DENTON (UNT) A new exhibition at UNT on the Square will feature thought-provoking pieces about one artist’s reaction to police violence against African-Americans.
KWTXR by Christopher Blay will run Jan. 23 (Monday) – Feb. 3 (Friday). The opening reception will run from 6 to 9 p.m. Jan. 26 (Thursday) in conjunction with the Denton Black Film Festival.
The title is an acronym for Kara Walker Texas Ranger – a merger of the names of artist Kara Walker and the TV show Walker Texas Ranger starring Chuck Norris. In the pieces, the fictional character Kara Walker Texas Ranger serves as an avatar and time travels to places where police officers killed African-American men – such as Ferguson, Missouri; Staten Island; and Fruitvale Station in Oakland, Calif. – and tries to make the situation different.
“I felt the need to be a witness to what was happening,” Blay said. “My work is presented in the public sphere and I’m affected by things in that sphere. I can’t ignore it, especially if it’s happening to people who look like me.”
The works are a combination of drawings on the surface with cut pieces of vinyl that are figures, as well as smaller paintings and drawings. Seven of the pieces feature a stained glass motif. The exhibition also includes a video.
Blay first presented the exhibition in August at the South Dallas Cultural Center. Blay, who is based in Fort Worth, currently serves as instructional associate at the Tarrant County College southeast campus and curator of its Art Corridor Gallery. His works have been on display throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
“I can’t predict to how people will respond and I can’t use that to create work,” he said. “I think the most important thing for me, when I’m making art, is to be connected to the thing I’m making and be sincere with what I’m making.”
Exhibit details
AKWTXR, an exhibition at UNT on the Square by Fort Worth-based artist by Christopher Blay that depicts a fictional character, Kara Walker Texas Ranger, time traveling to places where police officers killed African-Americans – such as Ferguson, Missouri; Staten Island; and Fruitvale Station in Oakland, Calif. – and tries to make the situation different.
The exhibit is scheduled for Jan. 23 (Monday) – Feb. 3 (Friday). The reception will run from 6 to 9 p.m. Jan. 26 in conjunction with the Denton Black Film Festival. The hours are 9 a.m. – noon and 1 – 5 p.m. Monday – Friday, with extended hours until 8 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays and 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. Saturdays at the UNT on the Square, 109 N. Elm St., on Denton’s historic courthouse square.
There is no cost for the exhibit.
