Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1546313
Begin with the Menil's meditation on Civil Rights. With its 40th anniversary approaching, come 2027, the Menil Collection continues to be the gold standard. Case in point: British filmmaker Sir John Akomfrah's immersive six-channel, 50-minute cinematic tour de force on the American Civil Rights movement, The Hour Of The Dog, is both poetic and historic, a unique paean to justice and human rights that weaves a heartbreaking spell. Faulkner's words come to mind: "The past is never dead. It's not even past." Through October 11, menil.org. Texas' Best: Doubleheader at Art League The second edition of the global fair Untitled Art, Houston, adds energy and collecting sizzle to the city's fall scene. There's much to take in. Catherine D. Anspon surveys 17 shows beyond the fair that are must-sees in September and beyond. Art League Houston's Texas Artist of the Year exhibition for Houston-based Jamal Cyrus coincides with ALH's Lifetime Achievement show for César Martínez of San Antonio. The chance to see Cyrus' layered and lyrical practice addressing the African American experience in the same building as Martínez's classic Chicano Bato portraits promises to be both powerful and moving. September 18 – December 20, artleaguehouston.org. Visceral History at MFAH At the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the courses of empire and colonialism are probed in the historically shaped work of Guyanese British artist Hew Locke, organized in Houston by MFAH modern and contemporary curator Dr. Brittany Webb. Locke's suspended sailing vessels are joined by lavishly ornamented equestrian monuments, asking the viewer to confront the past and its legacy today. Just in: Locke will be among 30 international talents in the once-every-decade Skulptur Projekte Münster exhibition next year in Münster, Germany. Through September 13, mfah.org. Ode to AstroWorld DiverseWorks organizes a fresh take on the beloved late Houston amusement park in "NuestroWorld" by Texas-reared, Brooklyn- based Jesus Benavente. The installation, Super 17: A Visual Tapestry 102