Modern Luxury
THE RADAR ART
THE LITTLE INGENUE THAT COULD
Art's little secret within the Dallas Contemporary is emerging on its own
By Steve Carter
"When I ask people, 'what is contemporary', the answer is usually 'right now,'" the Dallas Contemporary's Director Joan Davidow explains, discussing the inevitably subjective semantics of art. "Sometimes they say 'it's moder'; but the best answer I ever got from somebady was, 'it's moving,' and she was right. I say 'it's while the p;aint is still wet.'" Regardless of your concept of the word, the Dallas Center for Contemporary Art is a museum with a mission, and one that's dedicated to expanding its audience. Originally founded as D'Art by Patricia Meadows and two co-founders in 1981, the private nonprofit museum is experiencing unprecidented growth, as Davidow adds, "We're a 25-year-old institution behaving like a teenager." While she acknowledges that many Dallasites may equate "contemporary" with "inaccessible," the director knows that, "Once they come here and they give themselves half a chance, they can get hooked...this is a big open treasure chest that very few people are committing themselves to dive into, and when they do, what a joy."
Besides the implicit goal of reaching more poeple, the Contemporary's mission is twofold: To exhibit Texas emerging artists and to educate students of all ages. The museu's Swiss Avenue location is an ample 12,000 square feet, about half of which is exhibition space. With high ceilings, natural light and lean lines, the facility's sense of wide-open is intoxicating, ideally suited for showcasing the vanguard. Davidow's tireless advocacy and dedication to growth has resulted in some major changes since she took the reins five years ago. In addition to spearheading a serious facelift of the premises, Davidow formulated a four-exhibition program, five times a year, which has given shape to the institution; those exhibits, along with the annual auction show, total a mind-boggling 21 exhibitions yearly. Furthermore, Davidow's overseen the correction of a serious deficit, a budget that's virtually doubled, three years in the black, and a planned move in 2009.
In a sense, Davidow is the perfect candidate to fron the Dallas Contemporary; her cirriculum vitae reflects the vicissitudes of a post-modern sensibility. Originally from Florida, she moved to Dallas 25 years ago and made her artistic presence felt almost immediately. With an undergraduate degree in English, an MFA in painting and a background in teaching, broadcasting and journalistm, she became a fixture on KERA radio, covering the art beat for six years. Her museum track started at the DMA when she was named a McDermott Curatorial Intern in Contemporary Art. Having been a mom, community activist, volunteer, curator and writer, the situation was an intriguing fit. "It all came together," Davidow marvels. "I'd served on boards, I knew the other side of being on a board, and I organized events, did food and all the things you need to do. I just felt like I'd landed, you know, I was home." In 1991, Davidow became the founding director of the Artlington Museum of Art. Although she'd never written a grant or prepared a budget, she was a quick study, learning as she went;; her 10 years at the museum raised its national profile significantly, and her legacy is still felt today.
When Davidow made the move to the Dallas Contemporary, she knew she had her work cut out, although she's not one to run from a challenge. "I've never chosen anything easy," she reflects. "You know, I could be somebody who's selling bluebonnets in a gallery, right? It doesn't interest me in the least - so I have to pick an institution that has a deficit, have to pick an art form that nobody knows about, I have to pick an institution that's a big secret for 20 years...and yet I know that there is so much good art being done here in this town, in this area, being shown here. We want to nurter that talent, give it its first boost on the career ladder and then watch it fly and hopefully keep the talent in the state." Curating is one facet that Davidow finds especially enjoyable; only occasionally will a guest curator be invited. She builds each of the five bands of four exhibitions around a common theme, such as The Texas Prize, Paintings Attack, Moving Pictures or Formica Exhibitions. "There's always a major theme-based exhibition in the main gallery, and our Mix! series features an ethnically diverse artist...outdoors there's a sculpture garden, where we initiated 3D on Swiss, and Hallworks, a small one-person show." It's often the case that Davidow finds artist before they find her, although she reviews all the slides, CDs, etc. that reach her desk. "I'm not elated as often as I'd like to be - I don't get enough bingos, bug I've still got to find the bingos," she says. "But finding the new, it's my job. That's the fun of it, discovering them." The museum's current show, New Art in Austin: 22 to Watch is a triennial exhibition of Austin's talent, and nincludes works by Sterling Allen, Ledia Carroll, Jonathan Faber, Alia Hasan-Khan and Trent Tate.
While she's justifiably excited about the Contemporary's roster of artists, it's the museum's educational component that really gratifies her. "I'm so proud of this," the director enthuses. We've developed this program called Art Think that doesn't exist anywhere else in America. It's based on Visual Thinking Strategies, or VTS, which was invented by Philip Yenawine, formerly curator of education at MOMA and The Met...We take the program to schools, starting with ninth graders; each week we deal with a different teenage concern, and we show them four images, two international and two from Texas. They come here for the seventh session and talk about the art on view. Every session has journaling experiences of writing and drawing...all we do is initiate the discussion." The program has grown at a phenomenal rate, going from a pilot school in 2004 to 13 schools in 2005, and this year Davidow hopes to reach as many as 4,000 students; ideally, she'd like to have Art Think reaching all of DISD's high schoolers. Additionally, the museum offers adults and students drawing classes, a library stocked with art publications, a bulleting board announcing an array of opportunities and other collegial outreaches.
Although she'd always known she'd grow up to be an artist, Davidow never imagined herself in the role she's in now. "I had a hard time facing a white canvas," she says candidly, "and I realized that I was more of a social animal than I would admit. My art form became my socialized art form, and it became the writing and the reporting and the curating and the founding of infant organizations...those were ways for me to express my contemporary art concerns. What I've realized is, coming up with the ideas for exhibitions, curating them and installing them, and coming up with educational programming is my art form."
Contact
eNEWS is the news about
Subscribe | Unsubscribe |