S+ART

Mirrored Art to Functional Light Sustainability

 

Can forms of art be functional and aid in sustainability at the same time? Yes!

Dependent on location, transformation and evolution are at the base of the cultural landscape that surrounds people daily. As time passes, individuals think thoughts, ideas form and originate into creation, microcosms grow, cities evolve, and concepts globalize.  In order to keep growing and moving forward positively, the world has to sustain its resources, be energy efficient, and create new ideas to maintain preexisting spaces and places.

An energy source that shines in everyone’s minds when sustainability comes to the forefront is solar power, specifically concentrating solar energy or sunlight. In most cases today, light sustainability juxtaposes architectural design and its spatial relationships.

How do local artists react to sustainability in combination with architectural space? How can one create Art and transform it functionally?

Local Artist, Greg Braun does just that in a partnered exhibition called Contain, Maintain, Sustain held at the Artisphere, Arlington, VA. Braun’s ingenious sculptural artwork perfectly exemplifies ways in which Art can be utilized as function. In the Terrace Gallery at the Artisphere venue, He has put emphasis on preexisting gallery space by focusing on the few small natural light sources (windows) present. Braun maintains the same space by redirecting sunlight at different angles. In this sustainable artistic approach, rather than adding more artificial light, Braun has placed mirrors as angled sculpture in the molding of preexisting windows and manipulated light to accentuate the preexisting space meanwhile conserving energy.

 

Conceptual Sketch of Gallery and Reflection Study

 

 

Digital sketch of Functional Reproduction , Angled Shapes, and Reflection of Light in Space

Sun Tag Event

When: Saturday, July 9, 2011 11:00am – 1pm

Where:

Artisphere Building

1101 Wilson Blvd.

Arlington, VA, 22209

Cost: Free

 

To interact first hand with Artist Greg Braun and learn more about his artwork and conceptual background, please join in on an interactive family workshop at the Artisphere outdoor terrace. In this hands-on exhibition with Braun, attendees will take mirrors and manipulate sun light in a contest to hit artistic targets along a prescribed course created by Braun.

 

Hands-on Manipulation of Light with Mirror

 

 Photos Courtesy of Greg Braun

 

~Matt Weiler

 

Surrealist Games

To the Surrealists, playing games was an important part of the creative process. Not only are visual games fun, but the Surrealists believed that games and "automatic" techniques (techniques for creating art without conscious decision making or self-censorship) allowed ideas to develop in non-traditional ways by giving the mind the freedom to experiment and allowing the unconscious to surface. The basic techniques and rules of these games are simple and anyone can do them with unique results every time.

Exquisite Corpse
What You'll Need:
- 2 or more friends (3 or more players total)
- paper
- pen or pencil

One of the oldest Surrealist games is Exquisite Corpse. Fold the piece of paper into thirds (or as many sections as there are palyers). The first player draws a head and neck in the top section, extending the lines of the neck just below the fold, then folds it over and passes it to the next player, who continues the drawing without looking at what the previous player has drawn. The second player draws the torso, also extending the lines just below the fold, then passes it to the third player who draws the legs and feet. The final product is called the exquisite corpse. This game can also be played using collage instead of drawing, and online at Draw and Fold Over. Note: you don't have to draw people! Your section of the picture can be anything you like, as long as it connects to the lines left for you by the previous player. For more information and ideas, visit ExquisiteCorpse.com

Andre Breton, Man Ray, Max Morise, Yves Tanguy, Exquisite Corpse, ca 1927

Cubomania
What You'll Need:
- a photograph or other image on paper
- scissors
- canvas, board, or heavy paper
- glue

Cubomania is a technique whose creation is credited to Romanian Surrealist Gherasim Luca. Take a photo or other image on a piece of paper and cut it into squares, making sure all the squares are about the same size (a ruler and pencil might be helpful, but aren't necessary). Mix up all the squares and reassemble them randomly, gluing them onto a piece of board or heavy paper. Try not to think about which square you're picking or if it's upside down/rightside up, etc. Just pick a square, glue it down, and see what happens.

 Daniel C. Boyer, My Fantasy Arrives by Post, 2004

These techniques can be used as inspiration, as the beginning of a work of art, or as a finished piece. Exquisite Corpse and Cubomania are just a couple examples of the many games and techniques used by the Surrealists. For more ideas check out a list of Surrealist techniques on Wikipedia.

 

Allison Recht

Food in Art

With Thanksgiving coming up, it's hard not to think about food. As mentioned in yesterday's post, the Smithsonian American Art Museum has an event this weekend focusing on food in art and the work of Wayne Thiebaud. But Thiebaud isn't the only artist who looks to food for inspiration. For centuries, food has been used in still lives as symbols of hospitality and abundance, references to religion or mythology, and memento mori, and contemporary artists continue to depict food in new ways.

In 2001 photographer and video artist Sam Taylor-Wood made a video titled Still Life. The video shows the time-lapsed decaying of a bowl of fruit. It opens with an appetizing arrangement of fruit, similar to those found in traditional still life paintings except for a ballpoint pen in the foreground, but quickly becomes a literal and explicit memento mori. During the three minute film we are confronted with the outcomes of the passing of time: fading beauty, decay, and mortality.

Watch Sam Taylor-Wood's Still Life. Warning: it's kind of gross.

On a much happier, less morbid note, dcist.com recently featured the work of artist John Holcomb in their article The District As A Pop-Tart. In a series titled The United Plates Holcomb has created prints showing every state and The District of Columbia as food. The illustrations are fun and playful and definitely worth a look. If they don't inspire you to make art they'll at least give you some creative ideas for playing with your food at your next meal.

If you're interested in exploring more food in artwork, the Luce Foundation Center at the Smithsonian American Art Museum offers Food for Thought, a food themed scavenger hunt through the Center's collection. The scavenger hunt can played in person in the museum, or online by downloading the clues and searching the online collection. The Food for Thought scavenger hunt is available anytime the Luce Foundation Center is open, 11:30am - 7:00pm daily.

images:
Wayne Thiebaud, Around the Cake, 1962
John Holcomb, Washington D.C., 2010

 

Allison Recht

Friday Feature: The Luce Foundation Center for American Art

 The Luce Foundationis one of the hidden gems of the Smithsonian. It is a visible storage facility in the Smithsonian American Art Museum that allows viewers to see paintings, sculpture, folk art, and crafts from the permanent collection that would otherwise be hidden away in storage. Opened in 2006, the center increased the amount of visible artwork from one percent of the museum's collection to ten percent (yes, ninety percent of the museum's collection is still in storage. That's a lot of art.) The coolest thing about the Luce Foundation is the innovative and fun opportunties it provides for visitors to interact with the collection. Besides a standard audio tour and extremely knowledgeable employees, the Luce Foundation has daily scavenger hunts, opportunities for viewers to be the curators and vote on which pieces are put on display, daily video screenings, an online video archive, weekly sessions for sketching objects in the collection, interactive computer stations, and tours or talks five days a week as part of the Art + Coffee series.

The American Art Museum also hosts Pheon, a scavenger hunt where players make objects and complete tasks while exploring the collection. The game is played in the museum once a month and takes approximately 90 minutes, and make sure to bring a cell phone because there's a texting componant to receiving and solving clues. You can also book a private game for ten or more players, or if you can't make it to the museum, you can play online.

The Luce Foundation Center for American Art is open to the public during museum hours, seven days a week (except Dec. 25) from 11:30am to 7:00pm. It is located on the third and fourth floors of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Sketching: Tuesdays @ 3:00pm
Art + Coffee: Wednesday - Sunday @ 1:30pm
Pheon: Saturday 1/29 @ 2:30pm and Saturday 2/27 @ 2:30pm, or by scheduling at least 7 days in advance

For more information on any of these programs, view the full list of Luce Foundation Center for American Art Interactive Programs

images:
A View Down Akersgate, Oslo
William H. Johnson
about 1935
oil on burlap

Captain Robert Lillibridge
about 1795
William Verstille
watercolor on ivory

both from The Luce Foundation for American Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum

 

 

Allison Recht

 

Can you attain the pheon?

Interact with the Smithsonian American Art Museum in a revolutionary way! Beginning on Saturday, September 18th, SAAM is introducing a "brand-new, mission-based alternate reality game. A variation on the classic game Capture the Flag, Pheon is a competition..., which will occur online and at live events during the course of a year. Pheon, like other mission-based games, revolves around the completion of tasks, the making of objects, discovery and documentation."

Missions will be based on exploring the museum's art collections, exhibitions, and programs. Players from all over the world will interact with scripted characters and make use of online social media, such as Twitter and Facebook, and each player's individual actions will influence the game. Earn enough points to attain the pheon - a virtual talisman.

The game launches tomorrow from noon to 6 p.m. at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Activities for players will include making objects, texting codes and finding clues in a belly-dance performance.

Additional information is available on the museum’s website, americanart.si.edu/pheon.

Going On: Community Day - African Soul

On Saturday, September 18th, the African Art Museum hosts a Community Day from 12 noon to 4:30 p.m. This year's theme is "African Soul." Events include arts-and-crafts activities, dance performances and workshops, face painting, a film screening, and a creation station, where participants will have an opportunity to interact with international artists who work and create in public spaces. The programs are all free and open to the public. For more information, visit http://africa.si.edu/calendar.html#/?i=1.

Going On: Arts on Foot

Today, tomorrow, and Saturday, take a stroll over to 7th and F Streets NW for The Washington Examiner's Arts on Foot event. Featured activities include a juried fine art market, entertainment stages, exhibits, hands-on activities, food and wine tastings, and a neighborhood showcase. This annual event is free and offers the perfect way to enjoy our beautiful fall weather this weekend. Hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday. Saturday will also feature a Festival to celebrate the final day of the event.

Goings On: Adventures in Art

Continuing with Angela's adventurous suggestions for exploring DC's hidden photographic gems, here are ideas for different ways to experience the many oustanding art galleries in DC. Engage in art with new and unique encounters this weekend!

 

Start off with the National Portrait Gallery's Face-to-Face Portrait Talk tonight. The weekly event highlights a single portrait in the Gallery as selected by special guests or staff members. This week's talk will introduce you to the portrait of John J. Pershing. Colonel Rob Dalessandro (USA, ret.), assistant chief of military history at the U.S. Army Center of Military History, leads the conversation.

 

Put on your thinking cap for a scavenger hunt at the Renwick Gallery. In honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, the Renwick is hosting scavenger hunts throughout the day until the end of the month. Pick up the scavenger hunt kit at the front desk, and discover stunning works of decorative art and craft by Asian Pacific American artists. Clues tie specifically into the exhibit, The Art of Gaman: Arts and Crafts from the Japanese American Internment Camps, 1942-1946. You may even win a prize!

 

DC-born artist Elizabeth Catlett moved to Mexico in 1947, where she joined Taller de Grafica Popular, an artist's collective dedicated to using the visual arts in service of social change. 57 prints she created as a member of the collective are currently on view in the first floor gallery at the Mexican Cultural Institute. For more information, visit Mexican Cultural Institute website.

 

No matter what you do, have a wonderful weekend!

Goings On: Festivals!

Of course the kick-off of the National Cherry Blossom Festival starts this Saturday and goes until Sunday, April 11^th.  There are tons of activities happening daily beginning with Family Day this Saturday at 10:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.  The opening ceremony is at the National Building Museum and starts at 4:00 p.m.  The ceremony offers three engaging Japanese-inspired activities. 

At Animals Around Town, you can explore the significance of animals in Japanese and D.C. architecture and make reliefs for homes by picking out animal “protectors” to carve into self-hardening clay.  There will also be bridge making with basic craft materials while celebrating to bridge between the U.S. and Japan.  Lastly you can learn about traditional Japanese theater in the Kyogen Theater Stage Design area, where kids can design their own stage sets, place characters inside and re-enact a favorite story.  There are many other activities along with a beautiful ceremony.  To find the complete schedule for the Festival you can visit the website at www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org/. There will also be several performances by the Washington Ballet, Lori Kotake, Miss DC 2009, Jennifer Corey and the Shigeyama family famous Kyogen players with a history dating 400 years.

It will be a beautiful two weeks and I am anticipating its beginning since I have never been in D.C. and participated in such a unique festival!

Another annual festival that is this weekend in the 44^th Annual Smithsonian Kite Festival, “CRAFTed for Flight”.  It is this Saturday, March 27, 2010 starting at 10:00 a.m. and going until 4:00 p.m.  The Festival is located at the Washington Monument in D.C. and the weather looks like it be a little chilly but the sun should be shinny with a good breeze, perfect for kite flying.  There are several activities prepared for the whole family including Kites as Craft, kites from all over the world.  Children’s Kitemaking, Traditional Japanese Craft, Stingrays in Flight and several competitions.  For more information or directions visit the website at www.kitefestival.org.

I am especially excited about this weekend since my parents are visiting me and I haven’t seen them in months!  I am looking forward to being involved in such spectacular events that are tradition here but new for me!  So don’t make it a staying-in weekend just because it will be on the chilly side, throw on a thin jacket even if your just coming to observe.  And don’t forget your camera!

 

Going Ons: tons of fun and many family-friendly events!

All weekend, from 10:30 AM to 4:30 PM, the American Indian Museum will be holding a family program entitled Foodways of the Americas.  Celebrate the foodways of the Americas with food demonstrations, hands-on activities, and much more.  The unique foods of the Americas - from chilies to chocolate and many more - travelled across the hemisphere and beyond through complex trade routes and made contributions to the entire world.  This event is presented in collaboration with the museum's Mitsitam Cafe and is free to the public.

 

On Friday, November 27th, at 11 AM and again at 1 PM, the Discovery Theatre will be presenting Little "Bread" Hen.  This special thanksgiving puppet show is designed for kids 2-7 years of age.  For tickets visit, http://residentassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/reserve.aspx?utm_source=VIARC&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=Calendar&tmssource=51850&performanceNumber=218493.

On Saturday, the 28th, from 2:30-6 PM, the Luce Foundation Center for American Art will be holding the exciting multi-media scavenger hunt, Ghosts of a Chance.  Decipher codes, follow treasure maps, send text messages (bring your text enabled cell phone), and uncover hidden objects.  Allow approximately 90 minutes to complete the hunt.  There is no admission fee to participate in this event but you must register with the Luce Foundation Center.  For more information visit, http://www.americanart.si.edu/reynolds_center/calendar.cfm?cal_month=11&date=11/28/2009, and scroll down to "Ghosts of a Chance."

Also on Saturday, the Resident Associate program will be taking a bus trip to New York City!  What could be better than NYC for the holidays?  Join us for a day in New York with time for yourself to enjoy the decorations, window shop, and view the excellent exhibitions at MoMA and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  An experienced Smithsonian representative will be available for suggestions on the best sites.  Interested?  For more information or to purchase tickets visit, http://residentassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/reserve.aspx?utm_source=VIARC&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=Calendar&tmssource=181896&performanceNumber=218956.

--Compiled by Sarah Kramer, Studio Arts Intern