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"Round 3"

The works in Lawndale's Studio Program exhibit depict everything from eyelashes to James Byrd

A A A Comments By Olivia Flores Alvarez Thursday, Jun 4 2009

We're pretty sure Amber Eagle, one of three participants in the Lawndale Artist Studio Program, isn't giving us the finger in the "Round 3" exhibit, but we could be wrong. The piece in question is a giant fingertip (about two feet tall), complete with a long red polished nail, sitting on a stand and pointing up. Some of her other work includes drawings of huge eyelashes (in varying styles from plain to Hollywood glamour queenish), sculptures that look as if they were made from cake frosting, and pastel-colored paintings of women in period costumes.

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Fellow artist Kevin Curry invites viewers to write a thought on a scrap of paper and then shred it through a machine. The shredded paper falls into a box made of clear plastic, and the secret messages pile up in a mound of indistinguishable bits. For another work, he has put together a dollar bill from dozens of tiny pieces and encased it between two sheets of clear plastic.

The show's third artist, El Franco Lee II, paints in a style that looks as if it were lifted from Marvel comics to discuss the African-American experience. One work shows the murder of James Byrd, and another depicts DJ Screw. Then there is the painting Evolution of a Black Man, which shows a series of figures moving across the canvas, including an African pharaoh, a black Christ, a slave, a sharecropper, Malcolm X and a rapper performing before a white audience. We would add one more figure to the series: U.S. president. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays. Through June 13. 4912 Main. For information, call 713-528-5858 or visit www.lawndaleartcenter.org. Free.
Mondays-Saturdays. Starts: May 28. Continues through June 13, 2009

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