About a week ago I booked a very last minute trip to Dallas, TX. Why head to Dallas in the middle of winter? For ART of course!
I love modern art and the museums that house its pieces. Art and Architecture are like peanut butter and jelly; they’re better together. If you’ve ever been to The Tate Museum in London, the MoMA in New York, the Broad in LA, The MACBA in Barcelona, or the Centre Pompidou…well, these buildings are works of art on their own! When you have the pleasure of visiting these modern art museums, you’ll be swallowed by clean lines, minimalist design, and vast galleries that display some of the most creative and colourful work.
I guess you could say, modern art is my jam. So when my partner in crime mentions the KAWS exhibit (WHERE THE END STARTS) in Forth Wort, TX, my natural response was to book a flight, hotel, and start to count down to the weekend! Only trouble was, when we landed in Dallas, we were both sick as dogs and instead of exploring, we were bed ridden.
I only managed to do two things when in Dallas – and if I had to do it again, healthy, these would still be the top two things to do when in Dallas! I’ll show you why…
First, can I say that the Forth Wort Museum in a beautiful space. Just as expected, vast in size, offering the most perfect backdrop for any featured exhibit. In this case KAWS. We were lucky enough to arrive close to closing, so the museum was all ours…
The exhibit was vast with equal parts art pieces and figures. I loved it! The colours that just radiated from the canvas, the marriage of cartoon and graffiti play, the figures that ranged from life-size to GIANT! It was all very whimsical and magical. It was as if you walked into an animated universe. It was easy to get lost in it all, and I loved it.
“Spanning the worlds of graffiti, pop art, and consumer culture, KAWS’s bodies of work are highly charged, each conveying his underlying wit, irreverence, and affection for our times, as well as his agility as an artist. He has primarily looked to and appropriated from pop-culture animations (including The Smurfs, The Simpsons, SpongeBob, Hanna-Barbera, and Peanuts) to form his artistic vocabulary for his paintings, drawings, and sculptures. Now well known for his larger-than-life sculptures and hard-edge paintings that emphasize line and color, KAWS’s cast of hybrid cartoon/human characters, with similarities to popular cartoon figures and logos like Mickey Mouse and the Michelin Man, are perhaps the strongest examples of his exploration of humanity.”
So who is KAWS, and why fly to Dallas to go to his exhibit anyway?
KAWS, aka Brian Donnelly grew up in Jersey in the late 80s early 90s. Always had an affinity for art, you could catch him graffiti-bombing trains, walls and billboards while in high school.
Pursuing his passion to be in the arts, KAWS graduated from New York’s School of Visual Arts. Soon after, he travelled to Japan where he really came into his craft and his medium.
You can learn more about Brian Donnelly, aka KAWS here in this great spotlight in INTERVIEW magazine.
This exhibit travels to Shanghai on January 22nd. So if you can get down to Dallas in time to experience this, do!!
FOOD in Dallas
So as I mentioned I was sick sick sick. I had a nasty head cold that I couldn’t shake, and what my body needed were fluids and sleep! So that’s what I gave it. Right after the exhibit, we needed SOUP! Well, better than that, we wanted RAMEN!! We found this amazing little place called TEN RAMEN.
This narrow little place leaves no room for wonder. If you’re in search of authentic ramen at its best, TEN RAMEN is the spot. No takeout, you dine in house. And because it’s so tiny, literally stands (that’s right, bar style dining) 10 people, maybe 12 if you’re lucky – you gotta get there early!
I ordered the Tonkotsu Ramen, a creamy pork based broth with their custom made ramen noodles, topped with pickled ginger, menma (soy braised bamboo), pickled seaweed, black mushroom and a slice of chashu and nori.
SOOOO GOOOD!!!!!!!
Love XXO,
Make sure to come along on my adventures by following my Instagram Account. See something you’d like me to write about? Tag me! I can’t wait for you to join in on the #DoTheDaniel adventures in Los Angeles with me.
Don’t forget to Sign up for the DoTheDaniel.com Newsletter
Photos by Lesli Lolene, Photo of KAWS by The Hundreds