9/11 Notes: DMN Critic Chris Vognar gives us a thoughtful essay cataloging the various prisms through which writers and filmmakers have viewed 9/11 and its aftermath in their work. “Literature can lead to catharsis,” says Amy Waldman, author of The Submission, a novel-of-the-moment about a competition to design a memorial at Ground Zero. The piece also tackles the spate of horror movies focused on torture, such as Saw and Hostel, with UNT prof Harry Benshoff positing that the popularity of these films, as opposed to more realistic takes such as United 93, may be because they tap themes “that people might respond to on one level within a sort of fantasy makebelieve world.” Vognar continues:

“As Benshoff points out, the horror genre has always offered an outlet for our greatest societal fears. In the 1950s, atomic anxieties gave rise to the giant lizard of Godzilla and the giant ants of Them! The violence of the 60s finds eerie parallels in movies such as Night of the Living Dead; the backlash against feminism informed the slasher movies of the ’70s and ’80s.”

Studio 360 will further address the ways artists were impacted by 9/11 on Sunday at 6 on KERA-FM. For more programming notes on documentaries and discussions of 9/11 on KERA FM and TV, go here. And you can find a listing of North Texas local events commemorating 9/11 in this special Art&Seek calendar category.

Free money: Attention artists. The Idea Fund is looking for 10 Texas-based art projects to grant $4,000. The Andy Warhol Foundation offers this grant, administered through Aurora Picture Show, Project Row Houses and DiverseWorks ArtSpaces. Want to know more? Stop by the Dallas Contemporary at 1 on Saturday for an information session.

By the numbers: More than 66,000 DFW K-12 graders experienced the Dallas Museum of Art during the last school year. You can see how that breaks down, how many programs the DMA offers, and how many docents will be leading kids thru the museum this year in a statistical breakdown on Uncrated blog.