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The strongest and most intriguing work was Letitia Huckaby at the Project Row Houses. This little place is in the middle of the 3rd Ward in Houston, a poor area with many African American inhabitants.
Ms. Huckaby’s work strong on many levels from innovative presentation, – prints on cotton made into patchwork quilts, hung by old fashioned clothes pins from clothes lines to subject matter, cotton and the historic role of cotton, slavery to the African-American experience. There was little to no hope in these pieces, there was quiet suffering to outrage and at best quiet moments of life. The images were executed mostly in silhouette form, which tended to generalize the statement.
I often make the comment – not for my walls, because I believe that what you live with affects your outlook on life and doesn’t help with healing, getting past the anger, sadness or tragedy. Many of these works I believe belong somewhere – books, the internet etc., because they should be considered and the lessons learned and there is an old saw that those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it. In many ways, I think this work is not for my walls, not for my bed (they looked too fragile for real use), and I don’t really think they will be nearly as effective in a book or on the internet.
Last week we had a major political speech on race due to Barrack Obama’s long term relationship with a preacher who made very angry statements. More than any of these statements these quiet quilts reminded me that still waters run deep and perhaps the wounds of the past haven’t healed. Made me think we need someone to further the healing process, and perhaps Mr. Obama has a role. As an aside I don’t think he is qualified to be president, and perhaps one of the campaigns will say something like, “A leader on race yes, a president no!”
It’s worth the effort to go see these pieces.
M2 Gallery had some interesting pieces where the curator fused the themes of China and Transformations. He worked hard to make a superb exhibition in a very nice tasteful gallery space in the Heights. If you go, look at the pairings of images. There is an active and creative curatorial mind there. Keep an eye on the gallery, I suspect it will often have interesting things and presentations.
Just a couple of doors down is another gallery. This was the second “opening” during FotoFest and the second disappointment – although there is a nice painting of jazz players in the back that has a Harlem Renaissance feel.
The Art Institute of Houston had student work up. One of the students demonstrated in his description of the work an understanding of the impact of digital. Unfortunately, neither his nor any of the other student work showed progress beyond the innovations expected of students. Still where the head leads the eye and execution may follow.
