-Re-Use: Artists are encouraged to make use of recycled, re-used, and re-defined materials in keeping with the spirit of the incremental redevelopment of the neighborhood.
- Utility: The art is not required to fill a utilitarian role, but projects which fill a secondary purpose (shade, seating, bike parking, etc) are strongly encouraged.

Artists have until March 17 to submit ideas, which you can do here. More details below:

Spare Parts

A Fort Worth Avenue Art Initiative

Overview and Project Goals

 The Ft Worth Ave Development Group is seeking an artist or team of artists to create a site-specific work in the burgeoning area on Commerce/Ft. Worth Avebetween Eastus and Hardwick Streets.
Our goal is to support the ingenuity and DIY spirit of the area, and to encourage street life and pride along Fort Worth Avenue.  Re-purposed warehouses and Airstream trailers are laying the ground for vibrant street life to return to the Ave, and engaging public art will help catalyze the public to understand and embrace these changes.

Content

 -Re-Use: Artists are encouraged to make use of recycled, re-used, and re-defined materials in keeping with the spirit of the incremental redevelopment of the neighborhood.
- Utility: The art is not required to fill a utilitarian role, but projects which fill a secondary purpose (shade, seating, bike parking, etc) are strongly encouraged.

Location

-The installation(s) will be placed on private property along Ft Worth Avein the area between Eastus and Hardwick Streets.  The business owners in this area have agreed to host work on their property, and submissions can be situated in any of the areas listed below.
-Owners will not vote on selection, but will approve any installation on their property.
-The owners of the Foundry/Chickenscratch, the Mission Motel, the Dallas West Retail Trailers, and Butch McGregor’s warehouses and open space on the north side of the street have all signed on to this project.

Budget

-The project budget is $6000.  This amount is to cover materials, supply, labor, and installation costs.

Artist Eligibility

-All artists must be at least 18 years of age, and reside within 100 miles of Dallas,Texas.

Selection Process

- The Selection Panel for this project is comprised of Kay Kallos (Office of Cultural Affairs, Dallas), Bernardo Diaz (SMU), VET (NEA Artist), Wanda Dye (UTA), and Sarah Jane Semrad (KXT, La Reunion TX)
- All submissions will be reviewed by the Panel.
- Three submissions will be selected for as finalists, and will present their projects to the Selection Panel in person.
- Each of the three Finalists will receive a $100 stipend to cover additional time spent on project details.

2012 Timeline

March 17 — Initial Proposals Due
March 19 – Finalists announced.
April 5 – Finalist presentations
April 6 – Award/Commision
April 5 to May 31 — Fabrication.
June 1 to June 15 — Installation

Submission Requirements

1. Letter of Interest: Please describe your interest in the project and your approach towards the installation. Please include a description of the location, the scale of the installation, materials to be used, and requirements for long-term (5 years) maintenance and care.  Letter should be one page.

2. Resume/CV: Please include a professional resume or CV, along with a brief bio and artist statement.

3. Image of proposed work:  Please include a rendering, sketch, photo, or other visual representation of the work for review.

4. Images of past work.  Please include relevant images of past artworks.  Images can be submitted via CD, or hyperlinks to online photos are acceptable.

Mailing or Drop-Off Location:
The Belmont Hotel
Attn: Scott Horn
901 Fort Worth Avenue
Dallas, TX 75208

Electronic Submissions Here:
http://bit.ly/zDHpYP

-Please refer all questions to:
Scott Horn
art@fortworthavenue.org
214.683.9134

The purpose of the Fort Worth Avenue Development Group is to improve the West Commerce/Fort Worth Avenue corridor and maintain a high quality of life for the area’s residential neighbors, property owners and businesses.
Learn more at fortworthavenue.org

Image: From ‘Confessors,’ 8mm on Digital Video – 19m – 2010 by Michael Morris, who is opening a video exhibition at Oliver Francis Gallery.

“Sculpture” by Marko Kratohvil in Gallery A of the Cohn Drennan Contemporary Gallery – February 9 : 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM; 1107 Dragon Street, Dallas, Tx 75207.

“Portraits” by Cabe Booth at Ro2 Art at The Belmont – February 9 : 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM; 901 Fort Worth Avenue, Dallas, Tx 75208.

“Remedy Art” by Douglas Winters III at the Remedy Spa Dallas – February 9 : 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM; 1810 N. Prairie Avenue, Dallas, Tx 75204.

“Paintings by Lisa Lindholm” by Lisa Lindholm at the Ross Akard Gallery – February 9 : 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM; 1717 N. Akard Street, Dallas, Tx 75201.

“Art To Heart: Celebrating Valentines and Our Loved Ones” at Artists’ Showplace Gallery – February 10 : 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM; 15615 Coit Rd, #230, Dallas, Tx 75248.

“It’s Just Meant to Be” at Oliver Francis Gallery — February 11 : 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM; 209 S. Peak St., Dallas, TX 75226.

Andrea Goldman’s Madness Q & A: The Watery Part of the World at The Reading Room- February 11 : 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM; 3715 Parry Avenue, Dallas, TX 75226.

“The Path To Love” at Clique Gallery – February 11 : 7:30 PM –  10:00 PM; 3513 Oak Lawn Avenue, Dallas, Tx 75219.

“Horndeski: The First Thirty Years” by Gregory Horndeski at the Norwood Flynn Gallery - February 11 : 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM; 3318 Shorecrest, Dallas, Tx 75235.

“Valentine’s Day HeART Show” by Manuel Padilla, Daniel Padilla, Randy Gonzales, and Pamela Rabin, at the Padilla Art Gallery – February 11 : 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM; 829 W Davis Street, Dallas, Tx 75208.

“Amazing Isn’t Enough” by Brandon McLean, Clark Goolsby, and Rocky Grimes at R02 Art Downtown – February 11 : 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM; 110 N. Akard Street, Dallas, Tx 75202.

“Comtemporary Group Show” by Tony Bass, Paul Walden, and Mark Whitmarsh, at the Southwest Gallery – February 11 : 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM; 4500 Sigma, Dallas, Tx 75214.

“The Fantasy World” by Junko Otsu at the Hawkins Gallery of the Royal Lane Baptist Church – February 12 : 12:00 Noon – 2:00 PM; 6707 Royal Lane, Dallas, Tx 75230.

Treasure Fingers (Rio Room): Another big Rio Room Thursday night, with Fool’s Gold recording artist Treasure Fingers, who has remixed the likes of Chromeo, Kid Sister, Empire of the Sun, and Ocelot.

When I mentioned to a friend that I feel it’s imperative to make a stop to the dry cleaners a few days in advance of attending anything at this venue, she replied, “Ha, the douche is always loose at Rio Room!” But I find that unfair. I shot back, “There’s nothing wrong with well-dressed, professional gentlemen.” Can’t a guy just look his best without being called names around here? Sheesh.

The Lemonheads/Meredith Sheldon/Soviet (The Prophet Bar): In the less-and-less interesting conversation on the durability of 90s pop music, the Lemonheads always turn out to be the surprise winner. After shedding their tougher punk beginnings they would eventually put out two records, It’s a Shame about Ray and Come On, Feel,  in 1992 and 1993 respectively, that took adult album alternative music to a safe purgatory, where the main singles would be utilized on romantic comedy soundtracks for all of eternity.

But there’s a reason for that. As ridiculous as singer Evan Dando’s public persona could be (He was kind of like a drug-abusing alt rock Fabio), and as silly as their brand of radio-ready work could be, it is undeniable in its catchiness and charm. As lame as it is that they gave an out to people who weren’t really ready for Nirvana, they still sound pretty good every time you accidentally hear them. And “alternative” is still the most dated, awful, shamelessly pandering term still used by the media.

Big J (The People’s Last Stand): Good to see J a little more centralized. All those Uptown sushi bar jobs have to wear on you after a while.

Discipline (Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios): Now that Discipline founding member Andrew Haas is booking shows for Rubber Gloves with his own Anesthetic Booking endeavor, it will be interesting to see what effect that will have on the constantly shifting nature of the Rubber Gloves calendar. As long as he isn’t booking Ministry tribute bands (intentional or otherwise), this should be a positive step for both the club and the artist. But are there enough fans out there that share Haas’ esoteric tastes? Sometimes you just have to twist the audience’s collective arm, and my educated guess is that this outspoken music enthusiast is more than willing to do the twisting.

“Yesterday Once More: A Musical Tribute to the Carpenters” (Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center): I think I have found an amazing addition to my collection of “Intentionally Awkward First Dates.” Come cry with me?

FRIDAY

Fishboy/Dear Rabbit/Hares on the Mountain/New Science Projects (Denton Square Donuts): This was one goofy animal name away from being struck from the list, but luckily New Science Projects only contains a few party animals, the kind that are always getting Kool Aid and cake frosting all over themselves, like 8-year-olds at a birthday party. Someone hide the donuts.

Oh, and make sure to listen to this week’s Track by Track with Paul Slavens session, which features Hares on the Mountain. This is still the best way to determine if you have unfairly prejudged a group, or if your suspicions were correct all along. In other words, it will make you look like less of a fool the next time you’re writing off local music at some bar.

Glamorama (Beauty Bar Dallas): As DJ Blake Ward says in his event invite, “Daft Punk is only the tip of the iceberg,” when it comes to French house music, and considering what a minefield of embarrassing cultural hallmarks Valentine’s Day is, it could be much worse.

Thurston Moore/Christina Carter (The Texas Theatre): Please direct your attention to our always helpful events calendar for additional info on this excellent show.

Update: Z-Ro/Trae (Trees): Part of the ongoing ABN reunion that has many Houston rap fans understandably excited. Excited enough to justifiably call me out on Facebook for leaving it off.

SATURDAY

(Note: Good Records has two in-stores this evening, which should make for quite a sea-change when it’s time for the next audience.)

Anvil (Good Records): Thrash pioneers and stars of the highly-acclaimed rock documentary,  Anvil: The Story of Anvil, are here for a meet-and-greet. And to some of you local music-haters out there, whether you know it or not, you could very well have this film to thank for some band you never liked breaking up. Though some have called it inspiring, I’ve heard at least a handful of musicians claim that they wanted to hang it up after a viewing. In either case, it really is a great film.

Ben Kweller (Good Records): In-store performance starts at 7 pm and is free to attend. If you purchase a copy of Kweller’s new record before Februray 11th, you’ll get a special wristband that will let you in ahead of all of the other people who will simply download the record illegally, and won’t get such royal treatment. Like the scum that they are. All ages welcome.

Stoogeaphilia/Mike Haskins Experience/Fungi Girls/Doom Ghost (The Where House): Apparently a member of the band TK left a comment on FrontRow last week suggesting that I was against The Where House DIY venue in Fort Worth simply because I made a statement about a typical band-sourced joke that was posted on the group’s page. I was basically making a comment about a bad joke (which bands are notorious for) and in no way meant to discourage people from attending the show and supporting the benefit. There is no FrontRow conspiracy against The Where House, I assure you. In fact, I may even go out there on Saturday to put my money where my mouth is. With Fungi Girls and Stoogeaphilia on the bill, it may even go past proving a point.

Hacked & Slashed: A Night of Horror Scores (Zubar): These gentlemen must have a disturbing number of horror scores in order to actually pull off more than one of these nights, but apparently they do. Featuring Gabriel Mendoza and Gavin Guthrie.

Sundress/Blackstone Rangers/Slumberbuzz/Tiger of Bengal (Bryan Street Tavern): As a one-year anniversary party for the Dallas Distortion Music label, booking entity, and blog, this show raises at least one question. There has always been some controversy about whether or not DDM really is a blog, since they have a Facebook page, a Twitter account, a Bandcamp page, pretty much everything except an actual blog. And that wouldn’t be a concern except that they list themselves under “Media/News/Publishing” on Facebook. Why don’t you guys just get a WordPress or a Blogspot? I’ll help you set it up. Blogging is easy, guys. Anybody can do it.

So, yes, even though this is the one year anniversary of what is predominantly a Facebook page, these gentlemen have genuine enthusiasm for the goings-on of Dallas-area music, and that’s not exactly common. Plus, one of their writers accused another blog of ripping me off, and I’m always into that.

This lineup includes Tiger of Bengal which features ex-members of Soviet (already?), as well as Blackstone Rangers, who are the standout act here. Sundress will bring the most people out with their melodic psych-rock, however I have a hard time trusting bands that put the word “nation” in their URL.

5th Annual Fall in Love at Fallout (Fallout Lounge): Five years? Seriously? That makes me feel a little old. Let’s see. What jokes have I been making about this Valentine’s-themed event for the past five years? My guess is that it has something to do with how “falling in love” is probably the last thing you’re going to be doing at Fallout Lounge on this or any other night. It’s also a reunion for the veteran Dallas DJ collective Hot Flash, so that “good ol’ day”s crowd will certainly be around. And okay, I love them, but it’s a different kind of love.

The Octopus Project/Wild Mocassins/Mystery Skulls (The Granada): This show was destined to be big the minute it was booked, as the Octopus Project are one of the most highly regarded live acts in the state, if not the country, due to the multimedia nature of their performances. I’ve been told that an artists residency tribute blog might have tacked their name onto it after the fact, but that last-minute type of promotion doesn’t interest me.

AM Ramblers/County Lines/Old Snack/Warren Jackson Hearne & Le Leek Electrique/Whiskey Folk Ramblers (J&Js Pizza): Obvious comment right off the bat: No show should feature more than one type of “rambler.” That’s too much rambling, I’m afraid, and a little goes a long way. There is enough Denton Star power buried between the respective Ramble-acts to shake J&Js from the basement up, so beware. You may have a hard time making your way down to the VIP foosball section.

SUNDAY

Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra/The Angelus (Sons of Hermann Hall): Having never been much for Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s brand of incomparably bombastic instrumental music, I don’t actually know if it’s considered blasphemy to find the Silver Mt. Zion-side project to be a better band. Though GYBE’s larger sound could most likely sell out a much larger venue, the often understated work of Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra tends to be the more interesting of the two acts, and not because of the inclusion of vocals. There is a playfulness and a tendency to try different approaches in the midst of what is still some very atmospherically dense music, that is lacking in some of Godspeed’s one-trick pony dynamics. But such is the case with all great side-projects. The mood-manipulating Angelus will open, which is as suitable a warmup as you’re likely to find for this band.

It’s the damnedest thing, though: Washington pulls it off. Director Daniel Espinosa’s tale of double-crossing spies is conventionally plotted, and action-heavy without any bravura action sequences, and yet I enjoyed the trip.

Playing Tobin Frost, a former CIA agent who went rogue nine years ago and has been using his contacts and knowledge to sell intelligence to the highest bidder ever since, Washington keeps his character’s motivations closely guarded and creates a tiny bit of uncertainty even when you’re 99 percent sure you know where the movie’s headed.

The story kicks into gear when Frost, having obtained a mysterious intelligence file, is chased by some unseemly characters and only escapes by entering the United States consulate in Cape Town, South Africa. Back at CIA HQ in Langley, Virginia, deputy director Whitford (Sam Shepard) and senior agents Barlow (Brendan Gleeson) and Linklater (Vera Farmiga) then have a roomful of analysts drop everything they’re doing to focus on helping to bring in Frost for interrogation.

The decision is made to have a team deliver Frost to a safe house in Cape Town where Matt Weston (Reynolds), a low-level CIA officer, has been stationed for the past 12 months with nothing to do but sit by the phone. That and, in his off-hours, shower with his sexy French girlfriend, Ana (Nora Arnezeder).

Shortly after the questioning-through-torture of Frost begins, the power cuts off in the safe house and an armed assault team enters. The assailants are the same men who chased Frost to the consulate. They plan to take him alive, but are happy to kill the interrogation team in the process. Fortunately, Weston is able to smuggle Frost out the back of the house and escape.

The movie becomes a sort of buddy road-trip flick, with Weston attempting to secure Frost long enough for an extraction team to get to South Africa, while evading the bad guys. During their hours on the run together, Frost plants doubt in Weston’s mind about who the real enemy is, exactly what game it is they’re playing, and whether Weston truly wants the life he’s chosen as an intelligence operative.

There comes a moment that’s presented as a big twist, but anyone who’s seen a spy movie or a film about corrupt cops will likely see it coming long before. I also didn’t buy the evolution of the relationship between Frost and Weston, since I don’t like to think that our government would ever hire such trusting spies.

What I liked most was Washington, the intensity he brings to the role even when he’s sneaking in that sly smile of his. He makes you believe he knows something that you don’t. Even if it turns out that, yes, you’ve seen this picture before.

The first problem for the new film is that it’s hard to imagine anyone’s mother falling for someone as gigantic as The Rock, especially after being married to Brendan Fraser. Johnson has so much hulkishness to overcome in Journey 2 to become the sweet, sensitive stepfather desperately trying to find a fraternal connection with his new teenage son, the prickly Josh. The Rock stoops and flashes soft smiles, he bends his eyebrows, flexes his cheeks, and almost whispers his dialogue. He’s playing a former Navy man, but it is hard to imagine him skirting through the tiny passages and up and down the skinny ladders in most Navy vessels. And just when we thought The Rock’s girth was a downplayed afterthought in Journey 2, director Brad Peyton works in what is perhaps the most gratuitous (read: best) use of 3D technology to date: Luis Guzman tossing oversized berries at Rock’s flexing and bouncing pectorals, which smack the berries back at the camera with the power and consistency of Josh Hamilton at a homerun derby. If you’re wearing 3D glasses, duck.

The pec-baseball moment is one of a number of hokey asides in a film that, somewhat surprisingly considering it was directed by the man behind Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, manages to string together something of a digestible throwback-kitsch adventure story. The 3D gimmicks are to be expected these days, as are the slapdash storytelling, the pacing and storyline as quick and thin as a 30-minute Nickelodeon show, and the gratuitous teenage cleavage shots of an in-vogue TV star (in Journey 2, it’s High School Musical’s Vanessa Hudgens).

What we don’t see coming is Michael Caine, dressed like a drunken actor who just stumbled off the stage of a community theater after nailing it as Ben Gunn in a Treasure Island adaptation. I’ve come to enjoy cameos by quality actors in big budget schlock. For one, I imagine the cash Caine is storing up will allow the actor to back some more ambitious fare in the future. But it is also fun to watch someone like Caine ham it up in Journey 2 in a role that requires just a dash of his sparkle and a thin slice of his characteristically wry wit.

Caine plays Alexander, Josh’s grandfather who has been sending the boy coded messages via satellite, which the Encyclopedia Brown-type has been picking up on his nicely product-placed iPad, MacBook combo. Josh can’t seem to crack his grandfather’s code, but The Rock, I mean Hank (his character), used to be in the Navy, remember? So he knocks out a translation after a quick glance at the message. Alexander is on “The Mysterious Island” of Jules Verne fame. To find it, Josh and The Rock dart to the attic where they quickly pull a trio of island-based novels (Gulliver’s Travels and Treasure Island, in addition to Verne’s The Mysterious Island), overlay the map images at the front of the books (convenient they had complimentary editions of the three works), and discover the coordinates of Vernes’ secret island.

After a bit of bickering about who’s allowed to do what, off they go – stepfather and stepson – on a relationship-affirming trek that lands them in cahoots with a goofy helicopter pilot (Guzman) and his daughter, Kailani (Hudgens). It’s the overlay of Verne’s setting and Indiana Jones-inspired adventuring, just enough winks at the classics of the genre, which soften the blow of Journey 2’s rock-headed goofiness.

Instead, The Vow is a is a visually witless thing – establish, over-the-shoulder, over-the-shoulder, rinse repeat, fade – and its most supposedly poignant moments sound like Ann Landers meets Mad Lib (“I want you to accept me for who I am,” etc. etc.). The gag factor hits a near ten when the leading man, Leo (Channing Tatum), asks the leading lady, Paige (Rachel McAdams), to shack up with him by spelling out “Move in?” with blueberries on a plate of pancakes – in front of Leo’s band mates.

Shortly after The Vow’s first scene, a magical moment of snow, film, and affection shared between newly married Leo and Paige in a gorgeous, wintery Chicago (the sexiest thing in this film – the city, I mean), they are rear ended by a salting truck. Paige goes through the windshield, ends up in a coma, and when she eventually awakes, she doesn’t remember Leo or their love affair. What Paige does remember is who she was a few years before she met Leo, before she dropped out of law school, broke up with her smarmy finance professional fiancé, and moved to Chicago to pursue her true passions: first art, then Leo.

Part of the problem here is Channing Tatum, who has proven again (see: Dear John) that he is not much of a romantic lead. He is a dullard; a charmless, charismatic void. His face is too airbrushed and unblemished to welcome or woo. As an actor, he has two tools: “sincere” and “wounded.” And when he sports the accoutrement of personalities or characters that aren’t straight “frat boy,” such as the wicker hat or white sweater in The Vow, he looks goofy and forced, like an American Gladiator in a  pinup calendar holding a fishing rod. All Tatum really lends The Vow is visual incoherence.

McAdams, on the other hand, has played this role before in The Notebook, only here she puts on two faces – the artist and the prissy bourgeois daughter of a suburban judge – to nice effect. But none of the meat of The Vow’s material — the double personality, the memory loss, questions of identity, the friction between the married couple, the familial squabbling — is allowed more than a few meaningful lines of dialogue. Instead we get the movie equivalent of a box of bonbons, lots of candid, squishy vignettes of the two lovers, each hiding a bitter sweet melancholic center: our knowledge that the years of flashback romance unravel in the film’s first scene. Despite the contrast in flavors, perhaps The Vow’s most remarkable feature is that by the time the credits role there’s hardly any aftertaste at all. Guys looking for a romantic 14^th may need to stock reinforcements.

In its fifth year, the Denton-based film fest is the region’s only dedicated solely to docs. That will satisfy fans of the medium, who can take in as much non-fiction filmmaking as one can during the eleven day event that will screen more than 80 movies, including plenty of films you would never get a chance to see but for the festival. But the festival is also an encouraging indication that the region’s diversifying film-related events are able to find support. According to festival organizers, the lineup has strengthen as the number of submissions to the festival have increased. This year will see 21 feature films and 43 documentary shorts in competition. Another curious addition to the festival this year: the documentary race, which challenges entrants to create a film about a randomly drawn topic which just 7,000 hours to shoot.

Here are some of the films you should keep your eye out for at this year’s Thin Line Film Festival:

Battle for Brooklyn, February 10 at 8 p.m. (Campus Theatre): The opening night film, one of 15 movies shortlisted for the 2012 best documentary Oscar, follows Daniel Goldstein’s struggle against the planned redevelopment of his corner of Brooklyn for a new NBA arena. The product of eight years of shooting, the moving, life affirming Battle for Brooklyn has been compared to two Frank Capra classics, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and It’s A Wonderful Life. Director and Producer Suki Hawley will be in attendance.

Shorts Block # 5 (Love), February 14 at 6 p.m. (Campus Theatre): The Thin Line Film Festival has a particularly strong — and diverse — offering of short subject documentaries. On Tuesday, the “Love” block of shorts brings together stories about a robot inventor who travels to Nepal after falling in love with a Nepalese woman over the internet; a woman obsessed with rubber ducks; a former woman’s professional wrestling champion; the intimate bond between a 6-year-old boy and his mother, who is dying of cancer; and the “oldest lesbian in the world,”  97-year-old Bobbie Staff.

Campania In-Felix (Unhappy Country), February 18 at 5 p.m. (Campus Theatre): If you haven’t seen  Matteo Garrone’s gritty 2008 film, Gemorrah, which takes place against a background of corruption and illegal dumping of toxic waste in Southern Italy, you should. If you have seen the film (or even if you want an introduction the setting), you’ll want to catch Ivana Corsale’s Campania In-Felix (Unhappy Country), a documentary about the decades-old efforts to thwart ongoing illegal dumping by mafia-backed waste management companies in and around Naples. The film will be preceded with the Texas premiere of the short doc “Among Giants,” about the clear cutting of California’s coastal redwood forests, making this an intriguing environmental double feature.

Photo: From “Love Hacking,” part of Tuesday’s Short Block #5 (Love) series.

Luckily, we’ve got a family four-pack of tickets to give away for this Friday’s production opening at 7:00 p.m. Use your kids as an excuse to sit back in the theater and be reminded of the more tender emotions—i.e. love, loyalty and friendship—that always seem to fly out the window during the drive back home during rush hour.

To enter, simply “like” us on Facebook and answer the following question: What’s the name of the pig Charlotte is so desperate to save? (Hint: not sure? Check out Casa Mañana’s website here for a little reminder.)

A now-legendary pickup-truck journey through the artist’s home state of Tennessee is the origin of Chevy Deluxe (2012). This is a sky-blue 1984 Chevy full-size pickup truck turned into a light box by means of four parallel pairs of neon lights mounted transversely in the bed and shining up through a blue tarp stretched across the top.Untitled (red light truck) (2011), a rear-view photograph of the original truck with its tailgate down, taken at a stoplight, is available as an 11×17 poster in a Gonzalez-Torres-style unlimited edition.

Other objects are records of the epic opening-night event in January, which featured a pig roasted two ways and a wide cross-section of high and low Dallas society. That evening’s recorded NFL playoff games (Saints/49ers and Broncos/Patriots) play on a 60-inch high-definition screen in front of a row of benches made from 2×12 pine boards and overturned 5-gallon plastic buckets.

The most distinctive works here play with light. Mounted on the lower section of a first-floor window on the southwest wall, ground floor, is Untitled (large mouth bass) (2012), a perforated vinyl window sign depicting the archetypal game fish, as if lifted from the back window of a pickup. Bass fishing, as much as NASCAR or SEC football, is a leisure pursuit with national appeal but a specific cultural and regional base; hence logos like this are displayed with pride as identity markers by devotees. As the light goes down, the bass is easier to see. Upstairs, Untitled (hash mark decal) (2012), in white on a white wall, glows when the light hits it, balancing references to stock-car racing colors on the one hand, and Stella-type shaped canvases on the other. Also upstairs, three works, Untitled (I-beams) (all 2012), mount single light bulbs on the middle of paired 2x4s leaning against the side wall. The best time to see the installation is in the twilight after the sun goes down, when the various light sources mingleinto a many-layered glow and the bass and hash-mark decals shine with contrast.

In 2010, an exhibition at Mitchell-Innes andNash in New York paired works by Overton (born 1971) and Jacob Kassay (born 1984) with those of Robert Morris (born 1931), casting the two younger artists as creative legatees of the gray eminence of postminimalism and process art. (As it happens, Kassay, an art-market phenomenon, is next up at the Power Station, in April.) The present exhibition is decidedly more down-home, even disarmingly so, although it is certainly possible to make mental comparisons with Dan Flavin, John McCracken, or Morris. For me, however, thinking about the differences between Tennessee and Texas was ultimately more rewarding.

All photos by Trevor Paulhus