Pan Recommends for the week of December 13 to December 19

As we glide into Christmas, the number of shows and performances dwindles. Everybody is too busy shopping and drinking eggnog, I guess. Here are a few things on tap in Houston this week.

FRIDAY


Cat hugging a puppy, swiped from this

HUG: A Performance by Alonso Tapia at the Caroline Collective, 6:30 to 9:30. "Artist Alonso Tapia will stand in the middle of a vacant room at Caroline Collective, and members of the audience will be invited to hug him for as long as desired." Personally, I'm not into hugging. I prefer a firm handshake, or even a brief wave from across the room. But if Friday rolls around and you need a hug, Caroline Collective is the place to be!

SATURDAY

Counterclockwise at Lawndale Art Center, 3 pm to 5 pm. With James Ciosek's Human Hamster Wheel as the centerpiece, Counterclockwise is a carnival/performance art festival. Artists include Unna Bettie, Koomah, Jonatan Lopez, Kiki Maroon, Jessica Mendez, Raindawg, Hilary Scullane, Militia "Malice" Tiamat, Rowdy Tidwell, Y.E. Torres, Jana Whatley, Sway Youngston and The Amazing Mind Reading Cat. But will the cat give you hugs?

Curtis Gannon and David Anderson: Between Coats And Layers at Meyer Metro Gallery, 6 pm [open through December 29]. Curtis Gannon is known for his deconstructions (literally) of comic books. I don't know anything about David Anderson except that he's a painter.

Jon Read: Notes From The Dark Ride at Domy, 7 pm [through January 17]. Jon Read is the operations manager at Diverse Works, but like many who hold such positions, he is also an artist. The Dark Ride is a work in progress, a literal self-propelled ride through an environment of Read's creation. (If he needs a site to put it up, there's 75 vacant acres just south of 610 between Kirby and Fannon that I recommend.) This show presumably will consist of sketches and plans for the ride.