Downtown Dallas Cultural Events Calendar: November 2011

Enjoy this monthly Downtown Dallas Cultural Events Calendar for November 2011, just in time for the holidays! Please find the calendar below. Use it, pass it on, and keep supporting the DFW art scene! 

For those of you outside of the DFW metroplex (or anyone who misses images and text about art history), I apologize for not being able to update and blog more often. I am still battling that evil dragon (my thesis) as well as working full-time, so what little spare time I have is too precious at the moment to be spent in front of the computer screen. Hopefully I will be able to return to some normality in posting in December. Fingers crossed all goes well with my thesis. 

Thanks for reading!

Downtown Dallas Cultural Events Calendar: October 2011

Enjoy the monthly Downtown Dallas Cultural Events Calendar for October 2011, just in time as the weather cools off! Please find the calendar below. It list events for the Downtown Dallas area and its environs. Enjoy it, pass it on, use it! 

Events: Art on the Rocks!

It's been a busy summer! For those of you who kept up with my posts from last summer, then you know that the art world shuts down after Art Basel. However, the summer is great time for museums to get events going for tourists and stay-cationers. As a Dallasite, I have been lucky enough to attend the free Jazz Under the Stars nights at the Dallas Museum of Art and also some of the Nasher Sculpture Center's Til Midnight (the latter of which I will discuss more in a future post).

As with most of you, I recently took some summer trips, one of which was to Birmingham, Alabama. Thanks to a visit to the Nasher Sculpture Center from the Curator of Education at the Birmingham Museum of Art, I decided to visit the website and see what the museum had to offer. I am glad I did! Not only is the museum free, but it also has a fun event called Art on the Rocks! Seeing as my sister recently moved to Birmingham, I took the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone- visit her and attend the Art on the Rocks event- not to mention loading up on some delicious Southern cuisine.

Although Art on the Rocks is not a free event, $20 for non-members and $10 for members, it was worth every penny. I dragged my sister to the event that was promoting the upcoming exhibition Who Shot Rock and Roll set to open on June 24th. I missed the photography exhibition, but did enjoy the themed  event's which featured dueling DJs, live graffiti on the Museum walls, and a funky band. Art on the Rocks caters to 20-30 somethings, which is rare in a museum world that  has been focusing on families. The museum had (free) appetizer and (at cost) drink stations littered around the forum and outdoor sculpture arena. Another activity, of which I took part, was having museums patrons 'graffiti' on the sculpture pit walls alongside the real graffiti artists. Please enjoy the pictures of this and other highlights from the Birmingham Museum of Art's Art on the Rocks event.

Thornton Dial, Nobody Knows What Go On Behind the Jungle, 1989

Paint and Mixed Media

As a preview of what's to come:

Inside of the BMA, with a Chihuly sculpture. 

Recap: Dallas Art Fair 2011

A few months later, and I can finally post the pictures I took of the events surrounding the Dallas Art Fair and most importantly---the art! Enjoy!

Harriet Bart, Helicon Volumes, 1993

Unique; bronze work

Babcock Galleries, NY

Asya Reznikov, Packing Art History, 2011

Video and cardboard

Nancy Hoffman Gallery, NY

Joel Ross

Monique Meloche, Chicago

John Adelman, Concordant, 2005

Gel ink on paper

Holly Johnson Gallery, Dallas

Angela Musco, Avernus, 2010

Edition 1/5; C-print

Carrie Secrist Gallery, Chicago

Coming up next: 

Birmingham, Alabama. What's up with the art scene there?

And then, a review of the Museum scene in Boston!

Events: Torino Artissima

Since surprise trips seem to be the theme for my Fall art calendar, I thought I would share some quick images from my most recent 10 hour trip to Turin, Italy. I went specifically to see (and be seen) at Artissima, the city's annual art fair.


Artissima is neither the largest nor the smallest of fairs. It is pretty mid-sized and includes a book and magazine area, a print shop, 4 different bars/cafes, a theater space called the House of Contamination, and a lecture space. This year was the fair's 15th anniversary.

I say "and be seen", because this was all courtesy of my internship at the Secretariat Schlemmer due to the fact that the fair hosted the reconstructions of Oskar Schlemmer's Bauhaus Dances, as interpreted by Debra McCall in 1984 in it's House of Contamination.

Instead of just showing close-ups of work that really struck a chord, I realized as I walked around the fair that to many people the concept of the art fair is very abstract. Therefore, this time I took some general pictures of the fair itself.

The day I went was the preview, so it was much less packed than it will be. Or at least, that is what the galleries hope. More people equals more prospective buyers.

After Basel and Berlin, I feel like I might actually be getting the hang of these fairs. However, as visually stimulating as they are, let's not forget that it is the galleries job to sell, sell, sell! Which is definitely the part I hate.

An exciting and entertaining part of these fairs is that they are the perfect opportunity for performance artists to venture out and "do their thing." In one of the pictures below you may notice a woman in a white dress. She was one such performance artist who strolled around the fair in a type of LSD induced serenity and randomly gave fair-goers amazing hugs.

As always, enjoy the pictures!

 

On wall: Germaine Kruip, Counter Composition II, 2007

On ground: Amaya Gonzales Reyes, Estrategias Formales, 2009

Parra & Romero, Madrid, Spain

Aida Ruilova, unknown

Kaufman Repetto, Milano, Italy

Per Barclap, Ballerina (Chatrine), 2001

Giorgio Persano, Torino, Italy

Masbedo, The Art of Happiness, 2010
Marco Noire Contemporary Art, Torino, Italy

Recap: Art Forum Berlin

Okay, you guys know the drill we these posts. Enjoy the work. It left an impression or I would not have photographed it!

Here are my picks from Art Forum Berlin!

 

Florian Slotawa, SG.06.1; SG.06.2; SG.06.3; SG.06.4, 2010

Sies + Hoke Galerie, Dusseldorf, Germany

Thomas Hirschhorn, Woodchain IV (The little Mermaid), 2004

Alfonso Artiaco, Naples, Italy

 

 

Douglas Gordon, 2010

I Am The Director Of My Own Downfall

I Am The Author Of My Own Addictions

Yvon Lambert, Paris (FR) and New York (USA)

Christian Hoischen, Rücken, 2010

Galerie Barbara Thumm, Berlin, Germany

 

Oliver Voss

Galerie Eva Winkeler, Frankfurt and Koln (DE)

Basel Recap: Satellite Fairs- Volta

Take the experience I had at Liste and consider its opposite: that’s what Volta turned out to be. Engaging, lively, and friendly. Perhaps because it is located in a difficult part of the city to reach, it was great to feel like my presence was welcome. And of course, the art also impressed.

The intersection between historical subject matter and contemporary issues seemed to prevail at the fair.  As seen in Nandipha Mntambo’s hanging relief sculpture as well as in Alexander Tinei’s painting which intersected well with the scientific in Herwig Weiser’s Death before Disko and Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s The Company of Colours. Also the edition artist of the fair was Troels Carlsen. His work was set apart from the other galleries and artists and given its own wall, much like at Robert Montgomery’s installation piece at the entrance of the Scope fair.

Death before Disko was particularly spellbinding. As I stood in front of the noisy and bright glass container, I realized that within the central area the very cold hardware was moving. The liquid was pulsating and it became very alive in my mind. When intersected with the electric sounds from below the contraption and warmth emitting from the sides, it felt like I was in the midst of a Frankenstein experiment. This very technological work was coming to life before my eyes.

After a few minutes I broke free from my trance and asked the gallerist some questions. She explained that the black ‘goo,’ for lack of a better term, dimples and spins due to a dual magnet pull. The gallery describes that the piece is meant to “return to the foundations of hardware” to “show how our relationship towards technology is more often emotional than rational.” Considering my initial reaction, I think the piece is rather successful. 

Herwig Weiser, Death before Disko, 2006

speaker, plexiglas,motor, magnetic liquide, light-emitting diode, pc

Galerie Colletpark, Paris

Nandipha Mntambo, Title and Date Unknown, cowhide, resin

Brodie/Stevenson, Johannesburg

Troels Carlsen, View of Several Works at Volta 

Alexander Tinei, Haircut, 2010

120 x 100 cm, Oil on Canvas

Erika Deák Gallery, Budapest

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, The Company of Colours, 2009,

Shadow Box 9, Edition 1 of 6, 1AP

High resolution interactive display with built-in computerized surveillance system

bitforms gallery, New York

Basel Recap: Satellite Fairs- Liste

Of all the art events during the Art Basel week, I was least impressed by the Liste art fair. Whether this is due to listening to the opinions of others prior to experiencing it, a particularly bad run-in with a gallery there, or the fact that I had all of 25 minutes to walk through the four-story labyrinth, I am not sure. All I can say is that I did not enjoy my time there. Unlike the Volta and Scope fairs that are still rather young and in the process of establishing themselves, but not as recognized as Art Basel, Liste celebrated its 15th anniversary and boasts that it is the fair for the young galleries and hip artists.

However, it would not be fair to say that none of it roused my interest. I was impressed by the limits that some of the galleries pushed in their spaces. Some of the galleries such as Harris Lieberman (New York), Kaskadenkondensator (Basel), Wilfried Lentz (Rotterdam) embraced and worked with the industrial design of the abandoned factory. This was not something I saw with regularity at Art Basel, Scope, or Volta.

Unfortunately, I do not have as many options for photographs as with the other fairs. This is mostly due to my lack of time, as I have mentioned. But also, I did not get the sensation that the galleries present were interested in answering questions or ‘dealing’ with a non-collector, non-curator graduate student who dabbles in blogging about art (read: non-journalist). So enjoy the limited images I have, form your own opinions, and if you have more questions take a look at Liste.

The following are some images I took of art spaces that were intriguing:

Oscar Tuazon, Title and Date Unknown

Gallery Unknown*

*Sorry Guys, I usually better at giving credit where credit is due, but I was in a rush to get back to work!

Recap Basel: Public Art

Public art is FANTASTIC!

Okay, I know, I will elaborate on this opinion. Let’s get past the bureaucratic concerns about public art, public opinion, and what artists are allowed to do with tax payers money. It would take too long to discuss this and take time away from enjoying the public art at Art Basel/ Art Public and from Art Parcours. Both of these public art events are connected with Art Basel, but they are very different in their concepts. 

In front of the entrance to Art Basel and scattered throughout the giant pavilion at the Messeplatz were selected Art Public installations and happenings. It was nice to know that those who couldn’t afford the hefty price tag that came with the Art Basel entrance card, could still eat lunch next to Thomas Houseago’s Giant Giant and enjoy the random sounds escaping from Alberto Tadiello’s LK100A. 
Although I missed most of the happenings, I was pleasantly surprised by certain installations that I did not truly notice until the last few days, such as Eric Hatten’s Déplacement/version 2010 (aka a streetlamp). It caught me by surprise, and it was fun to see other spectators sitting or leaning against it- not noticing that all the while they were interacting with art.

Art Parcours was a scavenger hunt around the old center of the city set at nighttime. On this particular night it was cold and rainy. Not fun. But the scavenger-hunt for art was very fun. Although I had a pretty awful sore throat and was not dressed to ‘muddle through puddles,’ I sucked it up for the art.* And it was worth it. I bought a set of costume jewelry from Martha Rosler at her Fair Trade Garage Sale, I succeeded at achieving equilibrium with two other ‘viewers’ on Damien Ortega’s New Balance, and I enjoyed the sights and sounds of the eight other pieces (events). The two pieces which I thought were the most visually striking were Daniel Buren’s Colors on the Rhine and Angela Bulloch’s Night Sky: Mercury and Venus.

Ai WeiWei, Field, 2010

Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing, Luzern

Thomas Houseago, Giant Giant, 2010

Xavier Hufkens, Bruxelles

Alberto Tadiello's LK100A, 2010

 T293, Naples

Damien Ortega, New Balance, 2010

City Hall, Court Yard

Angela Bulloch, Night Sky: Mercury and Venus, 2010

Münster Cathedral

Daniel Buren, Colors on the Rhine, work in situ 2010. 

Old University

Quick Note: All daytime pictures are Art Public events, while nighttime shots are Art Parcours.

*I was lucky enough to have been invited to a VIP Reception at the Kunstmuseum. Great food and a great collection, but my attire was not meant to go from parading around the halls of a vast museum to wadding through the cobbled paths of the city.