Snips and snails and puppy-dog tails. That's what little boys are made of, right?
Find out at Will Boys Be Boys?, a mixed-media show at the Museum of Contemporary Art/Denver that probes the arena of modern boyology. The national touring exhibition, which was curated by the Whitney Museum of American Art's Shamim Momin, comprises the output of more than twenty artists in various mediums, including painting, photography, sculpture and video installation.
"The way society views adolescence has changed dramatically," notes MCA director Cydney Payton. "We are trying to bring these issues out as topics of discussion."
Contributing to that discussion are works by such contemporary artists as Slater Bradley, Tim Gardner, Janine Gordon, Julia Loktev, Maria Marshall and Collier Schorr. Whether you blame Halo or He-Man, Will Boys Be Boys? uses clothing, hairstyles and gender-specific pastimes to challenge the social stereotypes of boy-ness.
"The news shows us every day just how hard it is to be a kid now," observes Payton. "This exhibit is like an insider's guide to the adolescent boy's universe."
Boys runs through April 17 at the MCA, 1275 19th Street. Tonight's opening reception is from 6 to 9 p.m.; admission is $5, free for MCA members. For information, call 303-298-7554 or visit www.mcartdenver.org. -- Kity Ironton
Cosmonart
FRI, 2/18
Painter Steve Antonio has a preoccupation with red rocketeers -- as is galactically obvious in his newest exhibit, Boctok, which opens tonight with a reception from 7 to 11 p.m. at Capsule@Pod, 554 Santa Fe Drive. Antonio pays hip homage to forgotten Commie space scouts with his big, bold paintings. "These people are lost in their time," says the artist. "But this was the era that affected how the world would see style, and these were the Evel Knievels of the age."
Boctok hangs through March 19; for more information, call 303-623-3460. -- Kity Ironton
Up All Night
Movie maven Keith Garcia is behind the reel again.
FRI, 2/18
Cinephile Keith Garcia knows how to keep people up at night. The self-proclaimed "late-night- movie godfather" hosted midnight flicks at the Mayan Theater for three years before taking over duties at a movie house in Austin, Texas. In his tenure as film don of the wee hours, however, Garcia learned that not everyone wants to watch movies at that time. "I always used to get complaints from people who couldn't stay up that late or people who didn't want to miss out on going to bars," he says. With that in mind, Garcia, who's back in the Mile High City, is debuting a new series with an earlier showtime. Reel Late With Keith Garcia will screen cult films at 10 p.m. on Fridays at Starz FilmCenter. That way, fans of flicks such as Carrie, Clueless and Nine to Five can head home at a reasonable hour -- or straight to Sputnik, at 7 South Broadway, where they can discuss the films over half-price drinks purchased with their ticket stubs. Either way, it's a winning proposition. Start the habit tonight with Adventures in Babysitting, starring Elisabeth Shue. Tickets are $5.50 for Denver Film Society members, $7 for non-members; Starz is in the Tivoli building on the Auraria campus. Garcia will briefly discuss each selection prior to its screening; for a complete schedule, visit www.denverfilm.org or call 303-820-FILM. -- Adam Cayton-Holland
Lace 'Em Up
NBA All-Star Jam courts fans.
THURS, 2/17
By now, everyone's heard the stories about scalpers' inflated prices for All-Star Game tickets. (Did someone really trade an oil well for a pair in the Pepsi Center's upper level on Sunday?) The "broker" route is out for most fans trying to catch a glimpse of massive millionaires in motion on court, and finding them off-court is almost as futile. Keeping tabs on who's coming to whose hip and hoppin' party has got folks' heads spinning faster than an Earl Boykins move.
But even if much of the All-Star scene is off limits to ordinary people, the twelfth NBA All-Star Jam Session, tipping off at 4 to 10 p.m. today at the Colorado Convention Center, promises regular fans a whiff of the big time.
Autograph stages, slam-dunk courts (beginning with seven-foot-high hoops and escalating to nine-footers), a mini center court with entertainment and a kids' zone are all part of the package. The key word for this 350,000-square-foot setup is "interactive," according to organizers, and while that doesn't mean you can try to back Shaq down in the paint, the jamboree should be jumping. The NBA knows how to package its sizzle: Would major-league baseball dare to set up something like Club NBA, which promises hot music acts all weekend?
Tickets for the Jam, which runs through Monday, January 21, range from $12 to $20 and are sold through Ticketmaster outlets and the Pepsi Center box office. (Fair warning: Jams have sold out in the past.) Hard-core roundball types can call 1-866-NBA-JAMS or visit www.nba.com for more information. -- Ernie Tucker
