Kay Podolsky's three-dimensional photographs featured at 1870

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Jan 23, 2009 | by Bonny Zanardi

Works of paper decoupage by Kay Podolsky are the foundation of "Extended Perspectives" at the 1870 Art Center Gallery. The exhibit of her three-dimensional photographs opens Thursday and will continue through March 15.

Paper decoupage, the craft of layering paper, dates back centuries and reached high levels of artistic expression in France, China, Japan and Russia. In this tradition, Podolsky, a fine-art photographer, has spent hours meticulously cutting her photos and layering these images to create the 3-D effect found in the works exhibited in "Extended Perspectives."

A member of the Focus Photographic Society of San Carlos and the National Association of PhotoShop Professionals, Podolsky received her bachelor's degree from California State University, San Jose.

She gained national recognition with the publication of her fine- art photography book "World Point/World Line," followed by "Psychedelic Cats and Others" and "Global Kaleidoscope."

Meet her at a reception from 2 to 5 p.m. Feb. 1 at the gallery, 1870 Ralston Ave., Belmont. Hours are 1 to 5 p.m. Thursdays- Sundays. Call 650-595-9679 or visit www.1870artcenter.org.

Old Jewish Comedians

The Peninsula Jewish Community Center focuses on "Old Jewish Comedians" in an exhibition on display through March 1. It features 29 illustrations by American cartoonist/illustrator Drew Friedman, whose subjects include the Marx Brothers, Don Rickles, Woody Allen and Henny Youngman.

Friedman appreciates comedians from all genres, from old movies to classic TV sitcoms and old-time variety shows. He says that "at some point I realized that the majority of 20th-century comedians were Jewish." In his art, his goal "was to portray these past and present greats and depict both their inner joy and comedic tumult."

Friedman's illustrations have graced numerous publications in the last 30 years, among them Time, Newsweek, The New Yorker and Rolling Stone, as well as CD covers and books. In 2001 he received the National Cartoonist Society's Reuben Award for Newspaper Illustration.

"Old Jewish Comedians" is part of the PJCC's "Festival of Jewish Humor." It closes with a special March 1 program featuring Friedman in conversation with Los Angeles Times pop culture writer Ben Schwartz. Friedman's wife and longtime collaborator, K. Bidus, will join the panel to share stories from her research on the comedians.

Admission to the discussion is free. A book signing and reception will follow. The event will be in the Koret Learning Center at the PJCC. You can RSVP online at www.pjcc.org. The PJCC is at 800 Foster City Blvd., Foster City. Call 650-212-7522 or visit www.pjcc.org/ jewish.-humor.

Ortbal exhibition

Works by Bay Area sculptor and installation artist Robert Ortbal are featured in the exhibit "Benign: Growth and Neglect," opening today at the Wiegand Gallery.

In creating his art, Ortbal uses everyday materials such as packing foam, wire and resin. He makes objects and creates installations "to explore the distinct and interrelated worlds of natural phenomena and human nature," he says.

The process of regeneration is a theme to which Ortbal keeps returning as he searches for "the hidden growth, within real and imagined spaces, to evoke a connection to a larger system."

Works combining the natural with the artificial give expression to "the tensions that exist between the past and the future, technology and the body, the rational and the mystical," Ortbal says. "This dialectic of matter and spirit is updated and transformed into the unfolding spheres of chemistry and consciousness, where the intricacies of the natural world are expressed in the plenitude of form, and the nothingness of the hereafter is called into question."

Ortbal, who lives and works in Emeryville, is a professor of art at California State University, Sacramento. He received his M.F.A. from the University of California, Davis. He is the recipient of a prestigious Eureka Fellowship from the Fleishhacker Foundation.

Ortbal's work has been exhibited widely, with shows at the Sculpture Center in Utica, N.Y., and the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art in Colorado.

A free opening reception for "Benign" will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Feb. 8. A special fundraising event to benefit the Wiegand Gallery is scheduled for 4 to 7 p.m. Feb. 21. It will include a lecture by the artist and a wine and food pairing by Kevin Forsaith, Wine Director of Draeger's. Tickets are $35 and can be ordered by calling 650-508-3595.

"Benign: Growth and Neglect" will be on view through Feb. 28. The Wiegand Gallery is on the campus of Notre Dame de Namur University, 1500 Ralston Ave., Belmont. Gallery hours are noon to 4 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays. Admission is free.

Evening of Sharing

The City of Brisbane is holding its seventh annual Arts Evening of Sharing at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 31 at the Mission Blue Center. The event will include music, literary readings, visual arts and theater.

This year's Arts Advocate Award recipient will be announced and presented at the show. The award honors a Brisbane citizen for organizing, promoting, supporting and developing arts programming in the community.