Gothic literature and even Tim Burton films are proof enough that though something may be dark or tragic, one can still find beauty in it or make stunning art out of it. In that vein, Deep Ellum’s venerable Kettle Art Gallery is featuring the works of local artists Loretta Gonzales,…
It’s the season of the beach read. Whether or not you are actually on the beach, summer makes us think of books that engage us, and take our overworked minds on vacation for a little while. That’s not to say that beach reads are all fluff, and that’s definitely not…
For a body of work that may cause some viewers to doubt the reality of every photographic image they ever see again, Every Doubt That Holds You Here is an ambitious title for an impressive installation by contemporary artist Ted Kincaid. His photographically based, digital creations are clearly inspired by…
Usually, when you look up a movie review online, you find a whole bunch of reviews where people liked the movie OK. It kept them interested, and it was entertaining enough to justify the $10 movie ticket. Then, you have the people that loved the film. Vocabulary gets effusive and…
One topic public education in Texas doesn’t cover is conjecture that Abraham Lincoln might have batted for the other team. While we’ll never know one way or another (and really, who cares?), the rumors make for good drama. Abraham Lincoln’s Big, Gay Dance Party, a darling way, way off Broadway,…
The plot hinges on the complications a committed gay couple faces when one suddenly finds himself attracted to a woman that the other used to date, but it seems safe to predict that a sober examination of ambiguous sexuality is not what to expect from Outrageous, Sexy (nekkid) Romp. From…
Even if you love your job, chances are you won’t be at it 75 years from now. No, most of us will put in our 40 or 50 years worth of work and retire quietly. That wasn’t the case for Loïs Mailou Jones, an artist who continued to paint and…
By keeping the best character offstage, Ponzi, the new play by Elaine Romero getting its first production at Kitchen Dog Theater, perpetrates its own sly little scam on the audience. We never see “Jack,” a much talked-about investment guru who guarantees an 8.5 percent return and accepts only those clients…
If you’ve never heard John Cage’s “4’33,” stop everything. Stop everything for 4 minutes and 33 seconds exactly and listen to the world around you. While it won’t be as cool as watching Cage himself sit at a piano and not play it (while audience members creak their chairs uncomfortably,…
If you thought dinosaur names like Styracosaurus and Coelophysis were tongue-twisters, wait till you get a load of the Chinese specimens featured in Chinasaurs, a new exhibit at the Museum of Nature & Science. There’s the uber lock-necked Mamenchisaurus, the less-long-necked-but-still-pretty-friggin’-long-necked Jingshangosaurus and the Tuajiangosaurus, a crazier Chinese cousin of…
For most of us city-slickers, our Tony Lama’s ain’t been scuffed-up since we bought ’em and the closest we’ll get to cattle-wrangling is a leisurely walk with the bronze steers of Pioneer Plaza. Let’s face it: We aren’t cowboys any more than the Marlboro Man was, but that hasn’t always…
It’s the Wednesday WTF? wherein we randomly select a photo/video/thing that makes us say those three special words. Now I would never force my dogs through a field of spikes, lasers or creeping rotary blades just to fetch me some bling, but seeing as how Silly Sausage isn’t mine, I’ve…
Sure everyone wants to make movies but it takes more than a YouTube account and a dad with connections to the cyber police. Enter the Dallas Film Society. It’s offering a Summer Film Camp for kids 14 to 18 that will show them the ropes of filmmaking. Students will learn…
Not going to lie to you here. I’m a big fan. Love me some hot gay men with equally hot voices. I’m speaking, of course, of the Turtle Creek Chorale. The annual TCC fundraiser is this Saturday, June 4, so mark your calendars like I did mine. Cirque! Anything Goes!…
Each week, Fine Lookin’ Piece offers an image of a work of art visually compelling enough on its own to inspire our readers to hit up the gallery for a closer look — even with no prior knowledge of the artist or exhibition. You’ll find it not surprising at all…
Back in December, the stunningly gorgeous trailer for Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life arrived and blew some minds. Somewhere in between the montage of space, rivers and birth was a brief shot stained-glass ceiling of the Chapel of Thanksgiving in Dallas. It got Unfair Park editor Robert Wilonsky wondering:…
It’s time for The Weekly Tease! That means it’s press day (AKA Tuesday) here at the Observer, and The Mixmaster brings you a little snippet of the upcoming cover art for the issue about to hit the streets and stands in and around your neighborhood.And speaking of neighborhoods, this week’s…
Randy Blair spent about $5,000 more to bedeck his car in glass than on the $15,000 car itself. “I was trying to make something that’s as pretty as my wife, but I’m still not there,” he told people admiring his art car, a four-year work in progress. He and his…
Last night I laced up my bustier, put on my sequin thong and headed off to Pole Dance Class. Turns out no one really dresses that way. (No body glitter or Champagne room either. Gasp.) As a matter of fact, it was shockingly tame and I mean that in the…
What if there was a place where artists, craftsmen, singers and partygoers of all ages could come together? What if there was some huge party where people could taste food and drink wine while their kids dripped snow cone juice down their shirts as they watched the butterflies flutter by?…
We’ve got a government- and corporate-sanctioned holiday today, so we’re taking it. Except we’d have a serious guilt complex if we didn’t give you something entertaining and um, questionably educational for the end of the day. And obviously it should involve cats. So, enjoy…
It’s finally time for that three-day weekend you’ve been eying on the calendar all month, so it’s time to buy steaks for the grill, beer for the fridge and tickets to the best events this Memorial Day weekend. If you haven’t made plans yet, have no fear because we’re here…
