I read a NYTimes article today titled Artists Feel the Squeeze in a Midwest SoHo…it was the title that hooked me. A SOHO in the midwest? Apparently St. Louis is building up their art’s district and it’s getting some buzz. Their methods over there seem grand. Artist/Entrepreneurs are dumping their savings into buildings and lofts, and are deciding to build an art center for themselves.

The art scene here in Dallas is so scattered. There’s been buzz about a couple of different areas in town hoping to be crowned with the label of “the Dallas SOHO.” You’ve got the “design district,” a string of galleries off Dragon Street. Then there’s the South Side, also known as “the cedars.” And of course the museums in the “arts district” off Pearl and Ross. Already the “arts district” is not set up to become the dallas SOHO. There’s no place for artists to reside anywhere near the museums, nor are there any adjacent buildings within blocks of there that could be turned into a gallery or two. The closest buildings to the arts district are down Ross, but they are sparce, most old mechanic shops. The “design district” has the clout of a higher real-estate value that is found throughout the north side of Dallas, but that also cancels out any struggling artists looking to live and work there. Unless the real-estate is cheap, and somewhat livable, then starving artists won’t be able to commune there. This takes us to the South Side. This area is cheap, industrial, and boasts lots of potential for old wharehouses and mills to be turned into galleries and artist living spaces. Already SouthSide on Lamar is doing just that, although it’s a bit pricy to live there under starving artist standards. The only thing about this area is that it’s sketchy. No one would like to walk around there at night for fear of their lives, much less want to park, or leave their house unattended without double-locks and bars on their windows. But it does seem to be that the most sketchy places tend to sometimes harbor good soil for a starving artist community to grow, and potentiallly blossom. The question is whether the risk is woth it in the beginning.

As a person debating on where to move an art gallery in dallas, these questions are becoming more important. Where is the SOHO of Dallas going to be? Maybe instead we should ask a select few with a little pull, where do we want to put the SOHO of Dallas? It’s just a matter of convincing a few, and before we know it, there will be a art commuity worth labeling in Dallas…at least that’s the hope.

do the women in dallas tend to be “southern belles” or are texas women of a different type, tougher? maybe dallas women don’t count as texas women…

So I am about to cancel the online dating membership. No use in paying good money on something that I will rarely give any attention to. Upon taking one last look at the emails and winks, I see a couple of profiles marked as “hidden”. If the purpose of doing online dating is to meet people, wouldn’t it be understood that others might want to look at your profile so they can know more about you? Doesn’t hiding your profile from others defeat this purpose? Or maybe this is someone who is afraid of their wife finding them on there… or maybe their co-workers already have and they are being tortured unmercilessly. Kids Grownups can be so cruel.

UPDATE: I just love it when a guy asks me for my number in the first email that he sends, to which I reply that I don’t give out my number to people I have not met in person. In this case, I was in a good mood and thought he hates the whole email thing as much as I do and, so I did something I would not normally do – I gave him my AIM id. His reply – “well i doubt you meet ppl u haven’t talked with on the phone…….so iguess u don’t meet ppl………knda sad.”

If you are going to try to make me feel like I have done something wrong because I did not give you my number then could you at least learn how to type, spell, use proper grammar, etc. I find nothing attractive about people who can’t take the time to type full words, and follow up with a spell check.

Art Prostitute Presents…
LINE OF CONFUSION: THE FIRST SOLO EXHIBITION OF NEW WORK BY NEVADA HILL
December 3, 2005 to January 3, 2005

ARTIST RECEPTION:
DECEMBER 3, 2005 :: 7-11 PM
AT ART PROSTITUTE
210 E. HICKORY
DENTON, TX 76201
940.381.1526

We will be producing a 18″x24″ silkscreen print for the occasion in an edition of 100, that will retail for $25 as well as an artist t-shirt that will retail for $20. These will be debuted opening night. Hill’s band Idi Amin will play at 10 pm.

If you would like advanced images for purchase consideration or press please e-mail brian@artprostitute.com and a pdf of available images will be sent to you promptly. If you cannot make the exhibition, but still wish to support, all work will be available for viewing and/or purchase on our site the tuesday after the opening.

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Nevada Hill

I WANT WHAT I WANT AND I WANT IT YESTERDAY should be our motto in Dallas. What do you recommend as a Dallas motto?

NINE REASONS TO BE FULL OF THANKS FOR LIVING IN DALLAS:
1. Laura Miller
2. The Dallas Cowboys
3. Hooters
4. I-35
5. the DMA
6. the Trinity River
7. almost no snow
8. Family Values

http://www.imgag.com/product/full/ap/3067907/graphic1.swf
http://bowerbird.typepad.com/mmmhellooo/

WHY DOES BETTY remind me so much of bush junior: is it the RELIGIOUS NEEDINESS? THE political vacancy? the way that both bush junior and betty TRY TO CONSOLE THEMSELVES WITH DRUGS and false ideas they convince themselves THEY BELIEVE? IF YOU don’t believe me, check it out for yourself and COMPARE.

There were two articles in the paper yesterday that made me angry. Had they not been in the same edition, I might not have been as affected. The first article was on the front page of the Dallas Morning News regarding the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy of gays in the military. In a time when the US military is looking to enlist all they can in thier war on Iraq, this article was making the point that they are booting people who have voluteered to serve their country just because they were outed in one way or another. My first thought was how nice it is to know that if there was a draft set into place, all someone would have to do to dodge it is say they are gay! But for those who really want to serve in the military who happen to be gay, it’s sad to know that these people have to constantly be watching their backs for fear of being fired over just being gay, regardless of how well they do their job.

The next page over I read an article on Bush’s visit to a Christian church while visiting China. There he used it as a platform to discuss his views on what makes for a “healthy society.” In this article, Bush was quoted as saying, “My hope is that the government of China will not fear Christians who gather to worship openly in this society,” and that “A healthy society is a society that welcomes all faiths and gives people a chance to express themselves through worship with the Almighty.”

After reading these articles in tandem, I was aggrivated that Bush’s notions of a “healthy society” was a society where people could express themselves without fear of being discriminated against, yet here in our so called “healthy society” gays in the US military are being fired on the sole basis that they were “found out.”

Basing a response with Mr. Bush’s words: My hope is that the government of the United States will not fear gays who want to work openly in the military, and that a healthy society is a society that welcomes all people, and gives them a chance to preform a job that they are willing and trained to do.