In the Galleries - James Nares: Street CLOSES January 27 at the Saint Louis Art Museum

James Nares: Street In this hourlong video, New York-based painter and filmmaker James Nares transforms the quotidian into an exotic diorama. Using a complex technology that allows him to slow action to a near standstill, Nares mines everyday NYC street scenes (if there can be said to be such a thing) for their vast potential for the dramatic. Bubbles linger in midair; an idle sidewalk vendor takes on the stoic gravity of a cigar-store Indian; a passerby's gaze takes on the lingering resonance of a watershed event. Bright with colorful detail, teeming with animated humanity and backed by an acoustic-guitar score by Thurston Moore, the film is shockingly riveting despite its glacial pace and essential plotlessness: a multitude of urban mini-epics driven by the vital rhythm that only unrehearsed elegance can provide. Through January 27 at the Saint Louis Art Museum, 1 Fine Arts Drive (in Forest Park); 314-721-0072 or www.slam.org. Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sun. (10 a.m.-9 p.m. Fri.)