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Saturday Night of Art 01/10/09
Greg Hass Singularity interference grout and white smalti on backer board
Wasn't altogether excited about seeing art tonight, rather have gone for some birds, but why not, sounded interesting, off we went. First stop the Bath House for a show curated by long-time DARts Member Sonia King of work she knows better, maybe than anybody, mosaics. We saw some interesting ones, but this is my favorite. Simple, direct. Startling. Had hoped to watch James Allumbaugh sculpture but it was flat pairings I'd have to study longer than I had patience for tonight.
Sherri King In the East glass, ceramic, steel, marble, chalcedony, paua shell, stone, shells, agate and bone
My other fave there. I'm pretty sure Sherri King is Sonia's mother. I got that gist at Creative Art Center when I used to do their website, and Sonia's mosaic classroom was surrounded in Sherri's work. Remarkable then, too. Family business.
Norman Kary Collecting Clouds 2008 collage $700
I liked this before I realized who'd made it. One of Norm's new, non-box collage series. On beyond Joe Cornell, though by definition it is still a box, albeit shallower. Not the meaning, that's still thick. The dimension. Still not sure what's going on in it, but that hardly matters, since everything's in perfect balance, almost like the guy hanging from the top. Like us tunneling Centrrak. Controlled chaos loose on the land and in the sky and beyond like many of Mr. Kary's best.
Shelley Hampe Process of Failure 2008 mixed media
My first thought was George deMerle, who used to make free-form nets like this, strung wall-to-wall in white, only he's dead, so this has to be somebody else plus those are coat hangers strewn across in my all-time favorite niche in any Dallas gallery, upstairs behind the elevator. Nice white on white figure, light shadow on white ground in an otherwise dark corner. Used to be a steel plate on that brick wall I adored.
No I.D
We didn't see I.D on this, so we're not convinced, but it looks like an errant mustache captured by thunk of a little gray rock. It seemed to go with Shelley Hampe's Process of Failure opposite.
Bryce Lafferty ...To see time fly #1 2008 watercolor, pencil, ink, collage on paper construction $390
Another cosmic clock? 3-D collage? Box of magic? Very entertaining. Spookily intriguing. It is a clock, right? Wrapped around and back onto itself, like time is. Marvelous, unexpected, applied and layered in upon itself shapes and textures.
Laura Jennings Tree Line A (detail of diptych) 2007 acrylic, tape, stickers, on paper
Together, these two halves of diptych make one, but either is better than anything else in that annual competition. I might go back and just watch them interact from their distance. Do not understand what's going on here. Care for but not less. Colors intense, collage loose, nearly informal. Architectural spaces, barely peopled stairs in the back, grass or a picket fence out front. Shapes and grids. And those pinks!
Laura Jennings Tree Line B (detail of diptych) 2007 acrylic, tape, stickers, on paper
The B side, on the right. Stripes. Less attempt at building something spatial, but it interleaves the grid tapes, and it really does bow out top and bottom. Brilliant in differing directions, completing Tree Line both. Why haven't we seen this before, it's two years old. What's Laura doing now? Wow.
Stripey Car Outside gallery doors
Out the famous echoing door was this. Don't know if it's an official entry. Reminds of Frances Bagley's human-hair rug at the last Texas Biennial. Unexpected. Never seen this combo of materials, textures, shapes, colors, looks on a car. Those are rocks along the bottom under the checkered stripe. Thought I'd seen pretty much every crazed collection of art car by now. Wonder if they tried to park it in The Pit inside these steel doors. I remember artist Georgia Stafford and writer Roxy Gordon in a VW Bug parked inside the pit taking long turns reading poetry in the 80s. Caddie might be too wide to fit through or maybe they didn't bother to take the doors off, or know they could.
Stripey Car Back Deck
Gives a glimpse of the yarns used, wonder how it was all glued down? Felt soft, furry. Great shapes and swirls. Second or sixth best art in that show was outside on the street.
CenTrak in Pink
Driving down which we noticed something going on at Centraltrak. Big pink window, people hanging around the front door not going in. We parked, tried to the door, too. Blocked. Somebody said use the other door. On the other end of the building, should have an address on Commerce Street instead.
Pink Hall Interrogation
Line getting in I immediately did not want to futz with, like I don't want to futz with their weekly onslaught of publicity. Such a strange mind this Charissa Terranova. Been wondering if anybody goes to all those goofy events, some people here were, on a cold night. Not a heck of alotta people out. Getting colder. Some few seemed willing to go through the rigmarole. Crazed mean by the big Fool Moon and Merc Rx today, I was not.
Pink Bunny Waiting Area
I learned in college a big camera'd get me in most places without hassle. Almost always free. My new Nikon's not all that impressive. Maybe I shoulda brought the big flash with all its gadgets. But I got this far before anybody saw me breaking on through. Before they started hammering, "Do you have permission to be here?"
Checkpoint
Of course I did not and did not have any need or desire to want permission. Never considered asking. I suppose if I knew how to pronounce Charissa Teranova correctly I probably coulda faked my the way, but the harpy chorus was getting noxious. "Do you have permission. Do you have permission." Like Daleks in Dr. Who cares.
Don't the staring-off-into-space units above look like UTD Teachers in the line to register for classes? Bored. Making everybody (but me) wait interminably while they do nearly nothing? That's Marilyn Waligore, who teaches there, third from left. I know it's a checkpoint, because it says that on the National Socialist wall insignia.
Checking I.D.
Soon as I saw lines and waiting at the front door I knew I didn't want to line or wait, just photo far as I could before they threw me out. Used to do that with a major metropolitan newspaper a thousand years ago. Usually got far enough to get decent photos, so people could tell what was happening. Then I'd try talking to the cops. Here I didn't bother. The challenge all I cared. No notion of art at the end of the funnel.
Naughty or Nice Line
Cute pajama costumes. UTD must have piles of cash to blow on this glorified Fair Park Area foreign art students' dorm extravaganza. People in front seemed to be having fun. Others just look bored or startled. When asked if Anna lived here, she said "some of the time" and got as far as I did, too. We felt conspiratorial. At this be-in we as happy be out.
The Prize
This the part — I didn't see an open hallway, musta been a door, maybe that short stairs door past the Bunny Pinks — we did not get as far as. Surprised we didn't miss by much, wonder why we thought this far'd be worth the hassle. No permission my ass. I see one bored bartender and fourteen humans not exactly get-down partying. Maybe one piece of art, depending. Empty walls. This, shot through the cold front door we stopped our way cross the street car parked exit stage left.
Pink Front Window