When asked what he wants from viewers at an art opening, a wonderfully honest teacher of mine paraphrased a teacher of his who said “All I want to hear is mindless praise.” And who can blame an artist for feeling this way, especially at an art opening, their labors viewable and thus vulnerable. But critique, whether construed as positive or negative, is an important element of the creative world. It is often where new potentials and/or missed opportunities are spotted, and the broader conversation across exhibitions, practices and time is rooted in critical dialogue.

And yet, the art critic made the top spot on Hyperallergic’s “20 Most Powerless People in the Art World: 2013 Edition.” There has been some discussion online about why this is the case, mostly centering in on the lack of what would be termed negative criticism. Music and film criticism is often negative, but even book criticism is starting to feel the pressure to stay positive. Part of this is surely publishers feeling beholden to their advertisers, not wanting to bite the hands that feeds them. Outside of the major papers and magazines though, the community of artists/curators/writers is surprisingly small, so writing a negative review today might equal an awkward dinner party tomorrow. As someone who has in my brief way written more than my share of negative text, I feel less and less inclined to do so, sometimes skipping visiting certain galleries so as to avoid writing about work I dislike.

What do you want to read/write about? Have you had a bad review that did anything other than sting (aka spur change?) Email me at mrharbour[@]gmail.com and let me know your experiences and wants in this regard. 

Wednesday:

+ Lecture: "Alternative Guide to the Universe with Ralph Rugoff" at Kadist Art Foundation

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Thursday:
+ Screening: Ralph Bakshi "X: The History of a Film Rating - Fritz the Cat" at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
+ Al Wong, David Ireland , John Roloff, Paul Kos, Terry Fox, Tom Marioni, Tony Labat "Solid Concept" at Gallery Paule Anglim
+ Artist Talk: Alicia Mccarthy "ENERGY THAT IS ALL AROUND » Artist Lecture: Alicia McCarthy" at San Francisco Art Institute

Friday:
+ Greg Ito "and when we thought it would last forever…" curated by The Popular Workshop at Moroso Projects
+ Joachim Koester "Howe" at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
+ Futurefarmers "Taking Stock" at Gallery 16
+ "This Will Never Work: Southern Exposure's Annual Entry-Fee-Free Juried Exhibition and Screening of Northern California Artists" at Southern Exposure

Saturday:

+ Jeremy Ehling, Laurie Reid, Melissa Dubbin & Aaron S. Davidson, Sean Talley "An Exhibition Which Comes and Goes As It Pleases Comes Again" at Et al.

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+ "This Will Never Work Southern Exposure's Annual Entry-Fee-Free Juried Exhibition and Screening of Northern California Artists" at Southern Exposure
+ Performance: Scotty Slade ""We'll Make It Somewhere, Somewhere" at S.H.E.D. Projects
+ Screening: Ben Bigelow, Javier Roberto Carlos, Joshua Izenberg, Noah Krell, Steve Holzer "In the Zone: Films & Video Art" curated by Amanda Roscoe Mayo at Royal NoneSuch Gallery
+ Screening: Esra Canogullari, Lindsay Laven, Malic Amalya, Mariah Garnett "I'm Just Being Honest - bon/anza 3: dress for this" at n/a

Sunday:
+ Screening: Russ Meyer "X: The History of a Film Rating - Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

Monday:
+ Lecture: "Visiting Artists and Scholars Lecture Series: Liam Everett" at San Francisco Art Institute

Tuesday, November 12

Lecture: "Small Talks Series: David Fletcher" at CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts (Kent and Vicki Logan Galleries)
Potrero Hill: 360 Kansas Street, free, 7:15pm

Alexandra Lederer, Brittany Powell, Centa Schumaker, Leo D. Stillwell, Markham Johnson, Randy Sarafan "The 26th Annual Leo D. Stillwell Student Exhibition" at San Francisco State University (Fine Arts Gallery)
Sunset: 1600 Holloway Ave, Free, 4-6pm

Wednesday, November 13

Alyson Shotz "Sequent" at Crown Point Press
SOMA: 20 Hawthorne Street, free, 5:30-7:30pm

+ Lecture: "Alternative Guide to the Universe with Ralph Rugoff" at Kadist Art Foundation Mission District: 3295 20th Street, at Folsom Street, 6pm

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Thursday, November 14

Ranu Mukherjee "Apparitions" at Gallery Wendi Norris
SOMA: 161 Jessie Street, first floor, 6-8pm

+ Screening: Ralph Bakshi "X: The History of a Film Rating - Fritz the Cat" at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
SOMA: 701 Misssion Street, at Third Street, YBCA Screening Room, $10 regular/$8 YBCA members, seniors, students, teachers/FREE YBCA:You members, 7:30pm

+ Al Wong, David Ireland , John Roloff, Paul Kos, Terry Fox, Tom Marioni, Tony Labat "Solid Concept" at Gallery Paule Anglim
Downtown: 14 Geary Street, floor 2, Free, 5:30-7:30pm

+ Artist Talk: Alicia Mccarthy "ENERGY THAT IS ALL AROUND » Artist Lecture: Alicia McCarthy" at San Francisco Art Institute
Russian Hill: 800 Chesnut Street, 7:30 pm

Keith Magruder, Kristina Lee Podesva, War Gastronomy "The Open Moment: An Exhibition Considering the Social, Economic, Personal, and Political Ramifications of Conflict" curated by Leila Grothe at Thoreau Gallery
Marina District: Presidio Building 1014 , Lincoln Blvd. & Torney Ave., free, 5–8pm

Friday, November 15

+ Greg Ito "and when we thought it would last forever…" curated by The Popular Workshop at Moroso Projects
SOMA: 582 6th Street, 5:30-7:30pm

+ Joachim Koester "Howe" at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
SOMA: 701 Misssion Street, at Third Street, Free with gallery admission, 6-8pm

+ Futurefarmers "Taking Stock" at Gallery 16
SOMA: 501 Third Street, free, 6-9pm

Lecture: Paul Klein "Imaging the Limits of Universalism: The Exclusionary Practices of Culture in Paris Marseille" at San Francisco Art Institute
Russian Hill: 800 Chesnut Street, Lecture Hall, Free and Open to the Public, 4:30-6:30pm

+ "This Will Never Work: Southern Exposure's Annual Entry-Fee-Free Juried Exhibition and Screening of Northern California Artists" at Southern Exposure
Mission District: 3030 20th Street , 12-7 PM

Lisa Solomon "“SEN” ~ New work and installations by Lisa Solomon" curated by Holly Fouladi at Fouladi Projects Hayes Valley: 1803 Market Street, 6-8pm

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Aaron Rosenstreich, Conrad M. Meyers II, Ian Treasure, Pete Hickok, Ryan Hendon, Ryan Jones, S.D. Willis "Not Each, But All" at Aggregate Space
Oakland: 801 West Grand Street, Free, 6-10pm

Saturday, November 16

Ronald Searle "Searle In America" at Cartoon Art Museum
SOMA: 655 Mission Street, 5:30-7:30pm

+ Jeremy Ehling, Laurie Reid, Melissa Dubbin & Aaron S. Davidson, Sean Talley "An Exhibition Which Comes and Goes As It Pleases Comes Again" at Et al. Chinatown: 620 Kearny Street, Free, 7-10pm

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+ "This Will Never Work Southern Exposure's Annual Entry-Fee-Free Juried Exhibition and Screening of Northern California Artists" at Southern Exposure
Mission District: 3030 20th Street , 10AM-2PM

U.S. Department of Illegal Superheroes (ICE DISH) "Grand Opening of the ICE DISH San Francisco Field Office" at Galeria de la Raza
Mission District: 2857 24th Street , 7-10pm

Stephen Beal "colored linens" at George Lawson Gallery
Potrero Hill: 315 Potrero Avenue, 4-7pm

Tour: "3rd Saturday Guided Gallery District Tour: Seasons of Change" curated by Pamela Mays McDonald at Joyce Gordon Gallery
Oakland: 406 14th Street , FREE, 2pm - 4pm

Terryl Dunn "Terryl Dunn: Works on Paper" at Mercury 20 Gallery Oakland: 475 25th Street, at Telegraph Avenue, free, 4-6pm

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Leah Markos "Pennants" at Mercury 20 Gallery Oakland: 475 25th Street, at Telegraph Avenue, 4-6pm

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+ Performance: Scotty Slade ""We'll Make It Somewhere, Somewhere" at S.H.E.D. Projects
Oakland: 1917 Peralta Street, 7-9pm

+ Screening: Ben Bigelow, Javier Roberto Carlos, Joshua Izenberg, Noah Krell, Steve Holzer "In the Zone: Films & Video Art" curated by Amanda Roscoe Mayo at Royal NoneSuch Gallery
Oakland: 4231 Telegraph Avenue, free, 7-10pm

+ Screening: Esra Canogullari, Lindsay Laven, Malic Amalya, Mariah Garnett "I'm Just Being Honest - bon/anza 3: dress for this" at n/a
Oakland: 4304 West Street, 8-11pm

Lindsay Benedict "dirty domestic" at Martina } { Johnston
Berkeley: 1201 Sixth Street, 2nd , 0, 4-8pm

Lecture: "East Meets West in Brush and Ink with Professor Arthur Mu-sen Kao" at NanHai Art
Millbrae: 510 Broadway, Suite 301, free, 2-4 PM

Sunday, November 17

+ Screening: Russ Meyer "X: The History of a Film Rating - Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
SOMA: 701 Misssion Street, at Third Street, YBCA Screening Room, $10 regular/$8 YBCA members, seniors, students, teachers/FREE YBCA:You members, 2pm & 4:30pm

Monday, November 18

+ Lecture: "Visiting Artists and Scholars Lecture Series: Liam Everett" at San Francisco Art Institute
Russian Hill: 800 Chesnut Street, Lecture Hall, Free and Open to the Public, 7:30pm

Lecture: "Your Presence is Required: Performance, Control, and Magnetism" Laetitia Sonami Lecture at UC Berkeley (Banatao Audiotorium, Sutardja Dai Hall)
Berkeley: UC Berkeley campus, free, 7:30-9pm

Artcards San Francisco is a weekly email publication led by editor Jackie Im and Aaron Harbour. Email event submissions to sfinfo@artcards.cc or use our submission form and add an image to your listing here. Powered by phpList.

+ = Editor's pick
? = Opening not confirmed - check site for updates.