“What I hope people gain from my work is a glimpse of beauty, and to engage in the mysteriousness of the unknown.” Shen Wei. Dancer. Choreographer. Painter. Art historian. Creator of the internationally lauded Shen Wei Dance Arts in New York City, and coming to Dallas’ Winspear Opera House on…
Let’s say you took a six-month-long apprenticeship as a publisher with Open Letter Books — a small independent publishing house at The University of Rochester in New York, dedicated to bringing great works from around the world to the English-speaking world. Now let’s say you move to Dallas in 2013,…
Sally Glass is an artist with a wicked sense of humor. There’s a handmade sign outside her CentralTrak resident dorm that says, “Nevermind, I started my period.” We’ve had a love affair with this chick since she burst onto the scene with her art zine, semigloss. She just graduated with…
We don’t actually know if you will be able to inflate your bike tires at Trinity River Revel this Sunday, but you can definitely bike to the party. Talk of the Trinity River tollroad has completely overshadowed the other exciting developments taking place along Dallas’ measly water feature. Put talk…
Mixmaster presents “100 Creatives,” in which we feature cultural entrepreneurs of Dallas in random order. Know an artistic mind who deserves a little bit of blog love? Email lauren.smart@dallasobserver.com with the whos and whys. Arthur Peña is more than just an artist, although that’s how he would identify himself. This…
Every group of hard working, blue-collar, pop culture icons needs a proper vehicle. The A*Team raced in a custom painted 1978 Chevy van to the scene of ordinary folks getting screwed. Michael Knight argued with the teacher from Boy Meets World who was trapped like a possessed soul in a…
There is so much art and culture happening in the city this weekend, it’s absurd. It’s also wholly impossible for you to see it all. Writing those words makes me absolutely gleeful. Sure, it’s mid-June, but as you know, art is always in vogue in Dallas, or haven’t you been…
“I don’t have sex with any of my clients, I should probably address that misconception first,” she says, running her hands down the front of her bright red latex dress. It’s a hot Wednesday afternoon and I’ve arrived with a photographer to meet the city’s foremost dominatrix – a title…
Plenty of reality television shows seem to go the extra mile in supporting stereotypes. Two of the most popular reality shows in the format’s history, MTV’s Jersey Shore and A&E’s Duck Dynasty, certainly focus on — and capitalize on — the most outrageous traits of the respective shows’ characters. Thick…
If you ever have days when you prefer animals to human beings, How to Train Your Dragon 2 is your kind of movie. In some ways the second entry in this animated franchise is inferior to the first, released in 2010: The plot is needlessly busy, and much of the…
You have to hand it to James McAvoy, who has made a career out of his amiable, boyish good looks; in Filth, he destroys that image. As Detective Sergeant Bruce Robertson, he’s a booze-bloated, greasy wreck who appears about 20 years older, all busted capillaries and shit-eating grin. He’s not…
There’s still one kind of dread that today’s genre filmmakers can reliably stir up: that fear that everything we’ve been watching onscreen is going to be upended by some last-minute twist, that all the clues and portents we’ve puzzled over will be swept away in favor of some revelation so…
There’s much to be astonished by in the story of how the Supreme Court was goaded in slapping down Proposition 8, California’s gay marriage ban. One of the most surprising: that in courtroom after courtroom, be they state, district or superior, Charles Cooper and the proponents of the ban never…
This Ain’t No Party is a deceptive name for Ash Studios’ next art filled, dare we say it, ‘party,’ because a night full of film, music and art certainly checks out with our criteria for a party. Wait, were they just being facetious? Whoops. Anyways, June 12 is when, for…
“Wherever you live in this world, basically . . . you are alone. Even if [we] have support systems, we’re really alone.” Those words, shorn of sentimentality, are offered—and received—as motherly balm in the documentary When I Walk. Filmmaker Jason DaSilva, having turned his camera on himself to capture the…
The show must go on. This testament has never been truer than in the case of the dancers of the Bruce Wood Dance Project, as they mourn the loss of their leader. Wood was more than just their choreographer; he was their friend. He was loved by many, and mourned…
There’s a moment in everyone’s life when they realize that they are no longer in the “youth” demographic. It happens without warning, like maybe when browsing Urban Outfitters — music blaring — and coming to the realization that the selection of netted crop tops and sequined trapeze dresses are out…
Summer is finally upon us, and for the third time the East Dallas Gallery Day is helping us load up on a little culture before we hit the pool. This year, 14 galleries in Downtown, Deep Ellum and Expo Park will be opening their doors and providing Dallisites of all…
I’ve always wondered if comedians are actually impressed by other comedians with armloads of awards. It would be hard to know their true feelings without conducting some kind of scientifically monitored Gallup poll. Comedians can be a naturally moody bunch, prone to fits of jealousy, but it’s usually over getting…
On Saturday night, June 14th, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra is partnering with some of the city’s most talented and innovative young musical minds to present a special, one-night only concert. The concert is imagined by and presented in partnership with the Dallas Symphony’s Teen Council and features musicians from the…
I’ve always wondered if comedians are actually impressed by other comedians with armloads of awards. It would be hard to know their true feelings without conducting some kind of scientifically monitored Gallup poll. Comedians can be a naturally moody bunch, prone to fits of jealousy, but it’s usually over getting…
On Saturday, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and some of the city’s most talented and innovative young musical present a special one-night only concert. The concert is imagined by and presented in partnership with the Dallas Symphony’s Teen Council and features musicians from the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra and the Booker…
