A&E, Creative Loafing Atlanta

Do black arts festivals have a future?

Cinque Hicks — Thu, 23 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Tired programming, budget woes, and inconsistent leadership have plagued Atlanta's National Black Arts Festival. Can the once-revered event bounce back? by Cinque Hicks The first time I heard about the National Black Arts Festival in 1998, I didn't go. I was a practicing artist in my late 20s, but Atlanta's annual summer festival of African-American dance, music, theater, film, and visual art still seemed irrelevant.…

Scenes from WonderGlo 2013

Wyatt Williams — Tue, 14 May 2013 11:10:55 -0400

For the second year, Atlanta arts organizations WonderRoot and gloATL combined their collective forces for the fundraiser Wonderglo on Saturday night. The event attempts to rethink the typical - and typically stuffy - approach to the arts benefit by transforming the W Midtown with art installations and experiences.…

Out of Hand stages citywide puzzle hunt

Curt Holman — Wed, 08 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

'The Game' Brain-teasing competition contains larger artistic ambition by Curt Holman You can be assured that on Sat., May 11, you will not see hundreds of people doing the Chicken Dance in Little Five Points. May 11 marks the latest installment of Out of Hand Theater's citywide "puzzle hunt," The Game.…

Two new arts centers for Atlanta on the Westside and in downtown

Debbie Michaud — Tue, 07 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

c4 holds a fundraiser at FUSE and the Westside Cultural Arts Center finally gears up to open by Debbie Michaud Two years ago, word began circulating about a new arts center on the Westside. The neighborhood, anchored by the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center and the King Plow Arts Center, was quickly gaining traction as a cultural destination as its concentration of galleries and performance spaces grew.…

Criminal activity drives Terra McVoy's latest novel

Laura Straub — Wed, 01 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Local young adult novelist takes a dark, illicit turn with her fifth novel by Laura Straub If your notion of young adult literature is candy-coated, it may be time to revisit the genre. Think of the mythical coming-of-age adventures of youth that are found in The Hunger Games or Harry Potter series.…

Dreams go askew in one-man show 'Apnea'

Curt Holman — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:22:00 -0400

Whimsical video effects enhance monologue play at Dad's Garage by Curt Holman Who would have guessed that Mike Schatz would emerge as the Spalding Gray of Dad's Garage Theatre? As a member of the Inman Park playhouse's ensemble of improvisers, Schatz comes across as a big, laid-back guy with five o'clock shadow.…

Today's Tom Sawyer: Southern drama 'Mud' evokes Mark Twain

Curt Holman — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 08:24:23 -0400

The Southern coming-of-age drama Mud doesn't so much introduce the title character as conjure him from the imagination of two adolescent boys. Ellis and his sidekick Neckbone (Tye Sheridan and Jacob Lofland) live in a dying Arkansas river community and enjoy sneaking off to their favorite hideouts by skiff.…

Emerging artists selected by WonderRoot get a break at MOCA GA

Wyatt Williams — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:16:00 -0400

The exhibition marks the end of a yearlong fellowship program by Wyatt Williams At the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, a yearlong experiment in arts education is coming to an end. The 11 recipients of WonderRoot's 2012-13 Walthall Artist Fellowship are preparing for One One, a group exhibition of new works made throughout the fellowship, crafting installations, hanging photographs, and coordinating the logistics of performances scheduled for the big opening night.…

Juel D. Lane returns home with New York credentials

Rodney Carmichael — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 04:00:00 -0400

The Atlanta-born choreographer will perform at the Southwest Arts Center by Rodney Carmichael Even on the telephone, Juel D. Lane remains true to his aesthetic. The "kinetically vibrant" style cited by Dance Magazine, which recognized him as one of this year's "25 to Watch" in January, comes across in the quick rhythm of his speech, the high-pitched passion in his voice, and the energy he conveys as he talks about his signature approach to movement.…

Blow-Up at Poem 88 revels in film themes

Lilly Lampe — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Five artists tackle the unstable nature of Michelangelo Antonioni's filmic reality by Lilly Lampe The scene is '60s London; the star, a wildly successful photographer engaged in dubious sexual relationships with models — both super and aspiring — who literally throw themselves at his feet. The conflict: He's witnessed a murder through his camera lens and only realized it after the fact.…

Georgia author Jamie Quatro scores a critical hit with debut story collection

Wyatt Williams — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 13:40:00 -0400

I Want to Show You More explores infidelity and faith by Wyatt Williams Jamie Quatro is having a very good year. Brand name literary authors typically publish in the fall, near the gift-giving season.…

Moby-Dick vs. Moby-Dick

Wyatt Williams — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 04:00:00 -0400

How does Saiah's adaptation of Melville's classic stack up against the original? by Wyatt Williams Adapting what is generally regarded as the "Great American Novel" is an unenviable task. Not only is Herman Melville's Moby-Dick; or, The Whale fiercely adored, the book's strongest qualities come from a discursive weirdness and ambition that adaptations rarely address.…

Darien Long is gone but not forgotten at Metro Mall

Rodney Carmichael — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 12:00:00 -0400

For downtown Atlanta's underground economy, the shock treatment continues by Rodney Carmichael The day before Darien Long, the Internet's favorite "kick ass mall cop," got arrested by Atlanta Police for kicking too much ass inside downtown Atlanta's Metro Mall, an altercation of a different sort took place between Long and an upset customer. Unlike the patrons or loiterers stunned by Long's Taser gun in videos that have amassed millions of YouTube and WorldStarHipHop views over the past two months, this particular customer was dapper and articulate.…

Fabulous Lipitones sings in harmony and clichés

Curt Holman — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 04:00:00 -0400

World premiere production at Theatrical Outfit hits too many contrived notes by Curt Holman On a nearly 20-year-old episode of "The Simpsons," Homer claimed to have formed a barbershop quartet with Apu, Barney, and Principal Skinner that achieved a Beatles-like level of popularity in the 1980s. The new play The Fabulous Lipitones presents a more grounded version of a similar premise, as if "The Simpsons" had focused solely on the incongruity of Indian immigrant Apu wrestling with the all-American but antiquated singing style.…

Mad over Rachel Maddow

Rodney Carmichael — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 04:00:00 -0400

How a butch in pantsuits gave liberal media its balls back by Rodney Carmichael If you Google "Rachel Maddow" + "sexy," more than 500,000 links pop up. That revelation probably discloses more about the person doing the research than it does the object of said researcher's affections.…

The world through three lenses at Jackson Fine Art

Lilly Lampe — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 12:00:00 -0400

Three-part exhibition showcases the perspective of photographers in foreign lands by Lilly Lampe The three concurrent exhibitions showing at Jackson Fine Art portend a story of faraway lands. Looking at George Georgiou, Andrew Moore, and Michael Kenna's photographs hailing from Turkey, Cuba, and Korea, respectively, one might expect themes of exoticism and orientalism.…

Welcome to the Hippodrome

Andrew Alexander — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 10:00:00 -0400

Dance troupe gloATL plans to drench the senses with intimate world premiere by Andrew Alexander If you wanted to get the entire city high, how would you go about it? For artist Lauri Stallings, founder of the Atlanta-based dance company gloATL, the answer starts with its next performance.…

Design with the Other 90% hits home

Lilly Lampe — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 04:00:00 -0500

CDC exhibition brings attention to solutions for urban plight by Lilly Lampe Design exhibitions tend to focus on extravagances like fine jewelry, fancy cars, finely wrought spigots, and their ilk. With that in mind, Design with the Other 90%: CITIES, currently on view at the David J. Sencer CDC Museum, throws these notions in high relief by casting a spotlight on design innovation in areas where running water would be a luxury.…

Five don't-miss details at Frida & Diego

Wyatt Williams — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 04:00:00 -0500

Big ambitions and small magic at the High's blockbuster exhibition by Wyatt Williams The High Museum's blockbuster exhibition of Mexico's two most iconic painters is a massive must-see. The exhibition of more than 75 works isn't making any other stops in the United States.…

Who's that familiar Fela?

Rodney Carmichael — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 10:00:00 -0500

The musical Fela! returns with another Atlantan in the lead by Rodney Carmichael It almost seems like Duain Richmond was destined to play the role of Fela Kuti in the Tony Award-winning musical based on the life of the Nigerian musician, activist, and father of Afrobeat. Besides being a native of neighboring Sierra Leone, who moved to College Park with his parents at age 10, Richmond is a cousin of Sahr Ngaujah, the originator of the role on Broadway.…

In Spelman's Multiple Choice exhibition, the community conducts as curator

Egan Short — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 10:00:00 -0500

Artworks are paired with responses from the community by Egan Short Early last November, the Spelman Museum of Fine Art invited students, faculty, and friends to select works from its 350-object permanent collection to be shown in an upcoming exhibit, with their personal responses displayed alongside each piece. "We're seeing people's-choice exhibitions and community-curated exhibitions that are popping up," says Anne Collins Smith, the museum's curator of collections.…