The reception will be held from 5:30 p.m to 7 p.m.

The work of six new artists will be featured in the October show.

While Bruce Vandariss has worked in many mediums, for this show he is exhibiting vivid paintings done in colored pencil.

Keith Nelson's 8-foot metal giraffe gains immediate attention as you walk into the gallery, but take time to examine his other work as well.

Bill Blum returns with his miniature wooden gnome homes, each one with a surprise twist.

To accompany them, Chris Schreier has fashioned wee folk art gnomes.

Sunny Franson's beautifully executed oils reflect wonderfully soft scenes of Lake County; but especially captivating is Sunny's ability to capture the quiet beauty of wolves and other wildlife. Judy Cardinale shows her fine ability to put brush to canvas with her colorful and well executed work in oils. Rounding out this fine collection of artists is the intricately fashioned jewelry by Anna Koot.

Continuing in the October show are Ellen Tobin in photography, Bill Bartram in pastels and Rose Hodkins in oil. Gaylene McComb's clay creations, and Paula Strothers, Diane Constable and Paula Starkey in acrylics.

Returning to the Linda Carpenter Gallery to show their ever growing talent and experimenting with various mediums and techniques are students from Cobb Mountain under the energetic tutelage of Linda Prather.

Please join us for this evening of Art, meet the featured artists and sample the award winning wines of the Cleavage Creek Winery. Michael Barrish and Stephen Sommers will provide delightful background music, as they sing and play songs written by Michael. We look forward to meeting you, sharing our Gallery and bringing even more and new artistic talent to you in the months ahead.

The Main Street Gallery and Gift Shop is located at 325 N. Main St., Lakeport.

For more information call 707-263-6658.

Gail Salituri's painting of Ceago Vinegarden in Nice. Photo courtesy of Gail Salituri.

UPPER LAKE – Lake County Wine Studio will host a wine tasting with Obsidian Ridge Vineyards this week.

The event will take place from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3, and from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4, at the studio, located at the studio, 9505 Main St. in Upper Lake.

Lake County Wine Studio will pour a $10 sampler of their much-acclaimed Obsidian Ridge Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon paired with appetizers.

Obsidian Ridge has gained high praise from respected reviewers from wine publications, including Wine Spectator, The Wine Enthusiast, SF Chronicle, Food & Wine, as well as wine advocate Robert Parker. It also has a rapidly expanding fan base among Lake County locals.

The wines of Obsidian Ridge will be featured on Oct. 3 and 4, 2009. Courtesy photo.

Winemakers Michael Terrien and Peter Molnar will be at the Wine Studio on Friday evening to meet with guests and share the history of Obsidian Ridge Wines, the fine characteristics imparted by the 100-percent Kádár Hungarian Oak barrels they use from the Molnar family-owned cooperage, and the elevation of wines in Lake County.

On display at the event will be the artwork of local artist, Gail Salituri.

A 2009 Stars of Lake County award winner as well as a humanitarian and philanthropist, wine studio owner Susan Feiler called Salituri “one of Lake County's finest assets.”

Works by Salituri, who operates her own gallery in Lakeport with the help of her daughter Sheri, will be on display at the wine studio for the month of October.

With an eye for both the obvious and hidden beauty of her chosen subjects, Salituri has established herself as one of California's rising artists. Working exclusively in oils, she superbly depicts many of the Golden State's natural, cultural and architectural treasures.  

Missions, courtyards, gardens, vineyards and wineries are among Salituri's many specialties. Each one reflects her artistic vision, as well as a love and appreciation of beautiful places and scenes she wishes to share. Her enchanting scenes are vibrant in color, yet serene in their peacefulness, a combination that has won her increasing notice and acclaim in the art world.

For more information call the Lake County Wine Studio, 707-275-8030.

Works by local artist Gail Salituri will be in display at the Lake County Wine Studio during the month of October. Photo courtesy of Gail Salituri.

The event is sponsored by Clear Lake Performing Arts (CLPA).

Burgess has studied with the preeminent Argentinian guitarist Manuel Lopez Ramos, and later was chosen as the first recipient of the Andres Segovia Fellowship, after which he studied periodically with Segovia, probably the world's foremost classical guitarist until his death in 1987.

Segovia gave Burgess high praise, calling him an artist “with a magnificent technique.”

Hope Brewer, CLPA concerts arrangements chair, said that it was a rare occasion for Lake County music lovers to have the chance to meet, see and hear an artist of David Burgess' international stature without leaving home.

“It's a concert not to be missed,” she said.

Praised by critics for his polished technique and flamboyant style, Burgess has performed throughout North and South America, Europe and the Far East, as well as having recorded for CBS Masterworks, Musical Heritage Society, Tritone and Athena records.

He has won top honors in many international music competitions, including the Ponce International in Mexico City, Guitar '81 in Toronto and the 31st International Music Competition in Munich.

In recent years he has traveled often to Brazil, rediscovering guitar music from Brazil's past as well as many contemporary works, with many of the forming the basis of his first Lake County concert.

His program will begin with some of the oldest known guitar music, written in Spain at the time of Columbus, and include Spanish Baroque works along with pieces by such noted composers as Isaac Albeniz and Joaquin Rodrigo.

The second half of the program will feature contrasting guitar works from different Latin American countries including Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina and Bolivia, with music from such composers as Agustin Barrios and Antonio Carlos Jobin.

General admission is $20, or $15 for CLPA members, with young people under 18 admitted free of charge.

For information call 707-277-7076.

Bruce Willis stars as FBI Agent Greer in “Surrogate.” Photo courtesy of Touchstone Pictures.

SURROGATES (Rated PG-13)

Maybe it’s asking too much to expect a science fiction thriller, based on a popular graphic novel, to have a lot of depth and complexity. In all fairness, I am not familiar with the graphic novel “The Surrogates,” written and illustrated by Robert Venditti and Brett Weldele, respectively. However, after watching Hollywood’s take on the futuristic utopian world of robotic surrogates in “Surrogates,” I am even less inclined now to read through the illustrated book, no matter how visually appealing it is or how boldly it explores philosophical and ethical concepts.

Bruce Willis is a fun actor to watch, even if he’s getting a bit long in the tooth for action heroics. One thing “Surrogates” has going for it is that Willis’ central character of FBI Agent Greer, when forced to emerge from behind his robotic clone, is far more realistic than his hardened role in the “Die Hard” movies.

Instead, we get a vulnerable action hero, one who can and does end up on the losing end of a fistfight. Perhaps it’s due more to the fact that he’s surrounded by robots, but Willis in the flesh delivers some believable emotion. On the other hand, he’s extremely bland, naturally, in his robotic form.

In the so-called idyllic world of “Surrogates,” the fact that humans have, for the most part, volunteered to become couch potatoes so that they can run their lives through their idealized clone is a troubling thought. Even more disturbing is seeing Willis’ Agent Greer first appear in his robot form, free of wrinkles and sporting the kind of bad wig that makes him look like a creepy pervert. The foundations of this New World Order are shaken by a flesh-and-blood human who murders one of the clones outside of a nightclub.

The murder becomes more spectacular when it is apparent that the victim is the son of reclusive billionaire Dr. Canter (James Cromwell), the inventor of the surrogate population who has been forced out of his position as chairman of the mega-corporation that produces the robots. The death is a public relations nightmare because the surrogates are advertised as a risk-free way to go through life. In this case, the actual person behind the surrogate is also killed, thus belying the notion of invincibility.

Teamed up with beautiful fellow agent Peters (Radha Mitchell), Greer is charged with investigating the murder, and since it appears to be the first murder in their utopian society, this heinous act triggers questions about the ethics of surrogate technology and the future of society.

For his part, Greer is already suffering emotional conflicts, having lost his young son in an auto accident and not having any real human interaction with his wife Maggie (Rosamund Pike), who hides behind the perfection of a flawlessly beautiful clone, for reasons apparent only later.

As a science-fiction thriller interested in social commentary, “Surrogates” raises some interesting questions only to discard them almost as quickly. The brave new technology was approved by a narrow Supreme Court decision, but we have no idea of the issues before the justices.

The few humans who form a resistance live in a guarded encampment, worse than a bombed-out South Bronx ghetto, but how they survive in a world isolated by the robots is a big question. How did a bearded Rastafarian named the Prophet (Ving Rhames) become their leader? And just who is that overweight guy sitting in the massive control room and what’s his agenda?

In the end, there’s a shortage of logic, as well as serious drama, to “Surrogates.” The missing link, so to speak, is the underlying premise that nearly everyone finds it appealing to experience work, life’s daily ups and downs, and all forms of pleasure vicariously through their robotic clones. Isn’t it bad enough that so many of us spend entire workdays lashed to an unloving, uncaring computer in a quest to get the job done?

“Surrogates” succeeds at rendering a promising idea into something lame, rather insipid and ultimately unsatisfying.

DVD RELEASE UPDATE

Just last week, I was writing about director Steven Soderbergh’s latest film, “The Informant!” Now coming out on DVD is one of his less commercial ventures, probably a movie that few people saw in the comfort of a multiplex.

“The Girlfriend Experience” is about a different kind of surrogacy, not involving robots or clones.

Arguably, though, the film’s main character, adult film star Sasha Grey, plays the part of a sexual surrogate as an ultra-upscale Manhattan call girl named Chelsea.

However, as a high-priced escort, Chelsea offers more than just sex to her clients. She also provides companionship and conversation, otherwise known as the “girlfriend experience,” where intimacy is just as illusory as a robot capable of expressing human emotion. “The Girlfriend Experience” is more about the culture of money and power than about sex.

The DVD release features an alternate unrated cut of the film in addition to the theatrical version, along with some commentary from the porn star.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.