Axiom's Moore, Carrington, Kuo and Dancewicz (photo by Pin Lim)
ON SUNDAY AT at the Holocaust Museum Houston, Axiom Quartet presents “The Complexity of Simplicity.” The program consists of emotional, virtuosic string quartets by Polish-born, late 19th/early 20th century composers Mieczysław Weinberg and Karol Szymanowski and living composer Mark Nowakowski.
Sponsored by the Consulate General of Poland, the carefully curated concert celebrates the country’s folk traditions, as well as the music of the late romantics, Shostakovich (who was a friend of Weinberg), and the French impressionists. “It’s outstanding music,” says Axiom Quartet cellist Patrick Moore of the program. “It should be as well-known as Beethoven. People just need to hear it, so they can get to know it.”
Now in its 10th season, the Axiom Quartet consists of founding members Moore and violinist Dominika Dancewicz with new members Maxine Kuo and Katie Carrington on violin and viola respectively. They’re a good-looking, gregarious bunch, and carry themselves with about a little pretention as is possible for four highly trained classical musicians who easily navigate traditional string quartet repertoire (Ravel, Beethoven), the outer limits of the avant-garde, and, on their popular “Jukebox Concert Series” at The Gypsy Poet, the music of such non-classical artists as David Bowie, Toto and Metallica.
The title of this Sunday’s program refers to the surprising depth and complexity that can arise out of humble materials. Before tackling Szymanowski’s “String Quartet No. 2,” one of his most avant-garde compositions, Dancewicz, who is originally from Poland, showed the rest of the group YouTube recordings of the original folk songs that inspired Szymanowski. While the original source material may be “simple,” (Moore prefers to describe the tunes as “efficient,”), it’s deceptively simple, and yields a dizzying range of sonic possibilities and multiple layers of emotional content. The final movement of Weinberg’s “String Quartet No. 5,” a serenade filled with mood swings, evokes the popular dance music of his time, while Nowakowski’s “String Quartet No. 1 (Songs of Forgiveness),” includes echoes of Polish lamentations.
“We strive to make sure voices are heard,” says Moore when asked about Axiom’s dedication to programming contemporary and relatively little-known music, and how often the music of Mozart and Beethoven is programmed on string quartet concerts. “The music of Szymanowski and Weinberg are equally excellent. I feel like that as a society, we would lose a lot if we don’t hear those particular compositional styles.”
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Photos by Theresa Escobido, Debra Berrera and Brandon Tho Harris
ON SATURDAY, NOV. 5, the Houston “nomadic photo exhibition series and a community arts space” FLATS premieres Where They’re At, an exhibit of experimental photo-installations by local artists Debra Barrera, Theresa Escobedo, Brandon Tho Harris and Emily Peacock.
FLATS founder Jessi Bowman curated the show, the title of which is pulled from the refrain “It ain’t where you’re from, it’s where you’re at!” heard on Eric B. and Rakim’s classic hip-hop track “In the Ghetto.” It also refers to our current cultural moment, post-pandemic, and how each artist in the show uses the medium and tools of photography to take stock of the past and present. “They explore their personal histories,” says Bowman. “But they’re also exploring where they currently are in time.”
Bowman, 34, who graduated from UH with a degree in Art History and Photography, was inspired to form FLATS after a visit with a collective of photographers in New York who had banded together to form a non-profit and create a tight-knit, mutually supportive network. Meanwhile, back in Houston, her photographer friends were distraught about the lack of venues available for showing their work. Bowman, who at the time was the Manager of Exhibitions at the Houston Center for Photography, decided to curate a grassroots exhibit of local photographers, including friends alongside artists who were new to her, and show the work in the first two rooms of her apartment.
“I picked some people that I knew, and reached out to people that I didn’t know, just to make that gap smaller and get the community a little more tightly knit,” says Bowman. She chose the name FLATS as a reference to an apartment or “flat,” and for the next three years, Bowman continued to curate a series of one-night events in apartments, choosing a different area code for each exhibit. For Where They’re At, FLATS is collaborating with The Plant/Second Ward to present its first large-scale, longer-term exhibition.
For Bowman, where the art of photography is at now is especially exciting, with the tired debates regarding the superiority of digital over analog images (or vice versa) now laid to rest favor of a more holistic attitude toward technology, and an embrace of a high degree of experimentation with the medium.
“In this show, you’ll see a lot of photography as sculpture,” says Bowman. “You’re going to see a wide range in how the photos were shot, how they were printed, and how they were installed and used in the space.”
One example is the work of Theresa Escobedo, who explores her family history and ancestral heritage through large, elaborately realized ofrendas (or “offerings”), and draws inspiration from religious practices and celebrations in Mexico, including Día de Muertos. “She’s been doing one ofrenda a year,” says Bowman, who notes Escobedo expands upon this traditional practice through the use of modern wallpaper and 3D-printing technology.
As part of Where They’re At, on Nov. 20, FLATS is hosting a Where They’re At Feast, a family-style, five-course Thanksgiving fundraising dinner, prepared by chef Thomas Stacy of ReikNa and served in the center of the exhibition. The event also includes a live “one-of-a-kind mariachi performance” by Houston musician Andrea Daniela. “It’s going to be a pretty cool and yummy event,” says Bowman who, along with the exhibiting artists, contributors to FLATS magazine, and other members of the FLATS team will be in attendance. In addition to enjoying an incredible meal, the feast gives Houstonians the opportunity to experience and appreciate first-hand the DIY spirit of the city’s artistic community.
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