The Way We Were

Artists wax nostalgic over the primordial Lawndale

Comments (0) By Kelly Klaasmeyer Thursday, Oct 13 2005

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Courtesy of Lawndale Art Center

The show includes quirky Houston-esque work like this papier-mâché sculpture by Jesse Lott.

Details

Through October 22.

Lawndale Art Center, 4912 Main, 713-528-5858.

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The crackpot conceptualism of the Art Guys was born in the old Lawndale building when Michael Galbreth and Jack Massing were both UH graduate students. Kopriva included one of their early works, Lambchops for the Motor City (1987-88), which presents black-and-white photographs documenting the (really) young Jack and Mike sporting giant sideburns. Alongside the photos is actual Art Guy facial hair, neatly glued into sideburn shapes on paper and framed. A mirror and a sideburn stamp and ink pad are nearby so that you can create your own lambchops. No doubt the work grew out of Lawndale-based antics.

While there never was or is any one Houston aesthetic, Lawndale encouraged an open, try-anything sense of experimentation and improvisation that has indelibly marked the city's art scene. It holds a warm place in the hearts of many artists -- artists who showed their work there for the first time, and artists who just went to a helluva party there.