Dallas Aurora (Borealis) Outdoor Art Show (Photo/Video)

Cathedral Guadalupe Church

Dallas, naturally, is too far south for the famed Northern Lights so we have to make do with making our own: The Dallas Aurora Art Show. Apparently it's been going on since 2010 but this year's was the first I'd heard of it. (Living hand to mouth is no picnic, my dear savage). It looked really cool from what I could tell and I was hoping for a somewhat surreal experience given to us from those who don't live under the gun. I was not disappointed.

Their stated mission is thus:

"The Aurora Project is a free contemporary art exhibition centered in the rapidly developing Dallas Arts District. The project presents interactive new media artworks such as light , video, performance, and sound in exciting and unexpected public spaces. For on unforgettable evening, the sunset signals the transformation of the 68-acres of downtown Dallas into one of the nations largest outdoor exhibitions of this cutting-edge medium. The Aurora Project offers a valuable opportunity for collaboration between hundreds of local, national, and international artists, alongside the Dallas Arts District, for an inclusive artistic experience and community engagement."



Dallas has one of the largest contiguous art districts in the country. It has turned into one of my favorite areas in the city. The people watching was great and the sensory experience of the sounds and smells and the night air cannot be captured. I took my camera but decided against lugging the tripod along which made for some interesting blurred and ghostly effects of night shooting which I felt fit right in to the scene.



There was certainly no shortage of people there:

Having never been before I was a tad disoriented and overwhelmed. But this only helped add to the feeling of wonder and discovery. I saw a solo girl with a camera photo-journalizing as I was and I was dying to team up with her. The show is an experience best shared as you explore the wonderland.







Giant eyeballs, Cajun voodoo, mysterious light beings - things were happening all around and I felt the need to be in all places at once in order not to miss anything. I really didn't do the show proper justice with my energies devoted to capturing and recording. It's best to relax and absorb each scene and read the placard of the description of the event to put it into context. On the other hand, it was fun not knowing the context and just enjoying the surreal aspects.



Next year I'm not sure if I'll take my camera or if I do I hope not to feel so rushed. I was exhausted when I left but felt I had gypped myself of the full experience. I created a video below as I stumbled around. It's a bit chaotic, without explanation, as I felt while wandering around. The ending in the 110 year old cathedral a fitting moment of finality and rest. Hope you enjoy!

Click here to view the entire photo set

Samurai Sword Symposium! (Photo/Video/Sake)

I got a notice from the Dallas Japanese American Society of the following event:

"In partnership with Kokusai Tosogu Kai (KTK), an international non-profit group devoted to the study, research and publication of accouterments of the Japanese Samurai Sword, the Crow Collection welcomes collectors of Japanese Arms from across the world for an afternoon discussion in the galleries."

While hardly a collector I did hope I might see or hear something interesting. Boy, was I not disappointed! I'd call the event a stunning success - well organized, well presented and with high content value. Unfortunately, what the notice did not tell me was that it was an RSVP event. Heck, it might even have been a Crow Museum members only event. Yikes!



The Trammel Crow building with attendant museum is surrounded with Asian influences. I got there early to take a few pics:

Buddhist monk sweeping framed by Museum Tower,
a place of million dollar condos.

In my version of this the sweeping monk finds no serenity
but rather has a disgruntled I-want-a-fucking-weekend-pass look.

My name naturally was not on the RSVP list but the woman at the table graciously took my name to be on the waiting list. I hung around to look at the awesome Kusho exhibit:

(Google pic. I was too afraid to take one of my own)

A couple of minutes before the start I was called over and let into the symposium. The displays were a bit overwhelming at first and feeling like an interloper I hunkered down in my chair. An elderly gent sitting next to me had an old Musashi book (Miyamoto Musashi is considered the most skilled swordsman of all time). He flipped through a few pages of it before his wife swatted him down fearing he was boring me.



There was a series of short lectures followed by breaks where everyone dispersed to the exhibits to ask inquiring questions. I was particularly delighted when they specifically pointed towards the Sengoku Jidai (era of warring states) period of Japan. Warfare turned professional during those times and thus the weaponry followed suit. The craft of sword-making was also discussed and finally a few hints in starting your own collection.

This fellow flew in from Japan. Another was from Australia. This was no mean event!

Small knife slides into the indentation of the scabbard below.

From the Nakamura collection, first time outside of Japan. Boy, did it hold some treasure!

Provenance for this tsuba (sword guard) is attributed to Musashi!
My friend was especially excited when he saw this because
there was a picture of it in his Musashi book.

But this got my blood flowing: an Oda Nobunaga tsuba!!
Oda (first of the three great unifiers) is the warlord who most interests me
and to find a relic of his was both fascinating and thrilling.

From the host's own personal collection.

The host, the speakers and the exhibitors all displayed a keen passion for swords as an art and also for Japan, understanding that the art must be placed into context to gain full appreciation. It was almost religious in nature, anxious to gather us into the fold to be as excited as they were. To be a serious collector is to easily spend into six figures so that was of no interest to me. But I certainly enjoyed the company of collectors for one day!

Click here to view the entire photo set

A few moves from the discipline of sword strikes

Returning To The Scene Of The Crime (Photo Essay)

West, TX before the blast. The fertilizer plant, the apartment building,
the nursing home and many homes are gone now.

It's funny. Had I stored a mountain of explosive fertilizer in my back yard and it caught on fire and exploded killing both my neighbors and firemen who responded, would I be charged with a crime? Would my neighbors be angry at the loss of their homes and loved ones? Would grieving families curse my carelessness and vilify me? I would most certainly say yes.

Foundation marking the ring of a removed storage tank

Almost nothing left at the plant site. But it still smelled of fertilizer!

Plant's mail box

Gave the feel of a post-apocalyptic wasteland

But there's an answer for that! With one simple act, you can have everyone groveling after the explosion, making excuses for you, even offering you comfort. All one need do is simply file the papers to incorporate. This is the equivalent in centuries past of joining the priesthood. You are deemed holy and become highly revered in the community with your ring - among things - gratefully kissed. Why would people act like this? Because they seek their salvation in it.

The middle school has been leveled. The high school has been closed.

Middle school on my first visit

Warped sign just outside the middle school playing field.
Just imagine if the blast had happened with a field full of kids.

High school cordoned off

Makeshift high school (middle school nestled right next to it.)
Area school districts loaned them the temporary buildings.

I read stories the last few days that most residents of West, Texas who lost their home in last April's fertilizer blast would never see their home again. They were either uninsured or under-insured thus making it impossible to rebuild from scratch. One day you have a home, the next you don't. How does one cope with that? Where do you go? I'd certainly have no place to go. I'd be pretty fucking pissed too. Threaten my family and you forfeit your right to exist.

Apartments just after the blast...

...and now: nothing

Across the street from the apartments, the nursing home lot.

Many vacant lots once occupied by homes

So I decided to head back down to West and survey the aftermath. I saw signs of resiliency, signs of life - and signs of permanent resignation, of moving on. I managed to talk to one resident who was positive all the empty lots would eventually be rebuilt, that this was prime territory. When asked about where everyone had gone he said some moved to other cities, some moved in with relatives. I asked if losing the fertilizer plant had permanently damaged the economy and he scoffed at the idea.

Some debris still remains even after six months

After a while the alien landscape got to me, especially when I came across the abandoned park right by the fertilizer plant. Talk about innocence lost. When we finally use up this planet and there's nothing left, will it look like this, just remnants of life lost?

Could West come out of this stronger than before? With the danger of the plant gone and occasions of new housing could she suffer a renaissance from the ashes? If so, what a cruel path to renewal but let us pray it truly is an ill wind that blows no good. For many, their lives can never be made whole again. The plant operator claims to be "busted" and government resources can only go so far. The new corporate priests need hold no fear in this world. But this world is not all there is.

Came across a smattering of houses being rebuilt from scratch

A permanent exodus for some

Homemade signs like these line the blast streets

Click here to view the entire set.

Passed another accident on I-35 on way back