Autumn brings cornucopia of arts to valley

By Kristen Peterson

Friday, Oct. 17, 2008 | 2 a.m.

The arts spring to life come autumn, creating an onslaught of sometimes riveting, sometimes mundane events. This weekend promises a mishmash. Here are some highlights:

• Joyce Carol Oates — National Book Award-winning novelist Oates reads from and discusses her works “We Were the Mulvaneys” and “My Sister, My Love” at 8 p.m. Saturday at the UNLV Student Union Ballroom, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway. The event is part of UNLV’s Black Mountain Institute’s Forum on Contemporary Cultures. Admission is free. For information, call 895-5542 or go to http://blackmountain.unlv.edu.

• Vagus Nerve Gallery — The gallery, inside the Arts Factory at 101 E. Charleston Blvd., opens today with a reception from 6 to 9 p.m. A collaboration between the Arts Factory and UNLV, the gallery is named after the Vagus Nerve Fine Art and Literature Journal, a UNLV publication of poetry, short stories, photography, drawing, painting, sculpture and graphic design. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. For details, go to www.theartsfactory.com.

• Mary Ellen Spann — The singer-songwriter performs at 7 p.m. today at the Winchester Cultural Center, 3130 S. McLeod Drive. The concert is presented by the Guitar Society of Las Vegas and the Las Vegas Jazz Society and includes original works and jazz standards. A wine and cheese reception is at 6 p.m. Admission is $15; $10 for students and seniors, 455-7340.

• “Capital Jewelers” — The absurd theater of American politics and Las Vegas (America’s city) merge this weekend in a dazzling group exhibit at Dust Gallery, 900 Las Vegas Blvd. S. Curated by Artforum’s Glen Helfand, the exhibit features work by Luke Butler, Curtis Fairman, Jill Magid and Lacey Jane Roberts. Affluence, power and consumerism are explored via Butler’s male American pop heroes collages (presidential photographs, American landscapes, gay porn models and empirical iconography), Fairman’s ready-mades — seemingly supersized jewels formed from kitchenware and household fixtures — Magid’s sparkly, embellished surveillance cameras and Roberts’ knitted yarn sculpture, “a glamorously decrepit” chain link fence slumping in a corner. The opening reception is 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free, 880-3878 or www.dustgallery.com.

• Las Vegas Brass Band — Modeled in the British brass band style, this group leaves little out of its formal concert at 2 p.m. Sunday at Clark County Library Theater, 1401 E. Flamingo Road. The overture to Wagner’s “Riensi,” selections from “The King and I,” the Beatles, 1940s jazz and ’50s and ’60s pop are mixed in with marches and religious, patriotic and Latin music. The concert, featuring 30 brass musicians and percussionists, includes a Latin euphonium solo. Admission is $5, 216-2905 or www.LVBB.org.

• Roger Wilhelm’s “Songs of Our Politics” — Hear a narrated performance of American campaign songs at 3 p.m. Sunday at UNLV’s Doc Rando Recital Hall. The concert is presented by the Southern Nevada Musical Arts Society and features more than 20 songs used by political candidates — “High Hopes” (JFK), “Happy Days Are Here Again” (FDR), “Don’t Let Them Take It Away” (Truman) and “Don’t Stop” (Clinton). Tickets are $8 for adults, $5 for seniors and free for UNLV students, 895-2787.

• “Opera Classics Concert” — Nevada Opera Theatre and the Myron Heaton Chorale perform at 8 p.m. today in UNLV’s Doc Rando Recital Hall, featuring selections from “La Rondine,” “Aida,” “Carmen” and “Tosca,” among others. Soloists include Demetra George, Steve Plummer, Alisa Thomason, Suzanne Vinnik and Zellin Quinn Hollis. Tickets are $30; $20 for students, seniors and military, 895-2787.

• “Albert’s Tarantella” — Goldwell Open Air Museum, next to the ghost town Rhyolite, hosts its annual “Albert’s Tarantella” from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, featuring art, haunts and entertainment including music duo Coyote Grace, mentalist Paul Drape and magic by the Dymonds. Bring a special offering for the ofrenda for Albert Szukalski, the late Belgian artist who created his ghostly sculptures near the gateway to Death Valley. Tickets are $25.