A Cut Above
Artist Bette Yozell cuts through the madness with new show of papercut works
Santa Fe-based artist Bette Yozell will tell you that she’s at least dabbled in just about any 2D medium you might think of, but that the last five years have brought a kind of solace through her still-developing and evolving papercut practice. In short, Yozell says, she began collecting various papers some years ago and, during the pandemic, put them under the X-acto Knife to create pieces rooted in self-soothing and outwardly soothing ephemera. Think of Yozell’s work like a balm for tough times, which is precisely the impetus behind Refuge: Precise Papercuts for Chaotic Times curated by Anne Kelly.
“They’re political in the sense that my cuts are precise, clean and calming when there’s so much chaos in the world,” Yozell tells SFR, “but they’re merely whimsical in terms of them being things that just make people happy.”
Lately, Yozell has been experimenting with 4” shadowboxes for a 3D effect; the content of the pieces themselves showcase landscapes, wildlife and a layered merging of silhouettes and patterns—what Yozell calls her “rose-colored glasses view of the world.”
“I give the viewer a lot of credit,” she continues. “I’m in partnership with the viewer, and I’m not trying to hit them over the head with some message. Anything I can do to make people feel a little more comfortable right now…and I certainly have a calling to express myself through art.”
A bit of calming imagery does sound nice right about now, and though there’s a sort of magical realism to Yozell’s pieces, they remain grounded in the world around us. The intricacies are just a bonus, really.
“I started making these papercuts at the beginning of COVID, as I found I had unlimited tim in the studio around then, and it just came over me,” Yozell says. “I’d been collecting interesting papers for years, and combining those patterns with bold silhouettes just did it for me. And I’m still challenged by it.” (Alex De Vore)
Bette Yozell: Refuge: Precise Papercuts for Chaotic Times: 5-7 pm Friday, Nov. 7. Free. El Zaguán, 545 Canyon Road, (505) 983-2567
Hungry Planet
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You’ll find a whole lot of not-super-traditional artistry going down in the cracks and crevices of Santa Fe’s off-Canyon Road spaces, and Midtown haunt Station5 Micro-Gallery has been delivering in that milieu lately—while adding a bit of culture to an otherwise biz-heavy part of town. At the gallery’s upcoming The Earth Will Eat Us All, artists Lori Swartz and Billy Bilbro go all Voltron to become Mudmittens, a collaborative jumping-off point from which a series of raw video, animations and performance art pieces collide into one messy, intriguing, strange and promising melange of weirdness rooted in exploring the digital unknown. What mysteries will be uncovered? What truths might we learn? There’s only one way to find out. (ADV)
Mudmittens: The Earth Will Eat Us All: 5 pm Friday, Nov. 7. Free. Station5 Micro-Gallery, 1600 Lena St., Bldg C #20, station5.elisakeir.com
Get Cranking
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As we watch the country get worse and worse—particularly with SNAP benefits going how they’re going just now—everything feels more perilous. And though Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced last week that some help is on the way for SNAP recipients, it’s hardly a long-term solution, and the privileged among us must step up to do what we can. Enter this year’s Cranksgiving, the 17th iteration of the annual bike-a-thon during which bicyclist-scavenger hunters take to the streets to fill up shopping bags with Thanksgiving foods for those in need. Riders donate $20-$25 to participate, and everything goes to The Food Depot, which will help at least some folks staring down the barrel of an otherwise rotten Thanksgiving. Last year they pulled in nearly 3,000 pounds of food. Can y’all outdo that in 2025? Oh, also, the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile will be there, so…(ADV)
Cranksgiving 17: 10 am Saturday, Nov. 8. $20-$25. Santa Fe Railyard, 1612 Alacaldesa St., cranksgivingsantafe.com
Joshing Around
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Many of us still remember that most excellent episode from season 3 of Scrubs wherein we learn a beloved character played by Brendan Fraser has been dead the whole time, and a lot of it has to do with the haunting song “Winter” by singer-songwriter Joshua Radin. Radin is, of course, so much more than the soundtrack to a bummer moment on television. He’s a prolific creator with something like 10 records under his belt, and a champion of merging folky elements with heartfelt indie melodies and lyricism. The man’s got the voice of an angel, too, which he’ll prove when he stops in Santa Fe on Monday. Radin’s newest album One Day Home has proven he’s still got a knack for putting together a piece of music, and everything from his guitar work to his vocal range still impresses to this day. We’ve got the chills. (ADV)
Joshua Radin: 7:30 pm Monday, Nov. 10. $33-$49.50. St. Francis Auditorium, 107 W Palace Ave., (505) 476-5072
