artshouston A Dance to be Witnessed
Bill T. Jones Brings His Chapel /Chapter to Houston
Last Acts
HGO’s World Premiere Stars Opera Legend Frederica von Stade
Watercolor Arts Society
WAS-H Brings International Acclaim to Houston
Art in the Desert
The United Emirates and Abu Dhabi
Reviews
Dominic Walsh Dance Theater Museum of Fine Arts Houston Stages Repertory Theatre Texas Repertory Theatre Houston Symphony DeSantos Gallery Alley Theatre Sicardi Gallery koelsch gallery 1
Have you discovered Orange, Texas? If not, it’s about time you did! This charming community is in bloom with exciting cultural events throughout the spring season. Highlights include the opening of Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center, world-class shows at Lutcher Theater, the Celebrate Shangri La exhibition at the Stark Museum of Art, tours at the W.H. Stark House, and the fun-filled Art in the Park festival. There has never been a better time to be in Orange, so plan your visit today!
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RED BULL ART OF CAN
What a creative mind can do with the body of a Red Bull can.
Red Bull doesn’t just vitalize the body, it also vitalizes the mind. That’s why we’re looking for the most innovative way of creating a work of art from the body of a Red Bull can. There are no rules, no limitations. Just let your imagination run wild. The creations will be on display at The Galleria in Houston and be judged by a prominent art jury. They will select their three favorites, bringing fame and honor to their creators. Submission deadline, April 6th, 2008.
For more information or to submit an entry, go to redbullartofcan.com 5
“As citizens, we live in a world saturated with crime, violence, and human rights abuse. The media literally assault us on a daily basis with the cold hard facts of all that is wrong with the world. What’s the role of the private citizen here? Are we judges, witnesses, or simply passive observers?”
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-Nancy Wozny
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Features Watercolor Art Society
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A Dance to be Witnessed: Bill T. Jones Brings His Chapel/Chapter to Houston
Houston, you have been summoned—to watch, listen, and witness choreographer Bill T. Jones’s masterwork, Chapel/Chapter, a
work that straddles a sharp edge between art and spirituality.
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Last Acts: HGO’s World Premiere Stars Opera Legend
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Nearly five hundred members strong and having moved to a spacious new studio and gallery space on West Alabama, the organization is the city’s only group fully dedicated to furthering the appreciation of watercolor art—and internationally speaking, is the only society who owns their own building to that end.
For his new work, Jake Heggie expands upon the briefest of plays by Terrence McNally, about three decades in the lives of a woman and her two children.
Art in the Desert: The United Emirates and Abu Dhabi
The United Arab Emirates consists of seven states including Shar- jah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Is this Middle Eastern federation be coming a new world class destination for the arts?
On Our Cover: Maija Garcia in Bill T. Jones’ Chapel/Chapter photo by Paul B. Goode 6
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Departments
Publisher’s Note Editor’s Picks Style and Substance with Tom Richards A 10 year old lad named Chris Strompolos had seen Raiders of the Lost Ark when it was released in 1981, and the following Summer he hit upon an idea: why not create his own Raiders movie, duplicating the original film shot by shot?
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The Art of Collecting Art with Lester Marks
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Graze February Arts Calendar Featured Listings Restaurant Review: Reef
A lifetime of working with mentors on an international scale has allowed Bryan Caswell to keep what he took from home that’s of value but leave behind the reliance on batter-frying anything that stands still and the addiction to creamy-spicy sauces that cover up less-than-perfect product.
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Where to Eat Restaurant Listings
Reviews
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Dominic Walsh Dance Theater: Celebrating Moving Bodies, Moving Minds Alley Theatre: The Lieutenant of Inishmore Texas Repertory Theatre: Illyria Stages Repertory Theatre: The Unseen Houston Symphony: Early 2008 Concerts Museum of Fine Arts Houston: Where Clouds Disperse: Ink Paintings by Suh Se-ok Sicardi Gallery: Thomas Glassford: Between Earth and Sky DeSantos Gallery: Traci Matlock & Ashley MacLean: Passports: Polaroid Work koelsch gallery: Sally S. Bennett and Sasha Milby
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march 2008
Exploring the benefits of writing about one’s collection through Anselm Keifer’s Sulpicia.
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artshouston publisher’s note Volume Nine, Number Three Founder Chas Haynes Publisher Frank Rose Associate Publisher Varina Rush Editor in Chief,Visual Arts Tria Wood Editor in Chief, Performing Arts John DeMers Sales Manager Kara Duval Sales Representative Jessica Gordon Intern Amanda Stecker Issue Contributors Holly Beretto Michele Brangwen Deborah M. Colton Dr. Thomas GH Dorsch Garland Fielder Sarah Gajkowski-Hill Lester Marks Catalina Montaño Tom Richards Nancy Wozny
ArtsHouston is published monthly in Houston, Texas. ISSN 1541-6089. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the expressed written consent of the publisher. Copyright 2007. Individual issues may be purchased for $3.00, a yearly subscription (12 monthly issues) for $28.00.
What can we learn from a few kids who wanted to remake Raiders of the Lost Ark shot for shot? “A 10 year old lad named Chris Strompolos had seen Raiders of the Lost Ark when it was released in 1981, and the following summer he hit upon an idea: why not create his own Raiders movie, duplicating the original film shot by shot? Seven years later, the project was completed, with a final cost just north of $5000.” As kids, we can have some funny ambitions; I think we still do but many times can dismiss them too quickly as too childish. The sense of boundless possibility that a child embodies is usually stifled by roles we play in society. But what if anything really is possible? What if we really are free? What if our prisons are selfcreated? Great art gives me this sense of possibility and opens doors of perception; any experience has this potential at its core. The stories that are told through art are our own, revealed in a new way by our artist/shaman brothers and sisters. The sheer delight with one’s accomplishments, expressed on Strompolos’ (Indy) face in the image above, is difficult to remember when facing the challenges of the moment, but the tenacity of vision is what pulls one through. We don’t always “finish the film” but the journey always pays deep rewards if we open ourselves to them. It may seem crazy that I took over this magazine almost a year ago without any experience in publishing or business experience but when the opportunity presented itself, I knew it was the right direction to take. Many mistakes have been made and success is clearly evident but through both extremes I can creatively interact with this experience and learn lessons to take with me wherever. This kind of risk taking puts me back into that sense of possibility where anything can happen.
For advertising information, call (713) 589-9472. Letters to the editor may be sent to: ArtsHouston, 3921 Austin Street, Houston, Texas 77004; or frank@artshouston.com. Tel (713) 589-9472 • Fax (713) 429-4191 Web: artshouston.com 8
Happy Spring and enjoy the ride!
Publisher, Frank Rose frank@artshouston.com
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march editor’s picks
Dance Salad
Dance Salad kicks off its 13th season with two US premieres and several must-see dance companies from many parts of the globe. Jirí Kylián’s masterpiece BIRTH-DAY, performed by the original over-40 cast of Nederlands Dans Theater III, makes the centerpiece of this year’s line-up. “I nearly fell off my chair when I heard we could get this piece,” says artistic director Nancy Henderek. “It’s so unique; you won’t believe it’s a Kylián piece. Expect a mixture of pathos and humor.” A rare showing of Kylián’s new film, Car-men, based on the four archetypes featured in Bizet’s opera and filmed in a Czech coal mine, is also on the bill. The National Theatre Ballet, Prague (Czech Republic) will be making its North American debut with three works, two of them US premiers including Among the Mountains, by Artistic Director/ Choreographer Petr Zuska. And that’s just the tip of the Dance Salad program. Plan to attend two nights to see it all. 7:30 PM, Wortham Center, Cullen Theater. March 20, 21 & 22, 2008. Call 1-877-772-5425 for tickets or visit dancesalad.org
Can You Handel it?
In a sure sign of the season, Several Dancers Core is joining forces with Mercury Baroque to serve up Handel’s famous Messiah Sunday March 9 at the Magnolia Ballroom in downtown Houston. Several Dancers artistic director Sue Schroeder and Antoine Plante of Mercury Baroque have collaborated to interpret the work through contemporary dance set to select arias. The melding of contemporary dance and Baroque music results in a reflective piece particularly appropriate for the Easter season, which is when the oratorio was originally performed. A reception will immediately follow the performance, and the audience is encouraged to stay and talk with the performers and enjoy some champagne, coffee and dessert. General admission tickets are $25, with a discounted rate for students, seniors and working artists of $20. Tickets are available online at severaldancerscore.org. Group rates and reservations are available at 713-862-5530.
Zanes-y Fun for the Kids
If most of the concerts you see announced around town don’t seem quite kid-friendly, Houston’s own Society for the Performing Arts has a cool show for you and yours. Like some updated rendition of Raffi, Dan Zanes and Friends picked up a Grammy Award in 2007 without even being in rehab. Instead, they were touring the country and playing to packed houses of kids of all ages. Their play list includes everything from fun sea shanties to Broadway show tunes, from North American to West Indian folk music, and from rock to soul – all performed by a front man whose electrified hair makes him resemble a happily crazed escapee from TV’s Beekman’s World. Zanes and Friends have been praised by critics as the “best thing to happen to family music since Woody Guthrie” and praised for giving “one of those rare children’s concerts where the grownups had as much fun as their toddlers.” The show comes to the Wortham Center’s Cullen Theatre for two shows March 8. For more information, contact the Society for the Performing Arts at 713-227-4SPA or spahouston. org. 10
Pongos Helping Pongos
On March 29, 2008 the Houston Zoo will mount its third Pongos Helping Pongos art show and auction at G Gallery in the Heights. In addition to orangutan art, the third show and auction will feature paintings by other Zoo primates and our Asian elephants. Each painting will be professionally framed and accompanied by conservation information and an animal artist biography. The paintings will be displayed at G Gallery in the Heights for a single night in a fine arts setting, including a wine and cheese reception and photographic portraits of the featured artists. At the close of the evening, all the paintings and portraits will be sold by silent auction and the proceeds donated to the preservation of orangutans and elephants in their natural habitats. The benefits of the Pongos program are many. It provides Zoo animals with an outlet to express their intelligence, personalities, and abilities. It allows them to fulfill their mission as ambassadors for their species. It generates precious funds that support conservation actions on the ground and behavioral enrichment initiatives at the Zoo. Seen here is the work of Doc, an orangutan who likes to paint with bamboo stalks. Born in Dallas on Christmas Day 1984, Doc was brought to Houston at the tender age of three. Known in his early years as a good-natured clown, Doc has more recently adopted an imposing, blustery demeanor as if to emphasize his new adult status. The patience and gravity with which he paints reveals the gentle soul behind the bravado.
Les Femmes du Maroc
The Anya Tish Gallery is pleased to announce the highly anticipated Les Femmes du Maroc, the second installment of works by the provocative Moroccan-born, New York-based artist, Lalla Essaydi. As an Arab woman living in the western world, the new works draw upon Orientalist traditions in painting in order to reexamine Arab female identity. Just as 19th century painters Eugène Delacroix and Jean-Léon Gérôme indulged their audiences with the trend for images of the middle-eastern harem and the eroticized Arab female body, Essaydi uses photography to re-enact 19th century orientalist paintings in tandem with layers of Islamic calligraphy applied by hand with henna. The sacred Islamic art form of calligraphy, traditionally reserved exclusively for men, is employed by Essaydi as an act of defiance against a culture in which women are perceived as mere sexuality and are relegated to the private sphere. Les Femmes du Maroc represents an exploration of the imaginary boundaries and “permissible space” codified by traditional Muslim society, and idealized by Orientalist painters of the 19th Century. On view March 7 - April 5 with an artist’s reception on March 14th from 6-8:30pm. Visit anyatishgallery.com or call 713.524.2299 for more information.
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Style & Substance with Tom Richards 12
In the Andy Hardy series of films popular during the 1930s and 1940s, Mickey Rooney would often cry out, “Hey kids, let’s put on a show!” A barn would be commandeered, a hay loft would be converted to a stage, and the talented little whipper snappers would knock everybody’s socks off. Fast forward several decades, to the early 1980s, when a somewhat more high tech version of this scenario was played out in Gulfport, Mississippi. A 10 year old lad named Chris Strompolos had seen Raiders of the Lost Ark when it was released in 1981, and the following summer he hit upon an idea: why not create his own Raiders movie, duplicating the original film shot by shot? Seven years later, the project was completed, with a final cost just north of $5000. Fast forward again to 2002 and the “Butt-Numb-a-Thon” film festival in Austin. A copy of the Raiders adaptation had been placed in the hands of the festival’s director, and when it was screened, the “Little Remake That Could” stole the show. Fast forward (just a quick nudge) to 2008 and Hollywood, where a film is being made that tells the story of the creation of the Raiders recreation. As production gears up, Strompolos - sometimes joined by his collaborators, Eric Zala and Jayson Lamb - is touring the country, showing their opus at film festivals and selected venues. He will be in Houston on March 29 and 30 at the Aurora Picture Show. Because Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation is based on a work protected by copyright, any revenue generated by these screenings must be donated to a charitable cause. The filmmakers carry a copy of the film to screenings and do not release review copies. Not that Strompolos and company have to worry about being sued. Steven Spielberg (the original Raiders director) and George Lucas (the film’s producer) have seen the adaptation and are big fans. When I talked with Strompolos, now in his thirties, about his teenage masterwork, he said this inability to take the adaptation to a wider audience doesn’t really bother him. Since each screening becomes a “special event,” Strompolos explained, “It helps perpetuate the magic.” It is nothing short of amazing that the boys stayed with the project to completion, working between school terms for a period of seven years. “There was never any question what we were going to do when we reconvened for the summers,” Strompolos said. But didn’t he ever question the
wisdom of spending all of his free time on such an endeavor? “We were surrounded by a lot of doubt,” he said, noting that his friends who were at first naysayers generally came around and ended up participating in the project in some form, often serving as extras in crowd scenes. Stompolos does, however, admit to thinking, in dark moments during production, “Am I a loser?” Hearing Strompolos narrate the seven year journey from the film’s inception to its completion, one definitely gets caught up in the drama that was going on behind the camera. Strompolos enjoyed his first real kiss onscreen at the age of 13 while recreating a lip lock between Harrison Ford and Karen Allen. While filming a scene in which a fire breaks out, the boys almost burned up Eric’s basement when things got out of control. Attempting to create a mold of Zala’s face for special effects purposes, the youngsters used the wrong type of plaster, almost suffocating Zala and costing him his eyebrows in the process. Strompolos and Zala successfully created a huge prop boulder to roll after Indy but realized soon after its completion that the papier-mâché rock was too big to fit through the door. All interesting and fun stuff to be sure, but what is it about this amateur fan film that has created so much interest and resonated so deeply with audience members? Strompolos believes that the adaptation’s fans are excited by “the pursuit of a dream.” The message, he says, is that “dreams do come true.” The ultimate dream come true for a gang of fanboys like Strompolos, Zala, and Lamb must have been getting to spend an afternoon with Steven Spielberg watching outtakes from the first two Raiders films. Not to mention a visit the Skywalker ranch to see all the props that were used in filming the original Raiders. Among them was the actual ark seen in the first film, the movie that set the three young filmmakers on their improbable journey. They touched the ark, but that was all. As Lamb explained, “We didn’t look inside. I guess you have to preserve some mystery from your childhood.” Raiders of the Lost Ark - The Adaptation will be presented at Aurora Picture Show Saturday March 29 at 6 pm and March 30 at 3pm. Visit aurorapictureshow.org or call 713.868.2101for more details.
Arts Houston March
houston public radio
2007 2008 Symphony Season Lang Lang
March 6, 2008 Tickets: from $25
The Beethoven Experience March 8, 2008 Tickets: from $9
Bobby McFerrin March 10, 2008 Tickets: from $30
Vivaldi’s Four Seasons March 14, 15, 16, 2008 Tickets: from $26
ay! Order tod-7575 (713) s2to2n4symphony.org
Chris Botti
March 20, 21, 22, 2008 Tickets: from $28
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wings are heavy, lead tied tight woman sinks down from soulful heights what was once but is no more still lashed for duty, who’d love to soar once beautiful woman now speckled with dirt tomorrow comes burdens with labor and hurt you’ll call out for comfort, voice hangs in the air and like time before time, you’ll find no one is there you’re leashed, you’re bound you try to flee you’re furled, you’re feeling hopelessly the love you want can never be for your life is trapped in antiquity corset of silk you reach out to hold the concrete burns, there’s nothing but cold of unrequited love that wants to be free and the weight of the world that won’t let it be
The Art of Collecting Art with Lester Marks
yet lead was made and lead was served and lead was magic turns to gold...and so we hope.
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Welcome back, artful travelers! I hope the beginnings of March are filling your souls with sunlight and warmth, spurring you to be, in fact, an artful traveler. This is a great time for the collector to move about the city’s art venues as many museums, alternative art spaces, and galleries are mounting powerful shows. This is also a good time to consider artfully traveling outside of Houston in pursuit of wonderful art finds. There are art fairs and art happenings abundant through out the United States now, and in the coming months. This month we continue talking about one of the artists I collect, Anselm Kiefer. Kiefer produces the kind of art that all collectors should at least consider: work that is both visually exciting—frequently with a sculptural element—and most importantly, work that goes beyond the simple and straightforward. Kiefer, as do many Postmodern artists, creates more than just visual art; he creates an experience. Experiences are what life is all about, and experiences in art are what every collector should strive to obtain! Strive to find art that fills you with an emotion that wasn’t there before: feelings of awe and wonder, amazement, happiness or sadness, even feelings of conflict or anger. Artworks “work” when they cause you to feel, regardless of what that feeling may be. Anselm Kiefer is particularly adept at creating feelings of metamorphoses and transcendence. As I noted last month, Kiefer, born in 1945 in Dorcueschingen, Germany, considers himself first a poet, then a historian, and finally, an artist. That fits in nicely, as I’m going to illustrate with another Kiefer piece in my collection, a sculpture representing the poet Sulpicia. It also fits because I’m going to share some poetic interpretations (above) I wrote to shed metaphorical light onto the piece. I don’t think of my writings as poetry, but as “ramblings” in stanza form. The important point I want to share is this: I encourage every collector to journal their thoughts as
Photo courtesy of Michael Hagan
often as possible. Pen to paper or keyboard to computer, the journaling of thoughts is often neglected by collectors. Don’t. Keeping a written record of your responses to works of art will help steer you in your aesthetic process. Organizing your thoughts, in whatever form you choose, is one of the most valuable tools I have developed to assist me in building a thoughtful and intelligently acquired collection. The Anselm Kiefer experience I’d like to illustrate is Sulpicia, created in 1999 from plaster, foam, wood, twine, lead, fabric, pigmented resin, and wax, standing 57” x 59” x 59.” The exposure of materials and the particular fascination with lead, for example, follows in the footsteps of the great German postwar artist Joseph Beuys, and is seen again in the younger generation of artists, such as Dario Robleto from San Antonio (represented in Houston by Inman Gallery). One of the great virtues of Sulpicia is tension: the tension between the solid heaviness of the material and the apparent lightness of the wings of lead pages balanced precariously atop the female form. Tension is often present in great works of art, and is an admirable quality you should be on the lookout for. Sulpicia, after whom Kiefer titled the piece, is the only known woman poet from Ancient Rome whose poetry survives to this day. As to the use of lead in Kiefer’s work, it is at the essence of his ideas about transformation: lead was the primary matter that alchemists, beginning with the gods Thoth and Hermes, were said to have converted into gold, thus also alluding to themes of escape, transcendence, and salvation. Above are some stanzas that speak to my reaction to this wonderful work of art. And remember, keep those questions and comments coming to me, your artful therapist, at nothingbutart@webtv.net.
Anthony Freud, OBE, General Director Patrick Summers, Music Director
Apr 11 | 13m | 17 | 19 | 23 | 26 | May 1 | 3, 2008 Sung in Italian with English Surtitles
Ana MarĂa MartĂnez, Cynthia Clayton*/Garrett Sorenson, Alexey Dolgov*/Joshua Hopkins, Brian Mulligan*/ Albina Shagimuratova, Alicia Gianni*/Patrick Summers, conductor; Evan Rogister, conductor*/Richard Bado, chorus master/James Robinson/Allen Moyer/James Schuette/Stephen Strawbridge/Karen Reeves *May 1 and 3 (matinee) performances only
Call 713-228-OPERA (6737) or visit HoustonGrandOpera.org Albert and Margaret Alkek Foundation Official Airline of Houston Grand Opera
Official Vehicle of Houston Grand Opera
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Watercolor Arts Society by Sarah Gajkowski-Hill
While it is true that all genres and styles of art have dedicated enthusiasts, watercolor aficionados can boast that our city is home to the Watercolor Arts Society-Houston (WAS-H), founded in 1970. Nearly five hundred members strong and having moved to a spacious new studio and gallery space on West Alabama, the organization is the city’s only group fully dedicated to furthering the appreciation of watercolor art—and internationally speaking, is the only society who owns their own building to that end. One might believe that nearly all painters practice the same craft, more or less, but what the members of WAS-H have in common is the belief that their chosen medium of watercolor paint presents challenges and makes available benefits rivaling oil, acrylic and other types of painting. The most important question that one may ask is why this genre has such committed devotees. “The look of many transparent layers is hard to achieve in any other medium,” says Jeanne Heise of WAS-H. Adds Jean O’Neill, “I have always been attracted to the looks of watercolor—fresh, loose,
crisp, luminous even before I started painting with it!” The seriousness of the members speaks to the difficulty of the craft and the definite bond that the artists who practice the style share. Other pros of watercolor painting include the safe nature of the medium, its earthfriendly clean-up and an appreciation for the aesthetics of carefully layered washes which can capture the elusive nature of light and shadow play. Bridgett Vallery, WAS-H’s Public Relations Director, cites several reasons why new members should be excited about joining the society—one main reason is the familial atmosphere of the organization. The society is a group of people with great respect for each other, who support their peers and who engage in ongoing skill-based education to help them achieve greatness in their craft. The atmosphere is fostered by the board, which is necessarily large (comprised of fourteen members) and which organizes the numerous international exhibitions, member shows, sales and receptions, classes, fundraisers and the community outreach programs. For those who practice the craft of
Above: Sue Donaldson, Let There be Light, 2007 16
watercolor, the organization offers a variety of activities ranging from monthly meetings to include live painting demonstrations by members, classes offered all year long in specific areas such as figure painting, and other more detailed fare with class titles such as “Capturing the Mood” and “Painting Nature Up Close.” These classes are available to the general public with a minimal additional fee for nonmembers, and are taught by local and guest painters. In addition, Paint Ins and Paint Outs are held respectively at the WAS-H studio and in a day-trip environment and feature an experienced member who teaches a new style or technique. As an organization, WAS-H is interested in providing a place for its members to showcase and sell their works in a professional and galleryesque environment. Every autumn, they additionally hold a “Clothesline Sale” in which artists’ works are displayed outdoors. Internationally, WAS-H has put Houston on the map for watercolor enthusiasts. Biannually there is an international juried exhibit at the WASH building—this March, the master
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SOCIETY FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS PRESENTS
Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company in the Bessie Award-winning
Chapel/Chapter
From the 2007 Tony Award winner for Best Choreography (Spring Awakening)
8 pm March 28
JONES HALL
Business Cards to Buildings HPI Gulfton 5250 Gulfton #3B Houston, TX 77081 Phone: 713.666.0282
HPI Shepherd 2621 S. Shepherd #140 Houston, TX 77098 Phone: 713.522.5400
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tickets: 713.227.4SPA spahouston.org GROUPS OF 15 OR MORE, CALL 713.632.8113.
ARTSHOUSTON - 3.625 x 4.875 - run March BILL T JONES
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Bridgett Valery, An Unfinished Story in Croatia, 2007
watercolor artist Stephen Quiller chose one hundred paintings to be shown and honored with both monetary and art supply awards. In July and August WASH will host the American Watercolor Society Traveling Show, an exhibit of works by internationally recognized painters. The society has interests in providing outreach and volunteer opportunities as well as supporting its members’ creativity. As an offshoot of Arts In Medicine (AIM), the WAS-H Outreach Program is comprised of members of WAS-H who visit the Texas Children’s Cancer Center and bring the joy of watercolor painting to the young patients. The volunteers provide both companionship and art supplies to the children as they heal both emotionally and physically. Fundraising for this worthy community service project and for the Traveling Show is accomplished with a huge gala. This year in June the theme is I Like New York in June…How About You? and will feature Sinatra-inspired live music, replicas of famous New York tourist attractions and prominent Houstonians who support the arts, as well as a fine wine and food buffet. For those interested in becoming acquainted with the style and for seasoned watercolorists alike, Vallery encourages members-to-be to attend a general meeting on the second Sunday of each month or to simply visit the studio during hours of operation. The public is also welcome to attend an evening reception honoring the members currently on exhibit in their gallery on the second Friday of each month. For those who have never picked up a brush and those who have exhibited their paintings worldwide, WAS-H truly provides an outlet and a support system for a fraternity of artists who share a common goal—to further the appreciation of watercolor art in our city and beyond. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 am-3 pm, 1601 W. Alabama, 713.942.9966, watercolorhouston.org 18
From dance to theatre, music to film, visual arts to opera, Fresh Arts is your best link to 22 of the most progressive arts organizations in Houston. 7khehW F_Yjkh[ I^em 887F 8bW\\[h =Wbb[ho" j^[ 7hj Cki[kc e\ j^[ Kd_l[hi_jo e\ >ekijed 8eXX_dZeYjh_d Fkff[j J^[Wjh[ 9ecckd_jo 7hj_iji 9ebb[Yj_l[ 9odj^_W MeeZi C_jY^[bb 9[dj[h \eh j^[ 7hji :_l[hi[Mehai :ec_d_Y MWbi^ :WdY[ J^[Wj[h >ekijed CWij[hmehai 9^ehki ?dfh_dj CW_d Ijh[[j J^[Wj[h C[hYkho 8Whegk[ Cki_gW Ef[hW _d j^[ >[_]^ji EhWd][ I^em 9[dj[h \eh L_i_edWho 7hj EhY^[ijhWN Iekj^m[ij 7bj[hdWj[ C[Z_W Fhe`[Yj IM7CF IjW][i H[f[hjeho J^[Wjh[ IkY^k :WdY[ WdZ 8Whd[l[bZ[h Cel[c[dj%7hji 9ecfb[n JWb[dje 8_b_d]k[ Z[ >ekijed Kd_l[hi_jo e\ >ekijed i 9[dj[h \eh 9^eh[e]hWf^o Kd_l[hi_jo Cki[kc Wj J[nWi Iekj^[hd Kd_l[hi_jo
Creativity Inspiration Entertainment Family IRVING ARTS CENTER
Fun!
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A Dance to Be Witnessed
by Nancy Wozny
Bill T. Jones Brings His Chapel/Chapter to Houston 20
Houston, you have been summoned—to watch, listen, and witness choreographer Bill T. Jones’s masterwork, Chapel/Chapter, a work that straddles a sharp edge between art and spirituality.
Opposite: Andrea Smith and Erick Montes; Above: (l-r) Leah Cox, Donald Shorter, Jr., Asli Bulbul, Charles Scott and Erick Montes; photos by Paul B. Goode
Bells toll at the start, galvanizing our attention and creating a mood that something significant is about to happen. Originally set up with the audience close in church pews, Jones meant for the piece to have a communal viewing element. “I wanted people to be able to watch each other watching,” says Jones. “It’s an act of witnessing.” Pushing the boundaries of what subjects are fit for post-modern dance has always been a high priority for Jones. He’s tackled subjects as difficult as death and dying in Still/Here, the resilience of the human spirit in the face of disaster in Another Evening: I Bow Down, sexual and intellectual coming-of-age in Spring Awakening, and now, in Chapel/Chapter, the personal experience of living in a violent world. Jones skyrocketed to prominence during the 1980s when post-modernism emerged as the next big shift in modern dance. Since then, his steady presence on the dance field has continued to defy easy categorization. Along the way he has amassed a multitude of impressive honors, including a 2007 Tony Award for Spring Awakening, the 2005 Wexner Prize, the 2005 Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award for Lifetime Achievement, a 2005 Harlem Renaissance Award, the 2003 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, MacArthur “Genius” Artists Public Service Award in Choreography, and several Choreographic Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. Jones prefers the hard problems when it comes to dance-making. He refers to Chapel/ Chapter as an ongoing investigation. “What are the limits of modern dance for
me?” asks Jones. “How do you as a private citizen come to grips with what is done in your name. That’s the spiritual aspect.” These questions drive Chapel/Chapter, a work that is considered Jones’s most provocative piece thus far. Two true-life crimes and one long-forgotten memory are re-enacted during the course of the dance. The brutal murder of the Soto family, a father’s fatal beating of his “troublesome” daughter, and a tale of two young boys watching someone drown make up the chapters. Some of the text comes directly from court transcripts of the criminals’ confessions, and is relayed in the most matter-of-fact manner. In the re-enactment of the Soto family killings, the family dog emerges as a potent symbol. The dog was put outside so as not to get in the way. “What about the lowliness among us, and those that are left behind,” says Jones. “In a way, we are like that helpless dog.” The character of the dog comes and goes throughout the piece, continuing the act of summoning. Childhood games such as hopscotch and hand chants appear and disappear, making room for the lost innocence of the murdered daughter. In the last story, company member Charles Scott shares a memory of two 11-year-old boys who sneak out of camp one morning to watch the sun rise. They see a man drowning in a waterfall and decide not to do anything about the man’s impending death. Movement and narration merge to reveal a long-held secret as the theme of confession is re-enforced. Like any dance by Jones, the actual movement vocabulary plays a vital role in the telling. Athletic and powerful dancing propels the narra21
Below: Andrea Smith (seated) and Maija Garcia; photo by Paul B. Goode
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tive along. Using a formal post-modern strategy, the dancers imagined their movements on an invisible keyboard that allowed them to spell out familiar sayings as “the road to hell is paved with good intentions,” and other variations on that theme. It’s some of his most raw and physical movement. Chapel/Chapter premiered in December, 2006 at New York’s Stone Gatehouse, which dates from the 1890s. It’s the locale where water from the Croton Aqueduct made its way to the city. The rectangular space brought audience members close up and in full view of one another. Scenic Designer Bjorn Amelan draped the space in red cloth, reminiscent of liturgical dressing or choir robes. Much thought has gone into adapting the piece to Jones Hall to re-create the sense of sacred space and intimacy. Some audience members will be seated on stage across from one another as in the original performance set-up. Red cloth will still frame the space in an attempt to maintain the character of the original location. “Each space will be different,” says Jones, “but the essence of the piece will remain the same.” As usual, Jones has gathered a highly capable team of collaborators. The musical score was composed by Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR),
who has worked on several of Jones’s pieces. Alicia Hall Moran, Christopher Lancaster, and Lipbone Redding also contributed to the sonic landscape. Janet Wong’s video sends butterflies scampering through the airspace in the piece’s most delicate moments. Robert Wierzel’s lighting isolates the action into grid-like sections. Costumes by Liz Prince consist of vibrant orange prison jumpsuits, and pedestrian clothing. Towards the end of the piece, the bells toll again, the dog howls, and our summoning comes to a close. Prepare to leave the fragile boundary between the sacred and the secular, be it chapel or courtroom, with a set of deep and profound questions. Society for the Performing Arts presents The Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company in Chapel/Chapter on Friday, March 28th at 8 pm in Jones Hall. Call 713-227-4SPA or visit spahouston.org Bill T. Jones will moderate a panel of representatives from Houston’s religious, arts, political and journalistic communities on March 27th at 8pm at The Menil Collection. Topics to be explored include the relationship between spiritual and public places and our own communal experience of the tragedies that we witness every day.
Northwest Mall Memorial Drive Galleria
Memorial Park Festival Site
Downtown
Houston Division
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Last Acts
Heggie’s HGO World Premiere Stars Opera Legend
by John DeMers
From now until March 15, Houston Grand Opera is showcasing its 37th world premiere, this one by the creator of the often-performed Dead Man Walking (based, as was the awardwinning film starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn, on Sister Helen Prejean’s book about Death Row) and the moving The End of the Affair (based on Graham Greene’s romantic-theological novel set during the London Blitz). For his new work, Jake Heggie expands upon the briefest of plays by Terrence McNally, about three decades in the lives of a woman and her two children. ArtsHouston caught up with Heggie as the debut of Last Acts grew near, and chatted about the challenges of his career and the joys of creating an opera for his friend, opera great and Houston favorite Frederica von Stade. AH: You know, Jake, there are still people who know about opera as an art form only from what they’ve seen in Bugs Bunny cartoons or maybe a Marx Brothers movie. And any of those people would have to wonder why a guy who could clearly write songs for pop stars or at least for the Broadway stage would ever wake up one day and say he’s an “opera composer.” JH: I think this career chooses you more than you choose it. I always had a love for the human voice. My earliest memories of music and drama being together were of Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins, and it just seemed so natural when she would sing. The words were clear, the music was beautiful. It was all part of telling a story, and it all fit. I always loved the voice, but it wasn’t until later that I realized I love the text that I do, the stories that I do, the dramas that I do was
because I’m an opera composer. I’m a theater man. And when I wrote Dead Man Walking, I realized what my calling was and it all sort of fell into place. I always had this passion for the combination for music and drama, but it wasn’t until my 30s that I understood what I do. And it’s been fortunate, since projects have come my way and I’ve known that at heart I’m an opera composer. I write opera. I can bring all my musical theatre background, all of my movie background, and everything else with me on this creative journey. AH: Since Dead Man Walking was such a breakthrough for you, and since I’m told that last year it was produced something like 15 times, which is amazing, let’s talk about how that came to pass. What attracted you to the story – that of a nun ministering the inmates on Louisiana Death Row, as well as of the
Above: Frederica von Stade and Jake Heggie; Left: Keith Phares, Frederica von Stade, Kristin Clayton; Right: Director Leonard Foglia and Jake Heggie; photos by Terrance McCarthy 24
strong emotions felt by families of their victims as execution day approaches – and what were the main stages of putting the pieces together? JH: I actually was working in the PR and marketing office of San Francisco Opera when this opportunity came along. I was always writing songs and working with some wonderful singers but had never really thought about writing an opera. It was the general director of San Francisco Opera who approached me and said, “I think you might be an opera composer.” He said he would send me to New York and get me talking to Terrence McNally, who is famously passionate about opera in his plays like Master Class, The Lisbon Traviata, all those plays. We decided we wanted to work together, and a year later he came to San Francisco and read a list of ideas. The first one was Dead Man Walking. I have to tell you, the hair stood up on my arms. It was an American story with universal resonance. It was of our time and yet timeless. And at its core, it’s an intimate story with enormous forces at the work. The drama and the emotions that these people are going through are large enough to fill an opera house, and it actually makes sense for these people to be singing and not just speaking their lines. Those are all things you look for in an opera, with great individual roles and plenty of room for ensembles. I have to stress that opera is theater, even though a lot of people forget that and think it’s just people up their singing. Opera is the most collaborative of the arts. It just seemed right. And the minute he said it, I started hearing music. And that’s what happened to me with the original play for Last Acts. AH: How did this one come into your life? JH: It’s another Terrence McNally story. It’s a 14-page play, very short. He wrote it for a benefit in 1999, and it was performed by Julie Harris, Victor Garber and Cherry Jones at Carnegie Hall. I read it two years later and fell in love with it. I wanted to musicalize it, and I knew that the lead role was Frederica von Stade, and that it really had all the elements. It went through several versions. At first we thought it was going to be a musical theater piece, and at one point Stephen Schwartz was going to write the lyrics. But it kinda fell apart in those versions, because we kept getting away from what inspired us in the first place – its simplicity, its honesty, its truthfulness. So we went back to the fact that it’s only three major characters and it takes place over three decades in their lives, and it has three major events. It’s about the last actions people do, and how you find your identity within a family and outside the family, and also the versions of truth that we choose to live with in our lives. We all make choices of what version we can live with. It’s a wonderful story, with laughs and tragedy and the full range of drama. I think it’s the best thing I’ve ever written, and I know it has some of the best music I’ve ever penned. Last Acts runs through March 15. Visit houstongrandopera.org for more information.
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Art in the Desert
The United Emirates and Abu Dhabi By Deborah M. Colton
The United Arab Emirates consists of seven states including Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Is this Middle Eastern federation becoming a new world class destination for the arts? Although Western interest in the arts in the UAE started in the 1980s with a very fine international museum being built in Sharjah, it seems as though the future center for arts and culture will become Abu Dhabi; at least, there certainly has been much talk about Abu Dhabi lately. This city lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf, and is known as the richest city in the world largely due to the oil industry. Of its 900,000 population, eighty percent are expatriates. This city’s well-to-do have money to burn: recently a license plate bearing simply the number 1 was sold at a world record fourteen million dollars at a charity auction. Additionally, Abu Dhabi is continually leaping into the news as it makes huge corporate investments in US businesses in order to diversify from relying on oil. Unlike Dubai, a neighboring emirate that prides itself by building artificial islands and the world’s tallest skyscrapers, Abu Dhabi is investing its time and money in becoming a major art world destination. The vision for this desert land of wealth and intellect is ambitious, but attainable. Plans for a 670 acre cultural district on Abu Dhabi’s natural Saadiyat Island (Island of Happiness) are already well underway. The world’s largest Guggenheim— the only one in the Middle East—has been conceptualized and designed by celebrated architect Frank Gehry. Gehry sees the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi as an opportunity to push the architecture of museums a step further than he did in Bilbao, Spain. Other plans include the more classical Louvre-related building in Abu Dhabi, which will be designed by award-winning French architect Jean Nouvel. There are also plans for a performing arts center by Zaha Hadid, a maritime museum by Tadao Ando and a national museum and nineteen arts pavilions bordering a canal. Plans for one of the first major bio-art centers are underway as well. The Sorbonne University already has a campus in Abu Dhabi and New York University is planning to build a liberal arts college in the coming years; additionally, Yale University is considering an art institute encompassing art, architecture, music and drama directly across from Hadid’s performing arts center. In keeping with these ambitions, Abu Dhabi now has a major international art fair. With a passion for the arts and a longtime interest in the Middle East, two dynamic French women, Laure d’Hauteville and Caroline Clough Lacoste, created the first international art fair in Abu Dhabi: the Art Paris Abu Dhabi Art Fair. In November 2007, the Art Paris Abu Dhabi Art Fair featured 47 galleries from France, Germany, Syria, Lebanon, Tunisia, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Top Right: Suzanne Anker, Symbolic Species, 2000; Above: Michael Somoroff, still from Illumination; all works displayed at the Abu Dhabi fair 26
India, Iran, Belgium and Monaco. I had the honor of being the one USA dealer in the fair, partnered with Galerie Brigitte Schenk of Cologne, Germany, a well-established gallery who has worked with royalty in the Emirates for over eight years. The Art Paris Abu Dhabi Art Fair of 2007 opened with its preview night at the 7-star multi-million dollar hotel, the Emirates Palace, an opulent and lavish Arabian style palace with massive teams of well dressed servants and more Lamborghinis and Bentleys pulling up to the valet that one could ever imagine. The art fair was opened on the VIP preview evening by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. His wife showed her appreciation for art; it is rumored that she arrived the day of the opening and purchased about 80 pieces in roughly half an hour. The Prime Minister of Arts and Culture was also in attendance, as were many other dignitaries from the United Emirate and other nations. It was easy to see the influence of Abu Dhabi’s large expatriate community as art lovers from Europe, Asia, the Americas and Australia swelled the crowds. The Deborah Colton Gallery showed a few of our sciencebased artists including Suzanne Anker and Michael Rees, as well as other favorite artists from our stable, like Lowell Boyers. Michael Somoroff’s Illuminations, which was launched on the grounds of the Rothko Chapel a little over a year ago, was also featured along with small sculptures of the grand installation and the accompanying video that debuted last summer in Chelsea and the Aldrich Museum. The art fair’s clientele was extremely well educated in the sciences, and took immediately to the intellectually stimulating works of Anker and Rees. Somoroff’s Illuminations was the only video work presented at the Fair and received a great response due to fine quality of the
work on the huge plasma screen. The work of Rees was shown by appointment via his interactive software Sculptural User Interface. This work creates a language to form a synthesizer; users can type words onto a keyboard and view the resulting sculptures on the screen that they may also interact with. Sculptural User Interface was the only work of its kind shown in Abu Dhabi. The usual artistic heavyweights were also present at the fair; Brigitte Schenk’s Joan Miró pieces captured much interest, while her Andy Warhol Marilyn works on paper were presold to the Royal Family before the exhibition even opened. Other works at the Fair ranged from contemporary to Modern, and from photography to sculpture to works on canvas. Modern and contemporary art from the Middle East and Arab world were joined by such legendary names at western booths as Picasso, Basquiat, Dalí, Haring, and Vautier. Having a broad range of art shown throughout the fair, with a diverse international audience, the first Abu Dhabi Art Fair was a large success for all involved. If you’re eager to sample the artistic offerings of the UAE, this month, from March 19th through 22nd, a contemporary art fair, Art Dubai (www.artdubai.ae), will take place at the Madinat Jumeirah resort in Dubai. About seventy galleries from the Middle East, Asia, Europe, North and South America, North Africa and Australia will participate. Although this exhibition focuses more on Indian and Iranian buyers, this long standing art fair has received considerable attention. During my time in the UAE, I found the people to be gentle and friendly, the hotels, service and food exquisite, and the environment exotic yet elegant. If you can manage to attend, I’m sure you’ll enjoy your time in this burgeoning center for art and culture.
Above Right: Michael Rees, Sculptural User Interface, 2007. The Sculptural User Interface is an interactive installation where users can type words and make and interact with virtual sculptures based on them. 27
Channel to Transcendence
McCoy Tyner Trio Performs in Houston 28
by Michele Brangwen
Hearing pianist McCoy Tyner perform live is like being out in the middle of a rain shower. You look up and the notes pop one after the other against your face. The sounds begin to fall faster and faster. Big droplets start exploding on your cheek. For a brief moment you lose the sense of who you are and become part of the music, inextricably wedded to all things constant and true. Da Camera of Houston’s renowned jazz series presents a performance by one of the most unique and beloved jazz masters of all time, pianist McCoy Tyner. Tyner performs at the Wortham Center with his trio (Gerald Cannon on bass and Eric Kamau Gravatt on drums), on Saturday March 29. There are many living jazz artists who are masters of their craft but precious few who are keepers of that channel to transcendence like McCoy Tyner. It is no coincidence that he first came to recognition as a member of what is referred to by jazz aficionados as John Coltrane’s classic quartet. From 1960 to 1965 Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass, Elvin Jones on drums, and the legendary Coltrane on saxophone, changed jazz forever with records like “My Favorite Things,” “Live at the Village Vanguard,” and “A Love Supreme.” One could write at length about the significance of these recordings not only for their artistry and resilience but also the
that mystic voice that is so unmistakably his sound on the piano. Musicians can explain to you that the sound is created from the open chords he plays with his left hand that facilitate an exploration of myriad possibilities in the music. No music theory knowledge is required, however, to feel the energy and groove on the distinctiveness of his playing. He has released nearly 80 albums under his own name, earned four Grammys, and was awarded the distinction of Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts. On Jan. 15 at the Blue Note in New York City, Tyner performed with the same rhythm section he brings to Houston in March. The sets included tunes from past recordings like “Search for Peace” and “Blues on the Corner,” as well those from his latest CD: “McCoy Tyner Quartet,” a joint production of McCoy Tyner Music and Half Note Records. Both the CD and Tyner’s Blue Note engagement featured Joe Lovano on saxophone. Lovano’s playing delightfully exemplifies the closeness of the saxophone to the human voice as he spontaneously yells through whispers of sound and laughs out high pitched notes. He bursts back into tunes with a full-bodied tone that sustains itself on the air, reminiscent of the electric feeling Coltrane created when he came back in. The energy is that of someone
There are many living jazz artists who are masters of their craft but precious few who are keepers of that channel to transcendence like McCoy Tyner. phenomenon of how important this music became in the lives of so many people. Writers like Ashley Kahn have already done so superbly. Tyner, John Coltrane’s younger sibling in music from his native Philadelphia, has a sound and feeling to his playing like no one else before or since. Coltrane’s music from that period is often written and talked about as approaching the sacred, conjuring all the unbounded elation of being alive, the sweet finite sadness of our existence, and the primal desire to search. Tyner’s piano solo on “My Favorite Things” for example embodied all this as though he and Coltrane were two halves of the same whole. Tyner joyously explores the melody but repeatedly returns to a mantra-like chant that achieves a Zen-like feeling and yet still forcefully propels the music forward. In 1965 Tyner left Coltrane’s classic quartet to lead his own ensemble and record projects for many different labels, including Milestone, Blue Note and Impulse. In 2007 he launched his own label: McCoy Tyner Music. His playing evolved into driving waves of jubilation but he still retained
with something to say that can’t wait to say it. The quartet also performed tunes from a CD to be released this summer, including the soulful yet explosive “Angelina.” One of Tyner’s piano solos during the sets at the Blue Note progressed from the feeling of being eloquent and reined in to nothing short of a sonic roar, a wail of sound born out of the momentum of the music. It is as if the music has never stopped moving forward and the listener is carried with it. This is in no way a recreation of the music of the classic quartet from the 1960’s, but one still senses the influence of Coltrane. Specifically, Coltrane’s quest for a distillation of all there is into one line, pure and beautiful. This is certainly evident in Tyner’s music. When queried about the origin of Tyner’s sound, trumpeter and Blue Note recording artist Tim Hagans replies: “Out of the post bebop school that gave us pianists such as Wynton Kelly and Tommy Flanagan, came two giants: Herbie Hancock and McCoy Tyner. These are two innovators who followed completely different paths based on their leaders’ needs. While 29
Hancock filled the need for complex harmonies to support the abstract and impressionistic trumpet playing of Miles Davis, McCoy Tyner provided the power and the harmonic openness that supported Coltrane’s need for wide open harmonic spaces. The McCoy sound is immediately identifiable and always desirable in every situation.” The most remarkable quality about the latest CD, “McCoy Tyner Quartet,” is the ecstatic drive and boundless energy of the music. The CD includes Christian McBride on bass and Jeff “Tain” Watts on drums. Jeff Levenson writes in his liner notes: “This is a vital band, its members driving, swinging, breathing as one.” We live in a time where the artistic entity with the biggest marketing budget can sometimes garner the lion’s share of attention. Originality and integrity of technique and intention can fall by the wayside sadly too often. Years ago some of the best records, like the best books, were out
Right and page 28: McCoy Tyner; photos by Gene Martin
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in front of shops for people to notice as they walk in. Now in-store displays are bought by big companies whose choices for quality are less informed than in times past. It is no wonder that musicians like Tyner and Ravi Coltrane (John Coltrane’s son who performed in Houston in February) choose to start their own labels. These are artists who have recorded for major labels and could continue to do so. Musicians like Tyner, however, have become who they are by staying true to themselves and their vision for their work. The McCoy Tyner Trio at the Wortham is going to be a special evening and not just because of the impressive legacy of the artists performing. Jazz isn’t a museum; it’s a living and breathing art form. Go let this trio rain a little freshness on you.
DaCamera presents McCoy Tyner Trio on Saturday, March 29 at 8 pm in the Cullen Theater at the Wortham Center. More information can be found at dacamera.com or call 713.524.5050.
performance review
Dominic Walsh Dance Theater Celebrating Moving Bodies, Moving Minds Dominic Walsh first launched his company five years ago at the Hobby Center amidst considerable hoopla. Fast forward to today—the hoopla continues, and, for the most part, rightly so. Walsh has secured the title of Houston’s best little dance company that could, a stable of Houston’s best freelance dancers, some international touring, his second Choo-San Goh award, and a loyal following. He continues to take risks in his work—last fall’s highly theatrical Sleeping Beauty proved a perfect example. He’s getter better at selecting choreographers too; big names like Jirí Kylián and Mauro Bigonzetti now share the program with Walsh’s work. The first half could have been titled “High Anxiety” with the cluster of three tension-filled pieces in a row. The mood felt decidedly dark. Opening with Walsh’s Orfeo ed Euridice pas de deux set Walsh and guest artist Hana Sakai adrift in a cleverly projected Labyrinth. An overhead camera gave us the top down view and contained the couple in a futile escape adventure. Sakai and Walsh—well matched in size and temperament—transposed the twisted corners of their prison into intricate and tender partnering. Sakai’s death was especially powerful. Jiro Shima’s striking visuals, along with Yuji Sawada’s glimmers of white light, amped up the feeling of being trapped underground. A reprise of Bigonzetti’s Pression dwelled in tangled human
knots and grotesque images of mismatching body parts. A terrifically weird section had Walsh’s torso attached to Domenico Luciano’s legs. Amy Cain and Dawn Dippel as steely ice princesses coupled nicely with Walsh and Luciano. Walsh got to show off his still sharp technical chops in Jiri Kylian’s Double You, a solo with two swinging pendulums, last seen in Houston a few years back at Dance Salad. Walsh traced a journey through a tangled web of movement, well-suited to his set of skills. The pendulums added the element of time, and more specifically, of time running out. Final closure occurred when Walsh pulled the curtain down himself, as if to hasten the end. Amadeus for Anita, Walsh’s newest opus for a smaller and a notably tighter ensemble, demonstrated his ongoing interest in the dance/theater zone. It’s a curious direction considering how many contemporary choreographers have already traipsed through Mozartland. In keeping with the grim theme of the evening, a cast of curious looking characters showed up, dressed in hybrid Marie Antoinette garb, complete with swirly white painted eyebrows. Spidery fingers and wild arm gestures lent a sinister air. Think Fellini merged with Cirque du Soleil, with a little bit of commedia dell’arte mixed in as well. Walsh’s ballet played out like a surreal dream, with characters coming and going in various combinations. Federica Vincifori, in
one of the evening’s few perky moments, stood out in her hip-hop influenced solo. Her sensuous lines and sinewy technique made a good match with Walsh’s hard-toclassify vocabulary. The entire effect was high on visual style, an area of recent growth for Walsh. Libbie Masterson’s fabric-covered iceberg-like structures evoked a placeless chilly tone—a good home for these bizarre time travelers. Nicholas Phillips’s moody blue light made the proceedings all the more otherworldly. Luciano’s bunched-up gray-blue tulle skirts and corsets elegantly set the Mozartian mood and established a whiff of period piece without being overly specific. All that said, the piece rambles along without quite enough structure; selections by Mozart do not provide sufficient glue to hold the ballet together. A tedious section in the middle, with dancers in a line with backward bobbing heads that went on too long, contributed to the work’s dead spots. The dance ended on a smashing note though; the tribe donned interconnecting white skirts making them look like half/cloud half/people minotaurs. The cloud people billowed as they gently sailed away into the ether in a sublimely ethereal ending until the screeching sound of clanking machinery broke the spell. – Nancy Wozny
Above: photo by Amitava Sarkar, Photography InSight 31
performance review
Alley Theatre The Lieutenant of Inishmore Coming into town with glowing notices from the West End and Broadway, Martin McDonagh’s “gruesome comedy” about sectarian violence in Ireland over-promises and under-delivers. In some ways, though, the disappointment seems less a matter of reviews than of the Alley’s dark and troubling treatment of McDonagh’s earlier work, The Pillowman, a grueling mystery set in an unnamed police state that might be Hitler’s Germany, Stalin’s Soviet Union or someplace a good deal closer to home. When you strip The Lieutenant of Inishmore of its two most notable components – the profanity in nearly every line and the blood and body parts that end up making the stage of a slippery place indeed – it operates on the level of a mediocre 1960s sitcom. Perhaps that’s the real joke here, or part of it anyway. Yet wit so predictable that it requires an explosion of blood to make us squirm in our seats is not the best wit around. As well-told in the Alley’s slick-in-moreAbove: Photo by T. Charles Erickson 32
ways-than-one production, Lieutenant takes place in an Ireland where the bloodletting never stops, which means the only Ireland most people have known until recent years. What passes for a plot concerns a crazedobsessive enforcer for an IRA splinter group (the picture of splinter groups constantly splintering off from each other serves up one of the evening’s best running gags), seeking fresh mayhem to avenge the death of his childhood pet, a black cat named Wee Thomas. This, predictably, provides many weird juxtapositions, as when Padraic stops torturing one of his victims with a straight razor to take a phone call about his cat, then engages in an absurdly calm discussion with his victim on arcane aspects of feline health care. If we’re supposed to come away thinking all the Irish are bonkers, then artistically we haven’t learned anything new. The Alley cast slogged through the profanity and gore with exquisite professionalism, milking the most laughs from each
line just as their predecessors in that 1960s sitcom would have. The main violence came from Chris Hutchinson as Padraic, playing this central role as cold, committed and mad as a loon, and from Elizabeth Bunch as Mairead, a tomboy who thinks her skill shooting out cows’ eyes at 60 yards with a BB gun qualifies her to become an IRA freedom fighter. In a world this off-kilter, perhaps it does. Other fine work, amid the serio-comic Grand Guignol, was turned in by company veterans Jeffrey Bean, John Tyson and Todd Waite. Local high schooler John Paul Green contributed as a young killer-in-training, who seems more than happy to blow away women and children but draws the line at battering a cat. He brought an injured innocence to the role that reminded us how far from good sense this carnage has traveled in search of those tirelessly ballyhooed Irish “troubles.” – John DeMers
performance review
Texas Repertory Theatre Illyria Attention Gilbert and Sullivan fans: have I got a little musical for you. Texas Rep’s regional premiere of Illyria has all the ingredients of an operetta—a madcap story based on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, melodic music (and book) by Peter Mills, and a drinking song that will have you waltzing to your car in search of closest ice house. It’s particularly refreshing to see Texas Rep tackle something new to Houston. Illyria is just the kind of musical that fits the size and scope of this blossoming company, now in its third season. The troupe excels at picking solid mainstream plays that merge well with their outer loop audience, and Illyria is just such a play, wholesome, easy on the eyes and ears, and well-suited to their swanky strip mall black box. (But really Houston, with only a 20-minute drive from the city on I-45, it’s hardly the boondocks). Plus, get this, there’s plenty of free parking. The adaptation streamlines the Bard’s complex tale of two siblings lost and found on the island of Illyria, a bizarre little haunt housing one gloomy girl, Countess Olivia, a matinée idol Duke Orsino who pines for her love, a cluster of scheming servants, a fool, and, of course, a drunken nobleman (an absolute requirement for the mandatory drinking song). Mills and his co-adapter Cara Reichel leave just enough of the Bard’s poetry intact to remind us exactly who penned the tale. The music is rich with catchy tunes and tender ballads, and hints at a singer/songwriter indie genre. The cast—all terrific—was headed up by Natalie Arneson as Viola, who spent most of the play masquerading as her brother Sebastian. Arneson’s vocal range made a match for the
contemporary tone of Mills’s score. Plus, she looked uncannily like Joshua Estrada, who made a strong Sebastian. Matt Redden as the Duke played an over-the-top lovelorn sap with debonair panache. In addition, he looked smashing in Fernando Zamudio and Sonia Lerner’s clever costumes. Dylan Godwin’s spot-on physical comedy as Sir Andrew made for most of the show’s hilarity. Alison Luff ’s sweet soprano voice worked well for the pouting Olivia. Crystal O’Brien imbued Maria, the trickster maid, with charm and charisma. Kregg Dailey as the full-of-himself Malvolio nailed the meddling nerd act. Tedd Doolittle as Feste, the token fool, narrator, and conductor or the proceedings, exuded a gentle charm. Last but not least, Steve Fenley’s portrayal of the well-meaning drunk Sir Toby Belch kept the bubbly mood (and ale) flowing. Texas Rep artistic director Craig A. Miller’s direction was full of bright details that added to the piece’s sparkle. Jesse Dreikosen’s serviceable set was a bit heavy on the Hobby Lobby effect, while Robert Eubanks’s lighting design kept the look sunny and bright. Steven Jones’s punchy musical direction balanced nicely with the troupe’s excellent singing. Texas Rep found a perky piece to boost the winter doldrums and keep the momentum going for this stalwart troupe that has been diligently trying to make a name for itself since opening its doors in February of 2006. – Nancy Wozny
Cast of Illyria; photo by Craig A. Miller 33
performance review
Stages Repertory Theatre The Unseen The Unseen is not for the faint of heart. It’s a dark, darkly comedic look at a totalitarian regime, torture and the eternal will of the human spirit. Craig Wright’s psychological dramedy was an intense ride to the depths of the soul, that place where what we know, what we think we know and what we believe collide, only to churn out eternal questions of what is truth and what is reality. Wallace and Valdez ( in the Stages production, John Arp and Dwight Clark, each tossing off encyclopedia-size chunks of dialogue with alacrity) are prisoners of an unseen entity, held for the last ten years with no inkling of the charges against them, no answers for their torturers, and holding fast to what they know—or think they know, or want to know—to be true. They speak to each other through the walls, helping to keep each other alive and sane. Rutherford Cravens is Smash, their guard and
brutalizer, who faces his own demons even as he demonizes. When a new prisoner is brought into the cell between them, and begins communicating with the pair in code, it challenges the relationship the pair have with each other and their captors. Arp played Wallace with wry pathos and emotion. His attempts to keep his (and Valdez’s) mind sharp accounted for moments of dry humor and warm compassion. Arp’s delivery was sharp and keen, as if he’d been hauled off from an ivory tower somewhere and transported to the depths of hell. And when his belief in his own ability to form an escape crashed around him, his climb back to his reality was stark and honest. As Valdez, Clark was more passion and feeling, countering Wallace’s endless logic and argument. He was a man just pushing the bounds of his own mind, seeking answers through his own faith, not fact, and
Clark’s performance was a study in the true innocence of faith, even in the face of utter despair. Cravens’ delivery as the sadistic Smash was a study in contrasts, playing a man just going to his job every day, which just happens to be torturing prisoners, even while he struggles against whether his prisoners are people. Adding to the drama in Stages’ small space, The Unseen pulsed with Orwellian overtones, a cold metal set, shattering, buzzing sound effects and strobe lights straight out of a sci-fi flick. Throughout the dialogue, the audience gasped, turned away in horror and occasionally laughed. Brad Dalton’s direction had this reviewer and her companion thinking about this piece long after the curtain call. – Holly Beretto
Above: (L-R) Dwight Clark and John Arp in The Unseen at Stages Repertory Theatre; photo by Bruce Bennett 34
performance review
Houston Symphony Early 2008 Concerts The Houston Symphony started 2008 with several great concerts including Sir Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85 with Brinton Averil Smith as soloist; Richard Strauss’s Eine Alpensinfonie (An Alpine Symphony), Op. 64, illustrated with photographs by Tobias Melle; and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 25 in C major, K.503 with Barry Douglas on the piano. With the Elgar concert, the symphony gave us an extraordinary performance of a complex composition that requires special interpretative sensitivity. Elgar wrote the concerto in 1918, after he recovered from a surgery and under the influence of the catastrophe of World War I. While he composed much of his previous work in an optimistic and light-hearted style, the Cello Concerto marks a significant change in his oeuvre. The concerto’s leading themes reflect feelings of pain, melancholy, angst, and despair. I know this Cello Concerto via an interpretation by Jacqueline du Pré, who has been described as “definitive” and “legendary.” A closer look at du Pré’s biography reveals that this concerto served as a mirror for her own emotional condition and suffering, not only from multiple sclerosis. Brinton Averil Smith certainly learned about du Pré and it would be interesting to know if he considers the benchmark she left as a challenge. Smith has earned many awards. He proved to us a highly skilled, sovereign performance that unleashed wonderful silky sounds from his cello, even when playing contrasting and almost staccato phrases. Maybe he (and also du Pré) erred; those sequences were phrased to express pain. Shouldn’t they sound more harsh and dissonant? The voice of a string instrument can be very much controlled by the tension and material of the bow and it is no problem to achieve truly nerve-killing sounds on a cello. Regardless, together with Hans Graf and the Houston Symphony, it all was very convincing and enjoyable. Strauss’s Alpine Symphony (composed 1911 to 1915) is a “symphonic poem” that can be described as orchestral music in one movement based on a narrative or illustrative element. Originally, Strauss referred to a full-day excursion on a mountain in the Bavarian Alps when he was 14 years old. The instrumentation of the orchestra required a total of 123 players. You may have noticed the two harps, the Celesta, and the Pipe Organ. The symphonic performance was enhanced with a synchronized slide show packed with stunning photographs by German photographer Tobias Melle. A projection screen was installed behind the orchestra; Jones Hall’s lights were dimmed down to zero while all musicians were equipped with music stand lights. It did not take away anything from Strauss’s work;
rather, it amplified it. We were presented an integrated, well saturated, and sound performance; the Houston Symphony played at their best. The Piano Concerto No. 25 is not only regarded as one of Mozart’s most symphonic compositions, but also one of his greatest works. The most impressive reference is Ludwig van Beethoven, who himself resembled parts of Mozart’s concerto in his own compositions. The Houston Symphony presented another world-class pianist: Barry Douglas, who, since Van Cliburn in 1958, was the first non-Russian to win the gold medal in the International Tchaikovsky Competition of 1986. Russians are very critical and ambitious in the arts, especially in music. They don’t deliver compliments easily and if they do, they really mean it. Mozart’s Concerto is a delightful piece. Written in C major and using tempi like Allegro and Andante, we know upfront what to expect. Although from Ireland, Douglas applies ‘Russian style’ to his performance and you can hear this. There is beauty to each single note and overall beauty as a result of a movement. You can simply hit a key, or you can take it like a precious gemstone. That is what makes the music great. It is the spirit behind the keyboard, not necessarily the body. Douglas lives in a tall and impressive body, and still he can take notes like an innocent child. - Dr. Thomas GH Dorsch Above: Photo by Tobias Melle 35
visual art review
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Where Clouds Disperse: Ink Paintings by Suh Se-ok Where Clouds Disperse: Ink Paintings by Suh Se-ok is the MFAH’s latest effort to expand their focus on Asian art. Suh is a prominent Korean artist who is deeply invested in carrying ancient methods into the contemporary realm. An innovator in his own country, Suh rocked the Korean art establishment with his spare, bold paintings. The elements of traditional calligraphy and brushwork take on a considerably more minimalist form here, in a move away from traditional Korean painting. Suh also founded the progressive group Mungnimhoe, or Ink Forest Group, which spearheaded a viable path for artists to incorporate abstraction. Materials reign in Suh’s 29 paintings that span nearly 50 years. The interaction of ink and paper, in its most elemental form, carries the interest in this body of work. There’s a sense of the artist as bridge in this collection of elegant paintings; a respect for tradition and an ability to transcend that very tradition. Loose grids, nets, and crossed lines keep the play of mark and paper in balance, while the feathered edge of the ink creates a volatile surface. Above: Suh Se-ok,Person, 1999 36
Suh’s fiercely constrained vocabulary lends an aura of discipline. This quality is most evident in his painting, People, 1999, ink on Mulberry paper, where the energy of the ink takes on a life of its own. The theme of people, be it the character for “people” or the outline of the human frame, reoccurs throughout his work. But it’s in the evidence of the human mark maker behind these canvases that becomes so visually compelling. Suh’s apparent simplicity is deceiving. By reducing the elements to just ink and paper, composition is elevated. Negative space ranks high as well, as best seen in the title painting, Where Clouds Disperse, where the focus is pulled to the very edges of the canvas evoking a clearing action. The result is profoundly meditative and expansive. There exists a powerful tension in his work between its strict adherence to the tools of his tradition and the push forward to new articulations. -Nancy Wozny Through April 20, 1001 Bissonnet Street, 713.639.7300, mfah.org
visual art review
Sicardi Gallery Thomas Glassford: Between Earth and Sky On the 19th of January, the Sicardi Gallery opened Between Earth and Sky, a solo exhibition of works by Mexico City based artist, Thomas Glassford. Although his work was featured in Constructing A Poetic Universe: The Diane and Bruce Halle Collection of Latin American Art at the MFAH in 2007, this marks Glassford’s first solo gallery show in Houston since the early 1990’s. The exhibition is comprehensive and broadly defines the artist’s latest body of work, tracing its development over the past decade or so. The work is powerful, alluring and superbly disturbing. In his work, Glassford investigates the effects of pattern, repetition and serial-like creation. He is greatly concerned with the physicality of mundane materials and their relationship to the spaces they inhabit. At its core, Glassford’s work recalls Duchamp’s Readymades in that he seeks to alter the context of found, everyday materials to communicate profound ideas about the human condition and the meaning of art. However, contrary to Duchamp, Glassford’s intention seems to be anything but anesthetic. His assemblages visually incite the viewer to derive pleasure both from the pristine and the grotesque alike. Upon entering the gallery, the spectator is greeted by the slick, hard-edged perfection of Partitura: Brown 1, an exquisitely crafted wall-mounted work created in anodized aluminum. As much of Glassford’s work, these smooth and geometric minimalist objects derive from the idea of creating art out of mundane urban materials, such as the anodized aluminum sidings typically used for exterior gates and doors. In the case of his Partitura works, they are no longer the commonplace ‘found’ objects, but rather, aesthetically beautiful compositions created out of specially ordered color strips of these aluminum sidings. The objects are so flawlessly assembled and rhythmic to the eye that their presence imposes an inevitable sense of command. This heightened experience is immediately contradicted by the lavish presence of Dark Eyes, a large-scale assemblage that seems to spring out and pour from the center of the gallery. Made entirely of found materials and reconstructed utensils such as plastic plates,
cups, glass spheres, decorative gourds with embellished pipes, tassels, a used canteen that still resembles the animal its skin once inhabited, painted lamp shades, sponges and bones among other things, this work is at once arousing and repulsive. The meticulous arrangement of the various blue, brown, tan and white elements imbues with such an eloquence that it distracts the viewer from the other majestic works in the show, luring him/her closer to investigate its intrinsic materiality. The installation borders between the appalling and the whimsically pleasing, inviting the spectator to participate on a conflicted discourse of beauty. Born in Laredo, Texas, Glassford received his BFA from the University of Texas at Austin and relocated to Mexico City in the early 1990’s, where he has been working ever since. His work is included in major public and private collections, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, La Colección Jumex, México and the CIFO Foundation, Miami. -Catalina Montaño Through March 15th, 2246 Richmond Avenue, 713.529.1313, sicardi.com
Image: Installation shot,Thomas Glassford, Between Earth and Sky, 2008. Courtesy of Sicardi Gallery 37
visual art review
DeSantos Gallery Traci Matlock & Ashley MacLean: Passports: Polaroid Work For those who are old enough, the Polaroid picture holds a special place in the memory banks, its instant payoff elicited after only a few moments of shaken exposure to the air. The Polaroid’s aesthetic is a unique one too, in that the presence of the moment can so easily be captured with the ultra user-friendly camera. Perhaps this ease of use has prevented its acceptance by much of the fine art realm, but Traci Matlock and Ashley MacLean’s collaborative work makes very good use of the Polaroid’s grit and blur. In their show Passports: Polaroid Work, at De Santos Gallery through February 16th, the artists incorporate their lives into the rough edges of the medium, creating a seamless narrative, full of eroticism, visceral description and intrigue. The small scale of the Polaroid demands an intimacy that the artists have used to their advantage. About half of the works are framed, and those mostly in series. Other single images are plainly mounted on the walls in small innocuous brackets. This allows for the images to register with a physical presence often lacking in photography exhibits. Some of the images are further manipulated, the emulsion separated from the backing paper. Overall, there is a roughshod quality to the handling of the pictures that works to suppress any pretentiousness and does not come off as heavy-handed due to the prosaic nature of the medium. The content of the show is mostly amassed from various body shots of the artists and their intimates. Sometimes clothed, sometimes disrobed, the characters emit a sense of comfort, call it trust, with the camera. While occasionally winding up with compositions that are a bit, well, composed, most of the images possess a true feeling of spontaneity. There is a dreamy quality to the photographs that match the ephemeral aspect of the Polaroid, almost as though the chemical fade-in that one witnesses in the process of the picture’s development has become another character in the narrative. Water is an underlying unifying element in the works. The male gaze is diluted, as it were, in this series. There is a consciousness of liquid beauty that permeates the subjects again and again. In Chocolate Girls, the artists depict the female form covered in melted chocolate resembling blood but manage not to overwhelm the viewer with a feminist insistence. The work is feminist, but in the best possible manner. And while contemplating the messier side of corporal existence, the work resists sliding into a self-indulgent nebula as in Nan Goldin’s oeuvre (Stories Retold at the MFAH through March 30th). In that artist’s work the viewer is presented with a tragically indulgent life that radiates little if any wonderment of existence. If that is the point, why bother? Matlock and MacLean swim in similar waters in that their subject matter is of a naked intimacy of self and body, but their work does not come off as indulgent or egoistic. They manage to wrangle in the messy shades of life to present images of a subdued and laconic nature. A cathartic process flourishes in Passports. -Garland Fielder 1724 Richmond Ave, 713) 520-1200, desantosgallery.com Above: Traci Matlock and Ashley MacLean, Chocolate Girls (set of 3), 2007 38
visual art review
koelsch gallery Sally S. Bennett and Sasha Milby Bennett and Milby are excellently paired artists; the psychologically motivated and slightly obsessive elements of each play off each other to a very satisfying effect. Bennett’s work, shown in the larger of koeslch’s gallery spaces, confronts the viewer with its mostly enormous expanses, which the artist clutters with shapes, scratches, heavy black lines and overlays. Through paint and mixed media, she forms anthropomorphic figures that are childlike, yet ominous in their fantastic construction. What might have been negative space within and around the figures is meticulously filled in with various designs, causing the
figures and the backgrounds to merge and morph. The effect might be overwhelming but for the muted color palette Bennett has chosen—goldenrod, burnt orange, black and the brown of aged newspaper. In some cases, a gold leaf effect adds a hint of preciousness, while black tracings of household objects ground the works in the familiar. Indeed, the intricate patterns with which Bennett fills the canvas cannot help but echo quilts, roof shingles, checkerboards and other hallmarks of simplicity and comfort, adding a distinctly friendly tone to her work. Bennett’s highly idiosyncratic forms and use of patterns are mesmerizing, all the
more so as the viewer discovers the myriad found materials lurking in every corner of her work. This artist knows just how far to follow her need to obsessively populate her canvases, inviting extended contemplation of their busy surfaces. Three-dimensional wooden houselike sculptures created by Bennett echo the palette and themes of the paintings, bringing Bennett’s world tangibly into ours. In the smaller gallery, Milby’s work also speaks to a dreamlike personal vision. Basquiat-like skeletal characters, wolfheaded figures and other forms dance around the surface of many of her works, floating in and out of perspective as they hint at, but never quite reveal, what seems to be an intense personal narrative. Also limiting her palette within each work, Milby keeps the emphasis on the twisted forms of her cavorting figures. Her most successful works are the more elusive ones such as ceci trop passera; her more straightforward pieces, such as your head in mine—a semiCubist depiction of exactly what you might expect given the title—are a bit too facile, leaving the viewer without much to ponder. In the more complex (and most successful) works, the artist seems to succumb fully to her motivation of “demystifying old wounds, fears and traumas,” as her artist’s statement reads, pulling us into the cathartic process along with her as we struggle, like the artist, to find our place in it. This immersion, while a bit frightening, is the mark of Milby’s success. -Tria Wood Through March 1st, 703 Yale Street, 713.626.0175, koelschgallery.com
Above: Sally Bennett, Flower Girl, acrylic on canvas, 60” x 48” 39
March Arts
March 1 Buffalo Bayou Art Park 713.502.9454 bbap-houston. org Barry Stone: Decking the Path to Blessedness, thru 5/2, Sabine Street Art Park. Houston Symphony 713.224.7575 houstonsymphony.org Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, thru 3/2, Jones Hall. Society for the Performing Arts 731.227.4SPA spahouston.org Joyce Yang, Pianist, 8pm, Wortham Center’s Cullen Theater. Theatre Under The Stars 713.558.2600 tuts.com Hello, Dolly!, thru 3/9, Hobby Center - Sarofim Hall. March 2 CANTARE Houston 281.639.3017 cantarehouston. org The Ecstacies Above, 4:45pm, First Presbyterian Church; and 3/4, 7:15pm, St. John the Divine. Uptown Dance Company 713.686.0334 uptowndancecentre.com Dance Infusion, 3pm, Zilkha Hall, Hobby Center. MFAH 713.639.7300 mfah.org Pompeii: Tales from an Eruption, thru 6/22. March 3 Brazos Bookstore 713.523.0701 brazosbookstore. com Sarah Miles Bolam: The Presidents On Film, 7pm. March 5 Da Camera 713.284.8250 camh.org Strike 3 Percussion, noon, Grand Foyer, Wortham Center. March 6 Houston Ballet 713.227.ARTS houstonballet.org Cinderella, thru 2/24, Wortham Center, Brown Theater. Suchu Dance 713.529.1819 suchudance.org 8:10 Assembly, thru 3/16. koelsch gallery 713.862.5722 koelschgallery.com Mary Hunter and Marietta Patricia Leis, thru 4/5 Houston Symphony 713.224.7575 houstonsymphony. org Lang Lang, 8pm, Jones Hall. Gremillion & Co. 713.522.2701 gremillion.com Jerrold Burchman, thru 4/7. March 7 FotoFest 713.223.5522 fotofest.org FotoFest 2008: Conceptual and Staged Work: 1993-2008, 8pm Deborah Colton Gallery 713.864.2364 deborahcoltongallery.com China Under Construction II: China’s Contemporary Art of the Everyday Comes of Age; Suzanne Anker, Michael Somoroff, and Joe C. Aker, thru 4/19. Houston Poetry Fest First Fridays 713.521.3519 houstonpoetryfest.net Julie Ann Pujol-Karel, 8:30pm, Inprint House. DiverseWorks 713.223.8346 diverseworks.org Kurt Stallman & Alfred Guzzetti: Breaking Earth, Zoe Crosher: One Year Later, thru March. Wade Wilson Art 713.521.2977 wadewilsonart.com Nina Zurier and Jennah Ward, thru 4/5. Talento Bilingue de Houston 713.222.1213 tbhcenter. com Change. For Better or Worse? Photography by Michael Monreal, thru 4/19. Et Voilà Théâtre International Group Show, thru 3/19. Alley Theatre 713.228.8421 alleytheatre.org Othello, thru 3/30. Moody Gallery 713.526.9911 moodygallery.com Jay DeFeo: Where the Swan Flies, thru 4/26. Menil Collection Museum 713.525.9400 menil.org Form, Color, Illumination: Suzan Frecon Painting, thru 5/11. Lawndale Art Center 713.528.5858 lawndaleartcenter.org Transfigurations - Hana Hillerova, Houston Cultura - Chuy Benitez, Reverent Estimations - Adam Schreiber, Broken Dreams - William Stewart, thru 3/30.
Calendar
O’Kane Gallery 713.221.8043 uhd.edu Othello, thru 3/30. Alley Theatre 713.228.8421 alleytheatre.org Voices of the Tempest by Adriana Groisman, thru March. Blaffer Gallery 713.743.9521 hfac.uh.edu/blaffer Young Artist Apprenticeship Program Exhibition, thru 3/29. Museum of Natural Science 713.639.4629 hmns.org Leonardo da Vinci: Man, Inventor, Genius, thru 9/1. De Frog Gallery 713.869.2345 CHINA: Travel Notes, thru 4/20. Anya Tish Gallery 713.524.2299 anyatishgallery.com Lalla Essaydi: Les Femmes du Maroc, thru 4/5. March 8 Society for the Performing Arts 731.227.4SPA spahouston.org Dan Zanes and Friends, 11am and 2pm, Wortham Center’s Cullen Theater. G Gallery ggalleryhouston.com Pok Chi Lau: The Legacy of Contemporary China, thru 3/24. Gallery 1724 713-523-2547 gallery1724.com Christopher Talbot, thru April 12 Aurora Picture Show 713.868.2101 aurorapictureshow.org Everything´s Cool, 8pm. Redbud Gallery 713.862.2532 redbudgallery.com Geoff Winningham, thru 3/30. Bering & James 713.529.0351 beringjamesgallery.com XING Danwen; Zheng Han, thru 4/5. Elder Street Gallery 281.250.4889 elderstreetartist. com Those Days, thru 4/5. Laura Rathe Fine Art 713.824.3575 laurarathe.com Tibet, Holy People, Holy Land and Holy Architecture, thru 4/20. Houston Symphony 713.224.7575 houstonsymphony.org The Beethoven Experience, performances starting at 10am, Jones Hall. Houston Center for Photography 713.529.4755 hcponline.org Mined in China, Habitat 7, Native Land, thru 4/5. Naü-haus and Texas Collaborative Arts 832.618.1845 texascollaborative.com Three Exhibitions, Five Artists, thru 4/3. Gallery Sonja Roesch 713.659.5424 www.gallerysonjaroesch.com Machine Learning, thru 5/3. ArtCar Museum 713.861.5526 artcarmuseum.com Only Yesterday, thru 4/27. March 9 Da Camera 713.524.5050 dacamera.com So Percussion, 3pm, Jewish Community Center March 10 Da Camera 713.524.5050 dacamera.com So Percussion, 8pm, Diverseworks. Houston Symphony 713.224.7575 houstonsymphony. org Bobby McFerrin, 8pm, Jones Hall. March 11 Houston Friends of Music 713.348.5400 houstonfriendsofmusic.org Florestan Trio, 8pm, Stude Concert Hall, Rice University. Broadway in Houston 713.622.SHOW BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com The Rat Pack - Live at the Sands, thru 3/23. March 13 Brazos Bookstore 713.523.0701 brazosbookstore. com Edward Hirsch: How to Read a Poem, 7pm. Museum of Printing History 713.522.4652 printingmuseum.org Altered Portraits of the Childhood Cancer Experience, thru 5/31. Gremillion & Co. 713.522.2701 gremillion.com Scott Harrison, thru 3/27. Blaffer Gallery 713.743.9521hfac.uh.edu/blaffer
35th Anniversary Celebration, 7pm. Bering & James 713.529.0351 beringjamesgallery. com Transformed Permanence, thru 4/30, Magnolia Brewery Building’s Petal Gallery. March 14 Da Camera 713.524.5050 dacamera.com Exiles in Paris Mini-Festival, 8pm, Cullen Theater, Wortham Center. Brazos Bookstore 713.523.0701 brazosbookstore. com Gulf Coast Reading Series, 7pm. Contemporary Arts Museum Houston 713.284.8250 camh.org Perspectives 160: Dawoud Bey, thru 5/11. DiverseWorks 713.223.8346 diverseworks.org The Suicide Kings In Spite of Everything Charles: Charles “Teenie” Harris Houston Symphony 713.224.7575 houstonsymphony. org Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, thru 3/16, Jones Hall. March 15 Ensemble Theatre 713.807.4309 ensemblehouston. com Sty of the Blind Pig, thru 4/13. March 20 Inprint Brown Reading Series 713.521.2026 inprinthouston.org Dave Eggers and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, 7:30pm, Cullen Theater, Wortham Center. March 20 Houston International Dance Coalition dancesalad. org Dance Salad Festival, thru 3/22, Cullen Theater, Wortham Center. March 22 Miller Outdoor Theatre 713.227.ARTS houstonballet. org Jigu! Thunder Drums of China, 7:30pm. March 25 Society for the Performing Arts 731.227.4SPA spahouston.org Academy of St Martin in the Fields, 8pm, Jones Hall. Theatre Under The Stars 713.558.2600 tuts.com The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, thru 4/6, Hobby Center - Sarofim Hall. March 26 Texas Repertory Theatre 281.583.7573 texreptheatre.org W;t, thru 4/13. March 27 Talento Bilingue de Houston 713.222.1213 tbhcenter. com Si Se Puede by Sandra Organ Dance Company, thru 3/28. March 28 Society for the Performing Arts 731.227.4SPA spahouston.org Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company: Chapel/Chapter, 8pm, Jones Hall. Rothko Chapel 713.524.9839 rothkochapel.org Music for Peace: Adam Tendler, Sophia Silvios and Jacob Sustaita, 7:30pm. Mercury Baroque 713.533.0080 mercurybaroque.org Caldara’s Missa Commemorationis, 8pm, Wortham Center’s Cullen Theater. March 29 Da Camera 713.524.5050 dacamera.com McCoy Tyner Trio, 8pm, Cullen Theater, Wortham Center. Aurora Picture Show 713.868.2101 aurorapictureshow.org Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation, 6pm. New Gallery/Thom Andriola 713.520.7053 newgallery.net Ron Davis, thru 4/26. Hooks-Epstein Galleries 713.522.0718 hooksepsteingalleries.com GLASS SHOW, thru 4/26. March 31 Inprint Brown Reading Series 713.521.2026 inprinthouston.org Alice McDermott and Laura Restrapo, 7:30pm, Hobby Center.
40 Do you have April event that you would like to see listed here? Send all pertinent info to tria@artshouston.com by Apr. 10th
Featured Listings Lisa M. Robinson - Snowbound Kinzelman Art Consulting 3909 Main Street, Houston 77002 713 533 9923 February 29–May 30 Mon-Fri 9am-5pm
Daniel Traub and Peikwen Cheng China in Transition Travis Tower 1301 Travis Street, Houston 77002 713 533 9923 January 14–April 25 Mon-Fri 8am-6pm
Paid Advertising
ZHUANG Xueben The Border Regions, China 1934-1939 The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center 1601 Lake Robbins Drive, The Woodlands 77380 281 367 9797 March 7–April 20 / Open 24 hours WU Jialin The People of Yunnan Province, China 1985-1996 24 Waterway - 24 Waterway Avenue, The Woodlands 77380 281 719 6300 March 7–April 20 Mon-Fri 7am-8pm, Sat. 7am-12pm
www.kinzelmanart.com Peel Gallery Shop is the evolution of the traditional gallery space, mixing art and retail with aplomb, going beyond the usual home décor store by focusing on individual artistry rather than mass-marketed consumption. 4411 Montrose. peelgallery.org
Jane South | John Sparagana Through April 5 CTRL Gallery 3907 Main Street, 713-523-CTRL ctrlgallery.com
Chantal Akerman
thru March 29 Blaffer Gallery The University of Houston; 713.743.2225 class.uh.edu/blaffer
Moving Through Time and Space includes five major works and features a new project filmed in Siberia commissioned especially for the exhibition. Akerman is widely regarded as one of the most important woman directors in film history, but her work in the crossover genre of film and visual art has never been fully explored. Beginning with D’Est in 1993, Akerman developed an artistic practice melding documentary filmmaking techniques with video installation. Imbued with social and political undertones, her multi-channel works contain the artist’s characteristically slow moving action, mesmerizing attention to detail, and visual grace.
John Palmer is represented by fine art galleries in cities such as New York, London, Seattle and New Orleans. Palmer’s art can also be seen in Tony’s Restaurant and the Ritz Carlton in Dallas. Palmer’s studio is currently located at Winter Street Studios. His new residence and studio on Heights Blvd will be completed in April 2008. JohnPalmerArt.com 41
restaurant review
Reeling in the Reef
by John DeMers
Caswell’s Seafood Fantasy Comes True in Midtown
Like the tropical sandy beaches that most often lie just inside its namesake, Reef has a color scheme of white, white and more white. On a good day during an extended late lunch, however, the sunlight coming in through the windows from Midtown turns the dining room a bright, sea-foamy blue-green. Just here and there, of course. Not enough that most people would notice. Yet in a world of cute, faked-up “aquarium” restaurants, in which you eat fish while luckier denizens of the deep swim by behind the glass, Chef Bryan Caswell has delivered us about as close as we can get to the real thing. The Louisiana-born Caswell grew up around both fishing and seafood, not to mention his Cajun culture’s skills at preparing fish, shrimp, crabs, oysters and crawfish. Yet a lifetime of working with mentors on an international scale has allowed him to keep what he took from home that’s of value but leave behind the reliance on batter-frying anything that stands still and the addiction to creamyspicy sauces that cover up less-than-perfect product. The fact that Caswell became a darling in Houston through his labors at Bank in the Hotel Icon serves notice that this hyper-talented chef may love the food of Lafayette and even New Orleans but in no way agrees to be confined by it. At some level, Reef does what several other New World seafood restaurants are doing these days, and we don’t mean simply lifting the seafood genre from boiled crawfish dumped out on newspaper in the process of raising the price. We mean, for starters, giving it all the amenities of fine dining that, say, a modern upscale steakhouse might have, from chic visual lines to the well-schooled service staff to the excellent wine list. And we mean flinging open the gates to fresh seafood from far beyond our wonderful Gulf of Mexico. We live, as you’ve probably noticed, in a world in which fish can be swimming 2,000 miles away yesterday and appearing on our plates for dinner tonight. A network of dockside buyers and brokers has grown up around the now-global fishing industry, with the oh-sofamiliar trucks of FedEx an important part of the mix. The process isn’t cheap – and we know who’ll end up paying for it – but in the hands of a chef like Bryan Caswell, the results can be dazzling. The menu at Reef is divided into three main categories: Rare (going for the sushi vote, with other raw or almost raw things like ceviche and carpaccio along the way), Appetizers (a catch-all for everything from salads to soups to the mandatory crabcake), and Entrees (you can figure that one out). And the interest starts to gather around the very first course. While oysters on the half shell seem normal enough on the Gulf Coast (Caswell tops his very lightly, though, with spicy tomato water), two of the most dramatic 42
announcements of all that’s to come are the ceviche with mango, avocado, radish and smoked paprika and the snapper carpaccio with grapefruit agra dolce and garlic bruschetta. The latter dish in particular is layered with surprises, mostly in the “sweet-sour” grapefruit relish that accompanies the paper-thin slices of snapper. We’re definitely not in Kemah anymore, or Holly Beach or Grand Isle either. Considering the effort Caswell has invested in breaking away from his roots, it’s almost a shame his seafood gumbo is way too good to pass up. Since many restaurant seafood gumbos on both sides of the Sabine River are more about sludge-like roux than seafood, Caswell’s comes almost as a shock. Fresh, plump pieces of the expensive stuff (instead of flour cooked in fat) stud a rich seafood broth that could start a bouillabaisse, zuppa di pesce or lobster bisque with equal grace, turned dark brown by a roux that’s absolutely perfect in both flavor and thickness. Still, we suspect Caswell would be upset if you didn’t push beyond his gumbo and try starters like mussels streamed in Shiner Bock with toasted ancho or sweet potato and bacon ravioli with olorosso sherry and green apple. Considering Reef ’s tight focus on seafood, and the fact that only three of the dozen a la carte entrees are built around meat, the list is amazingly diverse – and that’s not even counting specials, seasonal changes and the like. Several European cultures enjoy their day in the sun here – or, even better, their day in the sea – with a passionate nod also to the glorious seafood cookeries of Asia. Fairly quickly, we decide to make Reef our home for finfish, no matter what wonders the chef works with anything from a shell. Each fish entrée seems to contradict itself, in an extremely pleasing way. It is, deep down, all about a fresh, probably expensive piece of fish cooked simply and with respect – yet it’s also, at times equally, about the unexpected things that turn up on it, under it or beside it on the plate. We’ve loved the redfish on the half shell (cooked on the skin) with the ridiculously good fried mac and cheese, the roasted grouper with pecan-shallot cracklins, braised collards and pot licker jus (extraordinary uptown soul food, if there ever was some!), and the crispy skin snapper with sweet and sour chard and tomato brown butter. A lot of serious questions, of course, remain about the world’s seafood supply – about the relationship of wild-caught to farmraised, about the methods used for either, about the dangers of dirty water and even dirtier business. Anyone who’s chatted with Bryan Caswell more than two minutes knows he takes these questions seriously. But in his gifted hands, as course follows course from the world’s clear waters, we understand why we should never let food this grand be the one that got away.
THE
HOTTEST NEW
RESTAURANT IN TOWN ( LITERALLY! )
706 MAIN ST @ CAPITOL, DOWNTOWN. HOUSTON, TX 77002 | 713.224.6700
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“Purely Indian, Purely Good” -Allison Cook, Houston Chronicle
Yatra Brasserie 706 Main, 713.224.6700 yatrausa.com
Flemings Steakhouse 2405 W. Alabama 713.520.5959
Max’s Wine Dive 4720 Washington 713.880.8737 maxswinedive.com “our favorite joke-becomes-dinner of all time, the Texas Haute Dog. This one makes the weiner from grass-fed gourmet beef, wraps it in an artisan bun, covers it in what may be the best “Texas red” chili anywhere (venison or otherwise) and sprinkles it with cotija cheese, crispy fried onions and pickled jalapenos. As young IMers love to put it... OMG!” -John DeMers, ArtsHouston
Ouisie’s Table 3939 San Felipe 713.528.2264 ouisiestable.com
Salud! Winery 3939 Montrose 713.522.8282 saludwinery.com Salud! Winery caters to all your wine needs. Try before you buy! Sit and enjoy some cheeses or fine chocolates on the patio with your selection, or bring it home. We’re big on education, so talk with our trained staff and taste any of the wines before taking a bottle home.
Tart Cafe 4411 Montrose 713.526.8278 tartcafe.com 44
Want to make your own? You’ll be guided through the steps of making wine. 45 days later when the batch is ready, you return to bottle the wine and put on labels designed specifically for you.
Allison Ardoin
Dr. William W. Harmon, Dr. Roger Wood and Michael Brims
Mark and Katherine Yzaguirre
Curry Glassell and Weihong
Amanda Johnson and Cherill Lewis
David Graeve Jon Box and Kirk Suddreath
Craig Miller Ebony Porter and Tom Kilty
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Chuy Benitez and Mary Dickson
Photos from: Imperitive Design at Barbara Davis Gallery, Dominic Walsh Dance Theatre’s Celebrating Moving Bodies, Moving Minds, Glassell Studio 314, Houston film premiere of Texas Zydeco at Houston Community College, Houston Center for Photography’s 2008 Annual Auction, Ilyria at Texas Reperatory Theatre, Peel Gallery, University of Houston School 45 of Theatre and Dance production of Brecht’s The Good Woman of Setzuan
Restaurant Listings Armando’s 2630 Westheimer Rd (713) 520-1738 riveroaksgrill.com
The Daily Grind 4115 Washington Ave (713) 861-4558 dailygrindunwind.com
Onion Creek 3106 White Oak Dr (713) 880-0706 onioncreekcafe.com
Arturos Uptown 1180 Uptown Park Blvd # 1 (713) 621-1180 arturosuptown.com
Dry Creek 544 Yale St (713) 426-2313 drycreekcafe.com
Picnic 1928 Bissonnet St (713) 524-0201 picnicboxlunches.com
Azuma 5600 Kirby Dr (713) 432-9649 azumajapanese.com
El Meson 2425 University Blvd (713) 522-9306 elmeson.com
The Raven Grill 1916 Bissonnet St (713) 521-2027 theravengrill.com
Berryhill Baja Grill 702 E. 11st 713-225-2252 berryhilltamales.com
Empire Cafe 1732 Westheimer 713.528.5282 empirecafe.net
Shade 250 W 19th St (713) 863-7500 shadeheights.com
Café Botticelli 318 W Gray St 713.533.1140
Farrago 318 Gray St (713) 523-6404 farrago.tv
Star Pizza 77 Harvard (713)-869-1241 starpizza.net
Gen. Joe’s Chopstix 3939 Montrose Blvd 713.521.9393
Tacos a Go-Go 3704 Main Street 713.8078226 tacosagogo.com
Catalan 5555 Washington Ave, (713) 426-4260 catalanfoodandwine.com Catalina Coffee 2201 Washington Ave (713) 861-8448 The Chocolate Bar 1835 W Alabama St (713) 520-8599 Cova 5555 Washington Ave. 713.868.3366 covawines.com Crapittos 2400 Midlane St (713) 961-1161 crapittos.com Crescent City Beignets 3260 Westheimer Rd (713) 520-8291 Crickets Creamery 315 W 19th St (713) 869-9450 46
Hungry’s Bistro 2356 Rice Blvd (713) 523-8652 hungryscafe.com Inversion Coffee House 1953 Montrose Blvd (713) 523-4866 inversioncoffee.com Julia’s Bistro 3722 Main St (713) 807-0090 juliasbistro.com Kenny and Ziggy’s 2327 Post Oak Blvd (713) 871-8883 kennyandziggys.com Mi Luna 2441 University Blvd (713) 520-5025 mi-luna.com
T’Afia 3701 Travis St (713) 524-6922 tafia.com Tart Cafe 4411 Montrose Blvd (713) 526-8278 tartcafe.com The Tasting Room Lounge 114 Gray 713-528-6402 tastingroomwines.com The Wine Bucket 2311 W Alabama St # A (713) 942-9463 thewinebucket.com
Greenall’s Gin
It’s back! This popular brand was not available to us the last few years but we now have it in stock. It’s the #2 selling gin in the United Kingdom, a place well-known for it’s discerning gin drinkers, and it won a Gold Medal for Best Tasting Gin & Best Value at the 2007 Beverage Testing Institute. All the ingredients are carefully selected from around the world, only 100% grain alcohol is used in production and the distillation processes are unsurpassable. Its unique character is evident from the first whiff to the last sip. 80° 1.75L $27.99 w/key*
"Find Serenity at Spec's"
Paul Blanck Pinot Auxerrois “Vieilles Vignes” 2005 From Alsace, in the Northwest region of France, this grape is a direct descendant of the ever-popular Chardonnay grape. At first, the wine shows similar flavor nuances of Chardonnay through notes of Mango and tropical tree fruit. However, bursting from the glass is a full bouquet of honey-glazed nuts, melon, baking spice, and a touch of slate minerality. It is medium weight with a lively acidity and a lengthy finish. Just beautiful. 750ml under $22
New Zealand Manuka Honey
We all know honey and hot tea is good for a sore throat, but this particular honey goes way beyond soothing. Manuka Honey is from the native tea tree of New Zealand and has significant healing properties, treating burns, ulcers, throat and eye infections and is particularly effective in destroying bacteria associated with peptic ulcers. These special antibacterial properties are unique to New Zealand Manuka Honey and are quite remarkable. Awareness of this honey is spreading, as it is 100% natural, harvested from a clean green environment free of pollutants and a low cost alternative to other medications, with no known side effects. New Zealand Manuka Honey UMF 16+, 8.4oz $26.99
Not all items available in all stores. Prices include 5% Cash Discount, and may be subject to change.
If you haven't been to Spec's Superstore lately, you're in for a true treat! A world of wines, foods and liquors all under one roof. With over 40,000 items in our Deli alone, it would be impossible to list 'em all, so here's just a little sampler:
Stash Original, Lemon, Cinnamon and Chai Honey Sticks Lemongrass, Rhubarb, Kumquat and Lavender Dry Sodas Appletiser Apple, Pear and Grape Sparkling Beverages Australian Sea Bay Triple Cream Cheese Fra Mini Piccante Chorizo Piedras de Chocolate Almonds Palapa Hibiscus Sorbet And so much more! Visit us here, or visit us online at www.specsonline.com, but you just gotta come see us! With friendly help, Just Flat Cheap Prices and 5% Discount for Cash or Debit Cards, you'd be wasting your money going anywhere else!
713-526-8787 • www.specsonline.com 2410 Smith Street • Houston, TX 77006 Serenity Chardonnay 750ml around $11 cash
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