Category Archives: A&E

Visual Art

Collection of the Oakland Museum of California

‘Peter Stackpole: Bridging the Bay’ showcases intersection of engineering and artistic vision

New technology allowed Stackpole to take stunning shots of bridge construction and the Bay

At first, the construction workers would reflexively pose as photojournalist Peter Stackpole would raise his camera to capture photographs of them at work. Eventually, Stackpole bonded with the crew, and he became just another one of the boys on The Bridge, at which point the workers wouldn’t even notice the Read More…

Visual Art

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‘Good Design: Stories from Herman Miller’ evokes modernity at the Museum of Craft and Design

New exhibition examines the company's history and inventive marketing campaigns

“Good Design: Stories from Herman Miller” at the San Francisco Museum of Craft and Design manages to make one of the most fundamental aspects in our domestic lives — furniture — an expression of modern company culture and consumerism. “Good Design” emphasizes the story behind the design of the furniture Read More…

Theater

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‘The Wiz’ at Berkeley Playhouse proves energetic, soulful yet surprisingly flat

Retelling of family classic 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' fails to excite

It’s hard to think of any story that would lend itself to a theater or film adaptation better than the story told in L. Frank Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” Its stirring adventure, fantastical environments and dynamic characters seem to demand visual representation. Indeed, several successful screen and stage Read More…

Film & Television

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‘Only God Forgives’ makes a powerful impression

Nicolas Winding Refn's impactful new film polarizes audiences

Nicolas Winding Refn, the Danish director of “Drive” and “Valhalla Rising,” has produced his most complex and fascinating work yet in his new release “Only God Forgives,” in theaters Aug. 2. Starring Ryan Gosling, Kristin Scott Thomas and Thai newcomers Vithaya Pansringarm and Yayaying Rhatha Phongam, the drama is a Read More…

Film & Television

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‘Girl Most Likely’ demonstrates what most romantic comedies don’t

Kristen Wiig's new film rife with touching moments but fails to make a lasting impression

Charming though unremarkable, “Girl Most Likely,” Kristen Wiig’s latest dramedy, is touching at times but fails to generate “Bridesmaids”-worthy laughs. “Girl Most Likely” tells the story of Imogene Duncan (Wiig), a Jersey-born, Manhattan-obsessed aspiring (and failing) playwright. When her long-term boyfriend dumps her for a French model, Imogene goes on Read More…

Album Reviews

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Hieroglyphics: The Kitchen

After a decade of marinating, the hip-hop ensemble releases a beefy new album

After a decade of studio silence, Oakland-based hip-hop ensemble Hieroglyphics have released The Kitchen, an album that serves up a reminder of why the nine-man group has solidified its presence in the underground hip-hop scene and beyond. Though the album boasts a meaty helping of 17 tracks, each one is Read More…

Music

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Former collaborators Jay-Z and Kanye West diverge with their latest albums

Jay-Z's new offering fails to live up to its mother album, 'Watch the Throne'

Sometimes, when Kanye West, Jay-Z, Beyonce and Frank Ocean love each other very much, they form a self-referential and very profitable psychosexual corporation and produce an album. That album was 2011’s Watch the Throne. Since that album, Jay and Kanye have become fathers, Ocean publicly came out and Beyonce’s stardom Read More…

Visual Art

MigratingIdentities

‘Migrating Identities’ showcases multicultural artists, examines cultural rifts

Brooklyn-based. Los Angeles-based. Tokyo-based. Location serves to indicate cultural ties, identification and legitimacy. But to say that Yamini Nayar, one of the eight artists featured in current YBCA exhibition “Migrating Identities,” is “Brooklyn-based” is both reductive and loaded. “Migrating Identities” showcases the work of eight transcultural artists who are collectively Read More…