A UH Public Art tour group views the new acquisitions and commissions at the John M. O’Quinn Law Building with Pete Gershon, a contemporary art historian and Curator of Programs at The Orange Show. First stop on April 7 tour was The Line by Rick Lowe.
Artist Rick Lowe uses color and collage to explore the boundaries of the university and Houston’s Third Ward.
The Line was installed at UH Law John M. O'Quinn Law Building on April 3.
April 14, 2023 — Using color and collage, Rick Lowe explores the way that communities surrounding the University of Houston were made geographically and divided into wards in his new artwork, The Line.
The piece by Lowe, a University of Houston Professor, MacArthur Fellow, and Project Rowhouse Co-founder, was installed at UH Law Center’s John M. O'Quinn Law Building last week.
“The UH Law Center is very grateful for UH Public Art and Professor Lowe for providing this beautiful and meaningful piece of art in the John M. O'Quinn Law Building,” said Leonard M. Baynes.
According to Public Art UHS, the title of the piece, The Line, “is a reference to The Third Ward community’s informal demarcation of Scott Street — commonly referred to as ‘the line’ among residents — as the boundary between the University of Houston and the neighborhood in the early 1990s. The move sought to protect the Third Ward’s African American heritage, identity, and history.”
Today more than 30 years later, “Lowe questions whether it is time to metaphorically erase ‘the line’ through increased communal action by University of Houston and Third Ward stakeholders to help preserve, develop, and celebrate the heritage and culture of the Third Ward.”
Lowe is known for his community engagement projects most notably the Project Row Houses, an arts and cultural community located in the historic Third Ward.
This piece is displayed on the first floor of the John M. O’Quinn Law Building, located at 4170 Martin Luther King Blvd.
