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By TRICIA PARKER
Staff Writer
If A&M is a cultural desert,
Houston is an oasis. So whether
your favorite is photography or
films, the Houston Museum of
Fine Arts offers enough culture
to quench a semester's worth of
deprivation.
Over Christmas, the museum
will be sponsoring enough activ
ities to interest anyone, says Lai-
nie Gordon, director of the mu
seum's information center.
"We'll have films and concerts
here which should be interes
ting," she says, "and we'll also
have several workshops and col
lections visiting from all over the
world."
The museum's contribution to
the performing arts this
Christmas includes films by Luis
Bunuel throughout the month of
December, as well as a special
presentations of well known
movies such as "A Star is Bom",
"Lolita" and "20,000 Leagues
Under the Sea".
There will be music at the mu
seum too, with a series of free
concerts by a brass quintet. The
Choralis Brass Arts will perform
traditional holiday music and
classical selections on Dec. 9 and
20.
But the highlight of the mu
seum's Christmas schedule will
be an open house at Bayou Bend
from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Dec. 9,
Gordon says. Bayou Bend, the
former home of Houston philan
thropist Ima Hogg, was donated
to the museum when she died.
It is filled with antiques and dec
orative art from 1650 to 1850.
The collection is usually open to
the public by special arrange
ment only.
"Most of the time you have to
call and make reservations to see
it," she says. "And even then
they can only take four people
through at a time because every
thing is out in the open."
Not so for the open house. For
the day, the first floor of the
house and the 14 acres of land
can buy jewelery, clothing, craft
items and furniture made by
Houston area artists.
"We're trying to stay with ob
jects that are more utilitarian, "
Gordon says. "But there are a lot
of funky things. For example,
one guy made a table out of
spray-painted bowling balls.
And irsall for sale."
The museum will also host
several visiting collections dur
ing the Christmas season. One is
a collection of woodblock prints
by 19th century Japanese artist,
the 75 pieces in the collection
were brilliantly designed por
traits of Kabuki actors between
1848 and 1853. Hirosada's work
is unioue in that he recorded not
only tne rich textures , colors
and patterns of the costumes,
but tne discrepancies between
the personality of the actor and
the character he portrayed.
Gordon says the museum
doesn't host Oriental collections
such as the Hirosada collection
often.
"We try to show exhibits from
“We're trying to stay with objects that are more
utilitarian," Gordon says. "But there are a lot of funky
things. For example, one guy made a table out of
spray-painted bowling balls. And it's all for sale."
surrounding it, will be open to
everyone. The house will oe dec
orated for Christmas, with
games and puppet shows for
children.
"It's kind of an old-fashioned
Christmas," Gordon says.
While they're there, patrons
can do a little shopping as well.
The museum's own art school,
the Glassell school, will host
"Buy Products," an exhibition
and show, from Dec. 4 to Dec.
10. For $20 to $2,000, patrons
Konishi Hirosada. Woodblock
prints are a form of ancient Japa
nese art where prints are made
by carving intricate scrollwork
and figures across the grain of
woodblocks, sanding them
down and dipping them in ink
to make prints. They are rich in
history as well as design.
The Kabuki theater, the popu
lar theater of Japan, relies on
brilliant costuming and make-up
to help tell Japanese history and
legend. Hirosada's subjects for
around the world so we never
have too much of the same
thing," she says. "We haven't
had an Oriental collection since
last spring when we had the
Shanghai collection. But this one
is very unique."
As an added attraction, the
museum will present a film on
Kabuki theater on Dec. 8 and 22
in Brown Auditorium as well as
a woodblock printing demon
stration on Dec. 16 in Cullinan
Hall. The Hirosada collection
will be at museum until Jan
uary 29.
if anci en t Chinese art isn't
your bag / a collection of photo-
paphs by Ray K. Metzker might
be. The collection, the first com
prehensive exhibit of Metzker's
work, win be on display in the
museum's Wiess and Upper
Jones Galleries from Nov. 17
through Jan. 29.The Wisconsin-
born photographer created
pieces ranging from almost min
iature pictures to large compos
ites, some of which nave never
been seen in exhibit before. The
collection contains 189 photo
graphs which chronicle the
changes in Metzker's art over 25
years.
"He does exclusively black
and white," Gordon says. "You
will not see what you expect in
photography."
Another collection visiting the
museum through the Christmas
season is an exhibition of abs
tract art by artist such as Picasso,
Leger, Delaunay and Brancusi.
The exhibit presents pieces from
most major schools of abstrac
tion, from its beginning at the
start of the century to the '60's
and 70's. The collection will be
at the museum until the end of
February.
All in all, the museum is offer
ing a whirl of cultural events this
Christmas and the variety is
enough to keep anyone from be
coming bored. Specifics of all
events can be obtained by con-
tacring the Museum of Fine
Arts, Houston.
'Annie' to be in Houston
By TRICIA PARKER
Staff Writer
Christmas will be a happier
time this year for some Houston
area children. When the curtain
oes up on Theatre Under the
tar’s production of “Annie”,
2,500 Houston children will be
in the audience watching for
free.
“This all started last year,”
says Tammy Gilbert, assistant
marketing director for the the
ater. “We had several groups in
terested in coming to see the
show but there are just some
groups you don’t feel right
about charging.”
Gilbert says the “Christmas
Angels” show gives children who
wouldn’t otherwise have the op
portunity, a chance to see the
show. Children from organiza
tions such as the American
Heart Association, Big Brothers
and Big Sisters, Boys Country
and Harris County Child Wel
fare will attend the benefit. But
this year, the theater will try to
include senior citizens from
nursing homes and shut-ins as
well.
“They are either from homes
where the children are on pro
bation, or they’re from an or
phanage,” she says. “We try to
Find shut-ins as well.”
The show, which will be fi
nanced by Atlantic Richfield
Foundation, Tenneco, Texas
Eastern Corporation, and
Transco Energy Corporation as
well as private Houston contrib
utors, will cost about $60,000 to
put on.
“We need $60,000 and we’re
Carrie Heikkila
still collecting,” Gilbert says. “I
don’t know how far we are from
the goal but the show’s going on
anyway.”
“Annie” is an appropriate
show for these children, Gilbert
says, because it is a show about
hope and optimism.
“We do this for the children
and the older people who
couldn’t otherwise get in to see
it. We try to do it at least once a
year for the holidays.”
The show, set during the De
pression, tells of the orphan An
nie’s efforts to escape tne orpha-
nage and the evil Miss
Hannigan. She acquires her dog
Sandy and meets billionaire Oli
ver Warbucks as she seaches for
her real parents.
The Theatre Under the Stars
production is the 92nd produc
tion of the musical. It is directed
by Frank Young, founder and
artistic director of the Theatre
Under the Stars, and stars Car
rie Heikkila. Heikkila, a veteran
of childhood roles, has appeared
in Houston area productions of
“Gypsy” and “The Sound of Mu
sic”, as well as a Fort Worth pro
duction of “Annie”.
Other cast members include
David Wasson, as Daddy War-
bucks, Ann Peck as Grace Far
rell, and Marijane Vandivier as
Miss Hannigan. The show runs
from Dec. 20 to Dec. 30 and tick
ets cost from $5 to $25.
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