'Fascination'
Through Sept. 30, Gallery 16

DAVID BOWIE HAS created and inhabited more personae, and spawned more rock trends and subgenres, than almost any other popular musician. Not all of his "changes" have earned critical and popular acclaim, but there's no denying that he has managed to stay relevant and contemporary throughout his nearly four-decade-long career. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of his most famous incarnation, Ziggy Stardust, "Fascination" features works by more than 40 artists, including visual art, essays, a CD remake by S.F.-area bands of Bowie's 1977 album Low (for sale at the gallery), and Fascination, a play by Kevin Killian and Wayne Smith that will be performed Sept. 6 at the Lab. Each of the paintings, sculptures, photographs, and collages centers on some aspect of Bowie's oeuvre – including issues of authorship, sexual identity, and the blurring of high and low art. Two of the most remarkable works in the show are collective efforts. One, Myriam Santos-Kayda's Doing Bowie, is a checkerboard of 18 photographs of Bowie worshippers, each accompanied by a testimonial. The scrawled words are intensely personal, given this public medium; they seem to be intended more for Bowie's private viewing than for the delectation of a gallery crowd. The other is similarly intimate but more haphazardly structured. It's a massive wall collage of artwork and postcards submitted to the gallery by fans around the world. Each piece of text is a first-person retelling of a different fan's Bowie dream, which sounds a little creepy but ultimately comes off as a warm and nonthreatening tribute by non-rock stars to their ultimate rock star. Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-5 p.m., 1616 16th St., S.F. (415) 626-7495. (Performance of Fascination Sept. 6, 8 p.m., The Lab, 2948 16th St., S.F. $5-$10. 415-864-8855). (Lindsey Westbrook)