Guest blogger Brad Ford Smith is a Dallas artist and art conservationist.

This Tuesday Sept. 23, Kara Walker will be talking about My Complement, My Enemy, My Oppressor, My Love, her landmark exhibition at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.

Over the last few years there have been some really wonderful exhibits in the Metroplex, but I can’t recall the last one that has galvanized so many people, made them talk and talk and talk. And these are not just your normal artcenteric people, these are people from a wide variety of beliefs, social classes and heritage.

They are talking about how this artist’s work makes them feel, how they responded to it, and how they kept thinking about it. Several said they had to talk about the exhibition just to get it out of their system. That it was like a physical, internal pressure that could only be released by talking.

With all of this talking and physical pressure, the Modern is expecting a full house at Kara Walker’s lecture so they have arranged to do a live broadcast in the Café Modern. That’s an additional 150 seats. For those who still are not able to squeeze in, the Modern will also post the lecture on their Modern podcast page. Which by the way is a great resource to hear national as well as regional artists speak about their artwork.

So, one way or another, whether it’s in person, a live broadcast, or a Modern podcast, we will have the opportunity to hear Kara Walker speak for herself… Then we can all talk about that.

Tickets for the lecture go on sale Tuesday at 5pm. The lecture starts at 7pm. The Kara Walker exhibition runs through Oct. 15^th, so there is still time to see this daring exhibition.

Once again, I applaud the Modern for hosting this controversial exhibition. This is an intellectually stimulating blockbuster that confirms exhibitions about impressionism and dead kings are as significant and stimulating as unsalted saltines.