Art Capsules

Artformz: The video accompanying Alette Simmons Jimenez's installation gives the viewer the illusion of moving through the walls of a green labyrinth. Suddenly a voice says: "Fiddle dee dee" (it's actually a dub of Vivien Leigh in an excerpt from Gone with the Wind). A sign on the wall reads: "Wrong way," but a tape-recorded voice declares: "People go both ways." Who is Fiddle? Perhaps an agile, tiny, voracious mammal, the ideal science lab pet. However, mice quickly learn the easiest way to find food inside a labyrinth. Check out Pathway-Leaves, a green maze that might shed some light on Fiddle's destiny; perhaps it might even help you better understand yourself. As Spanish poet Antonio Machado said, "Walker, there's never a clear way ahead, but you make it as you walk." -- Alfredo Triff Through October 10. Artformz, 130 NE 40th St., Miami; 305-572-0040.

Hanging by a Thread: Crafts have always battled for acceptance in the contemporary art world. During the Nineteenth Century, weaving was considered a noble tradition, in spite of it's role in the exploitation of women. Curated by José Diaz and Nina Arias, this exhibition provides viewers with a great opportunity to become acquainted with the fiber media phenomenon: weaving, stitching, upholstering, quilting, draping, and collaging. Local and international artists impart a fresh and unique flavor. Marvel at Tracey Emin's loud quilts, Orly Cogan's labor-intensive vintage cloths, Jon Pylypchuk's funny and twisted fabric collages on paper, Kent Henricksen's perverse embroideries on printed fabric, Misaki Kawai's exaggerated space station, and Frances Trombly's lifelike piñata. -- Alfredo Triff Through October 22. The Moore Space, 4040 NE Second Ave., second floor, Miami; 305-438-1163.

Una Tal Juana: Ninth-century Englishman John Anglicus was a brilliant scholar who lectured at the Trivum in Rome before becoming a cardinal and eventually pope in 853 A.D. Two years later, riding from St. Peter to the Lateran, he stopped to give birth to a child. Pope John VIII was really Pope Joan. According to legend, after learning the truth, the people of Rome dragged her behind a horse and then stoned mother and baby to death. Colombian artist Flora Cohen transforms this outrageous story into a beautiful narrative-exhibit with a mixture of humor, perversion, and gloom. Enjoy Cohen's delicately drawn quizzical black-and-white panels, and learn more about a certain aversion, popular among Joan's court following, to beards. -- Alfredo Triff Through October 15. Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, 3550 N. Miami Ave., Miami; 305-573-2700.

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