Scott Mitchell
The City Wants Art On Its Parking Meters and The DMA Readies Itself For A Famous Sister.
Welcome to Blank Slate, our weekly rundown of the happenings in the art world of Dallas, which, as it happens, does exist. Need to seem super intellectual and deep on that first date? Want to rub elbows with the popular gallery directors around town? Or maybe you just genuinely enjoy following the local art scene? Whatever the reason, this is your stop for quick and dirty art news.
Well, summer is finally here in full-on, ass-sweating force.
And this means a few things. For one, your day-drinking patio sessions just became indoors-with-everyone-else drinking sessions. For another, you've probably made the switch from your warm triple-shot mocha to an iced toddy. And also? Gallery openings are going to slow down here in a bit.
In fact, one gallery has put already the brakes on for the entirety of summer. The Arthur Pena-directed WARE:WOLF:HAUS space in Oak Cliff announced earlier this week that it will be closing its doors for the whole summer now that it's completed its first full year of operation. And a strong first year it was. Here's hoping, though, that this doesn't also apply to the other spaces Pena manages, as we've rather enjoyed the things he's been doing out in the burgeoning DIY world west of the Trinity.
At least the more traditional art world in the city is picking up the slack some. Earlier this week, the Dallas Museum of Art-hosted Association of Art Museum Directors’ annual meetings kicked off with an open-to-the-public panel called “Cities and Cultural Investment: A Snapshot.” KERA's Art & Seek team was there to check in on the talks, which focused on the economic benefits the arts can provide — and how America is just now setting itself up to get into the international arts tourism game.
Perfect timing, then, as the DMA made international arts headlines last week with the announcement from director Maxwell L. Anderson — better known to the rest of us as “the guy who gave us all free general admission to the museum” — that the museum will be showing of the works of Ida O'Keeffe in 2017, which is worth noting, as this will be the first time in 40 years that the artists' collected works have been put on display.
There's a reason the O'Keeffe likely sounds familiar to you: Ida's sister, Georgia O'Keeffe, is ridiculously well-known for her impressionist paintings of flora. Georgia's paintings, which may or may not sometimes resemble female reproductive organs, garnered international admiration and earned the artist recognition as the mother of the American modernist movement.
So, of course, her younger sister Ida had quite the shadow cast over her. And, turns out, the two sisters weren't exactly fond of one another, either. After Ida's death Georgia was quoted as saying that Ida's was “a wasted life.”
Oh, families. Always sticking together.
Speaking of sticking together things that don't really jive: The City of Dallas' Office of Cultural Affairs has just begun the process of finding Dallas artists to paint Downtown's much-maligned parking meters. How will that work? Three different artists (or collaborative groups) will be chosen to paint 10 parking meters each. The meters in question are located on Elm Street near the Majestic Theater, on Jefferson Boulevard near the Oak Cliff Cultural Center and at a yet-to-be-decided location in Deep Ellum. For the full rundown, check out the “One Meter at a Time” project's official call for artists.
Think that project sounds cool, but you'd rather express your thoughts on the city without having to acquiesce to the demands of a local governing body? Well, InstaDFW is holding an Instagram contest all about how you see Dallas. Just snap a photo in any of Dallas' 15 main districts of note, hashtag the image with #mydtd and #thisismydallas in Instagram, and your work might be put on display at the Dallas Block Party on June 20. Just keep in mind: The deadline for submissions is June 16.
Of course, there are some upcoming events worth attending in the meantime.
First up, there's the Art Conspiracy-curated WRECKED show, which is looking like it might be the place to be this Saturday night. Being held in the spacious digs of Life in Deep Ellum, the show will feature the works of more than 40 artists, as well as live music from Dark Rooms, French 75 and former Neon Indian guitarist Ronnie Heart. Yeah, that's a hell of a music lineup for an art show, but don't sleep on the art, which will be available for purchase via live auctions. Tickets to the event, which will run from 7 to 11 p.m., will run $10, and you can get them in advance right now, right here.
A couple days later, Kettle Art will host the opening reception for its “Departing the Kingdom of Sensibility” show featuring the work of Darlene Shaper, Zoie Vandal and Jodi Von Rotten on June 12 from 7 to 10 p.m.
Lastly this week, be sure to also mark your calendars for June 14. That’s the decided-upon date for East Dallas Gallery Day. From noon until 8 p.m. you can visit pretty much as many galleries in Deep Ellum, Downtown and Expo Park as your heart desires. And, hey, if you're one of the first 25 people at any of the member-galleries, you'll also get a free T-shirt. And you always need new T-shirts.
Got a tip for Blank Slate? Email us!
