In the past weeks, on either side of Bissonnet Street in Houston’s museum district, there’s been a striking contrast in human presence and absence. The joyous Stan VanDerBeek retrospective at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, co-curated by Bill Arning and João Ribas, is full of images of people. The Charles LeDray show at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, … [Read more...] about Have You Been Too Busy to Think About Your Life?
Preliminary data, first experiments
Now mostly settled in their stellar downtown Dance Center on Preston Street, on Sunday evening artists of Houston Ballet gave a private showing of their Choreographic Workshop 2011 in the Margaret Alkek Williams Dance Lab. This isn't a laboratory per se, but what looks more like a black-box theater to the average eye. The "preliminary data" from these first experiments … [Read more...] about Preliminary data, first experiments
Language taxed by war: Gittoes, Glass and Ginsberg
“Now and then, from the deep, hidden river of life, great spirits in human form are thrown up,†Henry Miller wrote in 1956. “Like semaphores in the night they warn of danger ahead,†he continues. The phrase is from The Time of Assassins and refers to the French poet Arthur Rimbaud. On a hot Sunday afternoon I had this particular book, along with my journal, tucked … [Read more...] about Language taxed by war: Gittoes, Glass and Ginsberg
The Appealing Vulnerability of Daniel Adame
When I moved to Houston, I had to learn about the plants. I understood nothing of the humid sub-tropical environment or the strange soil. After several failed attempts in the dense clay of my patio garden, I turned to Equisetum hyemale, or “horsetail†reeds, which seem now to be thriving. I like watching things grow, and these reeds spread in a curious manner. The … [Read more...] about The Appealing Vulnerability of Daniel Adame
One Tibetan Thing, Reproduced
Seven years ago in Toronto, at a Kalachakra initiation given by H.H. The 14th Dalai Lama, I saw secular Tibetan dancing for the first time. Of course, I saw much “devotional†dancing there as well, if that’s the right term.  The preparations for this important Buddhist ritual require at least a week of effort from hundreds of people. In addition to creating an … [Read more...] about One Tibetan Thing, Reproduced