PHOTO: CHRISTOPHER DUGGAN.
It’s April. Cue the band.
No, really. I’m talking about the UH Marching Band, Spirit of Houston, in En Masse Studies in Etudes, a new composition by Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR) commissioned by the Mitchell Center, and directed by Marc Bamuthi Joseph. Nancy Zastudil orients us to DBR’s deconstructed parade at Discovery Green in this issue.
Who says we don’t have spring in Texas? You may have noticed that the trees have turned blue between Allen Parkway and Memorial Drive at Waugh Drive and at the Houston Parks and Recreation Department’s historic Gragg Building. Enjoy Amitava Sarkar’s photo essay on Konstantin Dimopoulos’ The Blue Trees, a project of Houston Arts Alliance with Galveston Arts Center and Galveston Island Tree Conservancy.
Puppets take over Houston every spring with the Puppetsploitation IX: Bobbindoctrin Mostly Annual Slam. Abby Koenig takes us inside Houston’s quirky puppet culture, while Zastudil gets the low down on Liz Magic Laser and Nora Chipaumire at DiverseWorks.
We did a little spring cleaning at the A + C house, making space for Devon Britt-Darby’s Loose Ends, a new monthly column of assorted topical tidbits and running commentary on the visual arts in Houston and beyond. In April’s edition, he ponders Bert L. Long Jr.’s legacy and the creeping Californication of a key Menil gallery, visits the Ken Price and Cindy Sherman surveys in Dallas and applauds The Art Guys’ stroll down The Longest Street in Houston.
I had hoped to include an ArtiCATS section this month, featuring the fabulous felines of Houston’s arts scene, but alas, arts folk just had too much going on for me to go all April fools on you. Know that it would have been hilarious.
Wishing you a month of renewal,
-Nancy
nancy@artsandculturetx.com
