When I wrote about artist Rick Lowe’s social engaged art project in Dallas’ Vickery Meadow neighborhood, part of the Nasher’s 10-year anniversary Nasher XChange project, the introduction of “White Cube”galleries to the idea organize a neighborhood pop-up market seemed vital to the overall concept for the piece:
Lowe’s idea turns a familiar artistic strategy on its head. Ever since the French Dadaist artist Marcel Duchamp placed a urinal in a gallery and declared it art, artists have been pushing the definition of art by bringing objects from everyday life and placing them in the rarefied confines of the gallery space. But here, Lowe has proposed taking the whole gallery and placing its pristine, white walls in the context of everyday life in Vickery Meadow. The cubes, then, will take up a practical, symbolic, and metaphoric function. They will organize the market space, demarcate the area of Ridgecrest as the site of the monthly markets, and they will help attract curious art lovers who want to see Lowe’s Nasher project, thus luring them into the neighborhood even when the market isn’t happening. Perhaps more interestingly, the cubes represent a strikingly egalitarian gesture, literally bringing the art world to the people and handing it over to them.
But when Lowe’s project, Trans.lation: Vickery Meadow, launched in October, the cubes were not part of the pop-up marketplace thanks to construction delays. Then, in November, the cubes were again not installed because of bad weather. Now come this Saturday, with the third installment of the Trans.lation pop-up market on Ridgecrest Rd. in Vickery Meadow, the White Cube Galleries will open with work by artists Jonathan Harris, Sarah Jay, and Scott Lumley. Here’s more on the artists:
Jonathan Harris is an artist whose work consists of ecological urban intervention. Harris has worked in the Vickery Meadow for years, and is affectionately known as “The Plant Man.” He specializes in tropical plants, and his work not only physically transforms the Vickery Meadow community, but also engenders a profound mental and emotional resonance with residents who are attempting to recreate a sense of home.
Sarah Jay is an artist and social anthropologist at UNT. Her interactive installation will feature several questions, translated into multiple languages, that will encourage the viewer to think about their passion, their culture, and what it means to be a part of a community.
Scott Lumley is a photographer who will be exhibiting documentary works from the ‘Vickery Meadow’s Got Talent’ Performance Market produced by the Vickery Meadow Trans.lation Team. This includes 24 performances from this community with over 400 residents in attendance.
