MORE THAN THREE-QUARTERS of Dallas’ art on public view is downtown, and in the last three years, a spate of new works has augmented the approximately 150 statues, murals, outdoor sculptures, pieces in corporate lobbies and decorative markers already in existence. And that’s not counting galleries, museums and architectural highlights. A brief tour of some of the riches:
The architect Philip Johnson, who has already designed a half-dozen buildings in Dallas, continues to add to the city. In die new Western Point of Thanks-Giving Square, Johnson has just completed a golden ring sculpture measuring six feet in diameter. The small triangular park, surrounded by Pacific Avenue and Ervay and Bryan streets, is already home to the architect’s spiral-shaped Thanks-Giving Chapel.
Across the street, in Wallace Harrison’s Republic Towers, the glass-enclosed and newly refurbished lobby showcases recent abstract paintings by New York artist John Zinsser. Underground, the “Missing Link” pedestrian passage, created this year, contains a futuristic installation of luminous fossil sculptures embedded in stone,
Two new commemorative works are also planned for the city. Freedman’s Memorial, on the site of the old Freedman’s Cemetery at Central Expressway and Hall, will include several bronze statues depicting African-Americans struggling with slavery, sculpted by artist David Newton. A model of the memorial is currently on view at the main library on Young Street.
Much more high-concept than the usual “hero statue” is the Dallas Police Memorial, slated to be erected in 1997 at Manila Triangle, between City Hall and the Convention Center. Designed by a team of architects including Edward Baum, dean of the school of architecture at the University of Texas-Arlington, the memorial will be composed of a large rectangular canopy carved with cut-outs depicting the badge numbers of slain officers. As the sun shifts during the day and passes through the cut-outs, the numbers will be “projected” onto the ground below.
Finally, even if you don’t need Dallas’ new light-rail system to get to work, ride it at least once to see the art. From Michael Brown’s Sun/Moon clock sculpture at St. Paul station, to Frances Thompson’s mural at the Convention Center station, the six downtown stops are a remarkable example of how public service and public art can be integrated.
Downtown also has its share of work by internationally known artists. An outdoor abstract sculpture by Alexander Calder at Akard and Ervay is hard to find, but worth looking for. Conversely, the Henry Moore on Young Street is difficult to miss. The Dallas Piece, an organic-looking bronze sculpture more than 10 feet long, dominates the plaza in front of I.M. Pei’s City Hall building. At Commerce and Akard, George Rickey’s silvery kinetic sculpture gently moves on breezy days. Portal Park Piece by Robert Irwin created some controversy when it was installed at Pearl and Live Oak, but the severe, minimalist Corten Steel wall eventually became a Dallas landmark.
The Confederate Memorial Monument at Pioneer Park Cemetery on Marilla Street dates from 1896. Exactly 100 years later, and just a few yards away at Pioneer Plaza, a different type of Texas commemoration takes place: Sculpted bronze longhorns and statues of cowboys animate a dramatic hilltop cattle drive. And this piece continues to grow. Additional cattle are being ordered to make a total of 70 sculptures, and stone-cut versions of historic Texas cattle brands will be set into a new sidewalk surrounding the park.
In the bustling West End, art mixes with entertainment. Even the big green T-rex in front of Planet Hollywood is wearing cowboy boots. In nearby Dallas Alley, several imaginative creations by William Easley pay tribute to Texas musicians like Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly and Lightnin’ Hopkins.
To see the work of established Texas artists, check out Lubben Plaza, at Young and Market. This sculpture garden, under the stewardship of the A.H. Belo Corporation (owner of The Dallas Morning News) houses recent work by Linnea Glatt, George Smith and Jesus Moroles. At presstime, Belo was planning to add two huge new works by Tom Orr and Japanese artist Yonekichi Tanaka outside its headquarters, and a new 60-foot mural lor the lobby will be completed next year.
Another sign of downtown’s resurgence can be found in loft conversions. Deep Ellum is already known for bars and night clubs, but now the area’s warehouses are being turned into spacious residences. On> new project is the Adam Hat building, at Canton and Henry. Cool neon signs an deco lettering abound in the Deep Ellum and Exposition areas, and they could become beacons tor hip downtown living. Likewise, the Farmers Market on Pearl Street catches die eye with climatized sheds, a colorful ceremonial entrance and a striking new information building in glass and concrete designed by local architects Corgan Associates.
The art in Dallas’ Convention Center does not hang from the walls, or sit freestanding like a sculpture. You walk on it. Seven artists have covered every square foot of an entire floor with extraordinary designs executed in colored stone. Completed in 1994, this tremendous project includes a long, serpentine form winding across the ground level while other images-Native American symbols, indigenous flowers, desert animals and icons of the old West-decorate the rest of the two floors.
Considering the two most thought-provoking art venues downtown, it would seem that the better the work, the weirder the gallery’s hours. 500X gallery, at 500 Exposition, is a funky space run by a co-operative of artists with monthly exhibitions of local work and juried shows. Gray Matters, at 113 N. Haskell, is run by artist Dave Szafranski, and also exhibits work from Houston and Austin artists. Both spaces are worth seeing, but they’re only open on the weekends.
As Fair Park struggles to preserve its Art Deco treasures, new developments have helped draw crowds. A 1930s mural of rocketships and flying figures along the Esplanade is being returned to its former glory; restorers should complete their work on the 20-foot mural this fall. New art venues like the African American Museum, which opened there in 1993 and has hosted terrific exhibitions by international and local artists, also revitalize die area.
The Dallas Museum of Art has continued to expand since moving to its present location at Ross and St. Paul in 1984, The new Hamon Building, designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes, was completed in 1993, and the museum most recently opened a new installation of its African and Oceanic Collections.
