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"Downtime: Constructing Leisure." Just in time for summer vacation, this group exhibition examines the various ways in which we understand and use leisure time. Josh Greene's clever Individual Leisure Grants -- $500 awards to individuals to pursue leisure activities in the Bay Area -- is an irreverent riff on the arts foundation grant and a heartwarming document of how people envision and plan their time off. The French art collective Bureau d'Etudes contributes a detailed diagram and video exposing the membership and history of Bohemian Grove, the Sonoma County retreat of an exclusive, all-male club whose members include every Republican president since Herbert Hoover. Mungo Thomson's slide show of post-9/11 photographs (culled from the Internet) of people at the top of the Empire State Building is a recognition of New York City's altered landscape and an unexpectedly fascinating survey of the conventions of tourist photography. But the exhibit's highlight is Steven Shearer's untitled piece, a prefab tool shed from which a one-minute guitar solo emanates once every hour. In the context of an exhibit about free time, it's a poignant comment on the survival of garage band dreams within the limited time we squeeze in for fun. Although the show as a whole suffers from some unevenness, it's a refreshing look at how we live life off the clock. Through May 14 at New Langton Arts, 1246 Folsom (between Eighth and Ninth streets), S.F. Admission is free; call 626-5416 or visit www.newlangtonarts.org. (Sharon Mizota) Reviewed April 27.
"GlamMore." This coy, satirical exhibit examines people's impressions of luxury and elegance. The huge show includes work by Mail Order Brides/M.O.B., a Filipina-American ensemble of high-camp thespians, and Galya Rosenfeld, a fashion designer with a techno-mod sensibility. By turns comical and critical, "GlamMore" is appropriate for the haute bourgeoisie and the snickering pragmatist alike. Through May 5 at the California College of the Arts, 1111 Eighth St. (at Wisconsin), S.F. Admission is free; call 551-9213 or visit www.cca.edu. (Nirmala Nataraj) Reviewed April 13.
"The Kingdom of Siam: The Art of Central Thailand 1350-1800." Religion's so controversial in San Francisco that spats periodically erupt over the nondescript cross atop Mount Davidson. So it may be challenging for us locals to understand the thrall that Buddhism has held over...