Jackson Pollock: Blind Spots

Abstract expressionist Jackson Pollock (1912–1956) achieved fame in the late 1940s with his distinctive “drip paintings.” At the Dallas Museum of Art, Jackson Pollock: Blind Spots explores what came next: Pollock’s “black paintings,” a series of black enamel and oil paintings on untreated canvas created from 1951 to 1953. In its only United States showing, the exhibit includes 31 black paintings; works on paper made with enamel, ink, and watercolor; and five sculptures. The works immerse audiences in “Pollock’s complete oeuvre and shed new light on the experimentation and ingenuity that has become synonymous with his practice,” the museum explains. November 20–March 20.

Lindheimer’s Texas

Known as the “Father of Texas Botany,” Ferdinand J. Lindheimer (1801–1879) discovered a plant collector’s paradise when he arrived to the Texas frontier in 1836. The German naturalist, who ultimately settled in New Braunfels, was the first Westerner to document hundreds of Texas plants, including many now considered common, such as the Texas prickly pear (opuntia engelmannii var. lindheimeri). In New Braunfels, the Sophienburg Museum & Archives explores the naturalists life, times, and legacy in Lindheimer’s Texas, including displays of plant specimens he collected, his herbarium sheets, and period botany tools. Through May 2016.

Festival of Texas Fiddling

The fiddle’s enticing lilt, chop, and shuffle play a prominent role in a wide variety of Texas musical styles, from Western Swing to Tejano, Polish, Creole, and others. The Festival of Texas Fiddling showcases this diversity with a lineup of fiddle performances and workshops November 7 at the La Bahia Turn Verein Dance Hall in Burton. Presented by Texas Folklife and Texas Dancehall Preservation, Inc., the festival starts at 11 a.m. and culminates with an 8 p.m. dance featuring Hot Club of Cowtown, masters of hot jazz and Western Swing.

CineSpace

Journey to outer space through the magic of cinema with Houston Cinema Arts Festival’s (November 12–19) new CineSpace short-film competition. The festival and NASA partnered to invite filmmakers to submit short films that are at least 10 percent comprised of NASA imagery and video. Filmmaker Richard Linklater judged the entries, and CineSpace will screen the best of them on November 13 at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, along with other space-themed films and a presentation of Marco Brambilla’s Apollo XVIII art installation.

Photos: (from top) Hans Namuth: Stan Williams; Dave Norris/courtesy Texas Folklife; courtesy NASA.