Worth a Look

This week, Worth a Look highlights an exhibition by the Palo Alto Camera Club, a history lesson on the role of pencils in the art world, and a musical exploration of love and loss with a Jewish twist.

Art: A history of the graphite arts

The humble pencil. Many will remember it well, if not fondly, as that instrument used for filling in bubbles on multiple choice exams and working out math problems on scratch paper. In the art world, however, the pencil enjoys much greater prestige.

On Wednesday, at the Palo Alto Art Center, Betsy G. Fryberger, curator emerita of prints and drawings at the Cantor Art Center gives a presentation on the role graphite has played in the art world. “From Ingres and Cézanne to Hockney and Sol Lewitt: Artists Working in Graphite” will examine the many uses artists found for the pencil, including as a tool for crafting quick studies in their sketchbooks, creating definition in water colors, to make preliminary outlines before breaking out the brushes, and even as an end unto itself. “You can get a very clear representation using graphite,” Fryberger says, explaining the benefits of working with pencils.

Fryberger will give a talk accompanied by slides and a few facsimiles of the sketchbooks by Paul Cezanne and Theodore Gericault on April 2 at 6:30 p.m. in the Meeting Room of the Palo Alto Art Center, located at 1313 Newell Road, Palo Alto. The event is free. For more information, call 650-329-2366.

Photos: Palo Alto Camera Club exhibition

A collection of photographs by some of Palo Altos best photographers will be on display through the summer at Los Altos Hills Town Hall.

The exhibition, titled “Capturing Light — The World As We See It,” features 50 photos divided into two categories — “General” and “Cuba.” The latter category comes as a result of a series of workshops, which club member/professional photographer Charles Anselmo held in Havana.

Founded in 1935, the Palo Alto Camera Club (PACC) consists of a group of over 100 serious amateur and some professional photographers. “It’s a very talented group,” according to Bill Jackson, coordinator of “Capturing Light.”

Prints from the show will be for sale, as well as a catalog ($20) of the entire exhibition. The show opened on March 10, but a reception is planned for March 30 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free, and there will be food, wine, soft drinks and live music.

“Capturing Light” will run through Aug. 28. at the Los Altos Hills Town Hall, located at 26379 Fremont Road in Los Altos Hills. For more information check out the camera club’s online calendar or call Karen Druker, Los Altos Hills’ town art curator, at 650-941-8073 or the Los Altos Town Hall at 650-941-7222.

Music: ‘Love, Loss and Latkes’ explored through song

The San Francisco Choral Artists are teaming up with Veretski Pass — a trio of East Bay musicians who play klezmer music (a traditional Eastern European/Jewish style) — for an “eclectic smorgasbord of (mostly) Jewish music,” this Sunday at the All Saints Episcopal Church.

The program, titled “Love, Loss and Latkes” will feature Jewish and Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) music, both old and new. The revue, assembled by Magen Solomon, artistic director of the San Francisco Choral Artists, will explore the themes of love and loss through a series of Jewish compositions, including an “unknown gem from the Spanish Renaissance,” “Somewhere” by Leonard Bernstein (from the musical, “Westside Story”), and brand new compositions from Benjamin Taylor, Kala Pierson and Wayne Eastwood, among others.

There’s no word on whether the traditional Jewish potato cakes will be served at the event, but Solomon promises to provide a varied “musical meal.”

“Love, Loss and Latkes” will be performed in the Parish Hall of All Saints’ Episcopal Church, located at 555 Waverley St., Palo Alto. Tickets are $30 at the door and discounts are available for seniors, students and with advanced purchase. For more information visit sfca.org, email info@sfca.org, or call 415-494-8149.