Capsule Reviews

Mission Control Theirs is "the Atari generation." So begins the press release for the latest show put on by Dallas' local avant-garde. Mission Control, the third show of Oh6 Art Collective, is by far the best exhibition that this motley group of mostly UTD grads has staged. It helps a lot that the show's run is longer than the usual one night. Thanks to the magnanimity of Angstrom, they are showing their work in a full-fledged gallery space for a couple of weeks this time. The exhibition is also fuel-injected by the cohesive thesis behind it--the science fiction digi-fanatic mantra of Mission Control. We are not to worry about the latest twist in the Darwinian allegory of biological unfolding through time. That the digits of our human hands may be evolving into peck-paws better tailored to the keyboard is a sign of rising peace, for "escape is a keystroke not a war story," as the kids say. Most important of all, however, is the work. Tim Stokes forges entry onto the scene by way of the splendidly harsh irony of a billboard that plugs in and lights up. His "BUYMORENOW" mimics gloriously the signs that litter and bedeck our highway zoomscape. Stokes makes signage humorous and architectural at once. One word for this piece: YES! In "Giant Robot," Titus O'Brien unfurls a large-scale monochromatic ink-splattered Transformer. Mattel meets Franz Kline in this work. Sara Ishi's glittery dangles look like the lair of a spider named Zsa Zsa Gabor. Don't be fooled. That's caulk rolled in glitter, not Zsa Zsa's 18-carat gauzy abode. Joke's also on you with the newcomer Crisman Liverman's "Ruupt." Liverman has placed a fuzzy, cutesy stuffed monster that oozes green pus-like blood on top of a podium painted electric white. What looks at first to be a black stain on the flat surface of the podium is really a hole into which one can place his hand. What's most intriguing about this group is its formation: It is a cohesive art collective along the lines of the historic avant-garde. That we have a group like this is not just a sign of urban health but a gift to local culture. Through March 6 at Angstrom Gallery, 3609 Parry Ave., 214-823-6456. (Charissa N. Terranova)