Pass It On

Allison V. Smith's Hall Pass, a show of color photographs to debut at Barry Whistler Gallery on Friday, is an excavation of Texas schools that still look, smell and feel like schools. The water fountain, the teacher's globe, the roll-down map: In these iconic images Smith's camera channels all that...

By Jim Schutze

September 11, 2008

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Allison V. Smith's Hall Pass, a show of color photographs to debut at Barry Whistler Gallery on Friday, is an excavation of Texas schools that still look, smell and feel like schools. The water fountain, the teacher's globe, the roll-down map: In these iconic images Smith's camera channels all that was school before computer labs and sealed windows. A native Texan and award-winning photographer with work in the permanent collections of the Dallas Museum of Art and Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Smith traveled Texas to create Hall Pass. The sensibility of the pictures will be familiar to people who have seen her acclaimed series of images of Marfa. Barry Whistler says, "Allison's photography has a painterly quality that captures quiet scenes of isolated objects, giving the works a sense of space and clarity that is unique to Allison." The photographs range in size from 30-by-30 inches to 40-by-40 inches, printed in editions of seven and three. The exhibit will be open through October 18. The opening reception takes place from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday. Gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays. Private appointments are available at 214-939-0242. Visit barrywhistlergallery.com.
Wednesdays-Saturdays. Starts: Sept. 13. Continues through Oct. 18, 2008

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Jim Schutze has been the city columnist for the Dallas Observer since 1998. He has been a recipient of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies’ national award for best commentary and Lincoln University’s national Unity Award for writing on civil rights and racial issues. In 2011 he was admitted to the Texas Institute of Letters.

Contact: Jim Schutze