If you've been planning on catching Mariano Gonzales' installation at Alaska Pacific University, don't drag your feet. "Please Remind Us... Why Are Americans Still Dying in the Middle East?", which was scheduled to run through Oct. 25 in the ConocoPhillips Gallery at APU's Grant Hall, will be taken down on Thursday, Oct. 15.

The closing of Gonzales' installation, which includes mock coffins draped with American flags, is rooted in the APU administration's concerns about a children's theater production that will be held in Grant Hall during the installation's scheduled run. According to Ann Hale, director of university advancement, the university was primarily worried about some "concerning language" in written public comments, which comprised a significant component of the exhibit.

"We just didn't want to expose the children to that," she said.

APU offered to move Gonzales' installation next door to the art gallery in Carr-Gottstein Hall, but after evaluating the alternative space, Gonzales opted to remove it instead.

"The (Carr-Gottstein) space was just all wrong," he said. "My work would look very disrespectful in there."

Although he realizes flag-draped coffins are a provocative image, Gonzales said, he didn't set out to raise anyone's ire.

"Believe it or not, it was not my intention to create a controversy," Gonzales said. "I just felt it was a question that needed to be asked." He added that, while he's been told that some veterans have been offended by the installation, he's also heard from veterans who support his message.

Composer Philip Munger will perform "Shards V," the most recent in his series of compositions honoring fallen American soldiers, at 4 p.m. Thursday as the installation is removed.

Anchorage

One anomalous sunny day aside, the weather is starting to get wintry, which means it's time for the arts season to heat up, with something coming down the pike for every artistic taste. This is just a sampling; be sure to check out the Alaska Dispatch calendar for lots more events.

Virtual Subsistence, an exhibition of works by contemporary Alaska Native artists, opens Friday at MTS Gallery in Anchorage. The show includes works by visual and literary artists including Alvin Amason, Susie Silook, Sonya Kelliher-Combs, Diane Benson and Princess Lucaj, as well as performance art by Allison Warden, and proposes to reimagine the idea of subsistence in modern Alaska. The "Third Friday" opening reception, featuring catering by Tap Root Café and music by Reverse Retro, will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 16 at MTS Gallery, 3142 Mountain View Drive. Virtual Subsistence runs through Nov. 14.

"The Courtship of Zack and Ada," the latest in Cyrano's Theatre Company's string of world premieres in honor of the 50th anniversary of Alaska statehood, opened last week and continues its run for two more weekends. If the love story doesn't lure you in, maybe the local history will: "Zack" is Z.J. Loussac (of midtown library name fame), and "Ada" is Ada Harper, mother of the late Jerry Harper, who co-founded Cyrano's. "The Courtship of Zack and Ada" runs Thursdays through Saturdays at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. through Oct. 25 at Cyrano's Off-Center Playhouse, 413 D St. Tickets, $16, at centertix.net or (907) 263-2787.

The Anchorage Civic Orchestra presents its fall concert this Friday, Oct. 16, at 7:30 p.m. in the Sydney Laurence Auditorium at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts. The orchestra, under the direction of Tai Wai Li, will perform Rossini's "Overture ‘Semiramide,'" Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 5, and Vivaldi's "Gloria" (featuring the UAA University Singers and the St. John Methodist Choir). Tickets, $17 for adults and $12 for stud ents and seniors, centertix.net or (907) 263-2787.