Creative Time Critiques Dallas: 9 out of 10

Guest blogger Gail Sachson , MFA. SMU, owns Ask Me About Art offering lectures, tours and program planning , is Vice-Chair of the Cultural Affairs Commission and a member of the Public Art Committee

Pasternak. credit:Timothy Greenfield-Sanders

“Dallas is almost perfect”, said Anne Pasternak , President and Artistic Director of New York based Creative Time (this is where I envisioned her raising her paddle and shouting NINE!) .Creative Time is one of the extremely worthy inaugural recipients of the first Meadows Prize artists’ residency from SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts. A combination of Art Super Nanny and Dancing with the Stars Judge, she and her staff have visited with arts leaders to help formulate a creative plan for helping us score a perfect 10.

Pasternak and the ever energetic and creative Kevin Moriarty, Artistic Director of the Dallas Theater Center, were in conversation with KERA’s (Everything You Ever Wanted to Know) Jeff Whittington, as part of the new and popular State of the Arts series at the Dallas Museum of Art.

What would make us better”? asked Whittington.

What I heard, and agree with wholeheartedly, as suggestions for all cities was:

*We need more artists living among us, so that we realize that they are not immoral, but just like us- only talented.

Moriarty

*We need our institutions to be less didactic, not to talk down to us, but to ask, “What are You seeing?”

*We should not be so event driven for our art experiences, but bring art and art happenings more into our neighborhoods and daily lives-even more important than staging exhibits in the Arts District.

*More public art should be temporary. Temporary works give the artist greater leeway. “They can get away with murder”

*Public art should surprise us more. Children are “super engaged” when surprised by a work of art. Adults are fearful.

*Public art should be risky, cause arguments and be upsetting.

How upsetting?

Upsetting enough, suggested Pasternak, to call 911. “A project has failed”, she said smiling, but seemingly sincere, “if there was no discussion and no calls to 911.”