From 'Gray Man' to Rube Goldberg: 7 things to do in Memphis

Memphis: Don't ever say you are bored. Don't ever say there is nothing to do. There is plenty to do, always.

Like, for instance, over the coming week you could check out any or all of the events or attractions listed below.

We picked a lucky seven, one for each day of the week; but some of these exhibits will be around for the next couple months, so there's no need to rush. Memphis, we know you like to take your time.

'Tommy Kha: Eye Is Another'; Memphis Brooks Museum of Art

Born, raised and educated in Memphis, now Brooklyn-based photographer Tommy Kha earned overdue but in this instance problematic international attention last year when a wry and poignant self-portrait he created for the redesigned Memphis International Airport was pulled from the terminal after a few travelers — hopelessly literal-minded Elvis fans, apparently — objected to the artwork, which presents Kha, a diminutive Asian-American, in an Elvis Presley jumpsuit. Fortunately, the portrait was reinstated after art lovers and free-speech advocates provided negative feedback of their own to the timidity of the Airport Authority. "It is the definition of what Memphis is: the community," Kha said in a statement, after the outpouring of support for his art. "I hope I somehow can continue to help elevate others."

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In fact, he's doing just that — or elevating the community's gaze, at least. In something of an apology for his shoddy hometown treatment, Kha was commissioned by the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art to create an installation for the institution's entryway rotunda. The result is "Eye Is Another," a photographic mosaic that "considers the idea of the eye as an extension of the mind" and plays with "themes of identity, (in)visibility, and sense of place," according to the Brooks.

Positioned inside the rotunda dome, the mosaic suggests a stylized eye, "composed of images of the sky from the two cities where Kha splits his time, Memphis and New York. Its shape is based on Kha’s own eye while its blue color is borrowed from Elvis — an abstract continuation of the artist’s earlier work featuring images of himself dressed as the famed singer. The exhibit borrows its title from play the French poet Arthur Rimbaud, "who in 1871 wrote, 'Je est un autre,' sometimes translated as 'I is another,' or 'I is an other.' These words suggest that our identities are complicated... and that we may have multiple senses of self... These views of the self resonate for Kha," who grew up "gay and Chinese American in the American South."

The installation will be in place through May 7. The Brooks Museum is in Overton Park. Visit brooksmuseum.org.

'Rube Goldberg: The World of Hilarious Invention!'; The Children's Museum of Memphis

For much of his working life, Rube Goldberg (1883-1970) was a household name. You may not know him, but you know his influence: If you ever played the board game Mouse Trap or enjoyed the breakfast sequence in "Pee-wee's Big Adventure" or watched a Looney Tunes cartoon in which the coyote or Yosemite Sam constructs a ridiculously complicated chain-of-events trap — a boot on a lever strikes a match that lights a candle that burns a string that drops a brick onto a seesaw that launches a bowling ball etc. etc. — then you can thank Rube Goldberg. A Pulitzer Prize winner, the cartoonist enjoyed his greatest popularity during the Great Depression, when his drawings of comically elaborate and impractical "Rube Goldberg inventions" appeared in magazines and newspapers around the country and inspired such projects as the 1930 Three Stooges movie "Soup to Nuts," which Goldberg scripted.

Developed by the Rube Goldberg Institute for Innovation & Creativity, a nonprofit organization operated by Goldberg's heirs, "The World of Hilarious Inventions!" is a traveling show that brings zany Goldberg-type devices to life, for the amusement and education of kids (of all ages). The inventions are "hands-on" and "interactive," according to the Children's Museum. "You can activate and create crazy chain-reaction contraptions that use everyday objects to complete simple tasks in the most overcomplicated, inefficient and hilarious ways possible!" the museum website promises kids, while reassuring parents that the exhibit also demonstrates "how classic engineering principles can be reimagined as entry points for deeper exploration of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) concepts for 21st century learning."

The exhibit is up through May 7. Children's Museum is at 2525 Central. For more information, visit cmom.com.

'All That Breathes'; Studio on the Square

Indie Memphis, the cinema-centric arts organization that hosts the annual Indie Memphis Film Festival, has at last reactivated its theatrical screening series (which had been going strong before the disruption of the pandemic). The movie that will screen at 7 pm. Wednesday, March 1, at the Studio on the Square is an Oscar-nominated must-see: Directed by Shaunak Sen, "All that Breathes" chronicles the efforts of a pair of brothers in New Delhi, India, who have devoted themselves to caring for and rehabilitating kites and other injured birds of prey, whose lives are increasingly complicated by the pollution and expansion of urban so-called civilization.

Winner of the Grand Jury Prize in the World Cinema Documentary category at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, the movie is one of the five films in competition for the Best Documentary Feature honor at this year's Academy Awards.

Admission is $12. For advance tickets or more information, visit indiememphis.org.

'Wings of Desire'; Crosstown Theater

Feathers also will flap at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 2, at the Crosstown Theater, when the weekly Crosstown Arts Film Series presents "Wings of Desire," a 1987 romantic fantasy that has transcended "cult classic" categorization to persist as one of the more popular art/international films of the past 40 years. Directed by Wim Wenders, the movie imagines Berlin as a city haunted by helpful albeit invisible winged angels, including one (played by Bruno Ganz) who puts his celestial career in jeopardy when he falls in love with a mortal woman (a trapeze artist, no less, played by Solveig Dommartin).

Tickets are $5. For more information, visit crosstownarts.org.

Mark Greaney: 'Gray Man' book launch; The Rendezvous

Thriller writer Mark Greaney is a Memphian, so it's fitting that the prolific novelist should launch the book tour for "Burner," his 12th "Gray Man" adventure, in his hometown. But what's surprising is the venue: Greaney is eschewing a traditional bookstore location to give his readers something to chew on, literally. Although the event is being co-hosted by Novel, the East Memphis bookstore, the "Burner" party will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, at Downtown's storied barbecue restaurant, The Rendezvous. (Customers who bring home some pork along with their book won't want to get sauce on the pages, so while they're eating they can turn on Netflix and watch the first Greaney-based movie, 2022's "The Gray Man," which stars Ryan Gosling as the title CIA assassin hero and Chris Evans as his ruthless ex-colleague.)

For more information, visit novelmemphis.com.

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'Artificial Intelligence: Your Mind & the Machine'; Museum of Science & History

If you don't know a chatbot from a chipmunk, maybe you should attend this ambitious, interactive "experience for all ages" at the Pink Palace/Museum of Science & History, which, according to the museum website, "shows visitors how artificial intelligence is relevant to their lives right now," via "dozens of interactives, illusions, and videos" involving computers, robots and other types of technology. Futuristic, sure, but the exhibit also shows visitors "that the concept of man-made intelligence, popularized by Mary Shelley’s 'Frankenstein,' has been around for thousands of years."

Also on display is a companion exhibit, "Web of Innovation: AI in Memphis," which looks at the work of such local pioneers in the field as the late Dr. Stan Franklin.

The exhibits will be on display through May 14. The Museum of Science & History is at 3050 Central. For more information, visit moshmemphis.com.

'Peanut Butter & Jam: Pop Goes Strings'; GPAC

Described by the Memphis Flyer as a "jazz/psych/blues groove goddess," cellist Tamar Love — who fronts the band Mama Honey, among other musical endeavors — will show kids (and their parents) that stringed instruments can be cool when she leads this month's youth-oriented "Peanut Butter & Jam" concert, at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, in the Watkins Studio Theater at the Germantown Performing Arts Center, 1801 Exeter Road.

The concert was inspired by the idea that "strings are exploding into the mainstream in pop, rock and alternative genres," according to the GPAC website, which promises that the show will include "covers of current pop songs as well as familiar classical selections."

Afterward, kids will get to check out the instruments up close, in what is referred to as an "instrument petting zoo."

To encourage all-ages attendence, admission is on a pay-what-you-can-afford basis. For more information, visit gpacweb.com.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Things to do in Memphis: Movies, music, books, art and more