Zoo Keeper

Photographer, multimedia artist and fervent peace activist Laray Polk stirred up controversy several years ago over a nude piece in a Dallas-area arts center. Now she tries to ruffle more feathers with the opening of her latest artistic venture, Gaza Zoo. The name harks back to the day in May when Israeli troops demolished Gaza's sole zoo while trying to ferret out Palestinian militants. It serves as a vehicle for Polk's observations of and opinions on the political, social and economic factors that allow for the mental and physical imprisonment of humans, especially in the volatile Gaza Strip.

Polk's "Key to Revolution"

Details

Gaza Zoo will be showing at the University of Texas at Dallas in Richardson, Campbell Road and University Parkway, from August 19 to September 25, with an opening reception August 27 from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Located in the main gallery of the Visual Arts Building, Gaza Zoo will be open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and closed Sundays. Admission is free. Call 972-UTD-ARTS or visit ah.utdallas.edu.

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More About

• Laray Polk
• War and Conflict
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Adapted from a book of the same title, Gaza Zoo, a linear presentation of 150 digital photographs, challenges its viewers' understanding of the integration of images and text by forcing them to become active rather than passive participants in the artistic experience. The audience is forced to read rather than see the pictures presented before them. It's new, it's different, it's a big honkin' metaphor, and there's nothing like a good metaphor to get a typical, artsy-intellectual audience all hot and bothered. So give Polk and her art your support and patronage, and let's hope this Gaza Zoowon't meet the same grisly fate as its namesake.