Poll Results- University of Houston Wins

UH: 71%
Rice: 10%
TSU: 7%
St. Thomas: 7%
HCC Northwest: 2%

No Votes: UH Downtown, Art Institute of Houston, and UH Clear Lake

a peace concert in March of 1970, University of Houston

Man, UH trashed the competition! In a decisive victory the school with the only graduate painting program in town had a bit of a leg up on the competition, but the resounding win is still a bit of a surprise. I had hoped the wording was vague enough to encompass art education and exhibitions, and that's how people voted, I guess.

Jim Love, Landscape with Blue Trees, 1983

U of Houston has a large, disjointed art program where the painters, sculptors and art historians are separated by classes and social circles. There are enough people in each group to make a community- which is nice- but little cross-pollination and collaboration. The Mitchell Money has been moseying along with the Intermedia Lab and guest lectures but with such a big pot they really should be going out on a limb. The campus at UH is pretty good on public art, full of Jim Love sculptures and other less memorable ones. The Blaffer Gallery is an above average university gallery, director Terri Sultan has upped the ante in the past few years by bringing in national shows and exposing students to diverse works. Unfortunately she seems to treat the student shows like dog shit, leaving the artists out in the cold without a gallery for their senior shows besides a 2 week break in the schedule. They really need another gallery for the kiddos.

Kristen Hassenfeld, Dans la Lune, 2007; pic by Rainey Knutson

Rice University is a distant second, buoyed by the Rice Gallery- and rightly so. Dedicated exclusively to installation art, the gallery brings artists that would never have a shot anywhere else no matter how good the works, and they are goood. Their undergrad program does exist, but produces few artists here in Houston (they go elsewhere for Ivy and grad school). The academic atmosphere is strong, housing writers and philosophers from the stinging rain of poverty by nestling them in the soft bosom of tenure and allowing for ambitious stretches of the imagination. Rice also has Valhalla- and if young artists and cheap beer don't go together then I'm living on another planet.

John Biggers, Nubia, Origins of Business and Commerce, 1999
Jesse H. Jones School of Business, Texas Southern University. Houston, Texas

Texas Southern University boasts the most impressive public art in Houston universities, mural works from several points in John Biggers' history from under the spell of Diego Rivera to his space-time-continuum mind-bending late work- more related to Hironymous Bosch and Medieval historical landscapes than the simple class-reinforcing realism of much African American muralism. In a classroom building lobby, stretched across a wall of the cafeteria (not in the best shape) and at the TSU Museum- where an early mural permanently watches over the rotating exhibits.

Jim Love’s Can Johnny Come Out and Play (detail) (1990-91)
Cullen Sculpture Garden, next to the Glassell School

St. Thomas tied TSU, and they farm their art classes out to the Glassell. Well, I guess the MFAH deserves the credit for that, and the insertion of university students into the continuing education courses of various ages and experience levels is sure to be a boon to the youngsters. The community of CORE residents, (who teach some classes) teachers, (who are artists) and part-time or continuing education students from all walks of life may produce some enlightened young undergrads. The St. Thomas campus was designed by Phillip Johnson in the 60s, and its super Modernist style makes it a pretty convincing ripoff. He also did the St. Basil's Chapel in '95 in a very different period.


As for the rest of them, it was tough to not include options on the list- you can't exclude the community colleges or the suburbs unless you actually know about them, and they have full programs that spit out art majors all the time- HCC Northwest is known for music production programs, UH Downtown has the O'Kane Gallery, a Biggers mural and a great location, The Art Institute has produced a few people who don't suck, and UH Clear Lake is always tooting their horn about shows and festivals and stuff (and they hosted Judy Chicago's Dinner Party when no one else would in the late 70s).