It's hard to imagine what even the next hour might hold for us, nevermind the weekend. But with the exception of Monday's jazz livestream, any of the art here can be consumed on your own time, when you can sneak it in — even the in-person viewings. I won't judge if you have to split-screen your culture with your doomscrolling.
My picks this weekend include a special filmed performance from a collaboration between musician Salami Rose Joe Louis and artist Jonny Alexander at Good Faith Gallery, a set of tiny folk duets from the San Diego Symphony, a massive 1980s Manny Farber work and a Monday night jazz trio.
'In Here/Out There' At Good Faith Gallery
Music, Visual Art
The opening moments to this video are captivating — it's a filmed performance by electronic musician and vocalist Salami Rose Joe Louis inside the Jonny Alexander exhibition at Good Faith Gallery. The exhibition itself is a feat of imagination — immersive and site-specific, and combined with the music, it's like an escape to another dimension. Everything feels intentional; down to the shadow of the microphone nearly mimicking a shape in Alexander's full-wall mural peeking through the archway behind it. Alexander's paintings merge architectural and natural themes and lend a surreal color to the installation — you can also view Alexander's works individually online.
Good Faith Gallery is offering in-person tours of this exhibition, but it's worth spending the 34 minutes with this video as well. Salami Rose Joe Louis is a mesmerizing performer, and her voice has a timeless sci-fi quality, particularly vivid against the vintage synth and beats.
Details: Viewable online on-demand, or in-person by appointment. 566 19th St., San Diego. Free.
San Diego Symphony: 'Miniatures Set No. 6' By Erberk Eryilmaz
Classical Music
As the violence unfolded at the Capitol, I muted the live news coverage and spent 10 minutes listening to the Turkish folk music in this brand new video release from the San Diego Symphony. It features violinist Julia Pautz and percussionist Andrew Watkins performing a sparse and enchanting set of "miniatures" by contemporary composer Erberk Eryilmaz. I accidentally switched back to the muted PBS NewsHour stream for a moment, giving Judy Woodruff a surreal folk music soundtrack. It was equal parts reassuring and bewitching. You can listen here.
Details: Viewable online on-demand. Free.
Manny Farber: 'From The Mid-Eighties'
Visual Art
Quint ONE in La Jolla just installed a massive 1985 Manny Farber work, aptly called "From The Mid-Eighties." It's 92 by 192 inches, oil on board. Farber, who taught in the UC San Diego visual arts department beginning in the late 1960s, lived and painted in San Diego until he died in 2008. He was also an established film critic. Quint ONE's piece, "From the Mid-Eighties" is a mixture of subversive cultural time capsule as well as a sort of personal, visual diary. Farber was lauded for his theories on "white elephant art" — clumsy and obvious in its intent — versus what he called "termite art," which was more capable of sneaking in and burrowing into your consciousness.
Quint ONE's appointment model grants you the space to yourself for a full hour — masks required. And while you could probably spend that hour discovering all the details in this piece, there's plenty of great contemporary pieces in the back room you can also scope out.
Details: On view now through Jan. 28, by appointment. 7722 Girard Ave., La Jolla. Free.
More Visual Art: The Carlos Martiel artist-in-residence exhibition at Lux Art Institute will close soon, but you can view a lot of the pieces as-installed at Lux on Martiel's website and Lux's Instagram. The Cuban-born performance artist merges startling video and stills in this installation, "The Shadow of the Color Line," and Lux will host a free virtual docent lecture, discussion and viewing on Saturday at 11 a.m. It's open to all, but you need to reserve your spot here. Note: the installations contain some nudity.
Peter Erskine, Alan Pasqua and Darek Oles
Jazz
While it's not quite the same as seeing jazz inside the Athenaeum's dreamy and bookish performance space, this livestreamed set gets Athenaeum viewers straight into drummer Peter Erskine's home studio. Erskine will perform with longtime collaborators Alan Pasqua on piano and Darek Oles on bass, and it promises to be a lively set.
From a 2010 album of live music from the trio, you can listen to "Bulgaria" here:
Details: Monday at 7 p.m. Online. $15-20.
For more arts events, go to the KPBS/Arts calendar, and be sure to sign up for the weekly KPBS/Arts newsletter, delivered every Thursday.
