Art world rock star Kiki Smith may be best known for her sculptural work but a new exhibition at the Tang Museum reveals that photography has been central to her artistic practice for years.

“I Myself Have Seen It: Photography and Kiki Smith,” a traveling exhibit that originated at the Henry Art Gallery at the University of Washington in Seattle, is the first comprehensive look at the role of photography in her work. It will include over 5,000 snapshots, over 100 large-scale photographs, including source photos alongside the sculptures inspired by them as well as prints, artist’s books and videos.

The exhibit examines photography’s influence on the development of Smith’s aesthetic — often involving the deconstruction of ideas about the body, gender roles, sexuality, mythology and folk tales.

Opens Sept. 17, reception Oct. 15, 6-7:30 p.m., Tang Teaching Museum, Skidmore College. Hours: 12-5 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. Suggested donation for admission: $5 for adults; $3 for children over 12; $2 for seniors; children under 12 are free Info: 580-8080. http://tang.skidmore.edu Read more at blog.timesunion.com

I don’t know about you, but I love art. But other than stumbling into the odd gallery on my way to dinner every once in a while, I don’t really follow contemporary artists, and I couldn’t tell you who’s who or what their work is like. That goes double for vegan artists. Right now the Metropolitan Community Church of New York is giving us a chance to change that, by hosting a Vegan Art Show, with an opening night reception this Wednesday, Sept. 21. The exhibit, which opened Sept. 4 and runs through Oct. 28, features 19 vegan artists working in a variety of mediums (the only participant whose name I recognized was Mickey Z., but you might also know Antonia Barbano, Pam Curry, Alyssa Diaz, Daniel Dunbar, Shoshana Frishberg-Izzo, Danielle Geist, Thomas Good, Valerie King, Lauren Krohn, Les LaRue, Kerry Lea, Sara Pegarella, Jennifer Powell, Jody Rasch, Karen Stevenson, Greg Straight Edge, Frances Wood and Claire Zeaman.) And the free fete this Wednesday, from 5pm to 8pm, will be replete with vegan wine (from Vegan Vine, perhaps?), hors d’oeuvres from Caravan of Dreams, and music. Some of the proceeds will benefit the church and other charities, while a portion of handmade jewelry sales will go to New Jersey’s For the Animals Sanctuary. I’d be first in line if I could get out of work at a decent hour, but hopefully your job is more conducive to socializing than mine is. If so, get yourself to the church’s Jackson Hall Art Gallery and soak it all in. Then leave a comment and let us know which artists’ work spoke to you. As Georgia O’Keeffe said, “I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way—things I had no words for.” Read more at supervegan.com

Fall Winter 07-08 Credits:  Jean Paul Gaultier

The Dallas Musuem is very proud to announce their future exhibition of legendary designer Jean Paul Gaultier, going on from November 13- Feburary 12. Jean Paul Gaultier is know for his vibrant and ecletic taste and has become one of the most important designers of recent decades. This is the first exhibition dedicated to Gaultier, and Dallas is the first city to highlight Gaultiers works out of only two US cities on this international tour. Approximately 140 of Gaultier's haute couture and ready to wear pieces will be on display straight from the runway.

This is something you don't want to miss out on. Its like a fashion show in a musuem! Read more at www.examiner.com

Fine arts galleries from around the world will be participating in the inaugural Houston FIne Arts Fair. This piece by Hugo Lugo, “Educación felíz,” is an oil and acrylic on canvas, courtesy of Ginocchio Galeria, Mexico City.

The Houston Fine Art Fair will be the first international fine art fair to be held in Houston, the third largest art market in the United States.

Held Sept. 15-18 at the George R. Brown Convention Center, the upcoming event’s 80 galleries from 13 countries will offer contemporary and modern masters, emerging artists and today’s art stars. Works will include painting, drawing, print, editions, installation, sculpture, and photography. This inaugural fair is designed for both novice and experienced collectors and will include seminars, artist and collector interviews.

“Houston’s thriving art scene offers a wide range of styles, from the hottest contemporary art stars, to blue chip artworks, big-name photographers, and the best national and regional artists working today,” said Fair Organizer Rick Friedman, President of Hamptons Expo Group Management. “Clearly the city’s collectors, institutions and art patrons are serious in their commitment to making Houston one of the major art centers in the country today.”

Cultural partners supporting the city’s first international fine art fair include The Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Houston Arts Alliance, Houston Center for Photography, Fotofest International, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, DiverseWorks, Project Row Houses, Art League Houston, Houston Museum of African American Culture, The Orange Show for Visionary Art, the McNay Art Museum and Artpace San Antonio.

“Based on the enthusiasm and incredible support we have received from the sophisticated art community here, we anticipate 10,000 visitors to the fair, with as many as 2,000 coming from outside of Houston,” says Fran Kaufman, Director of the Houston Fine Art Fair. Read more at www.yourhoustonnews.com

The new exhibition will open on Sunday at MoMA PS1 showing how the attacks change our perception of art

On Sunday, the tenth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, New York’s Museum of Modern Art will open a unique September 11 exhibition at its PS1.

What makes the exhibition unique is that it is actually made up of 70 pieces made before, or shortly after, the attacks, but whose interpretations can change thanks to them. According to the Observer, the exhibition even includes no text on the walls, letting the pieces speak for themselves.

MoMA PS1 curator Peter Eleey told Reuters that it was especially challenging to come up with the proper exhibition to respond to the attacks. "There were certain things that we did not want to see, I think in part because of how much we have been forced to see," he said.

Some of the pieces included in the exhibition are a “War Is OVER (If You Want It)” poster by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Barbara Kruger's "Untitled (Questions)" (1991), which attacked political hypocrisy and Gordon Matta-Clark's "City Slivers" (1976), which highlights the photographers obsession with the Twin Towers.

You can take an online tour of the show at Art Info. Read more at thecelebritycafe.com

Xu Bing's display, lines of a poem written in the dust of 9/11, indicates how suddenly life can end. Provided to China Daily

NEW YORK - On that fateful September morning, renowned artist Xu Bing was groggily getting up after a late night at work in his Brooklyn art studio. He turned on the television to find that New York had changed forever. He ran outside and watched as the second plane hit. Then he saw the buildings collapse. The scene felt like a movie, too enormous to comprehend, he said. But in the following days, as the scope of the damage became clear, he ventured into Manhattan to collect dust from the fallen towers because he wasn't sure what else to do. "9/11 really made me feel that my life was tied to the city," he said. "Before 9/11 I had always felt that I was an outsider in New York, but that day changed everything. The city will always be a part of my life." Read more at www.chinadaily.com.cn

A decade after the Al Qaeda terrorist attacks on Lower Manhattan, business, tourism, and new construction at the World Trade Center site have rejuvenated the formerly devastated cityscape. The National 9/11 Memorial will open to the public on Sept. 12, 2011, and will be dedicated at a ceremony on the 10th anniversary of the attacks. Click through to see how ground zero has changed since 9/11, and what the area is expected to look like in the future. Read more at www.boston.com