Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Katrina looses her ArtHouse Prize
from craigslist Austin
So this is a kind of embarrassing and definitely a long shot but here it is:
On Friday night, my beautiful and extremely talented girlfriend Katrina Moorhead won the prestigious ArtHouse Texas Prize. This is a prize given every other year to the best emerging artist in Texas (who, as a jury of artist and curators decided, is clearly katrina). It is a big honor and quite prestigious. At the awards ceremony they presented her with the award, a troupe of dancing women in cowboy outfits, and a commemorative belt buckle. They also presented all of us with copious amounts of free alcohol.
To make a long and slightly fuzzy story short, we left stubbs (the site of the ceremony), went for a celebratory dance party at the Beauty Bar, had a celebratory slice of pizza, and then made a long and celebratory stumble back to the Radisson where we were staying. Upon our arrival we came to the shocking realization that the belt buckle was no longer in Katrina's bag where she had put it. It had disappeared along with several ugly t-shirts, a commemorative plate, several breakfast tacos (?), and some other crappy pap somewhere between her receiving it on stage and us getting into the elevator. She went back out looking for it, but to no avail. The following day we retraced our steps. We talked to the lovely people at the Beauty Bar and the pizza truck, none of whom had found a large belt buckle.
As you can imagine this is somewhat upsetting, not to mention extremely embarrassing. It is kind of like winning a gold medal at the olympics, then getting wasted on jager shots with the women's speed skating team and waking up in a snowbank with a parking cone on your head and realizing your gold medal is gone.
The Belt Buckle is a large silver oval with the words ArtHouse Texas Prize 2007 on it. It was in blue jewelry box, which you probably already know if you found it. While we all know that it is cool and ironic to rock the giant belt buckle, this is a belt buckle who's real owner would really like to rock it, so if you found it please return it. There is a reward, or you have the option to trade it in for another cool belt buckle. Or, if you wanted to, you could even go check out her show (which is still up at arthouse), realize that she is, in fact, the best emerging artist in texas, and re-award it to her in a special ceremony.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Cody Ledvina published in ARTFORUM
Form Over Function
"It seems like every summer they do testing and try to prevent the leaks and every winter it leaks again," he said. "When it leaks they put these big buckets out and move things around so it doesn't drip onto the computers."
Up in Boston they're suing Frank Gehry over the little things that don't come in to play when you're winning architecture awards.
Houston Photobloggers
shoot houston
Check out tips and pics from the Houston Photobloggers!
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Zesty Sirmans from the Chron
Doesn't the Menil architecture kind of overshadow the artwork on camera?
Check 3:15 for the music cutting off Franklin Sirmans as he tries to explain a John Chamberlain... haha...
Artcrawl Outtakes by Chuy Benitez
view from the bridge over Jensen
under the bridge at San Jack and Fannin
Mother Dog Studios
The Docks
Friday, November 9, 2007
Hodge sez:
November 10th,2007___ TOMMORROW!!!
What's the word people.. 6pm-9pm Opening reception for the Love Movement @ Midtown art Center.. The show has a killer line up.. for real.. if Houston had a Art Team.. this would be the All Star Team..( sort of).. La Branch and Holman Tommorrow!! This show is in with conjuction with the BBoy Ho Down..FREEEEEEE
Other Shows Upcoming: Wednesday November 14,2007
(Houston Center U of H)
7pm
Then we ganna party with guest DJ's
SanKofa Pan Afrikan Student Oranization Presents: Hip Hop panel
art provided by Hodge and Jack Yates Photography Program
Confirmed Particpants include... Scarface, Lil Flip, UK, Ariel Brinkley..M-1(Of Dead Prez) Jasmine Pope and Quanell X..
www.sankofaauh.org
FREEEEEEEE
November 16,2007
Premium Goods
" Dont Sleep" Exhibition
amazing artists and sounds by Witnes..
9pm_11pm 2416 Times Blvd.
713-523-8825 FREEEEEEEE
November 17th
3Muse Gallery
"Beautiful Struggle" Exhibition
Robert Hodge and Lance Flowers
2pm-9pm
2020 Commerce St. Unit G
FREEEEEEEEEEE!
Blessings
Rock the Docks
Light Rail, Heavy Burden
THIS article from the Houston Free Press by Alex Wukman varies its criticisms wildly from Hazmat sites to cronyism, land grabbing and voter manipulation. Even if you're still pro-rail after reading it you'll know that something has got to give, and maybe someone has got to go. Except for one allusionary paragraph comparing the local ridiculousness to national politics, this could be a a justifiable case of journalistic integrity; here's some highlights:
"...when a person gets on a bus or train that is a “boarding”. If you have to transfer, that is another boarding. ...even if the trip takes longer and is less convenient, it is counted as “increased” service."
"...six months after they cut the 68 bus line through third ward because it was too costly, Metro spent $60,000 to convert the entire system map for an IPOD download."
"procurement contracts revealed that in August Metro spent $96, 677.40 on “coffee services.”"
"Metro spent $448,344 for “bus shelter cleaning in downtown”... $136, 305.00 of the expenditure went to a company called “BJ’s Enterprise”, located in Webster, Texas. Several attempts were made to contact anyone from BJ’s Enterprise to discuss the terms of the contract; however the company is not listed in the city of Webster phone book or any phone book in the Houston-Galveston area. They have no website, their only address is a post office box and all mail sent was returned.
"The remaining $312,039 of the cleaning bill was paid out to the Houston Downtown Management District. The Houston Downtown Management District, or HDMD, is a taxing entity whose services are, according to the their website, “financed by assessing all downtown property owners, based upon their value determined by the 2005 certified tax rolls of the Harris County Appraisal District, and by a rate determined annually by the Board.” Also on the HDMD website is a statement that their “primary focus is to leverage public funds with private resources to improve facilities and services.” Taken at face value, these statements would seem to indicate that Metro is paying out over $300,000 for services to an organization that is already collecting public money for performing the same services."
"In 1997 [current METRO CEO] Mr. Wilson agreed to pay the State of New Jersey a $1,200 fine for possible violations of NJDOT’s ethics code and the state’s conflict of interest laws. An audit released that year indicated that one of the firms offering Mr. Wilson a job had received a consulting contract in violation of state purchasing rules, to the end result (as reported in the New York Times) of New Jersey taxpayers being overbilled by some $300,000-- if that figure sounds familiar, it should. It's about how much Metro is paying the Downtown Management District for apparently redundant cleaning services."
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