Art and About

Corn people & tortilla fortune telling: Artist Jorge Rojas studies maize todiscover his roots

Placed around a mandala, their placement recognizes corn as a spiritual source,giving and sustaining life.
Photo by Jorge Rojas
Project Row Houses artist-in-residence Jorge Rojas, center, works with communitymembers to create "gente the maiz," corn people made out of masa maseca andwater.
Each corn person has unique features and point to the importance of maize inNative American and Mexican cultures.

Food is complicated.

We love to talk about it, the people behind it and its effects on our health, especially weight. Our modern society is so far removed from its sources that it is inevitable to forget that food doesn't grow on supermarket shelves and nor come automatically in pretty packages. Although there is a general movement to reconnect with food's origins, artist Jorge Rojas reminds us that it is also important to identify with its spiritual associations.

As part of Round 34: Matter of Food at Project Row Houses, Rojas has devoted his installation to the adoration of corn, bringing to life its divine allusions to Mexican and Native American cultures, while creating his own. After studying the flexible crop's references, especially at a time when it rules as a genetically modified organism (GMO), Rojas's work is interactive, thoughtful and playful.

Using masa maseca, Rojas brings the community together to create gente de maiz, or corn people. Inspired by a 1949 novel by Guatemalan Nobel Prize winner Miguel Ángel Asturias, Hombres de Maiz, his work explores issues of rituals, sacred traditions and commercialism's effects on ancestral beliefs and cultural identity.

His row house is comprised of three parts: corn people around a mandala, the "Tortilla Oracle" and a wall of thoughts, prayers and wishes expressed by visitors to the exhibition.

Project Row Houses Round 34: Matter of Food is on display through June 19.

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"Here come the grannies!"

Walk through the Magic Door to experience the world of Bluey in Houston

bluey and bingo's bedroom at camp in houston

Courtesy of CAMP

Houston will soon be the home of a new CAMP store, featuring interactive installations like the house from "Bluey."

Bluey is coming to the Galleria this February “for real life” through an immersive event that invites visitors to enter the world of the famous Australian Heeler family. This one-of-a-kind experience brings the Heeler home and backyard to life with intricate details that will delight fans of all ages.

Tickets are on sale now for Bluey x CAMP, the inaugural interactive experience of the combination toy store, party venue, and immersive theater space. This is The Family Experience Company’s first CAMP location in Houston, with the business securing a 7,500-square-foot permanent retail space in the Galleria.

Through “The Magic Door,” a pivoting wall, visitors step into seasonally rotating interactive spaces beginning with a 5,000-square-foot lifesize replica of Bluey’s house.

Visitors can play games made popular by the show, such as grannies and keepy uppy, and bust a move when “dance mode” is activated. The kitchen’s fridge is covered in drawings by the Heeler puppies, while the living room TV plays Bluey.

Families can explore both a pillow fort and a cardboard castle — two-story structures complete with slides — before venturing into a playroom stocked with toys and costumes from the show. In the backyard, a recreation of the Heeler’s large tree is surrounded by charming gnomes. A photo opportunity with Bluey and Bingo tops off the visit.

Beyond the world of Bluey, CAMP offers even more for visitors in its Canteen space, with a splatter room, The Schmutz Bar (a slime creation station), a party room, and a playable truck. Customers can also shop for toys, clothing, and accessories.

Houston joins a list of CAMP’s locations in Dallas, Atlanta, New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. Installations change seasonally, with other current features including Paw Patrol, The Little Mermaid, and Encanto.

Courtesy of CAMP

Houston will soon be the home of a new CAMP store, featuring interactive installations like the house from "Bluey."

bluey galleria-houston camp bluey x camp