the dirty hairy show

11 Things: The Dirty Hairy Show

Thursday, October 23, 2008

What do you get when you experiment with art, music, film, sex and hair? You get the Autista Art Collective and the Oxenrose Gallery collaboration "The Dirty Hairy Show." Autista curator David Charles elaborates on the show's forthcoming mashup of serious, sexy and fun:

1. The influences: Retro-futurism. Metaphysical naturalism. The films of Alexander Jodorowsky. The "Vampyros Lesbos" soundtrack. Brazilian soft porn from the '70s.

2. The ideas: Back in the 1970s, experimentation with art, music and filmmaking reached its peak. So did the volume of women's hair. Both seemed like interesting grounds to cover.

3. The collective: Autista considers itself a refuge to produce work so out of touch with reality that it makes you wonder if there's actually a bit of autism in all of us. (To learn more, visit www.autista.tv.)

4. The international: We'll be showcasing the work of 14 of Brazil's most notorious up-and-coming artists, such as Elisa Sassi, Carlos Dias, Tinico Rosa, Ramon Martins and Fefê Talavera.

5. The national: Special guest artists include film director Anna Biller, Los Angeles multimedia artist Dian-Sofia and San Francisco imaginaire Melinda Gorham.

6. The art: Projections of Anna Biller's indie-hit "Viva!" Giant neorealistic paintings from Manuel Goma. Human-hair sweaters by David Charles and Cris Seixas. Intricate line drawings by Vince Montelongo. Interactive ponytails by Gorham. Klimt-inspired women by Martins. Sassi will also be painting the walls of Oxenrose with her devilish furry creatures.

7. The music: Manfred Hübler & Siegfried Schwab performing "Vampyros Lesbos." Armando Trovaioli. Berto Pisano. Roberto Pregadio and Gert Wilden & Orchestra performing "The Schulmädchen Reports."

8. Favorite hair color: Strawberry blond.

9. Favorite 1980s Brazilian soft-porn actress: Cláudia Ohana.

10. The philanthropy: A large portion of Autista sales go to help autistic children in Brazil.

11. The opening party: "The Dirty Hairy Show" opens 8-11:30 p.m. Sat. and runs through Jan. 3. Oxenrose Gallery, 448 Grove St. (415) 252-9723. www.oxenrosesalon.com.

- Tim Sullivan, tsullivan@sfchronicle.com

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/23/NS1113L0ML.DTL

This article appeared on page G - 3 of the San Francisco Chronicle