Lisez moins, vivez plus.

Paris, May 1968

Lisez moins, vivez plus.
Read less, live more.
graffiti slogan; Paris, May 1968

I visited the Art Car Museum on the day that Robert Rauschenberg died. The whole world had seemed grey for weeks. Time was getting me down. May 1968 was forty years distant and the revolution that swept youth culture for the boomer generation seemed hollower than ever.

Mexico City Olympic Games 1968

The moment that was stolen from them, when McGovern lost to Humphrey and he handed the country to Nixon will never come back. Students around the world could not stop the war in Vietnam despite taking over universities in Paris, New York, Mexico City and Tokyo.

Nevertheless, this historical moment became the “end of history” as humanity plunged into desensitizing technologies. Today Postmodernism, for any philosopher with a beating heart, has become a pandering sophism in its middle age. It isn’t about any sort of logic for me as I write this, just about who I know and why, and I am beginning to believe it has always been that way.

Robert Rauschenberg, Monogram, 1955-59

Coasting down the rail road crossing I passed the red gas station and the silver building, parked on some broken concrete and turned off the engine. The rain fell in light waves, the truck felt like a tin drum. I reached in my pocket for a pen, searched the seats for one, and checked the glove compartment to no avail. The only implement I found was a blue inkpad and a rubber stamp with two cartoons that said “Merci”. I was there to leave something for Tom Jones, tragically cut down by a drunk driver after the art car parade.

I brought eleven yellow daisies and one that had been dyed blue and glued with sparkles. The guy at the shop wrapped them in green and orange, which seemed weird. When I arrived there were a few people on the side of the road standing around a collection of flowers and fruit. Photographs, letters and ribbons covered the chain link fence on Heights Boulevard. Before I left the cab I held the waxy orange paper and stamped it “Merci” several times.

The loss of Tom Jones, a curator at the Art Car Museum, is a heavy burden for Houston. He sure knew a lot of people, but the news of his unfortunate fate reached far beyond his personality. Many who did not know the man should be sad to be deprived of the opportunity. I cannot say I had known him well, but it was a pleasure every time we spoke. With the temperament of The Big Lebowski and a slew of projects under his belt Jones knew where he stood and made no excuses.

Art, cars and art cars had been in his life since the founding of the museum in 1988, and earlier in the decade he was a part of the Urban Animals, working with the Lawndale Art Center and others to create the city’s underground art scene that thrives today in a myriad of storefronts, galleries, warehouses and street artists. Irreplaceable, Jones is remembered by many and is an inspiration to anyone out there with a sense of worth beyond monetary ambitions.

The loss of Robert Rauschenberg, two days after Jones’ terrible accident, is a turning point in interpretation of the second half of the 20^th century. In a long and storied career the Port Arthur, Texas native who survived Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Conceptual Art, Neo-Expressionism and the 21^st century never could be pigeonholed and thus never passed over. His continual artistic evolution reacted to his personal life. He collaborated in dance, performance, print, design and public sculpture with many big names in other fields. His continual successes made him an influential figure to generations of East Texan artists who identified with his expressionist style and eccentricity, as well as his conflicted reactions to his Christian roots.

I stood on the side of the road in the rain. I thought about two people I never knew so much who meant a lot to me as I felt ever more hopeless about politics and reason. My blue ink “Merci” stamps were already beginning to run. I borrowed a red lighter from a Star Pizza waitress and lit two sticks of incense in the pile left in memoriam. Photographs, toys, oranges, cards and letters, biker memorabilia, beads, candles and flowers lined the sidewalk.

Tom Jones, art car Swamp Mutha by Ann Harithas and others

“Keep America’s roads weird — build an Art Car!” -t.j.

Robert Rauschenberg, 1986 BMW 635 CSi Art Car

"The artist's job is to be a witness to his time in history." - r.r.

The Heights: Culture of Relax

Heights Boulevard is lined with Victorian homes dating back to the founding of the neighborhood as a city in 1891. The Heights is slightly higher in elevation than the rest of the city. Most of the residents are families in small bungalows or new townhomes, although the neighborhood deed restrictions have kept new buildings to a strict emulation of existing architecture.

North of Montrose between Buffalo Bayou and 610 Loop North, the Heights is another bohemian area of the city. Rock and roll stalwart Fitzgerald’s sits at the corner of Studemont and White Oak, and is surrounded by a growing scene of ice houses and restaurants. Both Onion Creek and Dry Creek restaurants come highly recommended for delicious casual fare. Further north in the neighborhood is a strip of boutiques and galleries on 19^th Street where they also hold the Yale Street Art Market every month.

Doug and Don's Barber Shop; featured in Rushmore

The Art Car Museum is located on the south side of I-10 on Heights Boulevard. A free museum, art cars can be seen outside the museum and an exhibit of local artists indoors. RIP Tom Jones.

Montrose: Bohemian Bayou

The Montrose District is a grid of neighborhoods lined with Live Oaks and teeming with youth culture. Directly west of downtown Houston, Montrose holds many treasures if one is willing to look hard and slow down. In their current state you should drive slowly because of the condition of the streets anyway. The neighborhood is very green, and it seems as if the bayou is threatening to take over at any moment. The residents are a mix of young professionals, students, young families and immigrants. The most tolerant Houston neighborhood, people from all walks of life travel to Montrose to experience the carefree attitude and alternative culture.

2003

At the corner of Westheimer and Dunlavy Street sits Brazil Café, a brick coffee house shaded by ivy and trees that is a favorite among locals. Nearby Agora Café offers an escapist cocoon and Empire Café is a fashionable eatery two blocks down past rows of antique shops. Several vintage clothing stores and fashionable boutiques line the street between Dunlavy and Mandell Street. Also located here is the hip bar Poison Girl, and one block further east are several popular local bars.

The Menil Collection is located at the corner of Mandell and Sul Ross, with parking available on Alabama Street. Admission is always free. The museum owns many of the neighboring houses, and they have preserved the look of the 1930s homes along with the nearby University of St. Thomas. A trip to the Menil is one of the most rewarding activities in Houston, and the architecture by Renzo Piano complements the tranquil shady neighborhood with simplicity and a ceiling open to natural light, which bathes the art inside with an illuminating tenderness.

Besides the main building there are several other interesting sites nearby. A beautiful gallery dedicated to the paintings of Cy Twombly employs a transparent ceiling, and the conceptual and emotional paintings take on different tones at different points in the day.

The Rothko Chapel is a world renowned non-denominational cultural site; it has held interfaith dialogues, musical and spiritual events from most world religions and is a modern meditative environment. The Chapel houses a series of paintings by Mark Rothko, one of the most successful of the abstract expressionists.

“The Rothko Chapel is alive with religious ceremonies of all faiths and diverse programs to engage audiences intellectually, artistically and spiritually. It is a place where the experience and understanding of all traditions and cultures are encouraged and made available.” – The Rothko Chapel Mission statement

Also nearby is the Houston Center for Photography, the Watercolor Art Society of Houston, The Dan Flavin Pavilion installed in an old roller rink, the Chapel of St. Basil at St. Thomas designed by Philip Johnson and exhibits by young artists at the Joanna Gallery.

For great Greek food stop by Niko Niko’s on Montrose- try the roasted potatoes. For amazing breakfasts check out Baby Barnaby’s or Baba Yega’s. Dallas Street near Montrose Avenue was where the film Reality Bites were based. River Oaks Theatre is the oldest theatre in town, now it shows art house films and I used to work there. Next door is the French bakery Epicure Café, where we go for croissants. 59 Diner and Le Peep are two great diner choices, located across the street from each other at the junction of Shepherd Avenue and 59 South. I waited tables at both of them in the past. Another old job of mine was at Bookstop at the corner of Alabama and Shepherd. A beautiful bookstore housed in one of the oldest theatres in town, the environment is surreal.

Westheimer: The Backbone of Houston

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Running from the Eastwood neighborhood at the east, through the city center and past three major loops of freeways, Westheimer Road is the most likely street you will end up on in Houston, hands down.

Dizzee Rascal and UGK in the 3rd Ward

The city’s five major universities are located adjacent to Westheimer, beginning in the 3rd Ward neighborhood where it is named Elgin Street. University of Houston and Texas Southern University are clustered in the historically black neighborhood south of downtown. Further west is the HCC campus in Midtown, where the street name changes from Elgin to Westheimer Road. Six blocks south of Westheimer at Montrose is Saint Thomas University, and further south in the Museum District is the beautiful Rice University campus.

Shopping along Westheimer ranks among the best in the city. Traveling west of downtown, small boutiques and antique shops mix with coffee houses and art galleries in the Montrose neighborhood. The Bookstop store on Shepherd Street is the oldest theatre in the county. The posh Upper Kirby District provides natural food grocery stores and upscale shopping centers as well as delicious Tex-Mex and fusion restaurants. The Greenway Plaza area is replete with strip malls and innovative fast food, but the best reason to go is the Edwards Theatre, the best place to catch a movie in town.

To the west of Loop 610 is the Galleria, name of both a cluster of four shopping malls and one of the fastest growing neighborhoods in Houston. The Galleria Mall houses 375 stores in 1.2 million square feet of air conditioned space. It is located at one of the busiest surface street intersections in the country, Post Oak Boulevard at Westheimer Road. The Galleria neighborhood between Loop 610 and Beltway 8 is a mishmash of residential, commercial and industrial neighborhoods, a product of Houston’s lack of zoning laws. The entire length of Westheimer along this portion of the city is packed with big box stores, strip malls and restaurants. There is something for any taste, and the delectable food of cultures from the world over. Just south of Westheimer is the Richmond Strip, packed with clubs and bars. It is a major spot for car culture and flashy behavior.

Houston: A Primer (The Big Stuff is in the Little Stuff)

It is possible to begin a description of this Southern burg with the statistics, like Houston’s metropolitan area of 5.5 million residents or the 90 languages spoken here, but that won’t really let you know anything about the Bayou City.

You could go in the other direction and mention famous Houston residents, including George H.W. Bush (not his son), George Foreman, Roger Clemens, Beyonce, Joel Olsteen, and Chamillionaire, but the greatest thing about the city is its people.

A place where everyone you meet is a fine blend of Southern manners, Texas pride and American vigor. Here food and friends dominate daily life so much that there are more restaurants per capita than any other city in the United States. Houston is one of the greenest cities in America, with gracefully knotted Live Oak trees dominating the streets in older neighborhoods and large parks that are only one step away from a bayou jungle.

In March you can expect the temperature to peak at 75 or 80. The climate is temperate and spring is the driest time of year. Sunny days are frequent, and Houstonians enjoy taking advantage of recreation in city parks, museums, golf courses, lakes and the beach in Galveston. During the summer the temperature can reach 106 degrees with 100% humidity and frequent rain coming off the coast.

The climate of Houston is what separates the city’s culture from the rest of Texas. More akin to Louisiana and the coastal regions of Mississippi and Alabama, Houston has inherited the Southern predilection for relaxation in the face of overwhelming Mother Nature. A major influence on the music and art of Houston, the city’s particular cultural crosshairs have brought about the invention of Zydeco music by Clifton Chenier, the international success of ZZ Top and Screw, a particular genre of rap created by DJ Screw which typically involves the radical slowing down and “chopping” of other artists’ songs.

Early Texas settlers were Mexican and Spanish, followed by German and Czech families. Though they had lay claim to all of the area between the Red River and the Rio Grande, the first to settle in the swamp just north of the indigenous Karankawa were the brothers John and Augustus Allen from New York City. They engineered the founding of the city and made a shrew political move by naming it after the sitting President of Texas. Over the last two centuries the city has grown with wave after wave of immigrants. Today the city is a tapestry of cultural heritage woven around massive freeways that define the geography of the flat landscape.

Oh great, more original political art @ the station

how "cutting edge" for James Harithas :P.. i'm sure we'll hear really new and revolutionary things like.. how the white man is evil, how color equals oppression, reparations, and other pop culture anthems of dissent! available now!

http://www.stationmuseum.com/

THE BIG SHOW 2008

THE BIG SHOW | 2008 Call for Entries

O'Quinn, Mezzanine & Cavnar Galleries

"Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your first official announcement for Lawndale's biggest show of the year: THE BIG SHOW! Artists living within 100 miles of Houston are invited to submit their artwork for a chance to be included in the show and a shot at one of three cash prizes."

Submissions, hand deliver work to Lawndale Art Center
June 25 and 26, 2008 - from 10 am to 5 pm

Pick-Up (for works not selected)
June 29 and 30

Opening Reception and Announcement of Awards
Friday, July 11 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm

2008 Big Show Juror
Aram Moshayedi
Curator, LA>

sometimes not just Houston

I would like to invite you to my Exhibit Opening Reception, Los Hibridos, on Friday, May 30, 2008. The reception will be held at the Museo Historico de Reynosa at 8:00pm. Curator: Artemio Guerra, Creador Emérito de Tamaulipas, México. I have attached a map for directions. Also, if you have any questions, please feel free to call me at (956) 655-6850 or the museum at (011) 52-899-9221512. Thank you, Marina I. Salinas **It is a very safe part of town, so you do not have to worry about safety** Les invito a que me acompañen a mi exhibición el Viernes 30 de mayo del 2008 en el Museo Histórico de Reynosa a las 20:00 hrs. Les anexo el mapa y la invitacion. Cualquier duda o pregunta, favor de llamarme al (956) 655-6850 o al museo (011) 52-899-9221512. Gracias Marina I. Ceballos de Salinas

Something Music Related

Geez, what's the deal with nothing being posted here? I was looking forward to coming back and reading posts. Oh well... I want to feature music a little more in this blog. Here's a start, albeit unspectacular... Maybe something more in depth on a regular basis upcoming:




Dertybird to play Last Concert Cafe Friday May 30th!

Body:
Dertybird is set to take the stage at last concert cafe (houston TX) on may 30th. Also performing is David Jiminez and Nice Work If You Can Get It.
Don't miss this epic rock show!

http://www.myspace.com/dertybirdrocks

Helicopters are Fascinating

There is a history of dumping news on the Memorial Day weekend, so it gets buried in the day-to-day muck of life. I stopped writing online when I felt that there was no use in continuing postmodern sophism through art criticism and Peoplelisation of Houston. I still had three obligations to fulfil while I was not writing here, and they were all obsessed with the spectre of May 1968. The three pieces were torture, and I hope I never write again.

The last piece I wrote before May was a hopeful take on technological communication and intimacy refuting Baudrillard's simulacra. Postmodernism can suck my fucking balls- it's some bullshit.

Then it was International Workers' Day, or in Texan- Thursday. I quit smoking. May 68 had been in the air, but it hit full force nostalgia with a masturbatory May Artforum and the real revelation for someone born in 1980 that the game that is being played in art and commerce is not viable, original or revolutionary. I have been so fucking depressed.

Have you ever read A Season in Hell? Don't read it if you are depressed. YAR asked me to write 3000 words for Gulf Coast, a literary mag, about his illustrations of the epic poem written by a seventeen year old. The other Parisian revolutions came into focus, but postmodernism fell apart for me. Rimbaud believed what he wrote. It was happening to him. Is that so stupid to say?

I rewrote that thing a million times. I took to watching Italian soccer games and writing on top of copies of the last revisions. I went to the Art Car party at the Orange Show. I saw the Houston Area Show, The Old Weird America at the CAMH, John Alexander at the MFAH, the Lawndale, and Diverseworks. I heard about Tom Jones' death while walking out of the new baroque cathedral in downtown. On the day that Robert Rauschenberg died I bought daisies and drove to the memorial on Heights Boulevard in the rain. I watched Chicago Cubs games and rewrote it again and again. I sent it away and I was in shambles. For Artshouston, I wrote about How Artists Draw at the Menil. Omar from the Free Press called and said he was going to Lebanon. He needed an article. I had nothing left but three obituaries in 500 words.

May 1968 is a funny thing to me now. it is stupid only because it is local- and I am elsewhere. There is something to be said for stepping away from rancor to do something productive. Postmodern market art, in all its facets and forms, is a restriction on life. This is stupid to think that there isn't real life and magic in objecthood. Otherwise we say that life and living it is not art itself. Systematic science is defined by human subjectivity. Look to youth to redefine art as a rich man's game that artists do not need.

Instead of fighting against the system, like William Cordova, I am content to get a job. Academic sophism is a lucrative business. Maybe I'll be an administrator. What Houston needs now is a market day, a public identity. Screw it, I'm moving to the northside.


There has been a lot of ink spilled regarding 1968 and where we are today. Don't forget 1948 either. The Old Left has no place today. Communism failed, but I really don't like the world they have created along with the right. Truly trainspotting, I am obsessed with politics now.

A quiet summer to you all. Let's grow a little.

Latest Houston Literary / Art Mag

NANO Fiction is a non-profit literary journal run entirely by undergraduate students at the University of Houston. And this time it's in COLOR! Which means it looks really great and was way more expensive to make! SO... buy the latest issue and help these kids break even! Visit: http://nanofiction.org/order.html

And add Vol 2 #1 to your cart!

Get your music on at the MFAH

Starbucks Mixed Media Music Series
May 24, 2008, 8:00 PM - 12:01 AM

performing live:

Voxtrot
Austin TX / Beggars Group USA / www.voxtrot.net

Car Stereo (Wars)
Austin TX / www.myspace.com/carstereowars

The Mathletes
Houston TX / www.myspace.com/themathletes

Skull Gang Disco
featuring djs:
Bad Knives, PRKL8R + Juan the Terrible
www.myspace.com/avantdisco

Photo booth by Annie Ray

Emceed by Craig "BBC" Long and Karina Nistal
Special thanks to Guitar Center
Music Curated by Reprogram Music

Complimentary Starbucks beverages and cash bar at each event!

Admission:
$15 General Admission
$10 Students with ID
Free for Members
18 and up