This show makes the Comtemp look utterly contemporary. Moving images, light and dark spaces, glowing floors and amazingly animated textures. Fascinating. But more visually interesting, really, than actual art. Lotta video, lotta differing textures, techniques, but art? Not so sure about that. I do like the octagonical flask spinning with unsuspended dirt-like particles over where those people are standing. Oh, sure, it's art, but here the tech reigns, and it's all sorta empty on the soul level. - J R Compton

Moving Pictures : digital paintings - at the Dallas Center for Contemporary art with Cory Arcangel, Mary Benedicto, Robert Flower,s Max Kazemzadeh, Justin Kidd, Demian LaPlante, Karen Mahaffy, Casey Reas, Paul Slocum and Dean Terry, curated by John Pomara, Dean Terry and Joan Davidow through December 23, 2005

 

 

Egos with Sarah Maxwell English, Mirka Hokkanen and Erik Tosten downstairs and Garland Fielder and Jeff Mueller upstairs at 500X through December 4, 2005

Garland Fielder Wall Cube, 2005 paint and wood

Garland Fielder - Necker Cube Variation at 500X

Intriguing, playful, text-based graphic art by Jeff Mueller (below) and Garland Fielder's large dimension-bending and smaller geometric pieces hidden like Easter Eggs around the gallery, make 500X' Upstairs show both a fun and thought-provoking winner in the long tradition of smile art at that independent gallery. -JRC

 

 

Diane Sikes - untitled, World Book Encyclopedia 1971— altered book, 2005
in the Members Room off the hall downstairs at 500X (See below.)

Ripped, shredded, taped, contructed and deconstructed — all kinds of marvelous little text and textures, even a strong hint of contextual meanings, formal, informal, topical and topographical. Nice chunk of art. — JRC

500X Members' Show 2005 with Jen, Brad, Mirka, David, Sarah, Erik, Simeen, Garland, Tara, Jim, Tina and Veronica upstairs, and New Yorkers Lance Dehné and Lisa Mordhorst upstairs, through September 25.

Always nice to find an artist who blows us away, tornadoing expectations. We'd always rather find Dallas, or at least Texas artists at experimental local venues like the X, especially since they've been AWOL the summer, but New Yorker Lance Dehné's whimsical, inventive, stylish work is amazing in color and grayscale, too, if overpriced for the venue, though not for the work. Upstairs is still way too hot, but Lance's work makes it cool. -JRC

 

Art in the Metroplex through early October 2005 at TCU:

Oddly enough, my photographs (one each) are in two shows now. AiM and the The WRLAST Preview above. A rare event — I don't enter that many shows and get in fewer.

When I delivered work to each, I was handed a stack of invitational postcards, neither of which had either my or anybody else in either show's name or art on them, and both entailed postal difficulties. The AiM show postcard was big, thin and floppy (the sort the Post Office loves to maul, not mail) and required First Class postage, and the other, says "postage paid," but wasn't.

Worse, the image on the AiM invitation is always the winner of last year's show, so even that single image and name mention is not of this show. You'd think they'd want to promote the artists, and an invitation would sure mean more to us if our names were on it, despite the quick deadline from jury selection to printing, although it might be un-PC to pick just one.

Still, it's nice to have recent work (three nights before delivery on the WRLAST blur and way last May in the long-deadlined AiM) in shows — it pads the exhibition resume and helps prove my bona fides for editing this pixelated rag.

I was hardly the only one to bring very recent work. The oil was still wet on Richard Ray's painting (above), and I suspect others were a little dribbly. Several of the pieces delivered to AiM were in piles and boxes, with installation instructions, and Fred Spaulding's tower wasn't complete till the next week.

It's gangbusters fun to be on the inside of art shows sometimes, instead of just lurking along the edges in critic mode. -JRC

 

Legends Competition Fixed

The Dallas Center for Contemporary Art announces its Contemporary Legends 2005 honorees who have demonstrated extraordinary talent, commitment, and generosity to the visual arts in Texas. Three recipients are nominated for their contributions as artist, professional, and arts patron. This year's honorees are artist John Pomara, arts professional Janet Kutner and arts patrons Margueriteand Robert Hoffman, who will be honored at Contemporary Legends 2005 on Thursday, September 8 at The Dallas Contemporary.

It's fixed.

I've often wondered about this thing. Now, with this selection of this artist, I'm pretty sure.

The nominating process is secret. The ballot is secret. If there's any voting going on, that's a secret, too. Who votes is another secret. When the results are announced, how whoever got those results is a big secret. No part of the process is public in any way, before or during. Until the publicity comes out after all the secrets above. Suddenly, that's public.

Of course, the public gets to pay to get into to the big whoop “winners” celebration, which I understand is grand fun, especially if you're one of the winners. And we get to go to the solo show of the artist winner.

Who decides who wins? We all know, of course. But nothing is announced about those procedings nor how many votes any individual gets. No tally. No preannouncement of the official nominees. No voting process that I have ever heard of or about.

Not to say the recipients aren't worthy. Most usually are. Most have been. This artist very definitely is. Probably most will be. But if you ask me, The Contemporary Legends Selection Process is fixed. -JRC

 

Paper - Michael Collins, Harry Geffert, Terrell James, Sharon Kopriva, Pamela Nelson and Dan Rizzie at Gerald Peters through July 9

Pamela Nelson's untitled pattern multiple
 

So nice to see Ms Nelson resplendant again with the bright, colorful patterns that helped establish her major 80s career. She was lost in dreary, serious, nearly unsellable abstraction far too long. Welcome back to the fun Pam Nelson of such a long time ago. Now, if she'll bring her marvelous, sly, sense of humor back to her art, she'll have gone full circle, ending up on top. -JRC

 

@ccording to @rt: The Bodycomb Show is already down at Mulcahy Modern, and it was the best show of fresh paint by a local around here in a long time. Went by Pan American again today — sweet show. Peters has some beautiful Ansel Adams. Herry Geffert's cast paper es muy unique & Michael Collins' painted photos stood out in a nice group show. I haven't looked into the Goss Gallery across from Peters, which has its first show up right now. Kenny Goss, the director (and boyfriend of rock star George Michael) says, "We really need a gallery that isn't affraid to step out and do something different."   Links are all to this page only. DallasArtsRevue is open to local art commentary from anybody, signed, unsigned, pseudonymed or whatever. All ya really need is some opnions. E-mail the editor.

 

Watching Robert Jessup's paintings at Conduit through June 10, 2005, of human vignettes is like making up stories about people you meet. We know these people and their stories, they are a part of us, despite their little pecadillos and peculiarities. - JRC

CJ Davis, who's in the show with Smith, sent an E- saying, "Brad Ford Smith's drawings are sublime. I'd never seen his work before."

In my extended art ennui, I have to force myself out into the world of galleries, where I've seeen more to photo in the structures and sunlight shadow relations of galleries than the art in them.

After straining through several recently, I wandered through Craighead Green's extensive abstracts, feeling more and more abstracted myself, when I found this dream-like photograph leaning on the back wall.

Something real but not real. Evocative and ephemeral, but lasting.

I knew whose it was immediately, having watched her glimmering pool wonders before.

I stared at this one a long time, knew I could never photo it, all shiny behind brilliant reflecting glass, but asked, and C-G e-mailed the image that day — I'd never thought to ask before.

I remember Dancing Marilyn less contrasty, gentler, with more shades of blues.

But the flimsy, filmish, floating dress, white in the lliquid light, bright in the sunlight splattered blue world stays with me.

My brother used to love saying, "whatever blows your skirt up." This does. - JRC