Solo Monos

Allow me to throw out a half-baked psychology theory: Mutilating books is one of the earliest forms of creativity a child will express. Many a parent has picked up a kid's copy of Goodnight Moon and discovered that said kid has torn pages or blackened the face of every character with crayon. Eventually the burgeoning artist moves on to more appropriate media, such as canvas or highway overpass, after being chided for messing up too many books. Not Thomas Allen. Allen slices out gumshoes, cowboys, vixens and dames from pulp novels and uses them as characters in witty, dramatic miniature scenes, which he photographs in dramatic shallow focus. They're like pop-up books read through a View-Master. Allen will sign and discuss Uncovered, a monograph of his photos, 7 p.m. Wednesday at Barnes & Noble, 7700 W. Northwest Highway in Dallas. Call 214-739-1124.
Wed., Jan. 9, 7 p.m., 2008