Pinup girls, abandoned homes and 'more weird': 3 things to do this First Friday
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
"Do not try to make it look like anything."
'43rd and Haverford no. 2' 2008
Jeffrey Stockbridge
Jeffrey Stockbridge
Jeffrey Stockbridge’s Homegoing: Photographs from 2004-2008
Photographer Jeffrey Stockbridge knows the worst parts of Philadelphia. For four years, he photographed what he found inside abandoned houses in the rougher parts of the city, and he also publishes the Kensington Blues blog, where he posts his photos of people in the neighborhood — drug addicts, those trying to recover, sex workers — as well as their stories. This exhibition focuses not so much on the people, but the structures: What really makes a home in Philadelphia? Through Jan. 16, reception Fri., Dec. 5, 5-7 p.m., free, Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine St., 215-925-9914, paintedbride.org.
Angel’s Girlie Show
Philly’s got a couple of places where the infatuation with the pinup girl is alive and well — ever gazed at the painted ladies on the ceilings of Varga Bar? Or gotten a haircut at Salon Blush, which is right next to owner Alanna Ralph’s pinup photography studio? Pinups were the ultimate in ’40s and ’50s feminine glamour, and Angel (her working name, she’s a mural artist in Philly) has latched onto that inspiration in her figure drawing. Check out the paintings as well as some promised burlesque. Says Angel: “I’m just a grown woman still playing with her dolls!” Fri., Dec. 5, 7-11 p.m., free, Portside Parlor Body Graphics, 30 S. Second St., 215-922-1313, bodygraphics.com.
Leander Fontaine + Jean Plough
These concurrent exhibitions are a little at odds — one is all about the imagination: It’s all cerebral. The other is about abandoning thought. Leander Fontaine’s “More Black, White, Weird,” features large-format black-on-white works based on real and imagined creatures. Jean Plough’s “Equilibrium,” on the other hand, features abstract paintings “based on the process of ‘aimless wandering,’” which follows these rules: Do not have any goal; Do not try to make it look like anything; Do not try to salvage any area; Do not be attached to the outcome. Let your mind go, we say. Through Dec. 28, reception Fri., Dec. 5, 5-9 p.m., free, 3rd Street Gallery, 45 N. Second St., 215-625-0993, 3rdstreetgallery.com.
