“The Suburbs of the Emerald City”

“The Suburbs of the Emerald City,” on view at Lawndale Art Center, brings up another housing crisis: monotony. Artist Joshua Smith examines the effects of home development trends with his manmade geodes. Clear, plastic Monopoly houses fill each rock to create a near-spitting image of the natural wonders, which normally need years of tremendous heat and pressure to form. Although no two geodes are the same, from afar they all look alike — a rock with a sparkly inside. This is Smith’s point: The design of a suburb may produce something unique, but really it’s just rows of similar houses in a maze of streets. Smith questions the ability to turn a house into a home if it’s no different than the one on the other side of the fence. Burb dwellers take note. 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. 4912 Main. The show runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays, through June 14. For information, call 713-528-5858 or visit www.lawndaleartcenter.org. Free.
Mondays-Saturdays. Starts: May 9. Continues through June 14, 2008