East Bay Express PICKS
May 2009

Waimea Canyon, Kauai by Ralph Singer

Earth Days

On April 16,1970, millions of people got back to the land on
the first Earth Day; two generations later, mainstreamers have. finally wised up. Curator Jan Camp celebrates environment and environmentalism with this group show. John Wood's huge painting, a col-
lagistic leafscape mounted just beneath the skylight, sets the tone. Below, ranged around the gallery are Ralph Singer's classic-looking (though digital) scenic photographs of rock outcroppings, eroded coastlines,
and isolated trees or buildings; Tyrell Collins' landscape-horizon paintings in oil on aluminum, reminiscent of fugitive daguerreotypes and delicate hand-painted china; and installations by Michelle Bertho and Andrew Kaluzynski examining our alienation from the natural world in low and high tech, respectively. In the hallway. Camp's documentarian photographs of the late, unlamented Ernbarcadero freeway remind us that "progress" can be ugly, but yield striking abstract images. Reception on Friday, May 1; leaf-happy visitors get a gift. Earth Days runs through May 16 at Oakopolis Creativity Center (447 2.5th St., Oakland). Oakopolis.org
— DeWitt Cheng