Parking a Plenty

In 2001: A Space Odyssey, there's a scene toward the end in which the main character, Dave, is flying through space in a pod, encountering one strange, brightly colored landscape after another. There are no signs of human life, and the scenery seems vaguely earthlike but also very alien, which...

By Kaitlin Ingram

January 22, 2009

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In 2001: A Space Odyssey, there's a scene toward the end in which the main character, Dave, is flying through space in a pod, encountering one strange, brightly colored landscape after another. There are no signs of human life, and the scenery seems vaguely earthlike but also very alien, which leaves the viewer with an eerie, otherworldly feeling. While viewing some of the works from the Vacant Spaces exhibit on display at Marty Walker Gallery through February 14, I experienced a very similar sensation and immediately thought of that scene. The works of Vacant Spaces all share the common theme of landscape without human presence, portrayed in photographs, paintings and video, and while the scenes are often beautiful, they still invoke that sense of eeriness. Contributing artists include Ted Kincaid, who mixes photography with digital painting; Barry Anderson, who works in HD video; Lisa Grossman, who paints the rural Kansas landscape; and Casey Rae, whose photos of the Great Lakes in winter are vacant spaces indeed. The Marty Walker Gallery is located at 2135 Farrington St., and gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, or by appointment. For more information, call 214-749-0066 or go to martywalkergallery.com.
Tuesdays-Saturdays. Starts: Jan. 10. Continues through Feb. 14, 2009

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