Holding Court
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Green Thumbs-Up
Austin Forget Bob Dylan. This year’s Austin City Limits Music Festival is going to have recycled toilet paper and biodiesel-run generators! That’s right, ACL has gone green (but then again, who hasn’t?). With merchandise sacks made of corn, LEDs and CFLs (that’s light-emitting diodes and compact fluorescent lights), compostable or biodegradable paper plates, and not an iota of Styrofoam (it’s banned), organizers are hoping the festival will leave less of an ecological footprint. Which means you can jam to Spoon, Kelly Willis, and LCD Soundsystem and do your part to help Mother Nature. Of course, saving the world isn’t the real reason the crowds flock to ACL. This year’s lineup is particularly loaded, with Björk, the Killers, Joss Stone, the White Stripes, and—taking the stage last but definitely not least—Dylan and His Band. And the underlying story lines are equally irresistible: Will M.I.A., the Sri Lankan rap sensation, run into any more visa troubles? Will this be the breakthrough for local favorite Ghostland Observatory, whose fan base keeps getting bigger and bigger? Will British soulstress Amy Winehouse even show up? With 130 acts playing on eight stages over three days, there will be a few tough calls (Blonde Redhead or Peter Bjorn and John? Wilco or My Morning Jacket?), so don’t get your heart set on seeing and hearing it all. Sep 14—16. Zilker Park, 2100 Barton Springs Rd; aclfest.com
Walk of Art
Dallas We all know about the Dallas Museum of Art and the Nasher Sculpture Center, but there’s far more to see at the smaller independent galleries in the city’s other, less official arts districts. If you need a little help navigating the neighborhoods—Uptown, Deep Ellum, the increasingly popular Dragon Street (a swarm of creatives has recently relocated there), to name a few—check out the Dallas Art Dealers Association’s Fall Gallery Walk on September 15. The 37 member galleries and nonprofit art spaces who will be offering free looks at their exhibits—several will also be hosting artist appearances and receptions—may not be in the cultural epicenter, a.k.a. the Dallas Arts District (which the convention and visitors bureau touts as the largest of its kind in the U.S.), but they are at the heart of Big D’s expanding art scene. There are too many to see in a single day (oh, and you’ll need to drive, not walk, to most of them), but we’ve singled out a handful to get you on your way. Goss-Michael Foundation: The venue formerly known as Goss Gallery is still in the same small corner lot in Uptown, but it has recently been recast. The art on the wall will no longer be for sale but will instead be taken from the private collection of founders Kenny Goss and George Michael (yes, that one). With the goal of introducing Texans to the work of young, emerging Brits, they’ve already installed some of Tracey Emin’s famous—and famously bawdy—pieces (they come down on September 15, so this is your last chance to see them) and plan to spotlight Damien Hirst, another of the so-dubbed Young British Artists, in the fall. (2500 Cedar Springs, 214-696-0555, gossmichaelfoundation.org) Craighead Green Gallery: One of the first to flee Uptown’s high rents for Dragon Street, two years ago, CG now has nearly six thousand square feet in which to display its arsenal of contemporary artists. On view from September 7 through October 13 is a three-pronged exhibit featuring Yrjo Edelmann, a Swede known for his deceptive paintings of parcels wrapped in paper (they only look 3-D); Arturo Mallmann, whose acrylic-and-resin landscapes on wood glow eerily; and Jay Maggio, a Texas-dwelling Louisiana native whose signature subject matter—trees—is an homage to both states. (1011 Dragon, 214-855-0779, craigheadgreen.com) Kettle Art: This self-described “little Deep Ellum gallery that could” is just shy of two years old, but its anti-establishment vibe and “shake things up” modus operandi have been hard not to notice. Opening on September 15 is “Another Little Piece of My Art,” an all-woman show featuring twenty artists, such as self-taught photographer Erica Felicella, whose conceptual images illuminate body language. (2714 Elm, 214-573-7622, kettle art.com) Photographs Do Not Bend Gallery: It’s been a year now since PDNB moved into its new Design District digs, and owners Burt and Missy Finger have been busy filling the space with knockout programming. Swing by to see selections from the much-lauded oeuvre of American landscape photographer Frank Gohlke, on view September 8 through October 13; this intimate showing will complement the mid-career retrospective of the Wichita Falls native’s work that will be opening at the Amon Carter Museum, in Fort Worth, on September 15. (1202 Dragon, 214-969-1852, pdnbgallery.com) Sep 15. Various locations, 214-943-1099, dallasartdealers.org
Power Play
Dallas The Dallas Stars’ latest quest for the Stanley Cup doesn’t officially begin until October 3, but the blogosphere is already aswirl with predictions and previews. September’s seven preseason games (four of which are on home ice) may not count toward the Stars’ final record, but they’re worth keeping tabs on as this year’s plotlines begin to unfold. Center Mike Modano may be the Stars’ ultimate star—he’s entering his seventeenth year with the organization—but he’s (relatively) old at 37, so even though he’s under contract till 2010, now’s the time to see the league’s highest-scoring American-born player. The 2007—2008 team seems to be even more of a motley crew than usual, with lots of veterans (Marty Turco, Brenden Morrow) and almost enough Fins (Antti Miettinen, Jere Lehtinen) and Swedes (Loui Eriksson, Joel Lundqvist) to field a baseball team. But the question remains: Will this be the year that coach Dave Tippett’s men don’t fizzle in the postseason, like they have the past three go-rounds? In a recent interview with ESPN, Modano was asked what impact the team’s first (and only) Stanley Cup victory, in 1999, had in Dallas. “It established a level of hockey that people were expecting every year,” he said. Maybe the Stars will indulge us once again. Sep 18: St. Louis Blues. Sep 20: Colorado Avalanche. Sep 27: Phoenix Coyotes. Sep 29: Tampa Bay Lightning. American Airlines Center, 2500 Victory Ave; 214-467-8277; stars.nhl.com
Space Crusaders
Fort Worth A quartet of artists who were at the forefront of two post-WWII movements—Abstract Expressionism and color-field painting—will be shown together in “Declaring Space,” opening at the Modern Art Museum this month. Here, a before-you-go primer on these pioneers of space and color. Artist: Mark Rothko. Known for: Oversized canvases with rectangular blocks of bright, usually contrasting colors. In May an anonymous collector snapped up one of his iconic works for a cool $72.8 million, making it the most expensive piece of postwar art ever to be sold at auction. On view: Six canvases, including White Band No. 27, a roughly seven-by-seven-foot stunner. Artist: Lucio Fontana. Known for: Painting a canvas a solid color and then slicing it … or tearing it or gouging it or otherwise puncturing it. On view: Attessi, a famous knife-cut work, and a rare installation that features an all-white labyrinth. Artist: Yves Klein. Known for: International Klein Blue, a moody hue he developed, and the monochromatic series he created using that shade. On view: Several works from his Monochrome Propositions series, including a sprawling floor piece made of pure pigment. Artist: Barnett Newman. Known for: His characteristic “zips,” or areas of color separated by thin vertical lines, which he even incorporated into his sculptures. On view: The seemingly all-black Abraham (look closely and you’ll see dark green) and the nuanced white-on-white The Name II, along with Here III, a steel sculpture. Sep 30—Jan 6. 3200 Darnell, 817-738-9215, themodern.org 
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