Here’s what you’re doing this weekend:
State of Mind
The most ambitiously curated show in the East Bay right now is also the most enigmatic. To fully appreciate State of Mind, New California Art circa 1970, at the Berkeley Art Museum (2626 Bancroft Way, Berkeley), set aside a couple of hours and come ready to work — work at grasping the amount of art (more than 150 works by 60 artists), encyclopedically presented, all of it wonderfully strange. Consider not only the greats of California conceptualism (e.g., Baldesarri, Nauman, Ruscha, and Burden), but also the army of lesser giants, who are often more interested in documenting the satirizing of the process of art-making as an art itself. It gets complicated pretty quickly, but hang on, the journey is worth it. The show itself emulsifies all these disparate, intellectual game-things into one, beautiful, museum experience — arguably more of a work of art than any of the pieces are individually. Show runs through June 17. 510-642-0808 or BAMPFA.Berkeley.edu. — Obi Kaufmann
Firkin Fest! Credits: Kevin Berne Red
Firkin: “A traditional vessel, 10.2 gallons in volume, made for holding and serving Real Ale” — Real Ale being beer that’s cask-conditioned, gravity-poured, and purportedly quite smooth in taste. Firkin Fest, Triple Rock Brewery & Alehouse’s (1920 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley) tenth-annual celebration of said cask-conditioned ales, offers ale aficionados and appreciators an opportunity to imbibe in copious quantities on Saturday, April 6. In addition to Triple Rock’s own ales, patrons will find batches from breweries like 21st Amendment, Oakland Brewing Company, and many more. Ages 21 and up. 11:30 a.m.; $20 for a commemorative glass and four pours, $4 for additional pours. 510-843-2739 or TripleRock.com. — Cassie Harwood
