EVERYONE keeps talking about the death of publishing, but that doesn’t stop the DIY community from creating good old-fashioned hand-printed, copyshopped zines of every possible description, topic and profanity level. For the February edition of South First Fridays, Anno Domini Gallery shows off a dazzling array of underground zines that have burbled up from the populist zeitgeist blissfully unconcerned about Amazon, E-books or even iBooks. Anybody with an idea, a stapler and a $50 printer can be the next Gutenberg. The reception for the show, titled “Art of Zines 2010,” comes with live music by Adam Lynn, whose compositions are the aural equivalent of scrapbooking; Zoe Boekbinder of Vermillion Lies; and the experimental art ensemble Corpus Callosum.
Elsewhere on the arts drag known as South First Street, the Art Glass Center demos glass-blowing techniques with a Valentine’s Day theme, while WORKS/San José kicks off its “(Anti) Valentine Art Exhibition and Silent Auction.” The storefront displays known as Phantom Galleries showcase the intriguing art-book collage/deconstructions of Guy Benjamin Brookshire’s series “Illustrations From the Book of Dreams.” Caffé Trieste welcomes the abstract paintings of Tamar Belson at a reception including arias by members of Opera San Jose. Downtown Yoga Shala presents bending and stretching photos by Nadia Nasiri; Good Karma Vegan Cafe has DJ sets by Richard Gutierrez and Claude Cardenas to go along with the opening of a show by Benjamin Caprile, who paints landscapes with a surrealist touch. The San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art opens its newest shows, “By a Thread” and “Ted Fullwood: Energy Machines,” with a reception starting at 6pm. Slave Labor Graphics presents “Escape From Dullsville” with artist and writer Andy Ristaino and music by Assemblehead. And last, but certainly not least, Metro opens its lobby for “Heart,” the newest show by the First St. Photo Collective.
SOUTH FIRST FRIDAYS takes place Friday (Feb. 5) all evening long at the galleries and museums on South First Street, San Jose. See www.southfirstfridays.com for details.
