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Props to Hip-Hop

Artist captures a culture

A A A Comments By John Anderson Thursday, Jul 8 2004

Thu 7/8

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Artist Rodney Jackson's portraits are as bold and brash as the hip-hop icons he paints. Tupac Shakur, headscarf and all, stares defiantly from a solid-color, Pop Art background. A lively Aaliyah and Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes are captured too as part of Jackson's Angels of Hip-Hop series memorializing fallen rappers. "Hip Pop Art: An American Tradition" at ArtSouth in Homestead features Jackson's latest Larger than Life series exploring successful hip-hop artists. Working in acrylic on wood, and in 3-D with ceramic pieces, he explores hip-hop and the pop culture it originally rebelled against, and how they're now one and the same. Open from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and noon to 6:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, the show runs through Wednesday, August 11, in the ArtSpace Gallery, 240 N. Krome Ave. Admission is free. Call 305-247-7308.

Sat 7/10
Bare Facts

I see naked people. Sure it's still Nude Recreation Week, but the exposed folks you'll be spying today won't be walking among us. They'll be posing on slides depicting artwork during "Art Talk: Erotic Not Pornographic," a two-part lecture given by Adrienne von Lates, the Museum of Contemporary Art's curator of education. Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami, Man Ray, and Madonna (Madonna?) are among the artists whose work will be probed. The fun begins at 2:00 p.m. at the museum, 770 E. 125th St., North Miami. Admission is $8; no one under age 18 will be admitted. Call 305-893-6211 to reserve a seat. -- Nina Korman

Sat 7/10
Big Laughs

Below-the-belt penis jokes no longer belong to testosterone-toting comics only. Nowadays glamorous comediennes deliver the sarcastic bedroom humor and clever one-liners. As one of the original Queens of Comedy, Mo'Nique boasts a brand of sexy, quick-witted, tongue-lashing stand-up that has gained her enthusiastic cheers from BET's Comic View to the coveted applause at Showtime at the Apollo.A self-professed, "big, beautiful, and loving it" girl, she fills out a mini-shirt as no one else can. Mo'Nique's credits also include co-author of Skinny Women are Evil,where she encourages a ban on muumuus: "Why should I hide all this loveliness under big-ass tent dresses?" To benefit Community Health of South Dade, Mo'Nique can be seen at 7:00 p.m. onstage at the Jackie Gleason Theater, 1700 Washington Ave., Miami Beach. Tickets cost $20 and $25. Call 305-673-7300. -- Terra Sullivan