GOINGS ON / SANTA BARBARA : Fact Meets Fiction : Artist Jerry Kearns juxtaposes reality and fantasy in works of social commentary.

How does one distinguish reality from fiction?

Artist Jerry Kearns thinks putting the two side by side helps a lot. And that’s what he’s tried to do with the artwork on display today through Feb. 21 at the University Art Museum at UC Santa Barbara.

In the 24-piece exhibit, Kearns juxtaposes fictional images--such as comic book illustrations and super heroes--with real-life scenes--such as photojournalistic pieces and documentary news scenes.

Through his work, Kearns attempts to show the ironies and injustices that he sees in today’s society. In a piece titled “Affirmative Action,” a statement on the inequalities for women in the workplace, he shows a woman “dressed for success,” while shoveling manure.

Kearns, who received his master’s of fine arts degree from UC Santa Barbara in 1968, is scheduled to lecture today at 5 p.m. in the Girvetz Hall Theater, Room 1004. An opening reception at the Art Museum will follow, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The Art Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays. Admission is free. For more information, call 893-2951.

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Now, for some international flavor, how about a pair of Russian events.

Santa Barbara’s Community Arts Music Assn. will present the Russian National Orchestra in concert Friday night at the Arlington Theater.

The orchestra, which began performing publicly in 1990, has toured through Europe, Japan and the United States, and at the Vatican in a private concert for Pope John Paul II. The group is led by conductor Mikhail Pletnev, who is a also a concert pianist. Pletnev has an American tour of his own scheduled for 1994.

Tomorrow night’s program will include Tchaikovsky’s Orchestral Suite No. 3, Brahms’ Third Symphony and the overture to “Oberon” by Weber.

The performance will begin at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $18 to $48. There will be a free preview discussion beginning at 6:45 p.m. and a $50-per-person reception following the concert. Call 966-4342 for tickets or more information.

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Russian event No. 2: Santa Barbara’s Westmont College will show a “Russian Poster Art: Pre- and Post-Coup” exhibit beginning Monday at the campus’ Reynolds Gallery. The 60 oil paintings, all covering social and political topics, are from the collection of Tom Ferris, president of the California Institute for Russian Studies. The show will run through March 31. The gallery is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Westmont College is at 955 La Paz Road. For more information, call the Westmont Art Center at 565-6162.

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Pianist Horacio Gutierrez will be the guest performer when the Santa Barbara Symphony continues its season Saturday and Sunday at the Arlington Theatre. Gutierrez will be featured in Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1.

The remainder of the program will include Elgar’s “Enigma Variations” and “Philadelphia Grays Quickstep” by American composer Francis Johnson. Johnson created the work in honor of the Philadelphia Grays military unit.

Saturday’s show will begin at 8 p.m., with tickets priced at $15, $19, $24, and $32. Sunday’s show will start at 3 p.m., with tickets going for $13, $18, and $24. To reserve a seat, call the Arlington box office at 963-4408.

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“Where Angels Fear to Tread,” a movie based on the first novel by English writer E.M. Forster, will open UC Santa Barbara’s International Cinema series on Sunday at Campbell Hall.

Helena Bonham Carter (who was in “A Room with a View” and “Howard’s End”) and Judy Davis (“A Passage to India”) star in this story of a British widow who upsets her upper-class in-laws by marrying her Italian lover.

The film series will continue each Sunday (except Feb. 14) through the end of February. The rest of the lineup includes “Toto Le Heros,” “Zentropa,” “Raise the Red Lantern,” “American Dream,” “The Best Intentions” and “Raspad.”

All of the movies are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. General admission is $5 (for individual films) and $20 (for the series). For more information, call 893-3535.

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The Lobero Theater will present “Great Canadian Train Ride” on Tuesday as part of its travel film series. From the perspective of the Canadian Pacific railroad’s train, the “Canadian,” the film looks at the mountains, countryside, glaciers, ghost towns and mountain lakes of Canada, from Toronto to Vancouver. Show times are 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. General admission is $6.50. For more information, call 963-0761. The Lobero is at 33 E. Canon Perdido St.