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photography courtesy dixon gallery & gardens
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photography courtesy dixon gallery & gardens
“Simple Pleasures: The Art of Doris Lee”
The Dixon Gallery & Gardens, 4339 Park
On display through January 15
We might have had elections on Tuesday, but I’m sure that’s not what rocked your week. It was the lunar eclipse, I can guarantee, or at least astrology.com can guarantee, and I can guarantee that’s what I read. And if you’re a doubter that astrology is based in fact, it can still be a useful tool for self-reflection and determining what’s the best life-path for you, particularly when you’re deciding what to do this weekend.
Take for instance, if you are a Virgo (with a birthday between August 23 and September 22), you’re going to want to expand your point of view this weekend. You’re hungry for some wisdom and knowledge, aren’t you? And where else to gain a new outlook on life if not at the Dixon’s latest exhibit?
“Simple Pleasures” is all about Doris Lee, who from the 1930s through the 1950s painted some of the most recognizable images in American art, but because her work was overtly feminine — embracing play, wonder, and empathy — critics of her time dismissed her, despite her popularity with audiences and museum curators. Now, Lee is not as well known, but this exhibit embraces the unserious as serious, flipping those old critics’ points of view.
Also on display is Emily Ozier’s “Marisol’s Dress,” another delightful collection of paintings sure to give you a new appreciation for life and the pleasures it offers.
photography courtesy friends of george's
A Wunderland Holiday
TheatreWorks, 1705 Poplar
Performances through November 19
For those of you born between April 20 and May 20, aka Tauruses (Tauri?), I don’t know what’s going on in your life personally — not that I don’t care; it’s just that I’m not a creep — but change is a-brewing for you and you'd best embrace it. That could mean embracing the time change (yawn) or embracing the fact that the city of Memphis has already put up holiday lights along Poplar, which in my opinion is way too early in the year, but as a fellow Taurus, I suppose I oughta just accept the things I cannot change and get in the holiday spirit. You in? Not yet?
Well, the Friends of George’s are ready to get you in the mood for the holidays with their latest show — A Wunderland Holiday — in which hostess Allysun Wunderland will welcome the audience into her home for a Judy Garland-inspired Christmas special with music, drag performances, friends, holiday tips, and more. Performances run through November 19, Thursday-Saturday at 8 p.m. with a Sunday matinee on November 13 at 2 p.m.
Tickets ($27) can be purchased online. Proceeds will benefit Choices Memphis Center for Reproductive Health.
photography courtesy obsidian pr
The Champions of Magic
Orpheum Theatre, 203 S. Main
Friday, November 11, 7:30 p.m.
If you’re a Cancer (not of the oncology kind but of the kind whose birthday falls between June 22 and July 22), astrology.com says, “Someone may bring you the chance of a lifetime to achieve true fulfillment.” And, Cancers, I humbly come before you to present myself as the someone bringing you a chance of a lifetime. (If you pass it up, you’ll regret it forever, and that’s not me speaking. That’s the truth written in the stars.) “What is this chance of a lifetime?” you ask. Why! The Champions of Magic, of course.
The cast of The Champions of Magic will present an evening of impossible, original illusions and spectacular special effects, including a daring escape from Houdini’s water torture cell, a mind-blowing prediction that has to be seen to be believed, levitation high above the stage, and a finale beyond explanation.
Tickets ($45-$80) can be purchased online.
photography courtesy wilmott events
Crafts and Drafts Holiday Market
Crosstown Concourse, 1350 Concourse Way
Saturday-Sunday, November 12-13, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Scorpios, oh Scorpios, this week is a make-or-break week when it comes to your relationships. You’re either in it for good, or “a chaotic breakup awaits.” And you know what’s a good way to prevent the latter from happening? Getting your loved one a gift or two or three, show them you’re thinking of them. And it’s an added bonus when your gift is from a local business since it shows them that you’re thinking of their city. If only there was a place that could be a one-stop-shop. Oh wait, there is — the Crafts and Drafts Holiday Market.
Sponsored by our sister publication, the Memphis Flyer, the market will feature more than 150 curated local makers, crafters, and artists, with new vendors each day. There will be a fine selection of beer and special tastings, plus live music by DJ Zetta. Admission is free.
Photography by Manuel Cossio on Unsplash
Tatsuya Nakatani’s Gong Orchestra
Off the Walls Arts, 360 Walnut
Sunday, November 13, 7-10 p.m.
So you’re an Aquarius (born between January 20 and February 18)? Well, you better grab your Kleenex and “prepare for a sudden shift that could leave you breathless and overwhelmed with emotion.” Is it beautiful or ominous? That’s up to you to decide — unless you’d prefer to put your fate in my hands. If that’s the case, let’s make it a beautiful moment by attending the performance by Tatsuya Nakatani’s Gong Orchestra, which is sure to be breathtaking.
Tatsuya Nakatani is an avant-garde percussionist, composer, and director of the traveling Gong Orchestra, the only bowing gong orchestra in existence today. As part of an experimental sound art project, the orchestra is composed of 14 local bowed gong players, making each performance unique at every stop along Nakatani’s tour. Experimental harpist and Memphian Yintang will also perform this Sunday.
Tickets ($15) can be purchased online.
