Being in the business of commercial production, we generally stay parked at the intersection of art and commerce. But tonight, a unique opportunity and enticing partnership has lured director Tim Gardner onto the purely aesthetic side of the street. Collaborating with celebrated USC artist Marius Valdez, Gardner presents Monkey Meets Zoo, an exhibit of striking photography punctuated by Valdez’s trademark cast of quirky characters. The exhibit has been shaped by the discerning eyes of curators Heather Bauer and Barry Wheeler and shows all that can happen when the worlds of photorealism and whimsical illustration collide.

Monkey Meets Zoo can be seen tonight at 808-B Lady Street, from 5 to 10 pm.

Mad Monkey Associate Producer Heather Bauer as Belle Baruch.

Associate producers usually find themselves a good ways behind the camera, but Heather Bauer is not your usual associate producer. The most recent proof of this emerged when Bauer agreed to step in front of the lens to play 20^th century conservationist Belle Baruch in reenactment scenes of the ETV documentary, The Baruchs of Hobcaw. Profiling the unique relationship between Wall Street tycoon Bernard Baruch and his iconoclast daughter Belle, the documentary centers upon the 17,500 acre, coastal retreat they preserved and tells of Belles exploits as an athlete, suffragist, and pioneering environmentalist. Sounds like a versatile lady. If only we knew someone like that…

The Baruchs of Hobcaw premiers this Thursday, November 17 at 8 p.m. on ETV. Encore presentations of the documentary airs Sunday, November 20 at 4 p.m. on ETV, Monday, November 21 at 9 a.m. on ETV World, and Wednesday, November 23 at 8 p.m. on the SC Channel.

You may have some assumptions about how employees at a film production company spend their hours away from work, but odds are, they fall far short of the reality known to motion graphic designer Eric Parton.

Parton’s band, The Radar Cinema is a genre-bending spectacle that has wowed regional audiences for the past three years and is now planting its flag in the commercial record industry. The group recently released its debut full-length album, Bird Meets Worm, which, supported by an aggressive schedule of live shows, is attracting critical raves.

The Augusta Chronicle said, “They don’t play these songs because they can, they play them because they need to be heard,” with Metro Spirit adding “The Radar Cinema is comprised of some of the most astute musicians this side of Dream Theater.”

And though Eric is principally the astute musician behind the drum kit, he also brings his visual talents to bare on the project, having created all the cover art for the new album as well as the design for the group’s website.

Care to assume what he does in his free-free time?

Bird Meets Worm is available on iTunes and Amazon, and can be previewed at theradarcinema.com