The Pleasure of Being Robbed

The Dirty Green: The Art of Grifters and Con Men, a two-man art exhibition showcasing the work of Washington DC-based artists Billy Colbert and Kelly Towles took place Thursday night in a nondescript warehouse space located at 1226 9th Street in Northwest. Exploring the act of thievery in its many forms, the show uses images of clowns, sneak thieves and pugilistic burglars to make statements regarding the frequently sordid details of the crime of theft.

Kelly Towles, one of Washington, DC’s most promising emerging artists, presented a composition of twenty small paintings on wood, juxtaposed with five oversized pieces depicting his eponymous social and emotional deviants. Towles ability to accurately portray his principal characters’ temperaments and to visually captivate his viewer is a major success of this show.

Towles’ combination of raw energy and his recurring interest in the subject of depredation reveal the artist’s vision of how such individuals deal with the society in which they live and often take for granted.

Mixed–media artist Billy Colbert’s painting and print work is both visually stunning and instantly recognizable for its dynamic, complex layering of imagery ranging from popular advertising icons and criminal mug shots to family photographs and cartoon characters.

In his work, the process begins with a base material such as aluminum, canvas, or commercial photography paper, which is used to create an atmosphere. Next, a layered combination of paint, screen-printed images, random patterns, and text are applied to produce greater depth. Once the desired effect is created, more screen printed images are added, followed by additional layers of paint to complete the work.

His paintings are poignant tributes to and critical analyses of popular culture in the US, including the impact of that culture beyond national borders. Colbert incorporates various forms of popular culture including television, advertising, sports, fashion, magazines and comic books. He explores issues of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, cultural imperialism and censorship, as shaped by and reflected in various mass media.

In addition to his artistic talents, Colbert is important to DC fashion as proprietor of clothing label Policy Brand. For more information visit www.billycolbert.com and www.policybrand.com. Kelly Towles’ street inspired art can be viewed at www.kellytowles.com.

Bonus: On Saturday November 7th from 6:30 to 9:00 you are invited to U street corridor boutique Redeem which is celebrating its third anniversary with a pop up show by De*Nada, new works by Kelly Towles and tunes by DJ Cassidy.

School of Thought

On Tuesday at Politics and Prose author Matthew Crawford read from and discussed his new book Shop Class As Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into The Value of Work, in which he extols the virtues of the hands-on self reliance which has all but disappeared from the modern workplace. Matthew Crawford is a philosopher and mechanic. He has a Ph.D. in political philosophy from the University of Chicago and has served as a postdoctoral fellow on its Committee on Social Thought. Currently a fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia, he owns and operates Shockoe Moto, an independent motorcycle repair shop in Richmond, Virginia.

Our questionable advancement from the industrial to the information age does not subtract from our dependence, at home and at work, on those who can truly make and fix things. In Shop Class As Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into The Value of Work, Crawford presents an astonishingly complex view of the nature of work, skillfully examining its relationship to our intellectual and moral development. He emphasizes the value of doing work which shows tangible results and for which we both can and must take responsibility. This affects our own sense of self as well as the larger community we inhabit. His book, he writes, “advances a nestled set of arguments on behalf of work that is meaningful because it is genuinely useful. It also explores what we might call the ethics of maintenance and repair.”

Crawford’s Shop Class As Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into The Value of Work explores more specifically how the traditional trades can involve intense thought. He reveals the satisfaction of working with one’s hands and introduces the reader to his extensive knowledge of, as well as his passion for and insight into, the difficult but fascinating task of fixing vintage motorcycles, his chosen milieu. He makes the case that our society has placed a disproportionate value on white-collar work compared with that bestowed upon the trades.

The event’s overwhelming turnout is an indication of the public’s interest in Crawford’s thought-provoking debut. A work both relevant and valuable, it provides solid insight into motorcycle maintenance and discusses important topics and issues involved in the study of philosophy.

Paperwork

The resounding success of last summer’s Screams and Screens at Civilian Art Projects demonstrated that a second exhibition of music-based posters was needed. Presenting a riot of different artistic styles, Paper Jam-The Art and Grime of the East Coast Rock Poster, features a cross-section of artists, designers and printmakers who work in this genre. The exhibition focuses on the works of these twenty-seven artists from the East Coast: Ana Benaroya, Jordan Bernier, Rick Bowman, Chris Cernoch, Kate Crosgrove, Anthony Dihle (Dirty Pictures), Jefferey Everett (El Jefe Design), JP Flexner, John Foster (Bad People Good Things), Jeff Fry, Tim Gibbon (Dynamite Printworks), James Heimer, Edward Kelley, Daniel Kent, Chris Kline, Nick Kulp (Undercover Zero), Large Mammal, Robb Leef, Drew Liverman, Magick Outlaw, Nick Pimentel (Planaria Design), Gregory Pizzoli, Post Typography, Brian Potash (Devilish Ink), Public Domain, and Warm.

Organized by artist Anthony Dihlo the exhibition presents a collection of works that represent the whole spectrum of poster art. Of this work, Dihlo says, “both well-established and newly emerging artists are featured. Their methods of production range from high-end offset lithography to silkscreen to Xerox, and their styles are equally varied, from the rock poster standbys of skulls-n-babes to experimentation where text and form are pushed to convey music using symbols and abstraction. Bands represented extend from internationally known acts to garage bands making their debut show. Most of the work is home-brewed, by the artist, and merges the illustration of sound and lyrics with the requisite need for a poster to simultaneously advertise a show and commemorate it.”

Over the last few years, there has been a resurgence of interest in the rock poster, triggered largely by a renewed enthusiasm for small venue live music and analog sound. Many poster artists, inspired by their local scene and the music of our time, are now enjoying unprecedented success. The recent revival of poster art is facilitated by the availability of imaging software, advances in screen-printing such as the increased adaptability of silk screen to at-home methods, and the presence of a new generation of poster artists who share ideas, resources, viewing spaces, and markets for their prints.

Paper Jam-The Art and Grime of the East Coast Rock Poster is a stimulating and accessible exhibition. On Thursday June 25th Civilian Art Projects hosted a Q and A session with several artists from the exhibition including Chris Cernoch, Anthony Dihlo, Jefferey Everett, JP Flexner, John Foster, Gregory Pizzoli, Brian Potash, and Dan and Jason of Warm. The discussion provided insight into important issues involved in the poster making process and explored each individual’s unique body of work.

Passageways

The latest works by renowned contemporary artist and architect Maya Lin are now showing at Washington’s Corcoran Gallery of Art. Lin came to prominence in 1981 with her winning design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and has since achieved international acclaim for her site specific art and architecture projects. Her body of work, which includes monuments, buildings, earthworks, sculpture, and installations, addresses notions of landscape and geological phenomena. In recent years, Lin has focused on reinterpretations of landscapes, analyzing the natural world using modern technology including satellite images, digital mapping, and topography, and presenting that data in exquisite three-dimensional forms. Maya Lin: Systematic Landscapes is an exhibition of major new work centered on a trio of large-scale sculptural installations that present different ways to encounter and comprehend the landscape in a time of ecological change.

The first major installation, 2x4 Landscape, is built from more than 50,000 fir and hemlock boards, cut at various lengths and set on end to form an imaginary landscape. The work rises to a height of ten feet and fills an entire room in the museum gallery. Resembling an earthen mound or an ominous ocean swell, this work is a model landscape on a grand scale.

The Blue Lake Pass sculptures are modeled on an actual mountain range located near the artist’s home in Southwest Colorado. This installation consists of a series of 20 cubes composed of vertical sheets of particle board that have been carved and stacked allowing visitors to contemplate a landscape from the inside. Of this work, Lin says, “by creating a sculpture that details the topography, applying a three by three foot grid to that terrain, and then pulling the terrain apart so that one can walk through the landscape, I wanted to shift one’s perspective about the land, allowing a viewpoint that is more geologic in character.”

The third major installation, Water Line, is a suspended wire-frame topographic sculpture, which maps an underwater landmass located in the South Atlantic Ocean. The piece appears abstract but is instantly recognizable as a model of the ocean floor. Presented as a floating line drawing that visitors can walk under, around, and view from different angles, Water Line provides an unexpected view of the natural world.

Lin works in other media as well, including using plaster, recycled silver and steel wire to create smaller three-dimensional sculptures which are also represented in the exhibition. Additionally, Lin has created a new work designed specifically for the Corcoran. Pin River-Potomac is an outline of the river made entirely of straight pins and the shadows cast by them. These small-scale interpretations equally inspire and enthrall the observer.

Maya Lin: Systematic Landscapes will be on view through July 12.

Crescent City Blues

Throughout the month of April the Library of Congress has been showing a series of jazz-related films and videos presented by Larry Appelbaum at the Mary Pickford Theatre. Appelbaum, senior studio engineer in the Library's Recorded Sound Section, lectures frequently on jazz and is the longtime radio host of WPFW's Sunday evening program "Sound of Surprise”. On Wednesday, April 22, the series featured noted music documentarian Robert Mugge’s 2006 documentary New Orleans Musicians in Exile. In the film Mugge explores the profound impact of Hurricane Katrina on the New Orleans music community. Musicians featured in the production include Dr. John, Cyril Neville, Irma Thomas, Kermit Ruffins, Rebirth Brass Band and many others. Mugge also includes interviews with New Orleans club proprietors, music journalists and record label owners.

In this revealing film the viewer is introduced to the unique spirit and vibrant culture of New Orleans and the havoc and despair left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Director Robert Mugge’s central message is encapsulated in his title New Orleans Musicians in Exile. He documents many of New Orleans’ talented musicians who are living in exile, forced to disperse to other parts of the country following the devastation wreaked on the city by the worst natural disaster in US history. These musicians who made a living performing and recording in New Orleans have kept on playing elsewhere- many of their performances devoted to the beleaguered city. Mugge also focuses on how New Orleans has compensated for the loss of so many of her musicians and which acts plan to return in the imminent future.

The film examines the effects of Hurricane Katrina on individual musicians, and follows the personal stories and experiences in a city they loved and lived in. In addition to performing they share their experiences of loss and displacement. Mugge’s insightful examination reveals the unhealed wounds of their experience while also celebrating their resilience and passion.

Wonderland

An international company with a longstanding reputation for innovation, U.K. based Vidal Sassoon opened its only Washington DC area salon in Tysons Galleria in 1997. One of the world’s best recognized names in hairdressing, Sassoon’s prestigious salons offer women and men uniquely crafted cut and color techniques which create and develop the effortlessly sophisticated looks their clients love. Vidal Sassoon’s consistent focus on creative color and style is unmatched. Its team of colorists and stylists combine talent, technique, and passion for the craft to provide exceptional client services at Vidal Sassoon.

Vidal Sassoon has a unique way of separating the stylist and colorist worlds. This dissociation allows more focus, resulting in great consultations for both color and cut. At Sassoon Tysons Galleria a diverse and distinguished team of hairdressers share an astute awareness of fashion, trends and style, and are happy to pass on this knowledge to their willing clientele. Their charming, warm and personable air gives careful consideration to what will suit the individual. Their extraordinarily talented stylists will help determine the services that are best for the client during an individual consultation. Whatever look one chooses, Vidal Sassoon will help to achieve it.

Upon completion of Vidal Sassoon training all hairdressers are required to present an individual soiree that will focus on how to use creativity to build on the ever-changing nature of their craft. On Tuesday March 17 colorist Alvina Macrall invited her audience, a bevy of friends, family and fellow professionals into a storybook fantasy, inspired by ‘Alice in Wonderland’, in her spring soiree for Vidal Sassoon Tysons Galleria. She presented a potent mix of creative color and unique styles drawing inspiration from one of her favorite stories. Her presentation focused on popular concepts found in Lewis Carroll’s book such as the essence of imagination and fantasy, and explores as a theme perception vs. reality. Every cut and color resembled the celebrated characters from the classic story, their styled hair strewn with vivid colors and their faces made-up with evocative eye-shadows and shimmering bronze blush-on. Technically precise and creatively sound Alvina Macrall’s soiree was a tremendous success.

Cinema verité

From February 18 to February 22, The National Archives hosted the fifth annual free screenings of Academy Award nominees in four categories- Documentary Feature, Documentary Short Subject, Live Action Short Film, and Animated Short Film- at the William G. McGowan Theater. The screenings are presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in partnership with The Charles Guggenheim Center for the Documentary Film and the Foundation for the National Archives. On Sunday February 22 I attended the screening of The Garden, nominated for Best Documentary Feature at this year’s 81st Academy Awards.

Scott Hamilton Kennedy’s The Garden (2008) examines the legal battle that resulted from the city of Los Angeles’ sale of a 14 acre expanse of land in a South Central neighborhood that had been developed by local residents into one of the country’s largest community gardens. The film, which debuted in June at the American Film Institute /Discovery Channel Documentary Festival, SILVERDOCS, vividly explores the South Central Farmers’ frustration with the events leading up to the destruction of their inner city garden. In doing so it presents the story of a community in complete despair.

The Garden won a Sterling award for best U.S. feature, the jury praising it for “its tenacity in storytelling in the face of injustice, and the filmmaker’s singular vision in bringing a gripping, dramatic, and important story to the public eye. The Garden has raw emotion, visceral energy, and nail-biting twists and turns. It unravels a complex and layered tale of the destruction of America’s largest urban farm that must not be forgotten.”

Documentary film can promote a broader awareness of issues of pressing importance, including current world events, political and social reform, climate change and human rights. Kennedy is impressive as he reveals the predominately Hispanic farmers and their opponents as individuals passionate about their particular cause. He shows no bias for a political or social agenda but rather tells a story he feels is important without the pretentious claim of social service or mystical claims to a unique access to truth.

The South Central Farmers, committed to strengthening community and culture, recognize the power of protest. The garden was a source of pride and sustenance for their community for more than a decade. The opponents of the garden, particularly Councilwomen Jan Perry of the LA City Ninth District and Juanita Tate, a community activist and head of the Concerned Citizens of South Central, stimulate action and vociferously express their own opinions, as the fate of the garden remains uncertain.

The film opens with live news footage of April 29, 1992, documenting the devastating LA riots which followed the Rodney King trial. We are introduced to a struggle between the African American leadership of the past and the emerging Latino constituents who are experiencing a dramatic social transition. Kennedy focuses on race relations and reports on a possible brown vs. black dynamic as both major challengers are African American. Is Kennedy accurate in suggesting that the two powerful African American leaders are corrupt? Does he think about the implications of raising such a controversial issue? If so, should he care about such implications if his intention is to demonstrate the truth or reality of the situation.

As a hypothetical member of a film jury I was most impressed by the director’s exploration of the truth. Kennedy clearly illustrates the importance of the garden to the farmers and their disillusionment when the terms of the land grant are amended and then abruptly taken away. I was slightly irritated by Kennedy’s failure to clarify the specifics of the original land grant that gave the garden to the citizens of Los Angeles. Clearly the dominant interest is that of the developers which runs contrary to that of the citizens. This juxtaposition of the interests of the community with those of their adversaries results in there being no clear winners or losers.

Picasso to Pop

A collection of paintings by Andy Warhol, the prolific painter, graphic artist and film-maker and one of the most iconic American artists of the 20th century, opened last night at the University of Mary Washington’s Ridderhof Martin Gallery. The University of Mary Washington Galleries are composed of the Ridderhof Martin Gallery and the duPont Gallery. Together, they present art exhibitions and educational events of interest to the University community and the general public. Warhol’s Portrait of Richard Weisman, shown above, is part of the exhibition “Andy Warhol’s Athletes: Portraits from the Richard Weisman Collection”, and is on display through February 25.

I was delighted to attend this once-in-a-lifetime event featuring art collector, author and owner of Andy Warhol’s 1977-78 Athlete Series, Richard Weisman, who held a book signing reception for Picasso to Pop: The Richard Weisman Collection. Richard Weisman’s book reveals the inspiration behind the series and discusses his experiences as a major collector of contemporary art. Weisman grew up in a family of art collectors. He is the son of Marcia Weisman, a founder of the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, and nephew of Norton Simon, founder of the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena.

In 1977 Andy Warhol received a commission from Richard Weisman, a close friend of the artist, to create his Athletes Series, which is composed of ten individual portraits of popular sports figures. Completed in 1979, these ten portraits of the decade’s athletic superstars, among them Chris Evert, Pele, Willie Shoemaker, Jack Nicklaus, and Muhammad Ali, reveal the ongoing importance of friendships between patrons and artists in contemporary art.

As the preeminent American artist in the 20th century Andy Warhol’s vividly colorful and innovative paintings challenged the world to see art differently. A leader of the American art movement known as Pop, Andy Warhol used his canvasses of dollar bills, soup cans, and celebrities to subvert distinctions between high and popular culture. His spectacular career encompassed the underground scene as well as the equally deviant worlds of politics, show business, and high society.

Needless to say, it was an exciting evening and an experience I will not soon forget. Thank you my darling.

Art Is My Weapon

Mixed-media artist TMNK (The Me Nobody Knows) is an extraordinary talent. His poignant paintings, which he describes as urban hieroglyphics, are an engaging blend of symbols and figurative abstractions. TMNK’s work is often imbued with socio-political undertones addressing issues and tensions relevant to dialogue in an open and free society. His exceptional urban contemporary art is both refreshing and inspiring, and while his paintings have drawn comparisons to Picasso, Basquiat, and Romare Bearden, TMNK's irreverent bold style is uniquely his own.

A photographer, painter, activist, writer, and illustrator, TMNK is truly an artist whose abilities and creative accomplishments defy traditional labels. As a person who defines himself by making art, he often simply signs his work TMNK (The Me Nobody Knows), a moniker he uses to describe himself. Exhibiting under this pseudonym, he has chosen to underline his artistic career with the similarities between himself and countless others within his community who remain anonymous and whose talent remains unrecognized. Yet many seem all too familiar with his work. He has received national attention for his digital editorial illustrations and his multi-media paintings have been the choice of international collectors and curators alike.

Constructing, deconstructing, and assembling; painting and scratching on any surface he can find, TMNK’s paintings offer reflections, observations, and conversations that the viewer is invited to join.

The artist currently resides in New York, New York.

Fighting Back

On Monday, the controversial Chicago activist, educator, and ex Weatherman William Ayers read from and discussed his two new books on educational strategies - City Kids, City Schools: More Reports from the Front Row- and its companion- City Kids, City Teachers: Reports from the Front Row. He was also promoting the new edition of his 2001 memoir Fugitive Days: Memoirs of an Anti-War Activist in which Ayers recounts his life as a sixties radical and co founder of the Weather Underground.

I was excited by this rare opportunity to listen to a serious thinker who had been made into the bogey man by the McCain-Palin campaign. He was characterized only as an unrepentant domestic terrorist; his substantial body of work since the heady times of the 1960’s being ignored in an effort to demonize the democratic candidate Barack Obama.

Free and open to all, this author event was hosted by Busboys and Poets and sponsored by two organizations invested in progressive public education, Teaching For Change and DC Voice. The event was originally scheduled months ago and due to the large media interest and overwhelming turnout was moved from Busboy’s Langston Room to the stunningly beautiful All Souls Unitarian Church, located in the heart of Washington DC at 1500 Harvard Street NW. The venue was ideal, located at the intersection of the Mt. Pleasant, Adams Morgan, and Columbia Heights neighborhoods.

Ayers, of course, discussed the recent election, in which he had been made an unwilling participant, but his focus remained on educational reform and the realities of teaching and learning in urban schools in a democratic society. Ayers presented a range of theories and methods, based on the Freedom School model, which can be used today in the classroom. A respected elementary education theorist and a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Education, Ayers understands the vital importance of improving urban education, and his call to action on this topic will likely resonate with the DC community.

Cultural Expressions

The Union Gallery at the University of Maryland presents CONECTA, an exhibition and artist collaborative project featuring emerging U.S. and Mexican artists. The exhibition, curated and organized by Jackie Milad seeks to further dialogue in international contemporary art, build alliances for artists, and promote cultural exchange. CONECTA highlights the work of six emerging artists from Sinaloa, Mexico and Baltimore/Washington D.C- Cecilia Garcia Morales, Jose Carlos Flores Zazueta, Bernardo Alatorre Tapia, Sasha Blanton, Alyssa Dennis, and Juan Rojo. Also participating in the group exhibition portion of CONECTA is Mexican artist, Christian Castillo.

The purpose of CONECTA is to give these artists the unique opportunity to collaborate in the creation of original artworks for display, as well as forge lasting international professional associations. Most of the artists are under 35 years of age and are without gallery representation. For most, this will be the first time working together in an artistic collaborative effort. They have been chosen as the inaugural group based on their commitment to their artistic careers and on the promise of their work. The hope is to continue the program biennially.

Cecilia Garcia Morales
Born Mazatlan, Sinaloa (Mexico), 1971

Cecilia Garcia Morales completed her graduate degree in art education at the Academia Estatal de Arte Francisco Martinez Cabrera in 2002. In her undergraduate studies Morales focused on fine arts, specifically painting. She has become a well-known artist and educator in the Sinaloa area and has won numerous regional awards for her artwork Morales has participated in solo and group exhibitions in many notable venues, including the Mazatlan Museum of Art, La Pena Gallery in Austin Texas, and the University of Sinaloa Library. At present Morales instructs young children in painting and ceramics at the Instituto Municipal de Cultura, Turismo y Arte Mazatlan.

Jose Carlos Flores Zazueta (Carlos Zeta)
Born Mazatlan, Sinaloa (Mexico), 1980

Carlos Zeta completed his undergraduate studies at the Instituto Tecnologico Superior de Sinaloa with a focus on graphic design in 2002. Zeta uses a mix of visual techniques including popular Mexican icons, graphic design, and graffiti in his work. He has exhibited his work throughout Mexico in both group and solo shows. Zeta has attained many awards for his work. He currently works as a freelance graphic designer.

Bernardo Alatorre Tapia
Born Mazatlan, Sinaloa (Mexico), 1986

Bernardo Alatorre Tapia completed his undergraduate studies at the Instituto Tecnologico Superior de Sinaloa with a focus in Graphic design in 2008. Tapia is a self-taught artist who started painting and showing his artwork regularly in area museums and galleries at the very young age of 18. He has won numerous state awards and honors for his paintings. Notable solo and group exhibitions have taken place in the Mazatlan Museum of Art, Rubio Gallery of the Angela Peralta Theatre and the University of Sinaloa Library. Tapia often works collaboratively with his close friend, Christian Castillo (some of whose work is featured in the exhibition). Tapia currently works for the regional newspaper Noroeste as a full-time illustrator.

Sasha Blanton
Born Bowie, Texas (USA), 1979

Raised in Texas, Sasha Blanton moved to the Eastern Shore to pursue a college degree. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore with a focus in art education. He received a Masters in Fine Arts from Towson University. Blanton currently lives in the Baltimore area where he is emerging as a successful professional artist and educator. His work has been shown in many venues around the country. Blanton continues the long tradition of oil painting with a new approach to the medium. His work presents a contemporary framework for the human form. Blanton is represented by multiple galleries including Chi Contemporary Art in New York City and Gallery Imperato in Baltimore, Maryland.

Alyssa Dennis
Born Springfield, Massachusetts (USA), 1981

Alyssa Dennis completed her Bachelors degree at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore in 2003. While at MICA, she was able to experience a study abroad program in Mali, West Africa. Dennis has been awarded numerous grants and prizes for her work including several Maryland State Council in the Arts fellowships and the Maryland Artist Equity Foundation First Prize. She has shown extensively in the area and overseas, most notably in Japan. Significant exhibition venues include Gallery Imperato, Villa Julie College, and Greenbelt Gallery. Dennis is currently represented by Gallery Imperato in Baltimore, Maryland.

Juan Rojo
Born Valladolid, Spain, 1977

Juan Rojo graduated from the University of Salamanca with a Bachelors degree in Fine Arts in 2000. Since then, Rojo has accumulated many significant honors and awards. In 2001 he won the “Jovenes Creadores” Painting Contest. In 2002 he earned a grant to attend the workshop of the Spanish painter Antonio Lopez at the International University Menendez Pelayo (Santander), and was a finalist for the “Rafael de Penagos” Drawing Award. His work was also exhibited in a collection show at the Mapfre Foundation in Madrid. Rojo has participated in numerous exhibitions, including “La pared roja” in the Museum of Salamanca in 2004 and “American Works” in the Spanish Department of Georgetown University in 2006. He is currently pursuing a Masters degree in painting at the University of Maryland.

Accidental equilibrium

Transformer Gallery has quickly become a prominent showcase for contemporary art. Founded in 2002 by Victoria Reis and Jayme McLellan to serve as a catalyst and advocate for emergent expression in the visual arts, Transformers’ mission is to build a broad network of support for emerging artists, their ideas and work, and to educate audiences about expression in contemporary visual art. Given the relatively modest scale of the gallery, exhibits here transcend the usual photographs, paintings, and sculptures. Located at 14th and P streets NW, Transformer Gallery displays work reaching across the boundaries of specific media, connecting and promoting emerging visual artists within regional, national and international contexts. Transformer Gallery presents site-specific installations, lecture series and performance art. As a pioneer, Transformer Gallery features artists who appeal to a broad ranging audience with eclectic tastes.

Transformer and The Floating Lab collective have partnered to present an interactive three day event. The exhibit currently on view, Bartering in the Land of Abundance demonstrates the influence of, and examines how we identify ourselves with, everyday objects. The project Bartering in the Land of Abundance uses “barter” as a format to create community exchange.

Creating a compelling dialogue on social issues, Bartering in the Land of Abundance activates a collective participation in the domain of contemporary arts. Bartering in the Land of Abundance is initiated with the distribution of empty plastic bags in neighborhoods across the Washington DC area. The idea is that each neighborhood will explain the project and ask all those who want to participate to contribute an object to be used for barter. For every object the donor will be asked to write information about what he or she knows about the object. In the gallery, each object is sketched and the known information about it is added to the drawing. The objects are then displayed in the gallery for barter with people visiting the gallery. Members of the public are invited to bring objects of their own to exchange. A sketch will also be made of each bartered object and similar information about the object will be collected as a way of creating an archive. The drawings will then be displayed in the Katzen Arts Center at American University this fall during the show “Close Encounters”.

Transformer Gallery features unique and bold exhibits, which provide a forum for emerging artists to explore and present experimental artistic concepts, build audiences for their work and advance their careers. Visit Transformer to experience provocative groundbreaking works by some of our most innovative contemporary artists.

Eero Dynamic

The National Building Museum honors the legacy of one of the most prolific and celebrated architects of the twentieth century in the innovative retrospective, “Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future”, on display through August 23. Mid-century architect and product designer Eero Saarinen changed the face of domestic and industrial design in the United States by creating some of the world’s most original and widely recognized structures.

Eero Saarinen was the son of the celebrated Finnish architect and first President of the Cranbrook Academy of Art, Eliel Saarinen. Born in Helsinki, he emigrated with his family to the United States in 1923. Eero initially studied sculpture at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris and, later, architecture at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, graduating in 1934. He received a scholarship there which enabled him to travel to Europe. On his return he taught at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan. In 1937 he began a collaboration with Charles Eames which culminated in a series of highly progressive and prize-winning furniture designs for The Museum of Modern Art’s 1940 “Organic Design in Home Furnishings” competition. A constant, indefatigable worker, he oversaw more than forty staff architects at the height of his career, and created in detail hundreds of possible designs for each project. He later produced several highly successful furniture designs for Knoll International, which has been manufacturing many of Saarinen’s classic chair and table designs since 1946.

Saarinen’s structures profoundly influenced American architecture and design. His greatest architectural projects include the main terminal of Dulles International Airport, near Washington, D.C.; the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (St. Louis Gateway Arch); the TWA terminal at Kennedy Airport and the CBS headquarters in New York City. Saarinen’s numerous works included the Miller House and the North Christian Church in Columbus, Indiana, and housing at the Morse and Ezra Stiles Colleges at Yale University.

Saarinen, who died while undergoing an operation for a brain tumor at age 51, never lived to see the completion of some of his most important works. He died young and very much out of critical favor, but the judgment of history seems to have turned for this long-neglected master. He was criticized in his own time for having no identifiable style. One explanation for this is that Saarinen adapted his modernist vision to each individual client and project, which were never the same. Many of these endeavors use simple, sweeping catenary curves in their structures. Saarinen’s work is always beautiful. It represents the time in which he lived and worked. Mid-century America was the land of optimistic smiles. The future looked bright, and happiness was a virtue. During the postwar period there was a strong belief that technology made things better. Modern architecture and design would show the way to a progressive future.

In celebration of Eero Saarinen’s remarkable achievements, the National Building Museum, in collaboration with the Museum of Finnish Architecture, Helsinki, and the Finnish Cultural Institute presents the first major retrospective of his work. “Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future” is a wonderful exhibition. It brings Saarinen’s wide-ranging body of work back to life, emphasizing his enduring brilliance and introducing those unacquainted with his work to the designs of an architect who is finally receiving overdue recognition. Modern design is not so much a fixed style as it is an approach to life, showing that well-designed things can bring joy and delight into mundane living. Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future, features full-scale building models, never-before-seen drawings, furniture, photographs, films and other artifacts.

Not surprisingly, there has been a surge of interest in Saarinen’s work in recent years, including major exhibitions and several books. If you’re taken with the National Building Museum show, you may also marvel at Jayne Merkel’s fascinating monograph on Saarinen published by Phaidon Press Limited. Merkel’s handsome volume presents the first major publication on Eero Saarinen since the early 1960’s and fills a significant gap in Saarinen scholarship.

Saarinen is a champion of the modern design cause, and his work continues to attract new admirers. It is as fresh and inspired today as it was when he first created it. Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future honors his remarkable contribution to American design.

Confrontational Art

Editorial cartoonist Pat Oliphant’s exhibit, “Leadership: Oliphant Cartoons and Sculpture from the Bush Years”, at the Stanford in Washington Art Gallery is based on a collection of Oliphant’s work in his recently released book, “Leadership: Political Cartoons – The Bush Years” from Andrews McMeel Publishing. Displayed alongside his drawings are a series of bronze sculptures depicting his caricatures of various political figures.

Pat Oliphant is arguably the best political cartoonist in America, described by The New York Times as “the most influential cartoonist now working”.

In 1966, two years after he left his native Australia for an American career, Pat Oliphant won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning for his February 1, 1966 cartoon They Won’t Get Us to the Conference table …Will They?. Forty years later he is considered among the most gifted practitioners in the history of the genre.

Unrestricted by journalistic standards of objectivity, Oliphant wields ire and irony to reveal the naked truths about presidents, business leaders, and other public figures. Addressing the current political condition “Leadership: Oliphant Cartoons and Sculpture from the Bush Years” presents a splendid retrospective of sharp-witted political cartoons, oversized caricature drawings and exceptional examples of the artist’s work in sculpture. Oliphant works in other media as well, including oils, charcoal, monotype and watercolor. Additionally, the exhibition includes several of the artist’s working sketchbooks. His pencil sketches offer a glimpse of ideas that have now made their way into his exquisite compositions. Oliphant demonstrates remarkable skill using both ingenuity and artistry to create impressive and unforgettable images.

Pat Oliphant spares no one as he covers Bush’s tenure in office - drawing comparisons of the war in Iraq to Vietnam, Kim Jong-il’s nuclear antics to a circus act, and President George W. Bush’s occupation of the Oval Office with the reign of The Little King. Much has been written about the United States and torture in George Bush’s two terms as commander-in-chief. Consequently one of the most effective images in the exhibit is Oliphant’s editorial cartoon showing a whip-wielding Condoleezza Rice as a cat-suited dominatrix, screaming “The United States doesn’t do torture! Do I make myself clear?”

Known for his penetrating and incisive portrayals in political drawings his work in sculpture has received more and more notice, and has been included in numerous museum exhibitions. The collection of Oliphant’s work in three dimensional caricature, including sculptures of George H.W. Bush, Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney, prove to be the most engaging pieces in the show. Pat Oliphant reminds us that sculptures don’t make themselves-he does. At his direction, the sculptural pieces, like his pen and ink drawings, show a degree of distortion, shaped and stretched with an obvious weight of gloom or anger or both. Oliphant creates objects that have the sensibility of a mischievous child. His bronze sculpture titled “Rumsfeld” depicts the uncompromising former Secretary of Defense as a having a villainous Kaiser-like face: a sharp, rigid jaw; unyielding eyes, one exposed, the other covered with a monocle. His stern disposition, half-hidden beneath a menacing helmet and with an iron cross around his neck, recalls the crazed militarism of a World War I German officer.

Oliphant is an extraordinary cartoonist as well as a fine sculptor. Few artists have done as much to influence the form and content of contemporary American political cartoons. This exhibition is a must see and will continue through July 15th. The Stanford University Washington Center Art Gallery is located in the Sant Building at 2655 Connecticut Avenue., NW in Washington DC.

Hip Hop Aesthetic

The National Portrait Gallery presents “Recognize! Hip Hop and Contemporary Portraiture”, a new exhibition that demonstrates the influence of hip hop on portrait artists working today. The artists included here work in a variety of different media each expanding the idea of what a portrait is. There are large scale paintings by Kehinde Wiley, black and white photographs by David Scheinbaum, self portrait videos by Jefferson Pinder, a poem by Nikki Giovanni, an art installation by Shinique Smith and four twenty-foot-long graffiti murals by Tim Conlon and Dave Hupp.

Since its birth in the late 1970’s, hip hop culture, which includes rap music, break dancing, urban graffiti, and street fashion, has become a dominant influence in mainstream America. While images of hip hop performers are as pervasive in our culture as the music itself, these six artists and one poet have created powerful images that both celebrate and explore the complexity of this creative form.

Kehinde Wiley has created portraits of hip hop artists such as LL cool J and Ice T, each strongly influenced by famous European or American paintings from the 17th through the 19th century. His larger than life, richly hued paintings feature the vibrant patterned backdrop that is characteristic of Wiley’s paintings. They both celebrate the history of portraiture, and pay homage to hip hop pioneers.

Santa-Fe based David Scheinbaum has been photographing hip hop artists and performances since 2000. He has twenty six black and white photographs represented in the exhibition most taken between 2002 and 2005 in either Albuquerque, New Mexico or Los Angeles, California. The subjects of these portraits showcase one of hip hops most significant characteristics: the relationship between the artist and their audience.

Painter and mixed media artist Jefferson Pinder was educated and teaches at the University of Maryland. He has created three video self portraits, including Mule, in which Pinder literally drags the weight of his daily struggles behind him.

Baltimore born, Brooklyn based painter Shinique Smith’s offers an artistic interpretation of Nikki Giovanni’s poem It’s Not a Just Situation: Though We Just Can’t Keep Crying About It (For the Hip Hop Nation That Brings Us Such Exciting Art). Her mixed media installation is an explosive composition including found objects, abstract calligraphy and images of hip hop’s most influential and, in this case, dearly departed artists.

Tom Conlon and Dave Hupp pay homage to the opulent murals and tags that are hip hop culture’s most celebrated art form. Tom “Con” Conlon, of Washington D.C. and Dave “Arek” Hupp from Baltimore have created four portrait murals that depict the traditional style of graffiti from its roots in 1970’s New York City, when distorted letters and bright colors dominated.

Keeping things fresh and new, The National Portrait Gallery’s Recognize! Hip Hop and Contemporary Portraiture” is on display through October. 26. The National Portrait Gallery is located at 8th and F streets, NW, and is open from 11:30-7 pm daily. This exhibition is definitely worth checking.

Art Therapy

As a newcomer to Washington D.C. in 2006, Civilian Art Projects has quickly established itself as a contemporary gallery that exhibits and supports emerging artists working in a variety of media including photography, video, painting, sculpture, sound and site-specific installation. Launched as a roving gallery project working with art spaces throughout the District, Civilian was created to support a core base of talented and professional artists who have worked closely with the gallery’s founder, Jayme McLellan. McLellan is a co-founder of Transformer Gallery and a contemporary of many of the artists she now represents. Civilian Art Project’s Seventh Street space is where this new generation of artists currently present and showcase their work. Located within walking distance of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum in downtown D.C., the permanent gallery is flexible, spacious and beautiful. The space has the ability to adapt to each event, and provides a unique setting for functions and events of all kinds. In addition to its exhibition program, Civilian sponsors a “Civilian Partners” series where the gallery, the artists, and the community unite in forums and events designed to discuss artists and art making, current world events, and ideas and tools toward channeling art as a tool for activism.

Operating through a commercial/cooperative model, Civilian sells artwork to sustain artists and the enterprise; it also promotes and hosts events addressing issues and tensions relevant to the dialogue of an open society. To this end, Civilian stimulates and presents projects connected to social movements. This is seen in its work to build broader awareness for issues of pressing importance including discussing world conflicts, climate change, and human rights.

Last month Civilian Arts Project was host to the Corcoran College of Art and Design annual print portfolio show. Currently in its twenty-third year, the title of this year’s show You Won’t Believe Your Eyes speaks to the increasing difficulty of trusting what we see. Past themes have commonly reflected current events, such as the 1999 end-of–the-century portfolio named Damnation, and the post September 11, 2001 portfolio titled Fear, Fate and Faith. You Won’t Believe Your Eyes examines our current condition of media saturation and manipulation, where “seeing is believing” is no longer a true statement.

The exhibition currently on view, craigslist, explores how four artists utilize this renowned community website as a conceptual component in their artistic practice. The exhibition features works by the artist team Joseph Dumbacher & John Dumbacher, Jason Horowitz, and Jason Zimmerman and is co-curated by Jayme McLellan, Director of Civilian Art Projects, and Andrea Pollan, Director of Curator’s Office. An essay by Andrea Pollan will accompany the exhibition.

The artist team of Joseph and John Dumbacher use craigslist to solicit willing models to meet them in movie theaters where they create haunting and identity-obscuring photographic portraits. Similarly, Jason Horowitz advertises for models to pose in his studio where he shoots extreme close-ups of their body parts and then explodes the scale of the image to create an unsettling nexus of anonymous portraiture and landscape. Jason Zimmerman exploits images posted by users on craigslist as his raw material. He creates digital photo albums of hundreds of individuals who publicize their sexual availability by uploading images of their naked bodies but with their facial identities distorted or obscured.

Concurrently on exhibition is 100 ways to kneel and kiss the ground, new photography by Kate MacDonnell, curated by Jayme McLellan with an essay by Kristen Hileman, a Washington D.C. based curator working at the Hirshhorn Museum.

Civilian Arts Project adheres to the model of the gallery as a blank space. That said they have created their own identity as an independent minded showplace that produces and supports artist directed projects through exhibitions, books and publications, video and film, one night events and happenings, and larger scale projects with an international reach. Civilian is committed to strengthening community and culture through the voice and vision of the artist. Its devotion to finding and exhibiting art that is innovative is as much a testament to the imagination and commitment of the people who choose to show contemporary art as of the artists who make it.

Undeniable

Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR) is a Harlem based composer, performer and bandleader who fuses hip-hop beats with jazz and rock rhythms and an experimental spirit with classical violin and piano training. The Haitian-American DBR has carved a reputation for himself as a passionately innovative artist. DBR performed works from his debut CD etudes4violin&electronix with his long time collaborator DJ Scientific to an intimate crowd in the Mansion at Strathmore on Monday night. As DBR himself said, this performance is “not a concert rather a conversation”.

Presenting electronica, hip-hop and classical music, the multi-genre performance featured selected solo and duet works from the critically acclaimed album as well as other collaborative works by DBR and DJ Scientific. Described as a musical exploration between contrasting cultures and instruments of classical and contemporary music genres, the program speaks to the history and traditions of both. The violin, the turntables and the laptop sing, battle, and rhyme together, honoring a full spectrum of musical inventions.

As an artist, DBR’s unique hybrid style continues to capture new music lovers worldwide. His dramatic soul-inspiring pieces range from orchestral scores and energetic chamber works to rock songs and electronica. The multi- talented DBR captures your attention with musical rhythms and classically driven sounds that speak to the human experience. The music is uplifting and sometimes challenging. His virtuosity and commitment to the violin’s expressivity was reminiscent, and at times echoed, Hendrix’s guitar in its freest form.

Offering a series of pulsating duets and solo works etudes4violin&electronix firmly establishes DBR as a strikingly original new voice. Overall, it was an outstanding experience in such a venue and a night to be remembered. I haven’t enjoyed electric violin so much since listening to Jean-Luc Ponty play Frank Zappa’s King Kong. Ponty shared versatility in handling everything from lovely, simple melodies to creepy dissonance, standard jazz improvisation to avant-garde, nearly free group passages. Ponty was also a risk-taker and an innovator whose shared interest in collaboration played a significant role in his career.

DBR has collaborated with and been commissioned by a myriad of world class musicians including Phillip Glass, Ryuichi Sakomoto, DJ Spooky that Subliminal Kid and Elan Vytal aka DJ Scientific. Along with his band, The Mission, a young and amazingly talented amplified string quartet, DBR presents lively genre-jumping shows that have been the season highlight at venues in Chicago, New York and Boston, as well as our own Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Advanced Artistry

The Southeast Washington native Chris Bacon, aka Christylez, performed Wednesday to a captivated audience in the Mansion at Strathmore. With an exciting combination of ground breaking hip hop, self-expression and pure artistry, Christylez Bacon brings an impressive world music sensibility to his performances. As a musician, Christylez incorporates the elements of jazz guitar, the hypnotic rhythms of the West African djembe drum, the organic percussion of the human beat box, and the spoons (yes…spoons).

Christylez recognized his musical calling early. Since the age of thirteen he has experimented with many forms of artistic expression. He graduated from DC’s Duke Ellington School of the Arts in 2005 and attended Montgomery College studying Visual Arts. As an emcee, he has been featured at many venues in and outside of the DC arts scene including the National Youth Poetry Slam (San Francisco), Lincoln Theater, National Cathedral and now, the Strathmore Mansion. Christylez is also the subject of the Rosebud Festival award winning documentary, Blue Line: Destination Christylez, in 2005. Christylez has also taught hip-hop workshops to elementary and pre-adolescent youth through Martha’s Table and local music companies, such as Park Triangle Production.

Last night he celebrated his twenty-second birthday as well as the completion of a full length project called Advanced Artistry and a recently finished small body of work entitled The Acoustic Project EP which consists only of lyrics, the human beat box, and acoustic guitar.

This young performer’s star is rapidly rising and last night he demonstrated his eclectic mix of musical influences and versatility as a soulful vocalist and intelligent songwriter. Christylez’ performance enjoyed the outstanding support of a crew of guest musicians. Myke P. (Piano, Digeridoo), Slyce-D (Human-Beat box), Jeff Suzda (Baritone Saxophone, Bass Clarinet), Miranda Blakslee (Viola), Angela Taylor (Flute), Oliver Albertini (Upright Bass), Simon Mancuso (Vibraphone), v:shal Kanwar (tabla), CaShandra Bacon (Vocals), John Pollard III (Tuba) all shared the stage but their talents were well distributed throughout the show.

Special highlights included Mychael “Myke P.” Pollard. A fellow artist and composer whom Chris befriended after performing in a variety show several years ago, Mychael Pollard grew up playing the guitar, drums, flute, and piano. After graduating from the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, he has performed with many notable bands and artists in the DC music scene. With an Associate Degree in Music Education, Mychael brings a fresh and educated perspective to contemporary styles of music and works to propel his music into a new state of diversity.

But it was Christylez who commanded our attention. Performing new works from his recent album the multi-talented emcee takes on issues from poverty to his love of kool aid. A refreshing mix of jazz, hip-hop, funk, and beats topped off with a talented collective of musicians in his roster, to see Christylez perform live is to see the unification of the world’s music incorporated with the elements of the hip-hop culture. Here’s to hoping his work will finally attract the audience it so rightfully deserves.

Literary Circus

McSweeney’s is on tour this winter and was in town Wednesday night at Olsson’s- in Dupont Circle. McSweeney’s editor Eli Horwitz appeared with John Brandon, author of their major spring release, the novel Arkansas, to celebrate the 50th issue of The Believer Magazine. Along for the ride was Found Magazine creator Davy Rothbart.

The evening got off to a good start. Master of ceremonies Eli Horwitz got the official program started with a teenage sideshow artist. His act comprised of swallowing a variety of swords, getting his tongue stuck in various sized mousetraps and other shenanigans sure to satisfy all of your strange hipster desires.

Next on the program was Eli Horwitz, who immediately summoned an audience member to participate in a reading of an interview between himself and Ashida Kim, a self-proclaimed leader in the Black Dragon Fighting Society, founder of Dojo Press, and author of over thirty ninja instruction books. This interview was featured in the May 2003 issue of The Believer (vol. 1, no. 2).

Horwitz then introduced John Brandon and offered a money back guarantee on the novel: if you buy it and don’t like it just mail it back for a full refund. A few months ago John Brandon was delivering windshields and working various factory jobs while writing Arkansas. Brandon introduced himself and told how his debut novel made its way to the literary big-wigs at McSweeney’s. He then read from the book. Arkansas is a dark, witty story about two down-on-their-luck guys who trade in their pasts for a ticket to wealth and excitement as part of the Southern drug trade. I urge all to use your best judgement and buy this book.

The final act was Davy Rothbart from Found Magazine. For nearly 7 years Rothbart has quietly collected evocative bits of paper- from notes to poetry on napkins and everything in between- compiling the resources for what he has dubbed Found Magazine. Davy read the found note that started it all.

From my perspective the evening was a success. It is my hope that McSweeney's tour will inspire other artists, novelists, etc. to break away from the traditional conventions that have defined book signings thus far and embrace new modes of thinking, seeing, and showcasing talent.

Bonus: All in attendance received a temporary tattoo.