By MAUREEN SULLIVAN
Daily Arts Writer
Nicario Jimenez of Peru crafts
intricate, colorful, three-dimen-
sional scenes, be it Peruvian pas-
toral life or
modern Ameri- Ann Arbor
can cities. His .
small figurines Art Fair
are carefully Wednesday
carved out of through
a doughy mix- Saturday
ture of boiled
potato and gyp- See artfair.org for
sum powder times and locations
and are then
painted and displayed in a meticu-
lously designed portable wooden
box. Jimenez has had success as an
innovative folk artist and one of his
works is on permanent display at
the Smithsonian, but Jimenez will
be just one among many artists tak-
ing over the streets of Ann Arbor
this week.
On Wednesday, artists and
craftsmen from across the globe
will be display ceramics, paintings,
jewelry, sculptures, photography,
glass, wood and fiber works. Not
the University as well as Eastern
Michigan University and the Cen-
ter for Creative Studies in Detroit.
The New Art New Artists Program
gives students a chance to have
their works juried by professionals
while allowing them to have first-
hand experience with selling their
work directly to customers.
The State Street Art Fair, cel-
ebrating its 40th anniversary
this year, is sponsored by the Ann
Arbor Street Area Association
and features 400 artists as well as
sidewalk sales and outdoor din-
ing. The Ann Arbor Summer Art
Fair is more focused on local art-
ists and is sponsored by the Guild
of Artists and Artisans, which is
a non-profit membership associa-
tion of independent Ann Arbor art-
ists. To exploit the city's streets to
full advantage, the original art fair
moved from the South University
district to campus in 2003, and the
South University Retailers Associa-
tion took over the site with the Ann
Arbor South University Art Fair.
Shary Brown, executive direc-
tor of the the Street Art Fair, said
See ART FAIR, Page 10
Local disco
bebop peas
in a pod
By MATT RONEY
DailyArts Writer
The Macpodz are unavoidable
in Ann Arbor. Any State Street or
South University
Avenue pedes- Macpodz
trian would be
hard pressed not Friday at
to see at least one 9:30 p.m.
of their space $7($10
monkey-adorned under 21)
flyers. They're
everywhere, be Ahe Bind Pig
it Hash Bash or See Art Fair
your best friend's coveragefor
house party, and information about
after barelyayear an additional show
as a band, they've
become a fixture at the Blind Pig.
If you're not familiar with the
Macpodz's brand of electrified jazz,
See MACPODZ, Page 10
It really does feel like 500,000 people.
to be mistaken for a quaint craft
fair, the Ann Arbor Art Fairs are a
serious business with booths, art-
ists and art connoisseurs sprawled
across the University's campus and
the Main Street areas.
Just as the city is beginning to
resemble a ghost town, an esti-
mated 500,000 will jam into it by
minivan, shuttle bus and metro car
to browse the four award-winning
fairs.
The Ann Arbor Street Art Fair
is the original fair featuring 175
handpicked artists as well as the
Infiniti Stage near the Burton bell
tower with ongoing musical per-
formances from a diverse array of
performers, many local. An art fair
staple, blues and boogie pianoman
Mr. B will be in playing in the street
on North University.
Combing the creative commu-
nity and the student population,
the fair has a special showcase
for art and design students from