"Historically, artists painted the court and the aristocracy. I'm the court painter of hip-hop -- the artists are that important." So says Justin BUA, the hip-hop generation artist who celebrates the release of his new book The Legends of Hip-Hop with a signing session at Booksmith this Friday starting at 6 p.m. The scratch wizard Qbert will also be in attendance, providing the sounds to accompany BUA's art. So ahead of BUA's book launch, we got him to run down his five favorite illustrated hip-hop album covers.

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5. Snoop Doggy Dogg, Doggystyle
"I think this album cover was actually done by his cousin. For me, obviously it's not a great painting, and it's super obvious that the guy is definitely not a great artist -- but it's iconic. It's naive, super simplistic, not painterly, and there's no control of temperature, but the illustration just felt right to me. My first reaction when I saw it was, first, jealously, like, 'How come I didn't get to do that cover art?' Then it was, 'What, is this done by a four-year-old?!' The third, though, after time went on, was, 'Okay, this just feels right.' It fits the vibe."

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Whatever you have to do, whoever you are, whether you like modern art or not, get behind this Misfits-inspired image as the new logo for the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and be a force for radness in the world:

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via Pop-Quiz Kid

The new look of Case's arms

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Anyone at Stern Grove on July 3? (Yes, duh.)

Anyone notice anything different about the arms of alt-country singer and cult figure Neko Case?

Well, we did. Case, you see, recently got large tattoos on each of her forearms. As the picture above indicates, they're quite noticeable, even from a distance. The right one says "Scorned as Timber," while the left reads "Beloved of the Sky."

So what do they mean? That's what we're here to tell you!

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Cory Weaver

Emilia Marty's hotel room

​Leoš Janáček's The Makropulos Case

November 13, 2010
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Cory Weaver

Luca Pisaroni (Figaro) and Danielle de Niese (Susanna) with members of the chorus.

​Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro 

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Cory Weaver

Micaela Carosi as Aida

​Giuseppe Verdi's Aida
@ September 24, 2010
War Memorial Opera House

Better than: The D-Backs (we hope)

The forthcoming observation about San Francisco Opera's production of Aida is not intended to be dismissive of the backflipping acrobats, the dancers, the endless processions of priests and soldiers, and (especially) the giant blue elephant puppet. As the presence of a giant blue elephant puppet suggests, Aida is an opera of scale. (This may account for S.F. Opera choosing it for Friday's Opera at the Ballpark simulcast.) But what made Friday night's performance come alive -- from an in-house perspective, at least -- were the smaller, quieter moments. Bombast is easy; convincing nuance is not. Balancing the two as effectively as this production did is rarer still.

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Cory Weaver

Alice Coote (Charlotte) and Ramon Vargas (Werther)

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Werther by Jules Massenet
War Memorial Opera House
September 18

Better than:  A chaotic production with mediocre singers

The new production of Jules Massenet's Werther making its debut at San Francisco Opera demonstrates the degree to which a successful opera depends on a constellation of elements coalescing just so. Despite outstanding performances from three key singers, an orchestra that masterfully rendered Massenet's complex score, and a taut if somewhat predictable story drawn from an iconic work of literature, the production felt less satisfying than these assets might indicate. For that, a good part of the blame rests on Louis Désiré's production design and Francisco Negrin's direction.

It's not that I reflexively take exception to less-than-traditional stagings of operas. This summer's Die Walküre, to name one recent example, was brilliant -- freeway overpass, aviator goggles, and all. But that production had an overall coherence of vision and purpose that this Werther lacked. Its set had elements that, on their own, were intriguing.  Unfortunately, there were far too many of them to coexist successfully -- particularly in service of a plot this straightforward, with a core cast this small. When intimacy was called for -- which was most of the time -- scattershot spectacle reigned. Watching this production felt like reading a book by a talented writer who badly needs a slash-and-burn editor to save the writing from its excesses and unevenness, thereby allowing the more effective innovations to shine.

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Tim Cohen

​There's long been an interesting overlap between the worlds of music and visual art. Countless rock bands (see, for starters, the 'Stones) assembled in art school, and many musicians, after their recording lives settle down, hit the gallery circuit. So it perhaps didn't take a wild imagination to come up with the idea of doing an art show featuring the work of San Francisco musicians. But Sound and Vision, which opens tomorrow at Fivepoints Arthouse and features work by Fresh & Onlys frontman Tim Cohen, former Flamin' Groovies leader Cyril Jordan, along with many other local musicians, looks rather cool anyway.

Courtesy of de Young Museum

El Anatsui's Hovor II

​The woman sauntered up to the giant wall hanging called Hovor II, inspected its connecting pieces, then sat down on a nearby bench to get a more expansive view. Every five minutes or so, the pattern was the same on the second floor of the de Young Museum: Surprise. Inspection. Survey from afar. I witnessed that pattern this week, soon after speaking to the artist who created Hovor II from the tops of old liquor bottles.More >>