Weekend Arts Agenda: ‘Les Liaisons Dangereuses’ September 11 2014

• Courtesy Actor’s Express
• Costume sketches by Erik Teague

Some sizzle, as we all try and pretend that summer is over: Actor’s Express has kicked off its 27th season with Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Christopher Hampton’s intricately seductive (and seductively intricate) play, based on the classic novel, later the foundation for two films — an eponymous adaptation and the deliciously tony/teen-y Cruel Intentions. The creative team, including director Melissa Foulger, is especially high on the work of costume designer Erik Teague. Performances are Wed.-Sat., at 8 p.m. and Sun., at 2 p.m., through Oct. 5. The cast includes Kristin Butler, Diane Dicker, and Barrett Doyle. Tickets are $26-$45. Go to actors-express.com or call 404-607-7469 to buy.

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FRIDAY

P. Seth Thompson’s This Message Has No Content opens at Sandler Hudson. Thompson is one of those artists who bridges backgrounds in ’80s movies (The NeverEnding Story, et al.) and ... quantum physics. And also tautology! The show examines “the role of image in the creation of selfhood,” according to its official description. The aesthetic is comic; the media, digital. The perspective, as in all things in the here and now, is heavily mediated. What do we become after we put ourselves through these machines? With an opening reception from 7-9 p.m.

Here’s something truly pluralistic: Shay Kun, Bassmi Ibrahim, and Richard Heinsohn will open Corners of Our Mind at Bill Lowe. The joint exhibition employs “multiplicity of visual languages” to lead the viewer toward “undiscovered dimensions.” But the individual styles diverge: Kun’s a photorealistic painter; Heinsohn’s a dense acrylicist; and Ibrahim is “graceful,” “sensual,” and “abstract,” according to the gallery. Multiplicity, indeed. With an opening reception at 6 p.m.

SATURDAY-SUNDAY

• Courtesy Atlanta Arts Festival

The 8th Annual Atlanta Arts Festival returns to Piedmont Park with 200 of the country’s finest painters, photographers, sculptors, leather, and metal craftsmen, glass blowers, and more. This means; artists like Christina Glennon, Larry and Sherry Paulsen, Marianne van der Haar, and Sean Barry; the Krog Street Market making its festival debut sponsoring the Art of Cooking Stage.

“We wanted to create a Festival that we could take our family to and share our passion and love of art with the Atlanta community,” festival Co-Founders Tracy and Julie Tepp said in a release. “It is amazing to come back every year and make this Festival a more enhancing cultural experience for the artists, art enthusiasts and the casual festival goers.”