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Austin360 blogs > Austin Arts: Seeing Things > Archives > 2008 > April > 08
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Texas Biennial dates, jurors announced
The third time, it looks like a streamlined charm.
Always offering a fresh and independent take on contemporary art in the Lone Star State since it launched in 2005, the Texas Biennial has smartly re-tooled itself to provide a bit more focus.
Yes, the Texas Biennial 2009 — March 6-April 11, 2009 — will again be a group show selected from open submissions. But this time, rather than have the selection done by committee, critic and independent curator Michael Duncan has been tapped as juror and curator for the affair. Sites for the group exhibition are Women and Their Work and the new gallery at the Mexican American Cultural Center.
In addition to a group exhibit, there will now also be four solo exhibits awarded to individual artists representing four basic Texas regions (North, South, East and West). The solo exhibitions will be showcased at Okay Mountain, Gallery Lombardi, MASS Gallery and Big Medium.
Also new this year is a collaboration with the City of Austin’s Art in Public Places program that will give the Texas Biennial the opportunity to feature temporary outdoor projects. Potential sites for the temporary outdoor project include Town Lake Metropolitan Park at Auditorium Shores, the Mexican American Cultural Center grounds and Fiesta Gardens. Blanton curator and Art in Public Places panel member Rise Puleo will share the curatorial gig with Duncan for the public art portion of the Texas Biennial.
Applications for the Texas Biennial will be available online April 16. Deadline for submissions is May 31.
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Review: Kathleen Battle at the Long Center
It was a diva evening: glittering opera legend graces the stage of the Dell Hall on Monday night at the new, and equally glittering, $77 million Long Center for the Performing Arts hosting the first classical concert presented by the Long Center itself.
Days before her much-anticipated return to Carnegie Hall this Sunday, luminary soprano Kathleen Battle sang a captivating two-hour recital with selections spanning three centuries, from baroque to gospel.
To be sure, there was some inconsistency with Battle’s delivery. Perhaps she was holding back in preparation for Carnegie Hall? Still, when she did deliver she did so brilliantly, re-affirming that at moments Battle still has one of the most distinctive voices of our era. And she also re-affirmed that the acoustics of the new Dell Hall sparkle with perfection.
Taking the stage in a simple yet elegant black velvet dress and wrapping a full-length golden satin stole around her with dramatic flair, Battle began with a set of songs by baroque composer Henry Purcell — a strange fit for her that she obliviously seemed unsure of herself with, as was evident in her breathy delivery and unsure pitch on sustained notes. Her surety and flair kicked in a bit more when she moved on to a set of Schubert lieder, and a trio of songs by Felix Mendelssohn demonstrated her extraordinary clarity and dramatic turns.
After intermission, she resoundingly impressed with Franz Liszt’s “Die Lorelei” garnering the first of several shouts of “brava” from the audience that rippled through the recital’s second half.
But when she emerged alone on stage without accompanying pianist Ted Taylor to sing an awe-inspiring a cappella version of “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?” we heard the legendary beauty. Gone was the distracted glancing at musical scores, the audible inhaling of breath, the odd facial expressions. Instead, Battle unleashed a full, rich, resonant sound.
And that was the diva the audiences came to hear.
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