Symbols

Shepard Fairey's "Backward Forward" and Gabrielle Goliath's "Chorus" carry on an unlikely tradition of cutting edge art in Dallas.

Events that occurred four hours south of Dallas just hours before the opening of “Chorus” further signified the pertinent timing. On a third wall is a list of every woman, child, trans, and gender non-conforming person killed in South Africa following the 2019 rape and murder of Uyinene Mrwetyana, a student at the University of Cape Town. The sustained performance of a single note serves as a beautifully haunting lament in Mrwetyana’s honor. Many of the performers were school friends of Mrwetyana and the grief of mourning plays out viscerally. In 1955, the burgeoning art scene in the city was rocked by the “red art” controversy. “I want to diagnose problems while also embedding symbols of possibility and improvement,” Fairey said. Tucked away to the front of the museum is the entrance to Goliath’s exhibit, “Chorus.” You hear the exhibit before you see it: A hive-like hum emanates from a black curtain that gives way to a darkened room, where black floor pillows invite the viewer to be overwhelmed by sound and image. In addition to the centerpiece sculpture and two massive murals, dozens of paintings adorn nearly half of the museum space. Themes and techniques both old and new cohere into a unified visual narrative that addresses some of the pressing issues of our time. There are a lot of people with different views, but what is dominating the politics here isn’t necessarily representative.” Both exhibitions, boldly political in nature, have a particular resonance with the political climate in Texas. The mandatory and thankfully complimentary valet parking outside the Dallas Contemporary museum was a sign—typically, I’m not invited to things like this.