willie Smith is an artist -- albeit an unconventional one. The local talent has participated in Art Detour and events throughout downtown Phoenix, and brings a new fall gallery show to Scottsdale.
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"Cultural Savant" features only a portion of his collection of art and artifacts gathered from a variety of cultures. Smith scours streets for left-behind items, thrift stores for forgotten treasures, and miles of desert for discarded and out-of-place gems or ordinary objects. His exhibition also includes original artwork, which incorporates aspects of his found-object art.
Explore the lost-and-found from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Monday, September 29, at The Gallery at Scottsdale Civic Center Library, 3839 North Drinkwater Boulevard. The exhibition will be on view through Thursday, November 20. Admission is free and open to the public. Open daily, hours vary on weekends. Head to www.scottsdalelibrary.org for more details. Janessa Hilliard
Surprisingly, not every progressive scientific endeavor strives toward a romanticized marriage of man and machine, though some most definitely do. While it's the Ray Kurzweils of the world who tend to snatch up scientific headlines by theorizing a hybridized trans-humanist view of the future that fascinates some and terrifies most, there are plenty of scientists diligently working in the shadows toward the betterment of humanity, no "trans" or "post" needed.
On Tuesday, September 30, Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, 7380 East Second Street, will host the ASU Science Fiction TV Dinner, an opportunity to grab some grub from a local food truck and hear from some brilliant scientific minds laboring right here in our own backyard. The evening will also feature a screening of an episode of House, M.D., which draws thematically on the implications of such scientific advancements. Dinner is at 6 p.m., and the event begins at 7. All ages are welcome to this free event. For more details, visit www.scottsdaleperformingarts.org or call 480-499-7578. Rob Kroehler
AZ Opera Brown Bag Lunch Recital
There's a good chance your workplace's bland lunchroom feels more like a prison than a pleasant place to dine. If you'd prefer exceptional singing to Sing-Sing, the Arizona Opera will help you break out of your midday doldrums with its brown bag lunch recital on Wednesday, October 1.
Stepping out of the office for the first brown bag lunch recital of the season for Arizona Opera will be worth the fresh air of performance. If you've never attended a full production by the state's premier opera outfit, the recitals are a great stripped down way to glide in and not worry about your business casual duds being too casual.
The Arizona Opera brown bag lunch recital is at 1636 North Central Avenue in Phoenix and starts at 12:15 p.m. Admission is free, and the recital lasts 30 minutes. For more information, visit www.azopera.org. Jose Gonzalez
Now that New York, Milan, and Paris have had their fashion week fun, it's time for Phoenix to get in on the garment action.
Phoenix Fashion Week 2014 brings 25 designer shows to Talking Stick Resort. And while most of the designers on the roster aren't exactly household names (13 of them are competing to win the title of emerging designer of the year), typically the event does bring in an international garment maker or two, as well as some of the state's most prominent fashion personalities. We've spotted high-fashion model Kelly Mittendorf, Robert Black, and the stars of Vh1's Baseball Wives. Sure, it's not quite the star-studded endeavor that Lincoln Center boasts, but the Valley's fashion set will take what it can get. And when it comes to Phoenix Fashion Week, that means a well-produced event, fashion seminars, after-parties, pop-up shopping, and opportunities to mix and mingle with models and designers.
Models take to the runway starting at about 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 2, at 9800 East Indian Bend Road. Shows continue nightly through Saturday, October 4, the same night the emerging designer and emerging model of the year are announced. Tickets are $40 to $175 per night and available at www.eventbrite.com. Becky Bartkowski
Remember that Guatemalan sweater you wore to that Phish concert? Or that hand-woven tapestry hanging in the living room? Wool, cotton, or some other textile-- those original fibers were once devoid of color. "chromoFEELia" explores the interdependence of color and fiber art. Fiber artist begin project, like a painter, with a clean and colorless slate. Yet, a plethora of colorful dyes then comes into play. Those color choices are important in defining that artwork. "chromoFEELia" is a studied examination of those choices and outcomes through selected works created by ASU students and alumni. The Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts presents this juried exhibit.
There's more color than a rainbow at "chromoFEELia." See from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday at the Harry Wood Gallery in the Art Building, 851 South Myrtle Avenue at ASU's Tempe campus. Visit asuevents.asu.edu/chromofeelia or call 480-313-4265. Glenn BurnSilver
