When you're feeling fat, it's always nice to see someone who's fatter than you. It especially helps if the fatso in question is also beautiful. Colombian artist Fernando Botero first worked with a plus-size subject in 1956. Since then, he's made a name for himself across the globe, and his paintings of sexy women with giant asses routinely sell for six-figure sums at auctions. The artist doesn't just paint the ladies, though; he's also produced more politically charged works that satirize the Catholic Church, the military and the government. An exhibition of his paintings opens today at 7 p.m. at Gremillion & Co. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, through May 24. 2501 Sunset Boulevard. For information, call 713-522-2701 or visit www.gremillion.com. Free.
Friday, April 4
It's a little creepy to watch someone tell a great
lie, smooth as silk. After all, what's to stop them from lying to you? The contestants
at today's Houston Storytelling Festival's Liar's Contest don't seemed
to be concerned about broadcasting their fabrication skills. On the contrary,
they're taking the stage before a panel of judges to find who's best at telling
tall tales. The festival also features seminars on subjects such as collecting
oral histories, relating stories to kids and telling ghost stories, but the
Liar's Contest is always the big draw. The contest starts at 7 p.m. Seminars
are from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, April 5. Houston Baptist University,
7502 Fondren. For information, call 713-827-2620 or visit www.houstonstorytellers.org.
$60 for all events; $10 admission to Liar's Contest.
Saturday, April 5
Telling a good story isn't high on Jean-Luc Goddard's
list of priorities. His 2001 movie, In Praise of Love, contains
a convoluted plot about a director making a movie about love. Critics have said
the film is unnecessarily obtuse and fulfills every stereotype about the pretentiousness
of French films. Still, even Goddard's detractors have to admit that, like all
of his pictures, In Praise is visually stunning. The director has a knack
for creating unforgettable images -- for example, a man reading a book that
contains no words. Most strikingly, the movie starts out in 35-millimeter black-and-white
film, but when the story goes back two years in time, the screen suddenly floods
with reds and oranges shot in digital video. 8 p.m. today and tomorrow. Rice
Media Center, entrance no. 8 (off University and Stockton Drive). For information,
call 713-238-4882 or visit www.ricecinema.rice.edu.
$5 to $6.
Sunday, April 6
With our nation at war, '60s activism has taken on
a new resonance. The daughter of a Baptist preacher who maintained an open-door
race policy at his predominantly white church, Kate Campbell came of
age during the height of the civil rights era in Sledge, Mississippi. Her socially
conscious songs, which are influenced by soul, R&B, Southern rock, country and
folk music, bear the mark of her upbringing. Campbell writes lyrics that tell
stories about race, religion and the South; she's been compared to the writers
Flannery O'Connor and Eudora Welty. Today Campbell gives a concert benefiting
Houston Hospice. 7 p.m. First Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 2119 Avalon Place.
For information, call 713-522-7821. $12 to $15.
Monday, April 7
Feeling aggressive? Don't go out and pick a fight
-- you might get hurt. It's smarter to simply watch other people go at it. Browning
Boxing presents Monday Night at the Fights, six matches for bloodthirsty
spectators. In the International Boxing Association Continental Americas 140-pound
championship match, Calvin Green of Baytown will go head-to-head with Saul Duran
of Juárez, Mexico, for 12 rounds. The event will be shown on the Fox Sports
channel, but there are lots of reasons to see the show in person: Try hand-rolled
cigars, valet parking and ringside service from Hooters waitresses. 6 p.m. doors
open; 7 p.m. first bell. Sam Houston Ballroom, Radisson Hotel Astrodome, 8686
Kirby Drive. For information, call 713-426-5400 or visit www.browningboxing.com.
$25 to $45.
Tuesday, April 8
When Hitler came to power in 1933, the Nazi party
almost immediately targeted Germany's avant-garde. Modern artists lost their
jobs and were forbidden to show their work, which was confiscated, sold or destroyed.
In 1937, Hitler staged "Entartete Kunst" (Degenerate Art), an
exhibition of works the Nazis considered depraved, by artists including Marc
Chagall, Max Ernst and Paul Klee. Some of the persecuted eventually managed
to escape to the United States. The exhibit "How Modern Art Escaped Hitler:
From the Holocaust to Houston" at the Holocaust Museum Houston tells the
artists' stories. On view are 34 works (including pieces by Chagall and Ernst)
borrowed from local collectors, the Museum of Fine Arts and the Menil Collection.
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays,
through July 27. Reception at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 3. 5401 Caroline. For information,
call 713-942-8000 or visit www.hmh.org. Free.
Wednesday, April 9
Hypnotists are the most powerful comedians of all.
Besides forcing them to laugh, Ken Whitener (one of the founders of Spellbinders
Comedy Club) can bring audience members onstage and make them think they're
riding horses. If he were an evil hypnotist, Whitener could tell his
prey to shed their clothes and do erotic dances for the crowds. We know you're
happy to hear he's not that kind of guy. Aside from his comedy gigs, Whitener
uses his powers on the self-help circuit, helping folks "program their minds
for success." 8 p.m. today through Sunday, April 13, with additional 10:30 p.m.
shows Friday, April 11, and Saturday, April 12. Whitener also performs from
Wednesday, April 16, through Sunday, April 20. Laff Spot Willowbrook, 17776
Tomball Parkway. For information, call 281-955-9200. $15.
