Cottonwood Art Festival is this weekend. It's fun to walk around looking at the art, the dogs, and the people. I always buy a big bag of kettle corn and eat it till I can't stand anymore. The kid's area has great crafts for the kids, and a live band is always playing in the cafe area. Hopefully it won't rain, as it's prone to do at least one of the days.
I enjoy seeing who I might bump into- course- if you are planning to go, give us a call and we'll share some lemonade and cookies with you.
Showing posts with label dallas art world. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dallas art world. Show all posts
Friday, October 01, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
wiped out
Today was a busy day. I drove the kids to school and then met my students at the train as we were taking a field trip to downtown. Unfortunately, I couldn't ride the train with them because I had an afternoon meeting on the other side of town afterwards. So once they departed on the train, I raced downtown in my car. We got there about the same time, but then I had to find parking- $9!!!!
But we soon met at the cafe we had agreed on, and after getting coffee and soup, which some of the students wanted for breakfast, and waiting for another student whose mom had driven her downtown, we finally set off on our walking tour.
First stop was Thanksgiving Square- a very fitting place to visit with students of varied religions and nationalities, and designed by Philip Johnson. Then we walked by Neiman Marcus' flagship store, and over to the central library. We walked through the library and over to City Hall, designed by I.M. Pei and used in Bladerunner. A Henry Moore sculpture created specifically for Dallas sits in the plaza in front of the building, and to one side is a circular pool with red spherical sculptures that appear to float on the water.
From City Hall we walked over to Pioneer Plaza to see the cattle drive depicted with larger than life statues of cows and the cowboys driving them. The setting of a waterfall and stream, although manmade, is beautiful.
The Dallas convention center stretches pretty much from City Hall, past Pioneer Plaza and a few blocks further north. We walked past the new Omni hotel being built to hold conventioneers, and turned to pass the old Union Station, still in service for Amtrak and DART (local trains). As any walk in Dallas does, this took us past many works of art- mostly sculpture on this end of town. We were also passing by horses and drill teams and clowns, since the State Fair parade was set to head down Main Street in a short while.
With a brief look at the old Red Courthouse, we walked over to Dealey Plaza and I pointed out the place where JFK was shot, and the window he was shot from. I tried dto point out he grassy knoll, but I'm never quite sure where that is.
Then we headed over to our sister college for a bathroom break and then entered the tallest building in the city -921 feet- to access the tunnels that snake through the downtown area. Between the tunnels and the skywalks, it's easy to get from one end of big D to another without really going outside. Well, technically it should be. For some reason, one part of the tunnel appeared to be closed, so we had to head streetside via the nearest stairway. Unfortunately, it reeked of urine- perhaps from the full take out cup sitting on the stairs. When we got outside, we were right where we wanted to be, so headed down to Main street to get some curbside seats for the parade marking the opening day of the Texas State Fair. By this time we were pretty tired. A band was playing in Pegasus Plaza, where people lined up for Fair food. Soon the parade started, and it was delightful, but luckily not too long as the curb is pretty hard for sitting.
Parade done, we walked back to the train, and I pointed my students in the right direction before grabbing some lunch and collecting my car to go west.
This evening, despite my weary legs, Leila and I went over to the art opening at UTD. I was really struck by the work of two of the artists. When I have the energy to get up and fetch the information, I'll post more on them. Leila headed straight for the snacks, despite having eaten dinner (and having told me today, "I'm glad I broke my habit of snacking.) We ran into the fabulous Kim A, who gave us some tips on authors Leila might enjoy, and later Leila amazed my professor with her wit and intelligence. She rather amazed me, too. And she made me laugh, because she wouldn't stop talking. When one subject finished she'd start on a new one. I let her continue because he continued to engage with her. He's got a daughter, too, though now grown up.
Home again to a still awake Ali. The kids wanted to watch something, so I put on Mrs. Piggle Wiggle from Hulu, and then to bed- them to sleep, me to work on the computer.
But we soon met at the cafe we had agreed on, and after getting coffee and soup, which some of the students wanted for breakfast, and waiting for another student whose mom had driven her downtown, we finally set off on our walking tour.
First stop was Thanksgiving Square- a very fitting place to visit with students of varied religions and nationalities, and designed by Philip Johnson. Then we walked by Neiman Marcus' flagship store, and over to the central library. We walked through the library and over to City Hall, designed by I.M. Pei and used in Bladerunner. A Henry Moore sculpture created specifically for Dallas sits in the plaza in front of the building, and to one side is a circular pool with red spherical sculptures that appear to float on the water.
From City Hall we walked over to Pioneer Plaza to see the cattle drive depicted with larger than life statues of cows and the cowboys driving them. The setting of a waterfall and stream, although manmade, is beautiful.
The Dallas convention center stretches pretty much from City Hall, past Pioneer Plaza and a few blocks further north. We walked past the new Omni hotel being built to hold conventioneers, and turned to pass the old Union Station, still in service for Amtrak and DART (local trains). As any walk in Dallas does, this took us past many works of art- mostly sculpture on this end of town. We were also passing by horses and drill teams and clowns, since the State Fair parade was set to head down Main Street in a short while.
With a brief look at the old Red Courthouse, we walked over to Dealey Plaza and I pointed out the place where JFK was shot, and the window he was shot from. I tried dto point out he grassy knoll, but I'm never quite sure where that is.
Then we headed over to our sister college for a bathroom break and then entered the tallest building in the city -921 feet- to access the tunnels that snake through the downtown area. Between the tunnels and the skywalks, it's easy to get from one end of big D to another without really going outside. Well, technically it should be. For some reason, one part of the tunnel appeared to be closed, so we had to head streetside via the nearest stairway. Unfortunately, it reeked of urine- perhaps from the full take out cup sitting on the stairs. When we got outside, we were right where we wanted to be, so headed down to Main street to get some curbside seats for the parade marking the opening day of the Texas State Fair. By this time we were pretty tired. A band was playing in Pegasus Plaza, where people lined up for Fair food. Soon the parade started, and it was delightful, but luckily not too long as the curb is pretty hard for sitting.
Parade done, we walked back to the train, and I pointed my students in the right direction before grabbing some lunch and collecting my car to go west.
This evening, despite my weary legs, Leila and I went over to the art opening at UTD. I was really struck by the work of two of the artists. When I have the energy to get up and fetch the information, I'll post more on them. Leila headed straight for the snacks, despite having eaten dinner (and having told me today, "I'm glad I broke my habit of snacking.) We ran into the fabulous Kim A, who gave us some tips on authors Leila might enjoy, and later Leila amazed my professor with her wit and intelligence. She rather amazed me, too. And she made me laugh, because she wouldn't stop talking. When one subject finished she'd start on a new one. I let her continue because he continued to engage with her. He's got a daughter, too, though now grown up.
Home again to a still awake Ali. The kids wanted to watch something, so I put on Mrs. Piggle Wiggle from Hulu, and then to bed- them to sleep, me to work on the computer.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
our week
It's been an interesting week. Wednesday night the kids and I headed downtown for Trinity Arts Live at Backbeat Cafe. The weather was bad, but it looked mostly to the east of us. Just as I got on the freeway, the emergency broadcast activated, and I realized we were on a collision course with a tornado. I thought the mall a few exits away would make a perfect shelter, so drove as quickly as I could over there. We parked on the lowest level and entered the mall, to the sound of tornado sirens. Once inside it was safe to browse stores, and we even ventured up to the top floor to eat dinner in the food court when it seemed that the twister was not nearby.
Our bellies full, we headed downtown again, into an eerie light. The lineup was well worth the drive- a 15-year-old singer who accompanied herself on guitar, poets- including Gail Atwater and Julie Poe, the M.C., and other musicians we enjoyed, too. The crowd was small because of the storm, but friendly as always.
Thursday was the last day of Ramadan. Leila came home and told us that some of her friends weren't going to school since Friday was Eid, and realizing that it was okay to keep the kids out for the day, we decided to do that, too. H took them back to the mall to buy presents at Build a Bear and Lego, and they ate at the same food court stall as Wednesday night. I had to go to work, and then meet the piano tuner at home, who not only tuned it but adjusted the pitch, hopefully in time to save Leila from a tone deaf future. Then in the evening we had dinner with friends- delicious couscous and other good comfort food. I made a semolina halva (cake with syrup and nuts) that was well received.
Thursday was the last day of Ramadan. Leila came home and told us that some of her friends weren't going to school since Friday was Eid, and realizing that it was okay to keep the kids out for the day, we decided to do that, too. H took them back to the mall to buy presents at Build a Bear and Lego, and they ate at the same food court stall as Wednesday night. I had to go to work, and then meet the piano tuner at home, who not only tuned it but adjusted the pitch, hopefully in time to save Leila from a tone deaf future. Then in the evening we had dinner with friends- delicious couscous and other good comfort food. I made a semolina halva (cake with syrup and nuts) that was well received.
This morning my friend and I got to workshop with Naomi Shihab Nye. I wanted to cancel, feeling overwhelmed and tired from the busy week, but hearing that the workshop was full and people were being turned away, I knew I should not waste my spot. And it certainly wasn't wasted. She is an excellent teacher and poet, and the day stirred my creativity and refreshed me more than a lazy day would have.
We finished off, the kids and I, with an evening of art openings- my friend Ruben Nieto had a show go up at Central Trak. I was surprised at his large paintings that abstracted out from comics as I am more familiar with his lego pieces. Ali said, "I don't know who this person is, but he's a good drawer. I mean painter."
The second gallery we went to, 500x, was hot, hot, hot. The art was interesting, but we were melting, so we headed over to Barry Whistler where Michael Miller's new show was opening.They had air conditioning as well as interesting art. As usual, I ran into professor's and friends and recognized faces from the Dallas art world.
The kids enjoyed the art, somewhat, the food and drink, when it suited them, and the other kids they ran into. One conversation Ali had with the four- year-old son of a prof: "Can you count to a hundred and infinity?" "Yes." "Me, too."
We popped into the new, big Whole Foods for pizza, mini pastry desert and a pair of earrings from the Art-O-Mat machine. While we were eating our pizza, a thunderstorm broke and we drove home through pouring rain.
"What I've learned in my life," Leila said wisely, as we drove through the downpour, "Is to always look on the bright side."
Friday, April 30, 2010
Busy evening
It was a busy evening tonight, beginning with a cookout and trophy party for Ali's soccer team:
Then my art show opening at the UTD Theater lobby:
And finally, a stop at the student show in the UTD art barn, where our friend Leah was doing cupcake art. This is an installation created with cupcake batter:
And these are towers of cupcakes:
This girl is fabulous! Check out more of her work.
Then my art show opening at the UTD Theater lobby:
And finally, a stop at the student show in the UTD art barn, where our friend Leah was doing cupcake art. This is an installation created with cupcake batter:
And these are towers of cupcakes:
This girl is fabulous! Check out more of her work.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Dallas art world III
Last night I couldn't persuade Leila to join me on my gallery hop. She was excited about it before hand, but when push came to shove she said she was tired out.
After dinner I went over to PDNB for the "Hidden Treasures" show, with a variety of artists. It was an interesting mix of artists.
Then Holly Johnson had Virgil Grotfeldt. Interesting, but not compelling. Some work in the front room by ? made me think however. They were ledger sheets and letters with drawings on them- as an artist, to take something irreplaceable and draw on it demonstrates a confidence in your ability to make the image you want the first time through. Unless, of course, the artist first scanned the original and then would have countless copies to mess up on first.
Marty Walker, on the other hand, had a very interesting show. WAYNE WHITE: I Fell 37 Miles to Earth 100 Years Ago. It is an installation of paintings with large text running through them. I say running, because the text moves from the back to the front, or weaves across the painting, like the WordArt function in Microsoft Word. The paintings themselves looked like thrift store finds, and I suspect that may be what they are, which echoes my musings from Holly Johnson. There was one paining of a little boy sitting in a chair holding a marble maze of the letters THAT. A middle painting, a small landscape,had is, and then the boy painting was repeated, the marble now at the end of the THAT maze. So I don't know if he painted that from scratch or copied it or what.
I then went on to Conduit, persuaded by the wonderful gallerista at the gallery talk on Wednesday night. Four artists were showing there, but none really demanded my attention.
I finished up the evening at Modern Ruin, another temporary exhibit, this time in a Washington Mutual bank building that is about to be torn down. It was fun to go inside a bank building and get to go behind the scenes. My favorite art pieces were the leaking ceilings- ceiline panels were removed and a plastic sheet with water in it was put in it's place. The water slowly dripped into a metal bucket below. There were several of these scattered throughout the building. The other piece was conceptual. The viewers went into the drive through room- where the tellers usually sit, and a helmeted person in a convertible sat in the drivethrough. When a viewer sent the money tube out, he would send a dollar bill with something written on it back to the viewer. Getting to be on the other side gave a different perspective. With the helmet and the post in the drive through it was hard to see the driver, but we could see more of him than he could of us.
All in all, an interesting evening. I should have written down some of the artists at the last show, but I kinda dashed in and out. I enjoy seeing who I run into that I know and what gallery it's at. I don't usually see people I know at PDNB, but I did run into a former classmate who is now interning there. Other classmates, professors, and fellow students pop up here and there, and a former colleague and some current ones were at Holly Johnson.
After dinner I went over to PDNB for the "Hidden Treasures" show, with a variety of artists. It was an interesting mix of artists.
Then Holly Johnson had Virgil Grotfeldt. Interesting, but not compelling. Some work in the front room by ? made me think however. They were ledger sheets and letters with drawings on them- as an artist, to take something irreplaceable and draw on it demonstrates a confidence in your ability to make the image you want the first time through. Unless, of course, the artist first scanned the original and then would have countless copies to mess up on first.
Marty Walker, on the other hand, had a very interesting show. WAYNE WHITE: I Fell 37 Miles to Earth 100 Years Ago. It is an installation of paintings with large text running through them. I say running, because the text moves from the back to the front, or weaves across the painting, like the WordArt function in Microsoft Word. The paintings themselves looked like thrift store finds, and I suspect that may be what they are, which echoes my musings from Holly Johnson. There was one paining of a little boy sitting in a chair holding a marble maze of the letters THAT. A middle painting, a small landscape,had is, and then the boy painting was repeated, the marble now at the end of the THAT maze. So I don't know if he painted that from scratch or copied it or what.
I then went on to Conduit, persuaded by the wonderful gallerista at the gallery talk on Wednesday night. Four artists were showing there, but none really demanded my attention.
I finished up the evening at Modern Ruin, another temporary exhibit, this time in a Washington Mutual bank building that is about to be torn down. It was fun to go inside a bank building and get to go behind the scenes. My favorite art pieces were the leaking ceilings- ceiline panels were removed and a plastic sheet with water in it was put in it's place. The water slowly dripped into a metal bucket below. There were several of these scattered throughout the building. The other piece was conceptual. The viewers went into the drive through room- where the tellers usually sit, and a helmeted person in a convertible sat in the drivethrough. When a viewer sent the money tube out, he would send a dollar bill with something written on it back to the viewer. Getting to be on the other side gave a different perspective. With the helmet and the post in the drive through it was hard to see the driver, but we could see more of him than he could of us.
All in all, an interesting evening. I should have written down some of the artists at the last show, but I kinda dashed in and out. I enjoy seeing who I run into that I know and what gallery it's at. I don't usually see people I know at PDNB, but I did run into a former classmate who is now interning there. Other classmates, professors, and fellow students pop up here and there, and a former colleague and some current ones were at Holly Johnson.
Dallas art world II
A few weeks ago I was invited to lunch with Gregory Crewdson, a visiting photography, with the faculty from UTD. I didn't make the meeting he had had with the grad students earlier in the day, so I was happy to make the lunch. We had a good time, and he talked about his work, some. I had researched him on the web the night before so had a good idea of what he did. The best part of the lunch was interacting with the professors and deans.
That evening Crewdson spoke at the Dallas Museum of Art as part of the Creativity Series organized by UTD. He traced his work from graduate school to the present, noting connections, and making the point that he is telling his story. That was his most important piece of advice: find your story and tell it. Hearing him really clarified my own art trajectory for me, as I was confused about how to bring together rather disparate projects. I was able to identify my common theme- which is quite literally my story: Cynthia's life today. That works in my images of my children, the echoes of my past that appear, and my interest in what I see around me. As someone not native to Texas, or the US, I notice things in a different way than someone who sees them all the time.
After the lecture some fellow students invited me to join their class on a tour of the Dallas Art Fair, being set up next door. That was amazing. The class is about curating and exhibiting, and we talked to an art gallery owner that was setting up a show there. I wanted to go back to the fair when it opened on the weekend, but wasn't able to. When I wrote a thank you email to the professor- Greg Metz- he invited me to some other class outings, too. The first was canceled, but last week I sat in on a talk by several gallery assistent directors that gave a lot of insight into the workings of that world- important, I think, for an artists to know. The top tip? The best time to contact a gallery is Tuesday after a show opens. They aren't rushing to prepare, and they haven't quite started the next show.
That evening Crewdson spoke at the Dallas Museum of Art as part of the Creativity Series organized by UTD. He traced his work from graduate school to the present, noting connections, and making the point that he is telling his story. That was his most important piece of advice: find your story and tell it. Hearing him really clarified my own art trajectory for me, as I was confused about how to bring together rather disparate projects. I was able to identify my common theme- which is quite literally my story: Cynthia's life today. That works in my images of my children, the echoes of my past that appear, and my interest in what I see around me. As someone not native to Texas, or the US, I notice things in a different way than someone who sees them all the time.
After the lecture some fellow students invited me to join their class on a tour of the Dallas Art Fair, being set up next door. That was amazing. The class is about curating and exhibiting, and we talked to an art gallery owner that was setting up a show there. I wanted to go back to the fair when it opened on the weekend, but wasn't able to. When I wrote a thank you email to the professor- Greg Metz- he invited me to some other class outings, too. The first was canceled, but last week I sat in on a talk by several gallery assistent directors that gave a lot of insight into the workings of that world- important, I think, for an artists to know. The top tip? The best time to contact a gallery is Tuesday after a show opens. They aren't rushing to prepare, and they haven't quite started the next show.
the Dallas art world part 1
This semester I am making an effort to go to art openings and really look at what is going on in art. I started off in November, actally, with Esteban Pastorino Diaz at Photographs Do Not Bend. I've really liked his aerial images since I first saw his work at PDNB several years ago.
Several other galleries in the area had openings as well, so I went over Holly Johnson, where Kim Cadmus Owens' work was on display, and I ran into some people I know, and then they sent me over to Marty Walker where Eric Salle's work was up. I ran into a couple of my professors from UTD here.
Diaz's work was my favorite of the evening, and Holly Johnson had some pieces up by Dornith Doherty, who had the previous show, which were amazing. The show was called "Archiving Eden: II." Doherty takes x-rays of seeds from a seed bank and then makes patterns and pictures with the semi transparent images. She also had some large lenticular photographs- remember the stickers that changed images when you moved them? Like that, but huge.
In January I went back to PDNB, joined by Scotty. Diaz was still up, and
Rhondal McKinney had work in the smaller gallery- farm families and landscapes in black and white. Her triptych's of negatives are a little similar to what I'm doing now.
We went on to Holly Johnson for William Betts' "Surveillance". He creates large scale paintings of security camera images using a software program. This time Scotty ran into people he knew.
We finished at Marty Walker where Ted Kincaid was showing. I was intrigued by the title: "I Do Not Want the Constellations Any Nearer/ LA Skies" and the work was equally intriguing.
The next weekend was John Pomara, one of my professors, at Barry Whistler. He crosses between abstract photographic images and painting- again, very large scale (noticing a theme?)(Click on John Pomara to the left on the Barry Whistler site to see more of his work). 500X had a juried group show opening with an interesting variety of work.
The next opening was a Friday night at UTD- the faculty show. It's interesting to see the range and type of work that the different professors produce. Upstairs was my friend Florence Waingaru's MA thesis show, a culmination of lots of hard work, and a commentary on consumerism in the US contrasted with Kenya, where she is from.
Last weekend Leila and I went down to CentralTrak, which is a residency program/gallery connected to UTD for "Transitive Pairings: Body Image." I was most impressed, as was Leila, with Gabriel Dawe's work. Formerly I had seen and loved his small scale embroideries, but for this show he built large armatures that he then strung with thread. One of these covered the whole wall of his studio, up the ceiling. He videoed the process and played it on fast time- showing how he went up a ladder to hook the thread at the top and then went down to hook it at the bottom and so on. It reminded me of the God's Eyes that people used to make in the seventies, but so much cooler.
Leila was getting tired, but I really wanted to hit one more show- PopUp10 in uptown. This is not a permanent gallery, but one where a curator finds an empty store front and uses it for a temporary exhibition. I bribed her with promises of a treat, and she behaved beautifully. It was quite a mishmash of work- some good, some not so compelling. Afterwards we went across the street to Border's for a cookie and latte and ended up scoring some great $1 deals. All in all, Leila had a good time. She was impressed by Gabriel's work as well.
Several other galleries in the area had openings as well, so I went over Holly Johnson, where Kim Cadmus Owens' work was on display, and I ran into some people I know, and then they sent me over to Marty Walker where Eric Salle's work was up. I ran into a couple of my professors from UTD here.
Diaz's work was my favorite of the evening, and Holly Johnson had some pieces up by Dornith Doherty, who had the previous show, which were amazing. The show was called "Archiving Eden: II." Doherty takes x-rays of seeds from a seed bank and then makes patterns and pictures with the semi transparent images. She also had some large lenticular photographs- remember the stickers that changed images when you moved them? Like that, but huge.
In January I went back to PDNB, joined by Scotty. Diaz was still up, and
Rhondal McKinney had work in the smaller gallery- farm families and landscapes in black and white. Her triptych's of negatives are a little similar to what I'm doing now.
We went on to Holly Johnson for William Betts' "Surveillance". He creates large scale paintings of security camera images using a software program. This time Scotty ran into people he knew.
We finished at Marty Walker where Ted Kincaid was showing. I was intrigued by the title: "I Do Not Want the Constellations Any Nearer/ LA Skies" and the work was equally intriguing.
The next weekend was John Pomara, one of my professors, at Barry Whistler. He crosses between abstract photographic images and painting- again, very large scale (noticing a theme?)(Click on John Pomara to the left on the Barry Whistler site to see more of his work). 500X had a juried group show opening with an interesting variety of work.
The next opening was a Friday night at UTD- the faculty show. It's interesting to see the range and type of work that the different professors produce. Upstairs was my friend Florence Waingaru's MA thesis show, a culmination of lots of hard work, and a commentary on consumerism in the US contrasted with Kenya, where she is from.
Last weekend Leila and I went down to CentralTrak, which is a residency program/gallery connected to UTD for "Transitive Pairings: Body Image." I was most impressed, as was Leila, with Gabriel Dawe's work. Formerly I had seen and loved his small scale embroideries, but for this show he built large armatures that he then strung with thread. One of these covered the whole wall of his studio, up the ceiling. He videoed the process and played it on fast time- showing how he went up a ladder to hook the thread at the top and then went down to hook it at the bottom and so on. It reminded me of the God's Eyes that people used to make in the seventies, but so much cooler.
Leila was getting tired, but I really wanted to hit one more show- PopUp10 in uptown. This is not a permanent gallery, but one where a curator finds an empty store front and uses it for a temporary exhibition. I bribed her with promises of a treat, and she behaved beautifully. It was quite a mishmash of work- some good, some not so compelling. Afterwards we went across the street to Border's for a cookie and latte and ended up scoring some great $1 deals. All in all, Leila had a good time. She was impressed by Gabriel's work as well.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)