Mid-Century Melancholia
Abby & Nancy Dish on Mid-Season Mad Men The Abby and Nancy Show (the one in my head) is back, this time for some high level analysis of the sixth season of Mad Men, or at least some low level analysis of the ketchup campaign, Joan’s undergarments and Peggy’s fashion/men/work problems. I had planned to [...]
Read MoreAstrodome Rising?
Proposal for Moldering Stadium Shows Promise Amid Logistical, Access Issues A few weeks ago, a student’s proposal to partially demolish the Astrodome and keep its steel skeleton as a monster-sized gazebo to shade NFL tailgaters, rodeo livestock and carnival-goers, and sports practice fields became a local viral sensation. It was even endorsed by the mayor [...]
Read MoreStern Stuff
Architect Bill Stern Asked ‘What Kind of City This Was to Be’ – And Built Accordingly When I think of William F. Stern, whose death on March 1 dealt a blow to Houston’s architecture and arts communities, what distinguishes him from other important architects, teachers and patrons of the arts was the particular tenor of [...]
Read MoreComforting Yet Alien
“Monopoly Houses” Suggest an Alternative to Houston’s Architectural Hodgepodge A handful of distinctive recently built houses might well be the harbinger of an intriguing new direction in Houston’s domestic architecture. Recalling the urform of a child’s drawing, these “Monopoly Houses” are a compelling alternative to the mostly white, stucco-clad boxes that have stood for “modern” [...]
Read MoreReview: 10 Decades at Architecture Center Houston
On the occasion of the centenary of the Rice School of Architecture, a fascinating exhibition documenting its history is currently on display at the Architecture Center Houston downtown. It is rare to see an architectural exhibition in Houston that is open to the public [...]
Read MoreCultural Warrior: John Guess Jr.
Houston Museum of African American Culture’s John Guess Jr. For a guy prone to joking that he’d like to get his hands on “whoever invented 24/7,” John Guess Jr. is pretty good at it. A native Houstonian active on the boards of the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Houston Arts Alliance, and other cultural institutions, Guess [...]
Read MoreCivic Reinvention
The Julia Ideson Library Renovation On December 5th, 2011 the City of Houston was given a beautiful jewel. After two years, 32 million dollars and a painstaking restoration [...]
Read MoreHigh Art and Low Riders: Art Car Parade at 25
The giant roach car. The one that looks like a dragon. The one with all the fish and lobsters on it. These are just some of the rolling sculptures that cruise through Houston’s [...]
Read MoreUnmapping Houston
Artists navigate the city’s geography You hear people say Houston is a hard city to love. But, it’s also a hard city to see. When you imagine Houston, at times [...]
Read MoreCultural Warrior: Matthew Lennon
HAA’s Director of Civic Art & Design With Ai Weiwei’s “Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads” guarding Mc-Govern Lake at Hermann Park, now seemed like the ideal time dig deeper into ideas surrounding public art in Houston. A+C editor Nancy Wozny chatted with Matthew Lennon, Houston Arts Alliance’s director of Civic Art & Design. A+C: The days [...]
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