Down-Home Goth, Y'all

If Southern Gothic is notable for its bleak, surreal look at Southern society, then Texas Gothic, in its particularly desolate setting and with its high concentration of eccentrics, is even more so. The Webb Gallery's Texas Gothic exhibition gathers together the artwork of Texas natives who specialize in the strange...

By Alex Copeland

October 13, 2011

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "18855504",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17105533",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18349797",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17105532",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18349797",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17105535",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

If Southern Gothic is notable for its bleak, surreal look at Southern society, then Texas Gothic, in its particularly desolate setting and with its high concentration of eccentrics, is even more so. The Webb Gallery's Texas Gothic exhibition gathers together the artwork of Texas natives who specialize in the strange and mysterious, the surreal and bizarre. The show includes the work of beat author William S. Burroughs, Hector Alonzo Benavides and Alice Leora Briggs. This exhibition promotes the kind of artists that the Webb Gallery has specialized in hosting: self-taught and primitive artists. The work featured by Burroughs, for example, includes child-like paintings and drawings. Similarly, Benavides' work includes obsessively crafted, sprawling pieces meticulously drawn with a ball-point pen in one hand and a ruler in the other. Briggs, on the other hand, comes from a highly trained background. In an age of computer illustration, she uses work-intensive methods such as sgraffito to juxtapose Dore-esque pilgrims alongside gunmen and modern architecture. The exhibition takes place at the Webb Gallery, 209 W. Franklin St., Waxahachie, and runs through November 27. For more information, call 972-938-8085 or visit webartgallery.com.
Saturdays, Sundays. Starts: Oct. 2. Continues through Nov. 27, 2011

Become A Member

BEFORE YOU GO...
Can you help us continue to share our stories? Since the beginning, Dallas Observer has been defined as the free, independent voice of Dallas — and we'd like to keep it that way. Our members allow us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls.