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MUSEUM DISTRICT
HIGHLIGHTS
1. Marilyn Minter’s lush paintings, photographs and videos vividly manifest our culture’s complex and contradictory emotions
around the feminine body and beauty. On view through August 2, MARILYN MINTER: PRETTY/DIRTY features her unique works –
from the oversized paintings of makeup-laden lips and eyes to soiled designer shoes – bringing into sharp, critical focus the
power of desire. There are over 25 paintings showcasing Minter’s seductive statement pieces made between 1976 and
2013, including three video works and several photographs in an in-depth montage. Among them is “Big Girls”- (1986),
which combines the little girl gazing at her reflection with an appropriated image of Sophia Loren anxiously peering at Jayne
Mansfield’s voluptuous figure spilling out of her dress. “These works, like the others from this period, fused a feminist critique
of the construction of gender and femininity with other postmodernist hallmarks of the 1980s, including the appropriation of
mass-media imagery translated in a cool, detached style of painting,” says Elissa Auther, co-curator of the exhibition.
Contemporary Arts Museum Houston
5216 Montrose Blvd.
Houston, TX 77006
713.284.8250
www.camh.org
2. The recently opened 2,000sf DEBAKEY CELL LAB, named after the respected and accomplished medical pioneer Dr. Michael
E. DeBakey, is the museum’s first permanent exhibit in the past five years and is designed to inspire interest and educate the
public in biology and medicine. The Cell Lab features seven authentic biology-based science experiments developed for visitors ages 7 to adult. Future scientists and leaders in the medical field are able to put on lab coats, gloves and goggles and
perform experiments using a variety of lab equipment and can explore topics of cellular, molecular and microbiology. The
computer-guided (English or Spanish) Lab Companion at each activity bench leads visitors through each step of a particular
experiment.
The Health Museum
1515 Hermann Drive
Houston, TX 77004-7126
713.521.1515
www.thehealthmuseum.org
3. Amy Elkins’ BLACK IS THE DAY, BLACK IS THE NIGHT & PARTING WORDS opens May 8. The exhibit is a conceptual exploration into the
many facets of human identity using notions of time, accumulation, memory and distance through personal correspondence
with men serving life and death row sentences in some of the maximum security prisons in the U.S. Elkins began writing several
men and a collaboration was born. She constructed images using formulas specific to each of their stories, ages and years
incarcerated. Through these formulas their portraits became more unrecognizable and their memories became more muddled.
She would send the images to them and they would critique them. Of the seven men she originally wrote, Elkins remained in
touch with one who has been in solitary confinement since 1995 for a crime committed at 16. One was released in 2010
at the age of 30 (after 15 years in prison), three eventually opted out, one was executed in 2009, another executed in March
of 2012.
Houston Center for Photography,
West Gallery
1441 West Alabama
Houston, TX 77006
713.529.4755
www.hcponline.org
4. BREATH: THE PULSE OF THE UNIVERSE is scheduled for 7pm on Thursday, May 14. Participate in a unique performance incorporating breath and movement. Developed by film producer and CEO of Birdhouse Productions Lynn Birdwell and breath coach
and founder of Heights School of Yoga Pam Johnson, the Tadasana Troupe creates a mesmerizing moving mandala based
on Sri T. Krishnamacharya’s Tadasana sequence, a dream-like dance that is matched with precision to very audible, rhythmic
breath. This connection is the basis of all non-violent spiritual practices, including yoga, meditation and tai chi. A reception
on the plaza follows the program.
Rothko Chapel
3900 Yupon St., Houston, TX
www.rothkochapel.org
5. COURSE OF ACTION: 50 YEARS OF JEWELRY AND ENAMEL AT THE GLASSELL SCHOOL OF ART opens May 9 and celebrates the outstanding jewelry and enamel program at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s (MFAH) Glassell School of Art. For five decades, the program
has provided a place for students of all skill levels and backgrounds to flourish, and it now offers a full curriculum of classes
in metalsmithing, enameling and digital technology. The show chronicles the history of the program, acknowledging former
instructors Mary Lorena Brown, William Steffy and Mary Ann Papanek-Miller.
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www.crafthouston.org
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Artist Hall – Houston Center for
Contemporary Craft
4848 Main Street, Houston, TX 77002
713.529.4848
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