Lucinda Breeding

The final arts column of the year is annually both my favorite and my most dreaded piece. When I look back over the past year for the work I most appreciate, I’m overwhelmed by how much art this community makes and by the hard task of ranking my favorites.

5. Best work of art

Memory is an oil painting by Faith Scott Jessup. Thanks to a black background swallowing a tangle of greenery that entangles a cow, a fish, an oversized bug, a lizard and a baby shoe, Memory is like a frustrating flash of a riddle that comes up only in dreams. The painting is both mysterious and psychological.

A strand of pearls and a red rose add to the feeling that the painting is about the subconscious. Jessup’s paintings achieve a clever balance between the theatrical and the sinister.

4. Best fundraising method for a project

Oso Closo, a Denton band with a growing fan base, had to get creative in financing the album it released this year, Today is Beauty’s Birthday. The band set up a PayPal account, then offered several tiers of patronage. For a $25 donation, you got a signed copy of the CD. The donation levels jumped in increments, topping out at $10,000. The band sweetened the deal with gifts: a limited-edition behind-the-scenes DVD, personalized cigar boxes and, for big spenders, a day in the studio and a chance to sing backup vocals.

“A friend of mine mentioned that there was some girl in the Portland area that had created a PayPal account and come up with a bunch of different incentives for donating to her new album,” said singer Adrian Hulet. “She had made the papers by raising something like $85,000. I didn’t even look her up, just immediately got started on the idea. I really don’t even know her name. I wish I did so I could give her better credit.”

3. Favorite interview

In November, I had a rare chance to interview someone I’ve admired for years: author Gregory Maguire. The author wrote the novel Wicked, his examination of The Wizard of Oz. Maguire’s novel, which was the chosen title for Denton Reads, an annual community book club, was adapted for a blockbuster Broadway musical.

Maguire was personable, smart and curious. Hearing his stories of how the book and its central character (the so-called wicked witch Elphaba) was among the most memorable of my career. Now, we get to enjoy Maguire’s Matchless. 

2. Best representation of Denton

Shirin Askari is a University of North Texas graduate who earned a spot on the sixth season of Project Runway. (We’ve gotten more e-mail and phone calls about a certain local man who has taken a turn for the telegenic on the upcoming season of The Bachelor.) Cheers to Askari for making it through six weeks of the season’s grueling challenges. Contenders make clothing according to a theme, or a peevish material that proves almost impossible to work with. Askari’s origami skirt made from newspaper earned a special spot in my heart. Her film costume — a beautiful saloon girl getup — went under the radar, to my dismay. Nothing really beat her maternity dress for actress Rebecca Romijn, though. And another cheer to Askari for not talking trash about her peers on the show.

1. Best performance

Actor Kenny Fudge brought the role of Father Flynn to life in the one-act cutting of Doubt, A Parable. Fudge was bolstered by John Patrick Shanley’s great script, but Fudge added color and depth to the progressive priest, making him seem compassionate, yet flawed. That Fudge made Flynn’s indignation dance on the edge of righteous anger and terror in the face of sexual abuse charges made him all the more impressive. 

LUCINDA BREEDING can be reached at 940-566-6877. Her e-mail address is cbreeding@dentonrc.com.