| Tom Sime: Arts out there 05/30/2001 By / The Dallas Morning News
Art and architecture restoration efforts in Fair Park have caught the
attention of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and
Artistic Works, which is holding its annual meeting in Dallas this week.
The theme, "Museums in Historic Buildings," naturally leads to a focus on
Dallas' Fair Park treasure trove, which includes eight museums.
Much of the Washington, D.C. group's national conference is open to the
public. One of the highlights will be a free talk by renowned architect
Michael Graves entitled "Beauty and the Beast: Some Thoughts About Art
in Architecture." Mr. Graves, one of the first masters of postmodernism,
is now just as famous for his teakettle and other household items for
Target stores. He will speak Sunday at 7 p.m. at the Adam's Mark Hotel,
400 N. Olive St.
The city's Office of Cultural Affairs is hosting several public events
in connection with the conference.
Rebecca Venable de Rodriguez of the cultural affairs office points out
that although the national meeting's theme is museums, "our
theme is murals ... Dallas shares a very great tradition with Mexico in
murals."
The murals of Fair Park, painted by Italian artist Carlo Ciampaglia,
have been undergoing restoration for more than a year. It's sometimes
said that they were painted over in the early 1940s because they depict
nudity. But it's also considered likely that it was simply too much
trouble to keep them up, so they were covered up instead – under as many
as eight layers of paint, now being carefully removed.
On Thursday from 7 to 9:30 p.m., Maria Teresa Garcia-Pedroche will
moderate "The Wall: Art in Architecture." The talk is described as a
"transborder dialogue concerning philosophical and practical issues"
with a panel of muralists, mural conservators and restoration architects
from the United States and Mexico. The program, in the Horchow
Auditorium of the Dallas Museum of Art (1717 N. Harwood), will be
followed by a bilingual audience discussion.
Among the panelists at "The Wall" will be Arturo García Bustos and Rina
Lazo, veteran Mexican muralists who began their careers as assistants to
masters Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. Mr. García Bustos and Ms. Lazo
have continued to work together, and recently completed a mural in Italy.
At 10:45 a.m. Saturday, the new video The Murals of Magic City
will be screened in the auditorium at the Women's Museum. Laura
Neitzel's documentary details the history of the Fair Park murals, the
people who created them and the efforts to uncover and preserve them.
It's free, but if you want to tour the museum there is a $5 charge.
For more information on these programs, call Manuel Mauricio, public art
collections manager of the Office of Cultural Affairs, at 214-670-1259
or e-mail .
Briefly noted
Dr. Steven A. Nash, executive director of the Nasher Sculpture Center,
will give this week's Art Talk at the McKinney Avenue Contemporary, 3120
McKinney. The Wednesday event begins with a reception at 6:30 p.m.,
followed at 7 p.m. by a one-hour talk. It's free. Call 214-953-1212 for
more information.
• If you missed comedian Steven Jay Crabtree's Dysfunctional
Divas; Six Characters from One Sick Mind, he's bringing it back to
the Pocket Sandwich Theatre on Wednesday and again June 6. Mr. Crabtree
plays characters, including movie star Martini Glass and hairdresser
Trayla Park. The Pocket is at 5400 E. Mockingbird, Suite 119. Tickets
are $10, and showtime is 8 p.m. Call 214-821-1860.
An array of noted area actresses including Gene Ray Price, Julie
Mayfield and Sara Weeks appear in the Dallas premiere of The Women of
Cedar Creek, a "comedy/drama of three generations of Texas women"
written by former Irving resident Cathrine Ann Jones.
Ms. Jones, also a successful stage and television actress, has had many
plays and screenplays produced and won numerous awards.
The Women of Cedar Creek previews Wednesday and opens
Thursday at Trinity River Arts Center, 2600 Stemmons, Ste. 180, where it
runs through June 3. Tickets are $15 for the preview, $30 for opening
night, and $20 for the regular run. Call 214-638-0484.
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