LONE STARS RISING

14 Houston icons star in new Texas Monthly book documenting most influential Texans of last 50 years

Texas Monthly's editors have released the next book for reading list queues. To commemorate the publication's 50th anniversary, they've collected and bound the stories and photographs of 50 iconic Texans that have shaped our great state and the country over the past 50 years. And 14 Houston megastars have made it on the roster.

CultureMap archive photo

Former President George H.W. Bush (or "41," as he's lovingly known here) leads the list of Houstonians.

Lone Stars Risingis Texas Monthly's third book, created in collaboration with Harper Wave Books. Among the book's 256 pages are not just the rich histories and commentaries about our most recognizable Texas legends, but a few "lesser-known individuals who have been toiling on the sidelines, quietly and intentionally shaping" our perception of our vast and great state.

The 14 Houston idols that made it into the book include state political figures, innovative surgeons, business barons, marvelous musicians, inspirational artists, and awarded chefs.

George H. W. Bush, 41st President of the United States
Barbara Jordan, the first Black woman elected in the Texas Senate and former U.S. House Representative
Annise Parker, 61st Mayor of Houston and former Houston City Council member
George Mitchell, fracking revolution spearhead and creator of The Woodlands
William P. "Bill" Hobby Jr. 37th Lieutenant Governor of Texas
Michael DeBakey and Denton Cooley, pioneering surgeons who helped develop the artificial heart
John Mackey, founder of Whole Foods Market
Beyoncé, because, Beyoncé
DJ Screw, creator of the "chopped and screwed" music technique that became a hip-hop staple
Brené Brown, University of Houston professor, famed author, and inspirational speaker
Dominique de Menil, Houston art patron, civil rights activist, and philanthropist
Hugo Ortega, James Beard award-winning chef and co-owner of Backstreet Cafe, Hugo’s, Caracol, Xochi and Urbe
Robert Del Grande, James Beard award-winning chef and former biochemist

Lone Stars Rising will be available for purchase on June 6. More information about the book can be found on texasmonthly.com.

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a 14 minute tour

Museum of Fine Arts takes Houston to Paris cathedral with new virtual tour

Still image of digital rendering of Notre- Dame Cathedral, Ars Electronica.

Museum of Fine Arts courtesy image.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston opens “Notre-Dame Immersive Experience.” (Still image of digital rendering of Notre- Dame Cathedral, Ars Electronica.)

Lovers of art and architecture around the world mourned when a 2019 fire destroyed significant portions of the exterior and interior of Notre-Dame Cathedral, one of the most beloved landmarks in all of France. After five years of intense rebuilding and repair, Notre-Dame is set to open again this December. For those who can’t make it to the reopening, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston has a very special virtual trip planned this holiday season with their just announced monumental installation, the “Notre-Dame Immersive Experience.”

Set within the MFAH’s vast Cullinan Hall, this animated, 14-minute, immersive presentation will surround visitors with images of Notre-Dame, simulating the experience of walking through the medieval cathedral. Viewers will go on a virtual journey from the outside of Notre-Dame as day turns to dusk, then move into the candle-lite interiors and stained-glass windows. The immersive video will also replicate the fire and its aftermath before revealing the cathedral’s newly reconstructed spire, topped with a cross and a golden rooster, a national emblem of France and a symbol of Christianity.

“It is difficult to exaggerate the role Notre-Dame plays in the public imagination, from its iconic architecture, emblematic of the Northern Gothic style, to its magnificent stained-glass rose windows,” Museum of Fine Arts, Houston director Gary Tinterow said in a statement. “When fire erupted five years ago, millions of people around the world grieved the loss of a monument that had personal significance to each of them. Happily, the cathedral has been restored, and now Houstonians will be among the first to experience the reconstructed building that rose from the ashes.”

“Notre-Dame Immersive Experience” was created by Ars Electronica Futurelab, in partnership with French start-ups Iconem and Histovery. To create a virtual 3D model of Notre-Dame, the installation uses point cloud data compiled by the late Belgian art historian and Vassar College professor Andrew Tallon, who created 3D laser scans of the cathedral in 2010 that proved instrumental in guiding the reconstruction of the cathedral as well as additional scans and 3D material by Histovery.

Over the years, we’ve come to expect perception-defying immersive artworks from the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston every summer, but this “Notre-Dame Immersive Experience” November surprise looks to be a perfect place to take any visiting art, history, or Francophile friends and family for the holidays.

The "Notre-Dame Immersive Experience" will be on view at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston from November 23, 2024, through January 5, 2025.

Courtesy of Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston opens “Notre-Dame Immersive Experience.”

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