Sunday, March 29, 2009

Pix of Henrique Oliveira @ Rice U. Art Gallery

Since the cat decided to kill our camera, I won't be taking any pictures until we get a replacement. Fortunately, other people have better behaved pets. So here's a link to great photos of the new Rice University Art Gallery show courtesy of Fiery Laundry.

Monday, March 23, 2009

The Next Show: Henrique Oliveira @ Rice University Art Gallery

The Henrique Oliveira show is what I've been assisting with for the last few weeks. The piece he created often had four assistants working, it was that large and involved.




The above invitation photo is just a small detail of the huge wall-mounted installation that Henrique created for the Rice Gallery. Their website has in-progress photos of the now-completed artwork.

Brazilian TV channel featured Henrique on their show Metrópolis (video), but unless you understand Portuguese just go the Rice Gallery's page hosting the video with translation.

If you are in Houston, the Thursday evening opening and Friday lunch/lecture with artist are free and public. If you have the time, you can't beat the price. And the art is pretty fantastic to boot.

And lastly, if you enjoy the show you'll be in good company, Kanye West likes Henrique Oliveira.

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Artist's Website - Henrique Oliveira

Facebook | Rice Gallery

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

The Angleton Ant Farm House: A Texas Mod Building in Ruins

Before finding out about the 24 Hours of LeMons in Angleton, TX, this small community south of Houston was on my radar for a completely different reason. Artist Paul Villinski brought not only his Emergency Response Trailer to Rice Art Gallery, but a collection of books from his personal library. Most revolved around homes, personal structures, architecture on a small scale. One book in particular struck a chord, at first because it annoyed me so much. Tiny, cramped text, a mishmash of building techniques through history and places, all manner and quality of photography, looking like a book from 1973 would look. Like most things that bother, it got under my skin and as I kept rereading I really grew to like it. A lot. And as I was reading about one home, I realized it was not too far from Houston.


HOC.ext, originally uploaded by edsel2007.

It was called "The House of the Century," but 26 years have been unkind to the unique building. Built by Ant Farm, the architecture collective originated many of their creations in Texas, including this one and the well-known Cadillac Ranch.  Undated photos from NarrowLarry's visit to the house show it's now flood-damaged conditions.

Architect, Ant Farm collaberator and University of Houston grad Richard Jost narrates the following YouTube videos, detailing the history of the building and his involvement with it, all with extensive photos. 


"House of the Century Construction" (1972)- Part 1


"House of the Century Construction" (1972)- Part 2


"House of the Century Construction" (1972)- Part 3


"House of the Century Construction" (1972)- Part 4


"The Mojo Relic" - video of the House of the Century ruins.
With music and Aztek temples in begining.

Monday, March 09, 2009

Keeping It Weird in Austin: Cathedral of Junk

If you mixed Watts Towers with the Orange Show you could have Austin's Cathedral of Junk. Which was visited this weekend. See below picture for proof. They don't do it justice, but are better than nothing.

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Austin Bound: Looking for Tips?

Me and the missus and the kid will be Austin-bound for the weekend. This will be our first visit to our fair state's capital. So, for those out there with tips, recommendations and places to avoid drop me a line or leave a comment. I'm looking at you my 26 feed subscribers and 10 followers! Throw me some love and good ideas.

My only must-see, the Cathedral of Junk...

Monday, March 02, 2009

Penny for Your Thoughts: Opinions on The Local Arts

Houston art peeps, here's a very short survey. Take it and know in your heart that you did a good thing.