Art Capsule Reviews

 Decelerate At the opening reception for Decelerate, a stranger with a wide, deranged grin pulled us over to Jacob El Hanani's drawings and said, "They're just doodles. I mean, he made the same marks over and over. What's the point?" Never mind that El Hanani's work is insanely detailed, that one piece can take years to finish. Never mind that the artist is raising larger questions about time — and how the rest of us spend it. This is an age of instant gratification, when we want to assign a "point" as quickly and efficiently as possible. Of course, this stranger was entitled to his opinion. But perhaps he should consider the soothing and meditative qualities of the exhibition, which also includes Jennifer Steinkamp's computer-animated projection of fluidity and grace, and a crowd-favorite floor sculpture by Anne Lindberg. Perhaps he should reflect, if only for a moment, on the unimportant filler that makes up most of our days. Perhaps he should just take a deep breath. Through Feb. 19 at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, 4420 Warwick, 816-753-5784. (A.F.)

Deanna Dikeman: Wardrobe We don't get out to thrift stores like we used to, but Columbia, Missouri, photographer Deanna Dikeman's recent show will suffice. According to her artist's statement, Dikeman's project began with photographs she took at a favorite secondhand shop called The Wardrobe. Like a yearbook of fashion and style over the past six decades — featuring the gaudy, the gauche, the luxurious and the regrettable — her photographs reveal how clothes appear without bodies to give them life. Images of blouses, robes, summer dresses and raincoats are vertically or horizontally spliced together as Dikeman rearranges the clothes. Once-popular accouterments long relegated to darker regions of the closet are reborn here in crisp, vibrant detail — and rendered newly respectable because they are displayed in an art gallery and because of the high quality of the photographs. On the lower level of the gallery, Elaine Duigenan's intriguing Nylon: An Intimate Archeology re-contextualizes the familiar, 400-year-old synthetic. Through Feb. 18 at the Society for Contemporary Photography, 520 Avenida Cesar E. Chavez, 816-471-2115. (R.T.B.)

Marvin Gates: Paintings Gates is a visual artist who delights in transforming the normal, mundane aspects of city life into odd, unfeeling reality. His work is remarkably consistent; many of the paintings show the same people and objects, all perfectly symmetrical and neatly arranged. The four-part series "On Things to Come, 2001-2004" contains two pieces ("Forwards" and "The Blue Bag") thrust up against each other on adjoining walls, near mirrors. Each depicts not only a familiar scene — a busy grid of taxis, faceless humans on sidewalks, cars and buses rushing by — but also decidedly less familiar things: strange forms with skulls for heads and oversized hands and feet. In "Head of the Driver," a hearse delivers humanity into the Great Unknown symbolized by a hanging black curtain while a skull watches from the left. This is a disjointed narrative of life in an alternate, anonymous and ultimately unforgiving world. Through Feb. 16 at the Dolphin, 1901 Baltimore, 816-842-5877. (R.T.B.)

Pastoral Barbarism In his paintings, Lawrence artist Aaron Marable blurs historical figures with fantasy to produce a confused, intriguing and complex narrative. Frequently, archetypes mingle with elements of pop culture to create a vibrant stew of color and violence. Many of the works feature bloodshed and brutality in a variety of contexts, as if such actions were inescapable. Typical is "...With God on Their Side," in which a soldier loads his musket as he stands in the mouth of a much larger soldier who is reclining, a week's worth of whiskers on his cheeks. On top of this enormous soldier stands a tiny George Washington reading from scrolled parchment. A woman tends to a nearby third soldier, who is wounded and dying. At least four or five realities occur at one time; one image fights for attention with the other, and characters overlap in a fever dream of surreal, mostly Americana-inspired images. Marable applies paint in thick brush strokes fueled by a generous supply of passion — the act of violence influencing the process of painting itself. Through Jan. 21 at the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, 2012 Baltimore, 816-474-1919. (R.T.B.)

Fortinbras With Lee Blessing's absurdist farce Fortinbras, our most exciting community-theater company tackles what could be called AfterHamlet (or Hamlet 2: Citizens on Patrol). When Fortinbras starts strong-arming the surviving Danes before their prince's corpse has cooled, we can guaran-damn-tee you more blood's going to spill. But first: How will his assumption of the throne play in the media? Expect duels, multimedia madness and much comic business about public relations. Through Jan. 28 at Olathe Community Theatre, 500 E. Loula, Olathe, 913-782-2990.

Having Our Say: The Delaney Sisters' First 100 Years It's history as clip show when centenarian sisters Sadie and Bessie Delaney walk us through the trials and accomplishments of the past century or so, demonstrating how their lives — and the life of this country — are one and the same. The warm story of two pioneering African-American women, this Independence Ministerial Alliance production is not only safe for the kids — it might straighten them out. Plus, we're just thrilled anytime we get a production that's not all honky hokum. Through Jan. 29 at the City Theatre of Independence, 201 N. Dodgion, Independence, 816-325-7367.

Nothin' Like a Dame: A Salute to Broadway's Leading Ladies Why does droppin' the g signify Broadway? Whatever the answer, we're always inclined toward dropping some cash on Quality Hill's sparkling cabaret revues, for which this town's finest singers don razzle-dazzle gowns and tuxes — well, mostly gowns this time — to barnstorm through J. Kent Barnhart's light, witty arrangements in the extremely intimate Playhouse. This go-round, they're promising tunes from Cabaret, Funny Girl, Annie Get Your Gun and other perennials. Might we nominate muppety Stephanie's heartbreaking "There's a Fine, Fine Line" from Avenue Q? Through Feb. 19 at Quality Hill Playhouse, 303 W. 10th St., 816-421-1700.