Friday, October 21, 2005 | Upcoming visual arts, music and theater events:
VISUAL ARTS and FILM
An art of protest. Born in New Mexico but raised in California, artist Malquias Montoya spent his childhood working in the fields of the San Joaquin Valley alongside his siblings and parents. His studies at the University of California, Berkeley during the tumultuous mid to late 1960s most likely fueled his passion for silk-screening, poster making and mural painting.
Montoya, whose work is on display now at the Kellogg Library at Cal State San Marcos, is credited by historians as one of the founders of the social serigraphy movement that began during the mid-1960s in the San Francisco Bay Area. His colorful, silk-screened posters depict images of social injustice, empowerment and international struggle, serving as a powerful, visual mouthpiece for communities and social and political movements to effect change.
But don’t dismiss his graphic posters and paintings as mere propaganda. On his Web site, Montoya states, “I must say my work is often referred to as propaganda art. I don’t mind being labeled as such since I feel all work is propagandist in nature; it just depends who you want to propagandize for. From cave painting to the present, art has always spoken on someone’s behalf.”
The exhibition runs now through Dec. 18 at 333 S. Twin Oaks Valley Road, San Marcos. Free. Info: (760) 750-4340 or
More art:
-Dutch master painter Rembrandt took to his oils and canvas while pondering his own difficult personal times late in his life. Five of his pensive, religious portraits of apostles are on display now as part of the Timken Museum’s exhibition, “Rembrandt’s Apostles.” The exhibition is part of the museum’s 40th anniversary celebration and will run through Jan. 16, 2006 at 1500 El Prado in Balboa Park. Free. Info: (619) 239-5548 or
-Short live action and animated films for kids – of all ages – will be screened at 5:30 p.m. Friday for the opening night of the San Diego International Children’s Film Festival at the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park. Topics range from the playful to the serious, with characters that include a sock puppet detective, an orphaned squirrel and an anteater named Archie. Opening night tickets are $10-15, and include a benefit gala party at the World Beat Center at 7 p.m. Tickets for the remaining eight days range from $3-7. The festival runs through Sunday, Oct. 30. For tickets, festival schedule and film synopses, call (760) 470-2481 or visit
-Farmer John makes wearing overalls hip again in the award-winning documentary, “The Real Dirt on Farmer John.” The film, which takes a look at an unconventional, Midwest farmer, won’t be released in theaters until next year, but San Diegans can catch a sneak peek 7 p.m. Friday at the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego in La Jolla. $7. Info: (858) 454-3541 or
MUSIC
Is southern rock dead? Ronnie Van Zant went down decades ago (though his band sadly didn’t), but a few long-haired young’ns are keeping the down-home torch alive. As one of the best of the recent crop, Gov’t Mule earned considerable buzz for their brittle guitars, gritty lyrics and you-can-hear-it-in-the-floorboards production.
Their themes rarely change: Daddy’s pickup, the War of Northern Aggression and the rough predicament of needing to make a buck dot a swamp of classic rock with feeling. Carpetbaggers not welcome. 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26 at House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave. $27.
More music:
-Lyrics Born is the kind of funk-obsessed, well-read hip-hopper that will likely take over the world when the bling-ed masses vanish with coronary disorders and venereal diseases. He’s been simmering on the iPods of West-Coast college kids for years now – if those self-realized rhymes aren’t on the charts soon, they’ll be with him, flipping patties at your local McDonald’s. 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20 at the Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd. (619) 232-HELL. $12. www.casbahmusic.com.
-Nada Surf once had a real hit – the high-school manifesto “Popular” – but the years have worn them mature and, increasingly, obscure. Their latest, “The Weight Is a Gift,” hums with wistful grownup drivel over a classically-’90s bed of energetic indie rock. Not great, not horrible – these guys are mentioned in the dictionary under “mediocre.” 8 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 23 at The Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd. (619) 232-HELL. $12 in advance/ $14 at the door. www.casbahmusic.com.
-Jason Mraz is exactly the kind of hometown star you’d expect San Diego to foster: sunny, acoustic and relentlessly easygoing, with pop tendencies that stick out like fake cleavage. His songs are the perfect soundtrack for Pacific Beach on a warm Saturday … or the dentist’s chair. 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26 at SOMA, 2250 Sports Arena Blvd. $25.
THEATER
Break a heart. The
The top pick of the line-up is “Adam Baum and the Jew Movie,” a satirical tale of a Jewish producer Samuel Baum who races to get his film about American anti-Semitism to the screen before a rival fills Hollywood’s quota of one “Jew movie” per year. But Baum’s idea of telling the story through the eyes of a non-Jew backfires when the script-writer turns out to be a blatant anti-Semite.
A slightly more serious social commentary, “I Have Before Me a Remarkable Document Given to Me by a Young Lady from Rwanda” weaves reflections on the horrors of the 1994 massacre in Rwanda with the difficulties of refugee life in a foreign country. Rwandan Juliette meets Simon, a self-doubting poet who has taken a job at a refugee center to inspire his dwindling career. Friendship replaces misconceptions as the two discover they have a common ground in poetry.
“Adam Baum and the Jew Movie” runs Oct. 21 to Dec. 4, 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays and Wednesdays. “I Have Before Me a Remarkable Document” runs Oct. 24 to Nov. 16, 7:30 p.m. Mondays through Wednesdays and 7 p.m. Sundays.
Other performances:
-The La Jolla Stage Company celebrates Mozart’s 250th birthday party with “Amadeus,” the story of a contemporary composer for the Austrian monarchy who was influenced by the master’s music. Runs Oct. 21 to Nov. 6, 8 p.m. Fridays, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays at the Regency Room of the Westgate Hotel in Downtown San Diego, 1055 Second Ave. Info: (858) 454-7798 or
-Women who served in Vietnam tell stories in “A Piece of My Heart,” based on a book by Keith Walker. Runs Oct. 21 to Nov. 6, Fridays at 8 p.m. Saturdays and 7 p.m. Sundays at the Veterans Museum and Memorial Center, 2115 Park Blvd., near Balboa Park. Info: (619) 342-7395 or
-Show University of San Diego undergrads some love as they perform “The Diviners,” featuring a look at small-town life through the eyes of a disturbed young man and a disillusioned preacher. Runs Oct. 26 to 30, 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday and Monday at Shiley Theatre, Camino Hall, USD campus. Info: (619) 260-2727 or
-VOICE STAFF