Wongface fascinates at Sculpture Center
Cleveland-based visual artist Jordan Wong (aka Wongface) is busy this summer as he prepares to unveil public art in Cleveland’s AsiaTown this September. In the meantime, he just opened a new show working in a new medium, “I Love the Number 8, But 10 is Good Too,” at the Sculpture Center in University Circle. The 10 works are Wong’s first sculptural efforts, including his “Little Hero” considering the hero’s journey through an Asian American perspective. The show is only up for a month, closing August 30.
A haunted palace in Canton
You’re invited to a house of horrors this weekend as the Monster Bash Film Festival haunts the Canton Palace. Horror film master Vincent Price lands top billing with his strange classic from 1963, “The Haunted Palace,” while comic legend Don Knotts has his socks scared off in the 1966 comedy “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken.” The festival of eight scary Technicolor films is on the big screen Friday and Saturday, and the fest includes classic monster vendors with scary collectibles.
Piazzolla proud
Northeast Ohio’s Oblivion Project brings the driving beats of 20th century Argentine tango master Astor Piazzolla to the Bop Stop in Cleveland Sunday night. Describing themselves as “a tight band of musical adventurers” the troupe dives into Piazzolla’s Nuevo Tango works, known for blending jazz and classical sounds with traditional Argentine dance music. Adding to the musical authenticity is acclaimed Argentine vocalist Malena Dayen on stage with the band at 7 p.m. in Hingetown.
Gender-bending with the Bard
In the grand gender-switching tradition of the Bard of Avon, the Ohio Shakespeare Festival stages “King Lear” with acclaimed local actress Tracee Patterson in the lead role. You can bring a picnic and enjoy the show on the gorgeous grounds of Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens in Akron. But make sure you get your fill before the play begins as there will be mild stage blood, vomiting and gouged eyeballs during this final week of performances Thursday through Sunday nights at 8.
Artist provocateur
It’s been more than three decades since a sticker turned into a worldwide art phenomenon with Shepard Fairey’s “Obey the Giant.” On view now at the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown is the Fairey retrospective, “Facing the Giant – 3 Decades of Dissent.” If you’re still having trouble placing Fairey, remember the Barack Obama "Hope" poster from 2008? That’s Shepard Fairey. The exhibit features 30 large silkscreen and collage works on paper through the end of August.
