Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/98152
The piano is a 1914 Steinway Model O. Stella, age 2, prepares to play, while Julian, age 4, strikes up the bow on his very own mini violin. In the background (left), a gift from Venice Biennale-exhibited James Drake, the artist���s Black Bird, White Mirror, 2011; Drake represented by Moody Gallery. On the right wall, William Betts��� Range of Motion, 2005, one of the Farbers��� ���rst acquisitions made upon moving to Houston; the artist is now a good friend and on their collecting radar (represented by McClain Gallery). Dining room as installation. Farber, in dress and collar by Au Jour Le Jour from Laboratoria, with a favorite work: Margarita Cabrera���s The Craft of Resistance, 2008, a creative product of the sculptor���s residency at Artpace in San Antonio. The Mitchell Center director points out some of the sociopolitical content: ���The installation was created by Cabrera with a team of volunteers in a factory-like environment, an allusion to the maquiladoras found in Mexico. The copper sculptures are a metaphor for migration and have the impression of an American penny on the outside of each wing, alluding to the power and impact of the U.S. currency.��� KAREN PERFORMING FARBER PUSHES THE AND VISUAL ARTS THE LADY AT THE TOP OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON���S MITCHELL CENTER INVITES US IN: S STEINWAY-PLAYING TODDLERS, TURN-OF-THE-CENTURY MANDOLINS AND NATURE GONE WILD IN THE DINING ROOM. he reigns over a yearly budget of $800,000 and annually brings to town up to 10 avant-garde artists who are seen by an audience of tens of thousands. Sits on four boards and two committees. Chaired the board of the Fresh Arts Coalition during its most pivotal years. And that���s just her nine-to-���ve. Karen Farber and husband, Merrill Lynch exec Stephan Farber, are also patrons of the art they promulgate. At their home, alongside two bright and lively toddlers, you���ll ���nd a trove of priceless mandolins, a grand piano that actually gets played and a cutting-edge, often surprising collection of works by important international artists with Whitney Biennial and Venice Biennale cred. While a ���ock of Margarita Cabrera butter���ies circles overhead. THE WORLD ACCORDING TO MS. FARBER STATS. Director of the University of Houston Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts, since December 2005. WHY THIS IS YOUR DREAM JOB. To me, art and artists inspire a sense of adventure; they motivate us to communicate and challenge the status quo. They can change minds, illuminate things about everyday life and remind us that we are human. They bring us together. They can predict the future and maybe even change it. Not only do I have the chance to work with the artists I have always admired, I get to support them in what might be their most adventurous, vulnerable moments ��� when they decide to explore new territory, take new risks and engage audiences in new ways. Also, I have an amazing staff, and University of Houston is a thrilling place to work. It���s global, smart and scrappy. FIRST BRUSH WITH THE STAGE AND STUDIO. I was born in New York and lived in Greenwich Village near Washington Square Park until I was 10. Then we moved to Hollywood. My mother was a sculptor, working mainly in stone. I spent countless hours with her in her studio on the Lower East Side. She started offering sculpting classes to my friends out of our apartment. A bunch of ���ve- and six-year-olds, sitting around our dining-room table, with chisels in hand. My mother is incredibly creative in absolutely everything she does and always a risk taker. As soon as I was old enough to return to New York from L.A., I did. I went to undergrad and grad school at NYU���s Tisch School, studying experimental theater and performance studies. ON HOW PHILIP GLASS PLAYED CUPID. Stephan and I have been married nine years, and we have been together for about 14. When we met in New York, he was working in the music business. He had been a violinist and composer, and had worked for Philip Glass for many years in various roles. I was just out of college, not yet in graduate school, and he helped me get a job working for a company called International Production Associates, which produced and managed projects by Philip, as well as Robert Wilson, Twyla Tharp, Spalding Gray, Diamanda Gal��s and others. I used to stay late in the of���ce, watching VHS tapes of their performances. I was in heaven there. I remain friends with everyone I worked with. Stephan moved to Philadelphia and got his MBA at The Wharton School, we got engaged, I moved to D.C. to do a year-long artsmanagement fellowship at the Kennedy Center and then we got married. Soon after, we moved to Houston and were ���nally settled together in 2004. COURTROOM TO CHEMICAL PLANTS: A TYPICAL DAY. I most enjoy the projects that take us out of our comfort zones and into surprising locations. Boating down the Buffalo Bayou and touring chemical plants with the Center for Land Use Interpretation. Driving down the freeway in search of Karyn Olivier���s 13 billboards for her project ���Inbound: Houston��� while listening to the musical score we commissioned for the drive. Visiting a courtroom in Southeast Houston to participate in an artist-rendered City Council Meeting. I also loved Stephen Montague���s Horn Concerto, a 10-minute symphony for car AS TOLD TO CATHERINE D. ANSPON. ART DIRECTION MICHELLE AVI��A. PHOTOGRAPHY JACKSON THOMPSON. HAIR BY ASHLEY SCROGGINS FOR CUTLOOSE, MAKEUP TERI SULLIVAN. INTERIOR DESIGN MARTHA BAXTER INTERIOR DESIGN. DECEMBER | PAGE 58 | 2012