North by Art Quest

What's up and down on NoMi nights and days

Comments (0) By Alfredo Triff Thursday, Oct 10 2002

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Food for the Gods: Here's looking at you kid

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Works by Christian Curiel, Jason Ferguson, and Tall Rickards through Oct. 17 at Leonard Tachmes Gallery, 817 NE 125th St, North Miami; 305-895-1030. �Bhaxti Baxter� Through Nov. 17 at Museum of Contemporary Art, 770 NE 125th St, North Miami; 305-893-6211.

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Opening night the gallery was boiling, particularly for the performers, who wore chic black neck-to-ankle latex outfits. But both artists kept a cool sensuality bordering on self-restraint, which I favored, especially with a genre many people mistake for pornography, or at least a lesser kind of performance.

Bianca's entrance as the submissive cat-girl on a leash, crawling all the way from the door and then licking milk from a bowl at the command of her mistress, was delightful. The mid-part of the act lagged a bit, perhaps because of the heat combined with too much Portishead low-fi beat angst. Domina elegantly wrestled with enough straps, silk ropes, chains, and shackles, but not enough to get her out of the "gadget thing." It didn't quite deliver -- I needed more of the nihilist in her, and a master/slave theatricality that would've teased slave and audience into discreet and violent spurts of contempt.