Eugene Weekly : Calendar : 02.23.06

In the coming month, Maude Kerns Art Center is home to a comprehensive overview of the work of Mike E. Walsh, "Walsh Timeline 1972-2006." Walsh, who earned his BFA from the UO in 1972, is a native Oregonian. His work, seen in 80 solo shows and 300 group shows over the years, addresses social, cultural and environmental issues. The loss of friends to AIDS led Walsh to create installations that dealt with the HIV/AIDS crisis, seven of which are included in this retrospective. The exhibit is also the premiere of Palace Walk: Codex B, a massive installation inspired by Walsh's recent trip to Egypt, which takes its name from the work of Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz. "Walsh Timeline" opens Friday evening with a performance by local science fiction band LaunchPad. See Friday Calendar.

As February winds down, so does Readin' in the Rain —but not before going out with a bang. Crescent author Diana Abu-Jaber, an engaging and entertaining speaker, appears Thursday, Feb. 23 at the Hult Center for a free reading and discussion of this year's book. Were the lush descriptions of food in Abu-Jaber's story enough to make your mouth water? You may want to hurry out to the UO Bookstore or Tsunami Books by Thursday, Feb. 23 (that's today!) to pick up tickets to Saturday night's fund-raising Dinner With Diana, which takes place at 5th Street Market and is hosted by Café Soriah (advance tickets are necessary). Abu-Jaber will also be signing books on Friday at the UO Bookstore and Saturday at Tsunami Books. See Calendar.

Friday, Feb. 24, says Last Friday ArtWalk cofounder Sterling Wallach in an e-mail, is a "good time to plant yer peas and catch the Last Friday ArtWalk." This month's artists and venues include Marilyn Kent, whose "Love Birds and Others" is on display at Infinity Mercantile and Scott Boyes, whose "Big Paintings of Small Toys" you can see at the Fire House Studio. See www.lastfridayartwalk.org and Friday Calendar.

The Eugene Ballet Company's season continues with The Princess and the Pea. Based on Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale, the EBC's version, choreographed by Daniel Pelzig, includes a flat-footed princess, a nerdy prince and a tribe of 12 cavorting mattresses. Mattresses dancing a ballet? Yes, you read that right. The two-shows-only program also includes Artistic Director Toni Pimble's Swing Kings!, a tribute to the Big Band era. See Saturday Calendar.

In 2001, Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist and author Art Spiegelman watched the events of 9/11 unfold from his downtown Manhattan home. In the two years that followed, he worked on a series of cartoons expressing and exploring his horror at both the attacks and at the government's response to them. In the Shadow of No Towers is an oversized tome, its cardboard pages covered with two-page spreads that tell two stories: one of a family's life during and after the attacks, and another, unexpectedly, of the history of early newspaper comics. Reading In the Shadow of No Towers is a visceral experience; the book's weight and size is uncomfortable in the hands, and you must find a way to fit yourself around it — and it into your mind. Spiegelman discusses the book this week at the Jaqua Concert Hall. Tickets are free and available by calling the UO's Comparative Literature office at 346-3986. See Tuesday Calendar.