Nestled above American Apparel at University Avenue and Park Avenue is a space called “”The Deck”” that goes unnoticed by those who rush on their way to and from class. The monthly First Thursday Art Walk is the perfect occasion to take a moment, shimmy up those stairs and check out some local art.

Tucked between Metaphysical Bookstore and Oriental Express was The People’s Gallery, displaying the works of Vila Art Foundation Resident Artists. Some of the pieces could have been curated more carefully – don’t forget to look above doorways and on pillars – yet the variety delivered images worth commenting on between sips of wine (Vila Thai had a $5 wine tasting). Be careful what you utter, however, because the artist is likely eavesdropping right behind you or eating a spring roll a few feet away.

But this was exactly the charm of First Thursday. Take for example the moment when a mutual friend introduced me to UA alumni and Tucson artists Jo Valandry, and William L. Deaver aka WiLD. Within seconds we were talking about when art makes a person uncomfortable, and whether that constitutes a success for the artist. WiLD said that it does if that is the artist’s purpose.

Was discomfort Tucson photographer Mel Curtis’s purpose? His faceless nude in “”Bed Time Two”” recalled an ’80s brand of fetishization of female body parts. But Curtis’s images weren’t the only dude-centric works. New UA alumnus Lane Garrison’s “”Back Alley Affair”” featured a couple but it was her breast in color and on display, while it was his black and white face that lacked detail. Spanish graduate student Lucy Blaney said she liked the style but suggested that the image would have subverted the standard had the girl been revealing the boy’s genitalia. Something to look forward to at the next First Thursday? Perhaps.