Gallery galleys

In Our Neighborhood, a November 1995 showing of street-scene photographs, which included Howell's work, was initially scheduled to hang at the Deep Ellum Cafe for three weeks. The show was extended, a week at a time, to five weeks.

He included several erotic photos in the exhibition, as well as a five-part series depicting a bloody knife fight. "One piece got pulled. It was a female nude with the pubis showing." A second similar photo stayed up.

The photos in the exhibit were black-and-white, 5"x7" surrounded by 8"x10" mats. "People really had to look at the knife-fight photos to decipher what was going on," says Howell. "But, I did sell several of those."

He admits that he'd do things differently next time. "I think big, simple pieces do better in a restaurant setting. After all, it's annoying to put that much work into something and have it not be noticed."

Barbara Carter hasn't seen much vandalism of artists' work. She believes most of the patrons respect the art even if they don't appreciate or understand it. "In eight years of coordinating exhibits for Primo's, they've only lost two pieces, and they paid for the loss outright," Carter adds.

In spite of the occasional risk, the practice of rotating art installations in restaurants appears to benefit the restaurant owners and the artistic community. And with gallery and museum attendance down and restaurant attendance up, it puts the art right where Dallas residents are most likely to see it--next to their meat and portobellos.