Todd Gray

Tweety Bird and Mickey Mouse find themselves in pretty racy company this month in an exhibition of Todd Gray's monumental photographs at the Shoshana Wayne Gallery. Moody silver prints of the cartoon figurines, mostly in shadow, share space with blurry pictures of wind-up toys shaped like genitalia and silhouetted couples in compromising positions. Approximately 6 feet tall and bound to the walls with rough steel bands, these photographs are no babes in toyland.

Todd Gray's midcareer retrospective at Cal State L.A.'s Luckman Gallery opens on a startlingly confrontational note: with a life-sized color photograph of a slender, nude, black, male body, smeared with what looks like shaving cream, his face covered with the taxidermic head of a fang-baring boar mounted to the surface of the photograph like a hunting trophy.

Todd Gray's midcareer retrospective at Cal State L.A.'s Luckman Gallery opens on a startlingly confrontational note: with a life-sized color photograph of a slender, nude, black, male body, smeared with what looks like shaving cream, his face covered with the taxidermic head of a fang-baring boar mounted to the surface of the photograph like a hunting trophy.

Tweety Bird and Mickey Mouse find themselves in pretty racy company this month in an exhibition of Todd Gray's monumental photographs at the Shoshana Wayne Gallery. Moody silver prints of the cartoon figurines, mostly in shadow, share space with blurry pictures of wind-up toys shaped like genitalia and silhouetted couples in compromising positions. Approximately 6 feet tall and bound to the walls with rough steel bands, these photographs are no babes in toyland.

In the spirit of civic responsibility and speaking from our position as thoughtful image consumers, we wonder if there can be a place for constructive criticism with respect to the photography of Todd Gray (" 'I Tawt I Taw a !# ?!'," by Hunter Drohojowska Philp, Jan. 5)? If we, on occasion, become entertained by Disney characters, Gray intervenes by exposing the meaning of entertainment ("cultural imperialism"). OK, this news is safely benign and de rigueur for the reception of an art school diploma, but good intentions in the commercial space come across as, well, Mickey Mouse.

The Black Gallery, 107 Santa Barbara Plaza, is hosting two intensive weekend arts workshops. A photography workshop, "Intermediate to Advanced Class on Portrait Lighting," is 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. today. Class leader Todd Gray will demonstrate techniques with natural and artificial light. Participants should bring cameras with a flash. The $50 fee includes lunch, film and processing.

One summer morning in 1977, fisherman Frank Smith caught a huge striped bass in the Colorado River, about 10 miles south of Bullhead City, Ariz. The fish weighed 59 pounds 12 ounces, a record that still stands as the largest land-locked striper ever caught. For a few more years, stripers in the 30-pound class were commonly caught in the 15 miles of river south of Davis Dam. But beginning about 1980, catches of leg-size stripers in the area began declining and biologists still aren't sure why.

Foothill Coach Jim Brumm had no doubt that Friday's water polo game between his second-ranked Knights and No. 3 Newport Harbor would be close. After all, both teams have met twice before this season with Foothill winning by the narrowness of margins. And as expected, the game at Newport Harbor was close. And again, Foothill prevailed, beating the Sailors, 6-4, in a nonleague game. The lead changed hands through the first three quarters, neither team taking control of the game.

Words & Ideas Compiled by Grace Krilanovich. SUNDAY William Stout: The author of "New Dinosaur Discoveries A-Z" and "Dinosaur Discoveries" will present and sign his new books. Dark Delicacies, 4213 W. Burbank Blvd., Burbank. 2 p.m. Free. (818) 556-6660. MONDAY Majid Naficy: The Beach House's first Artist in Residence will read and discuss his poetry, focusing on the theme "The Homeless and Other Exiles." Annenberg Community Beach House, 415 Pacific Coast Highway, Santa Monica.

COMEDY This is Your Life: The Grinch Explore the life of Dr. Seuss' classic Christmas curmudgeon at this laugh-filled comedy spoof. The green meanie (Hal Rudnick) is visited by various holiday icons, including Ralphie from "A Christmas Story," European Santa and Jesus. Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, 5919 Franklin Ave., L.A. 8 p.m. $5. (323) 908-8702. losangeles.ucbtheatre.com. BOOKS Todd Gray Gray was Michael Jackson's personal photographer throughout the "Off the Wall" and "Thriller" periods, documenting the star-in-the-making with family, friends and fans, and in iconic career moments.

Coach: Jim Brumm (ninth year). 1995: 27-1, 5-0 in the Century League, won the Division I title, beating Villa Park, 8-7, in the final. Key returners: Robby Arroyo, utility, Jr.; Ryan Carroll, driver, Sr.; Tim Carroll, driver, Jr.; Matt Ellis, two-meter defender, So.; Nick Ellis, goalkeeper, Jr.; Matt Johan, driver, Jr.; Jeremy Katz, driver, Sr.; Jason Korengold, two-meter defender, Sr.; Matt McPherson, utility, Jr.; Jeff Pflueger, driver, Sr.; Nick Pirro, driver, Jr.

At Shoshana Wayne Gallery, Todd Gray's huge black-and-white photographs of greatly enlarged toys possess many of the qualities that usually give contemporary art its unsettling edginess. Yet the young artist's varnish-coated silver-prints, secured to the wall with big bolts and weighty slabs of steel, lack a sense of urgency. In terms of materials, these indistinct pictures of silhouetted cartoon characters play it safe.