POLAR OBSESSION As well as friends (and, of course, Obama White House photographer Pete Souza), I follow Paul Nicklen on Instagram. I’m not alone: he has over 3 million Instagram followers. This morning, he posted an amazing photo of a bear dripping in water. Three hours after posting, it has 55,000 likes. So you might not need my recommendation to see Polar Obsession, the exhibition of Nicklen’s Arctic and Antarctic photos at the Brower Center. Nicklen grew up in a small Inuit community in the Canadian Arctic and sees himself as an ambassador for polar life. The roughly 40 images chosen for Polar Obsession includes elephant seals, whales, walruses, polar bears, penguins, albatrosses and more. Unmissable. Polar Obsession will be at the Brower Center until July 21. Open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Brower Center, 2150 Allston Way.
HOME MOVIE DAY Did you always believe you belonged on the big screen? Saturday is your chance at BAMPFA’s Hippie Modernism home movie and family album day. The curators urge you to bring your 1960s and 1970s home movies, photos, flyers and other print ephemera. Photos and other print materials will be shared and documented for a Family Album zine, while films will be screened after being inspected by film archivists to make sure they are safe to project. Film check-in starts at 11 a.m. with screenings kicking off at noon. All ages encouraged. BAMPFA welcomes 8mm, Super8, and 16mm films, VHS tapes, and DVDs. Saturday, Feb. 18, screenings from 12-5 p.m. BAMPFA, 2155 Center St.
ROBERT FRANK Zurich-born photographer Robert Frank revolutionized documentary photography and redefined the aesthetics of both the still and moving image. An exhibition at two venues on the UC Berkeley campus opens this weekend, spanning Frank’s entire artistic career, from 1947 to the present. Conceived by Frank and Gerhard Steidl, the pop-up exhibition features Frank’s iconic images – all printed on newspaper – positioned within the wide-ranging context of his work. Interspersed among his photographs, Frank’s photobooks and films are included to create a diverse glimpse of his career. Work from Frank’s famous book The Americans will be shown in North Gate Hall, home of the J-School, while the Worth Ryder Gallery will show Frank’s later work. The exhibition runs until March 3 and is open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at North Gate Hall and Monday-Thursday 12-5 p.m. at the Worth Ryder Gallery, Kroeber Hall. Both venues, however, are open for a special showing on Saturday, Feb. 18, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at North Gate Hall, and from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5-7 p.m. at the Worth Ryder Gallery.
MONTEVERDI MADRIGALS There might not be a better escape from the travails of the current day than immersing yourself in Renaissance music. New York-based ARTEK has established a particular reputation for its performances of Claudio Monteverdi. Published in 1619, Monteverdi’s seventh book of madrigals contains some of the composer’s most beloved baroque works — passionate solos, duets, trios and more, including Tornate o cari baci, Augellin che la voce, and O viva fiamma. ARTEK, currently in the midst of recording this music, is renowned for its dramatic performances of baroque music. Innovative staging often infuses their performances with vitality and sometimes humor. Saturday, Feb. 18, 7:30 p.m., St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave.
ED REED Here’s a blurb to make you sit up: “With an elegant new piano-bass-guitar trio, Ed Reed celebrates his 88th birthday re-imagining some of his favorite music from the King Cole Trio and the Great American Songbook.” Emphasis most definitely added. Reed performs at the California Jazz Conservatory on Saturday (did we mention he’s 88?). In the DownBeat critics poll Reed was the number one rising star male vocalist in 2014, when he was a sprightly 85. Reed learned to sing chord changes growing up from Charlie Mingus, who was looking after his sister’s kids across the street in Watts. Four stints in San Quentin and Folsom prisons on drug-related charges explain some of Reed’s late arrival on the music scene. Saturday, Feb. 18, 8 p.m., California Jazz Conservatory, 2087 Addison St.
Don’t miss these other events featured on Berkeleyside:
An exhibit of contemporary art serves as a balm to anti-Muslim rhetoric
‘Hand to God’ at Berkeley Rep is hilarious
Big Screen Berkeley: Academy Award-nominated documentary short subjects; ‘Korla’
A river runs through Berkeley with the return of the Nile Project
