8/7
There was a time when "art" was a social touchstone in the way that Star Wars, Desperate Housewives or that new Coldplay album is today. It brought people together regardless of critical consensus and generated thought, conversation and debate. For better or for worse, those three examples of current civilization have largely superseded that of more traditional expression, relegating fine art unjustly to the banal chatter of the champagne sect. Regardless, there are many things to learn from the subtle intermingling of Asian and European art, and it runs deeper than anything gleaned from a Jackie Chan/Chris Tucker movie. Beginning this Sunday and running through November 27, the Dallas Museum of Art, 1717 N. Harwood St., features East Meets West, an exhibition that spotlights the mutual integration of cultures through the logical pairing of pieces and drives home the point that a form of globalization was taking place long before a shop in Hong Kong was just a mouse click away. From the Greeks' discovery of the East through the results of a modern, well-traveled artist's creativity, this is the kind of progression that lasts. The exhibit opens with a free tour at 3 p.m. Sunday with curator Dr. Anne Bromberg. Call 214-922-1200. --Matt Hursh
Just Hangin' Around
8/6
There must be a certain sadness in the heart of an aspiring fashionista as she gazes into her closet. Is there more to being a trendsetter than the everyday tough clothing calls? Sure, it was sheer brilliance to pair the Diane Von Furstenberg wrap dress with Constança Basto slingbacks, and those low-rise Chip and Pepper jeans looked amazing belted with a vintage Hermès scarf. But where is the soul in it? For women ages 14 to 25 who want a deeper, more intimate relationship with their articles of clothing, there's just one solution: Don't just wear the clothes, be the clothes hanger. This Saturday, aspiring supermodels will descend on the Dallas Galleria for the ninth annual Fashion!Dallas/Kim Dawson model search. Submit applications and photos from noon to 3 p.m. and watch fashion shows (from 3 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.) and a musical performance by Marcos Hernandez (at 3:30 p.m.). Winners get a contract with Kim Dawson, a $500 gift certificate to the Galleria and a feature in an October Fashion!Dallas. So grab your Fendi and meditate on that. The model search is at Galleria Dallas, 13350 Dallas Parkway, on Level 1 near Banana Republic from noon to 4 p.m. Call 972-702-7100. --Leah Shafer
Seeing Red
8/10
Publications normally aren't this bold. Usually, after a newspaper/magazine/pamphlet/whatever launches, it takes years to prove it's financially strong and editorially viable. RED wants respect now. RED, a Dallas magazine covering, uh, mostly the nightlife stuff D doesn't, is holding its six-month anniversary party with live music at the Gypsy Tea Room, 2513 Main St., from 6:30 p.m. to midnight August 10 in celebration of its "Music Movement" issue. This begs a question...or two. Is RED doing this because it's sure of its future? Or is RED doing this to milk the investors out of a party before the tent collapses? Call 214-744-9779. --Paul Kix
Single Serving
8/4
I love food, especially Italian gourmet, so I'm a little disappointed that I can't be a part of Single Gourmet's cocktail social at Pazzo. But I'm not single, I'm not between the ages of 30 and 60, and something tells me that a college student interning for a weekly paper doesn't translate into "professional." Oh, well. I'll just cross my fingers that I run into somebody who got to enjoy Pazzo's tasty food and ask them if they thought the lure of $15 off the $150 annual membership fee was reason enough to have attended. Call 972-732-8000. --Kelsey Guy
Girls Gone Generous
8/4
Here's some news that deserves a lot of attention. It doesn't have anything to do with scandal, titillation or a video of college women behaving badly. It has to do with the real women who quietly (or loudly) contribute in many different ways to their community. We already know what real women are like. Or do we? While our 8-year-old niece dances to a Pussy Cat Dolls video and I post Dr. Tummy Tuck's office number to my fridge with a Neiman Marcus magnet, I ponder this question. Thank goodness programs like Women Build--launched by Habitat for Humanity and using female leadership, funding and volunteers to build affordable housing--exist to remind me of what we're really about, contrary to a commercially driven media. And that there are photographers around to document the images of real women doing real things. When the Plano Area Habitat for Humanity broke ground on its first Women Build house, local photographer Kay Askew clicked the entire process--as well as the women who made it happen, from the foundation to the last nail--for posterity. The Art Centre of Plano, 1039 E. 15th St., is holding a reception for Askew on Thursday called the Habitat for Humanity Women Build Celebration, which is also the opening of her exhibition of black and white photographs that tell the story of the construction. It runs through August 10. The joint effort of women community leaders, agencies that serve underprivileged girls and women such as Girls, Inc., and many other women volunteers built the first house of many planned in Plano, in only one week's time. Now if only commercial builders could do that. Call 972-423-7809 or visit www.artcentreofplano.org. --Emily Jacobs
