City Hall shows its commitment to the arts with displays of painting, sculpture and ceramics throughout the structure, but never more so than right now. For those science fiction and fantasy-minded among you, the second floor gallery is hosting an exhibit titled Little Green Men, which invited 18 different artists to examine themes of alien contact. The evocative pieces range from moody to nostalgic to playful, among the latter being a display case filled with ceramic teapot-sized steampunkish alien creatures and/or robots, "Dog Star" (which puts a decidedly Schultzian spin on the Russian mania for Laika figures), and an extraterrestrial reworking of "Dogs Playing Poker." Sci-fi fans, fear not: Pulp cover art of lascivious BEMs is represented. The show runs through July 14.
Meanwhile, the lobby is home to a second show, Oneiric: The Language of Dreams, through July 17, with paintings and sculptures from 15 artists plumbing our favorite rapid-eye-movement state. Again, the theme called forth images reminiscent of fantasy art, and there's some overlap between the artists represented. Elsewhere in the building, you can find the Earth Day Youth Art Exhibition, and a 150:1 scale model of the Stratosphere tower courtesy of ITT. Don't forget to stop off at the Cultural Affairs office on the fourth floor and get your parking ticket validated; that'll cover two hours of free parking at the City Hall parking garage across the street. That affordsyou a lot of perusing time.
Jerry Lewis is coming to South Point for three nights starting May 30, but if you can't wait that long to get your fill of the funnyman, an exhibition of his photographs is on display at UNLV's Marjorie Barrick Museum through August 16. The photographs ... impressionistic captures of lights at night ... are accompanied by classic Lewis film and theater posters, while two video monitors on opposite ends of the hall run documentaries on his life and career. To put the cherry on top, the museum is running a Jerry Lewis Film Festival with a new title each Thursday night at 6 p.m., starting with The Nutty Professor this Thursday (May 15) and wrapping up with Frank Tashlin's classic Martin & Lewis satire, Artists and Models, on September 11. Like all the best things in life, it's all free.
As part of the burgeoning art scene around the revitalized Downtown, the Container Park at 7th and Fremont stands as a shining example of green building. The scrap metal preying mantis that stands guard over the entrance shoots out great gouts of flame in the evenings, when on weekends it's likely to be accompanied by a drum circle. You can hear all this in the Pavilion Tower of the El Cortez across the street, so you might want to turn on the TV or listen to some music.
The buildings, all salvaged from shipping containers, house several well-regarded restaurants and bars, including Pork & Beans, Pig Ears BBQ and The Boozery. There are several galleries too; the Disney Fine Art is well worth a browse for art lovers of all ages. For the youngsters there are all the trappings of a real park and playground, especially a treehouse for the climbing.
