S+ART

Decorative Arts from the White House

    

(Top left) Incandescent Bottles, by Michael Sherrill, 1993; white stoneware, alkaline and barium glazes (Photo copyright John Bigelow Taylor. Used with Permission) The Smithsonian Associates.

(Top right) Yellow Pair, by Dante Marioni, 1993; blown glass (Photo: copyright John Bigelow Taylor. Used with Permission) The Smithsonian Associates.

From inside the walls of the White House are featured works of decorative arts and crafts, on view at the Renwick Gallery of The Smithsonian American Art Museum and online at the virtual exhibition, White House Collection of American Crafts . Both exhibits include a wide selection of objects and décor from the official home of the United States Presidents.

The exhibit, Something of Splendor: Decorative Arts from the White House is an in-depth show illustrating the history and intention of 95 selected pieces of furniture, ceramics, metals, glass and textiles. The most recently displayed artworks are from Reagan’s term in 1982 and date back to the presidency of James Monroe in 1817.One of the first observations I noted from my visit to the Renwick Gallery, was the layout of the exhibition. It gives the viewer a feel of elegance with the high ceilings, columns, marble floors, and greenery perched over the displays. Adorning many of the objects are archival photographs of the interiors to give the visitors a glimpse of life in the White House, back in the day. The majority of pieces were specifically intended for interiors such as the unfinished East Room, State Dining Room, and the Red and Blue Rooms. For each artifact in the show we learn the story of its creation and purpose, as well as the historical context.

One display is a personal keepsake, woven Coverlet (1925-27) made by First Lady, Grace Goodhue Coolidge. Grace designed this patriotic coverlet, embroidered with the national motto, Coolidge’s administration date, and the words, “E pluribus Unum” (“Liberty Bell”) for the famous rosewood Lincoln bed. This coverlet is one example of the many special mementos dedicated to the “President’s House”, the early 19^th century name dubbed to the White House.

You can also check out another great source of interior artwork online at the exhibit of American Crafts from the White House Collection. The Smithsonian Associates will be conducting a lecture in accordance with this collection, more info follows:

http://residentassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=224300

So, don’t miss out on these great opportunities to see the White House’s interior treasures!

 

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~ Margaret McClung

Multiplicity: Worth multiple visits!

          Hallway view from the exhibition, Multiplicity at The Smithsonian American Art Museum

                                                            Photograph by Margaret McClung

                                                

 

Highlight pieces: Jim Dine, Singing and Printing I, 2001

Barbara Kruger, Untitled (We Will No Longer Be Seen and Not Heard), 1985

 

Yesterday, I walked into the American Art Museum not fully aware of the current exhibitions on view and was delightfully surprised to come across the show, Multiplicity (Nov 11, 2011-Mar 11, 2012). Multiplicity consists of 83 prints, with incorporated mediums such as aquatint, woodcut, acrylic paint, and screen print by forty-five known contemporary artists. Some of these highlights include works by John Baldessari, Chuck Close, Susan Rothenberg, Kara Walker, and Sol Lewitt. In the show, Multiplicity takes on a different meaning for each work. Some pieces seem so obviously constructed as one print, repeatedly processed to create one image and where as other works are multipart, series and sequences to create a theme.

 

As I walked through the exhibition, I couldn’t help but gravitate towards the brighter, larger scale works, such as the pieces by artist Jim Dine and Barbara Kruger. Jim Dine’s piece, Singing and Printing I, was instantly recognizable to me. I knew I’d seen this famous female figure before, but without looking at the label I wouldn’t have been certain. I wondered, is it just a trick of contemporary art, that you feel like you have to take a second look to be 100% certain? I felt a sense of relief when my hint of doubt was justified. Yes! Dine has frequently used the classical image of Venus de Milo, the Hellenistic sculpture many of us are familiar with, representing love and beauty. This work of Dines is the first in the series of prints titled Singing and Printing, where he takes the same woodcut image of Venus then adds a different color scheme and technique of painting in each print. Dine is exploring the ‘multiplying’ of various representational and symbolic meanings.

 

In her piece, Untitled, artist Barbara Kruger takes the text, “We will no longer be seen and not heard” and composes 9 individual prints which come together as one visually stimulating work. Kruger asks us, the viewers, to consider the idea of her piece in a cultural context. Again, here the artwork is never really considered to be definite, not only are the images multiplying, but the representational meaning does as well. Could the artist be signaling the “we” as women, a specific group of power or as a general audience? By using verbal language and implying the use of sign language, Kruger is creating a deliberate, open ended message which she repeats in her other prints.

 

Along with Dine and Kruger’s works, there are many other distinguished prints in the show that are worth seeing. I strongly suggest taking some time to visit the museum, as I know I will again (multiple times!). In accordance with the exhibition, there are several programs running which you can check out here:

 

http://residentassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=223897

 

http://residentassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=223684

 

~Margaret McClung

Joseph Cornell: A Treasured Artist

Peter Karp "Wheel of Nature"

Joseph Cornell was an artist whose work really exemplified the saying that “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Cornell lived from 1903 to 1972 mostly in New York City. He lived his early life in Nyack, New York with his two sisters and one brother who suffered from cerebral palsy. When he grew up, he moved to New York City and led a humble life mostly due to poverty and spent a great deal of his time taking care of his disabled brother. He was never a particularly social man which allowed him to focus on his artwork.

Cornell is known as being one of the pioneers of installation art. However, his work was not as out of the box as a lot of the contemporary installation art is today, but rather in a box. Cornell loved to collect little trinkets and such. His installations were constructed out of these “found objects” that were then compiled in shadow boxes to evoke an emotion or idea. Some of his work such as his well known piece, The Medici Slot Machine requires the viewer to interact with the piece by handling it. Cornell also created paintings and surrealist short films along with his boxed installations. His boxed masterpieces serve as examples of the principles of found objects and collage assemblage which is what allows Cornell to be regarded as a pioneer in the art world.

The artwork of Joseph Cornell may parallel the saying “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure” but also transcends it because the “treasures” that he created allowed him to become part of modernist history. In a way, Cornell himself serves as a parallel by transcending a poverty stricken life by becoming a treasured artist.     

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~Griffin Baker

 

 If you would like to learn more about Joseph Cornell and his artwork, come to the Joseph Cornell and Your Museum of Ephemera All-Day Seminar and Studio Workshop where you can get the first-hand experience of creating your very own Cornell inspired boxed installation.

Check out the link below:

 http://residentassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=223240

‘Outside’ to ‘Inside’: Yolngu Aboriginal Art

 

 

In western culture today, what if traditional art or paintings passed down had the ability to be decoded? Then, through this revelation, the decoder interpreted a map to life and a system of orders. Furthermore, this “ancestral design” explained a unified system interpreting the surrounding natural world in relationship with our societal structure and political system. Then on top of that, this decoder provided a “framework for ordering these relations between people, ancestors and land” (Morphy 159)—Life might be making more sense. To the Yolngu people, their traditional aboriginal art does exactly that.

The traditional ancestral creations become a means to define every function that revolves around the Yolngu people.  To the Yolngu, paintings are not representations as in most western art but are integral blueprints to their existence. The Mardayin or sacred law is transmitted and re-enacted by the iconography displayed in vibrant paintings and live ritual performance.

Structural stability is produced by the passing of this sacred knowledge down to decoders or authoritative men as they grow into power. The paintings become valuable resources to the congruity of societal structure and rule. This position of decoder is controlled by elders or powerful individuals in the tribes who interpret the blueprint which in turn, “discriminate[s] between different areas of owned land…mark[s] status… separates the initiated from uninitiated and men from women.”  (Morphy 160) Thus, a unified ‘ordering-structure’ of life is created.

The wisdom of a decoder is gathered over a course of one’s life. The movement is a constant continuum for an individual from the unrestricted outside world to the “sacred and restricted” inside world. This information is gained increasingly as one grows in experiences, learns, and starts to creatively interpret the meaning for others. This cycle of life can be transmitted through the change from figurative (outside) art to geometric (inside) art as one’s knowledge increases.   

To me, the art not only symbolizes structure and a system but represents the point on the journey for an individual.  The figurative art can define chaos and metaphorical meanings to finding one’s way while becoming a man/woman.  As one grows in sacredness and restricted knowledge, the path becomes clear and concise in understanding just as lines in geometry are straight and simple. To the Yolngu and other Aboriginals, Art is literally their “way” of life.

 

Aboriginal Artists

 Johnny Warangkula Tjupurrula (right) in the Great Painting Room in 1972 with Charlie Tarawa Tjungurrayi. Smithsonian.com

The Trial by Charlie Tarawa Tjungurrayi is believed to symbolize the sentencing of a territorial intruder by other men (white circles). Smithsonian.com

 

Please join the Smithsonian Associates this Thursday, July 21 (6:45pm-8:30pm) as Howard Morphy explain’s the varied artistic expressions in The Art of the Australian Aboriginal Yolngu: Meaning and Aesthetics. Morphy, the director of the Research School of Humanities and the Arts at the Australian National University in Canberra, will display the art of traditional Aborigine’s in the only way possible—integrated in sequence with performance art. Also, examples of artist Narritjin Maymuru’s work will be displayed to serve as aid in deciphering.

 

~Matt Weiler

Morphy, Howard. "Yolngu Art and The Creativity of the Inside." Aboriginal Religions in Australia: an Anthology of Recent Writings. Aldershot: Ashgate Limited, 2007. Online.

Artist or Editorialist

 

Boston Globe, Wasserman 
 

The phrase, “a picture speaks 1,000 words” resonates in my head when a singular image is to be displayed without much previous knowledge or background. Through passion, skill, and creativity, political cartooning puts one’s mind and conviction to the test daily. Driven by world controversies, political strife and chaos, war or even more simply United States and local historical elections, burning issues or state of affairs, political cartoonists must harness that information and deliver it in the drawn form of one singular idea. A political cartoonist must be both artist and editorialist in alliance.

Like any writer or artist, one must go through the daily process of research, note-taking, and drawing up one’s ideas. Political cartoonists must gather information from blogs, newspapers, news channels, and other informative outlets, and then have the ability to capture a few tasteful yet relevant singular thoughts. The few thoughts stem from passionate opinions dealt from daily local and world news, local debates or situations. A political cartoonist has the ability to soak up the information into a few thoughts and transform it into one vision or particular view through the medium of drawing.

The transformed image and caption is intended to entertain and instruct the viewer through a particular story or message. It must have the ability to impact the viewer and test their beliefs in a humorous and harmless way. Rather than reading words over and over, if done properly and the moment right, political cartoonists have the ability to make an image last in your mind forever.

On your doorstep is the opportunity to meet and listen to Boston Globe cartoonist, Dan Wasserman, sharing drawings and examples from 30 years of experience in the profession. Take a look first hand at many of the world’s influential leaders or villains turned characters, icons, and symbols through the caricature drawing form. Also, win the chance to have your “own” caption selected for one of his political cartoons! The winner receives a signed copy of the cartoon.

It’s a Draw: Political Cartooning evening seminar will take place at the Smithsonian Ripley Center next Wednesday, July 20^th – 6:45p.m. To 8:45p.m.

Please Join!

 

 Boston Globe, Wasserman
 

 Boston Globe, Wasserman
 

 ~Matt Weiler

Goings On

Party Crashers at Artisphere
Comic Book Culture Invades the Art World
Through Sunday, February 13, 2011

  

A collaborative exhibition between Artisphere and the Arlington Arts Center. The exhibit at Artisphere in the Terrace Gallery, examines the ways in which comic art's influence is evident in the pieces and working methods of fine artists. Bold black lines, flat expanses of solid color, sequential storytelling and the joining of literature and imagery are common facets of artworks made today. Whether consciously or unconsciously, fine artists co-opt this powerful pop culture idiom's history, formal elements and narrative devices to tell their own stories.
The sister exhibit at the Arlington Arts Center features the work of alternative comic artists, including published works, original pages and pieces in a variety of media made specifically for the gallery.
Exhibiting Artists:  D. Billy (NYC); iona rozeal brown (NY/DC); Eric Cheevers (DC); Anna U. Davis (DC); Nekisha Durrett (DC); Jim Houser (PA); Tim Kerr (TX); Matt Leines (PA); Thom Lessner (PA); Ryan Nelson (MI); Oura Sananikone (VA); Zach Storm (DC/MD).
Curator:   Cynthia Connolly

Terrace Gallery @ Artisphere
1101 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22209
Free parking after 6 pm & weekends
703-875-1100
For more information visit the Arlington Arts Event Details site.

 

“And She Was” —
Photographs by Gayle Rothschild
Through Sunday, February 6, 2011.
Gallery hours: open when JCCGW is open

 
Gayle Rothschild

In her photography, Gayle Rothschild's interest is in keeping a record of the day, observing contemporary life. Although her work is personal, the issues addressed are universal: concern for family, religion, growing up and growing old. It is mostly guided by her role as a Jewish woman in today's society. Her ongoing series of black and white portraits of friends and family now includes a complete series of portraits of her parents which began in memory of her mother. Additionally, her current work is a series of computer-generated images of scanned and photographed objects that are both familiar and abstract. [text from Culture Capital]

For more information visit the JCCGW Goldman Art Gallery website.

Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington
6125 Montrose Road
Rockville, MD 20852
301-881-0100 phone

 

Evenings at the TM: Loosening the Knot - Contemporary Ikat
Lecture by artist Polly Barton

 
image from www.textilemuseum.org

Join us at The Textile Museum for Evenings at the TM, a series of evening lectures inspired by the current exhibition "Colors of the Oasis: Central Asian Ikats." Learn more about the textiles and traditions of Central Asian cultures from visiting lecturers then enjoy light refreshments and music as you mingle with fellow attendees. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the lecture begins at 6 p.m.

On Thursday, January 13, the TM welcomes Santa Fe-based artist Polly Barton. During her 30 years of weaving silk ikat on Japanese kimono looms, she has brought a modern, painterly approach to this ancient dyeing technique. Her lecture will illustrate how she has developed and adapted this tradition and how ikat has in turn pushed her to grow as an artist. [text from Culture Capital]

Thursday, January 13, 2011 @ 6:00 pm
Advance registration required; space is limited
Call (202) 667-0441, ext. 64 to register.
Fee: $20/members; $25/non-members

The Textile Museum
2320 S Street, NW
Washington, DC 20008

 

Allison Recht

Goings On

Music on…Photography: Ben Folds (Friday, Dec. 3) & Andy Summers (Saturday, Dec. 4)

Ben Folds first found success as the leader of the platinum-selling band Ben Folds Five. Taking time out from the release of his new CD, Lonely Avenue, a collaboration with British author Nick Hornby, Folds—an accomplished photographer—shares the stories behind his images. Moderated by editorial photographer Mark Seliger.

Andy Summers, best known as the lead guitarist for the legendary band The Police, has also compiled an impressive body of p hotographic work, including his latest book, Desirer Walks the Streets, which documents the world as few of us see it. In this program Summers shares the stories behind his riveting images. Moderated by acclaimed photographer Mark Seliger.
photo by Ben Folds

See online galleries of Ben Folds’, Andy Summers’ and Mark Seliger’s photos on Nat Geo Music.
buy tickets for Ben Folds: Fri., 12/3 @ 7:30pm
buy tickets for Andy Summers: Sat.,12/4 @ 7:30pm
NG Member: $18; General Public: $20
more info on Music On... Photography

Grosvenor Auditorium at National Geographic
1600 M Street, NW
Washington, DC, 20036
Telephone: 202 857 7700
www.nationalgeographic.com

 

Robert Henri and American Art

Robert Henri sparked an anti-academic rebellion in American art during the first years of the 20th century. In 1923 at the urging of his many pupils, he published The Art Spirit. In preparation for an interactive discussion of Henri's ideas on art and his impact on other artists, please read any 15-page section of the book, which is easily found online and in libraries.

Participate in a seminar-style luncheon discussion of art history and related readings followed by a gallery tour of relevant art. Participants may bring their own lunch or purchase it prior to class in the Cascade Café. Led by Wilford W. Scott.

Preregistration is required and limited to 25 participants per session.To register, click here.

Tues, 12/7 and 12/21 from 12:00PM to 2:00PM
National Gallery of Art
East Building Concourse, Education Studio
401 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20565
202-737-4215 phone
www.nga.gov  

 

 

Allison Recht

Goings On

from www.corcoran.org:
Gallery Talk: Photography at the Corcoran
Amanda Maddox, assistant curator of photography and media arts, leads a gallery talk in conjunction with the reinstallation of selections from the Corcoran’s photography collection.
  
Edward Grazda, Mujadeen at Wageeza, Afghanistan, 1983

 Photography at the Corcoran
Saturday, 11/13 @ 4:00 pm
FREE
Corcoran Gallery of Art and College of Art + Design
500 Seventeenth Street, NW
Meet at the Information Desk

 

Haunted Houses
For seven years, photographer Corinne May Botz has captured the strange, the eerie, and the haunted. Chronicling ghost stories from across the country, Botz has investigated and photographed over eighty haunted sites including Edgar Allen Poe’s house in Baltimore, taverns in New Jersey, farmhouses in Massachusetts, and numerous private residences. On this intriguing evening of photography, architecture, and the supernatural, Botz discusses her new book, Haunted Houses (The Monacelli Press, 9/2010), and reveals the ghost stories behind her haunting photographs. A book sale and signing follows the talk. 

  
 Haunted Houses book jacket. Courtesy of Corinne May Botz.

Haunted Houses
Monday, 11/22 @ 7:00 pm
$15.00 (members receive 20% discount)
Corcoran Gallery of Art and College of Art + Design
500 Seventeenth Street, NW

 

from www.nga.gov:
American Modernism: The Shein Collection
Special exhibition gallery talk given by Diane Arkin, lecturer, National Gallery of Art (50 minutes)
This exhibition explores the advent of modernism a century ago through twenty important paintings, sculptures, and drawings by the first-generation American avant-garde. Among the artists represented are Patrick Henry Bruce, Stuart Davis, Charles Demuth, Arthur Dove, Marcel Duchamp, Marsden Hartley, Stanton Macdonald-Wright, John Marin, Georgia O'Keeffe, Man Ray, Morton Schamberg, Charles Sheeler, Joseph Stella, John Storrs, and Max Weber. All works are from the Edward and Deborah Shein Collection, which is distinguished by its remarkable quality and rigorous focus on early American modernism.

  
 Marsden Hartley, Pre-War Pageant, 1913, oil on canvas

American Modernism: The Shein Collection
Wed. 11/16 @ 11:00am
Thur. 11/17 @ 11:00am
Fri. 11/18 @ 11:00am
Sun. 11/21 @ 11:00am
FREE
National Gallery of Art
401 Constitution Avenue, NW
East Building Ground Level, Information Desk

 

Conversation with Conservator: "In the Tower: Mark Rothko"
Special exhibition gallery talk given by Jay Krueger and Sally Shelburne (60 minutes)
The second in a series of Tower exhibitions focusing on contemporary art and its roots offers a rare look at the black-on-black paintings that Rothko made in 1964 in connection with his work on a chapel for the Menil Collection in Houston. A recording of Morton Feldman's Rothko Chapel (1971), the haunting music originally composed for that space, accompanies the exhibition in the spacious East Building Tower Gallery.

A new 10-minute film examines the career of Rothko and his development of a style that fused abstract painting with emotional significance. Produced by the National Gallery of Art, the film will be shown continuously in the Tower Gallery. The film was made possible by the HRH Foundation.

 
Mark Rothko, Untitled, 1964

Conversation with Conservator: "In the Tower: Mark Rothko"
Wed, 11/17 @ 12:00pm
also Thur. 12/2 &Tues. 12/7 @ 12:00pm
FREE
National Gallery of Art
401 Constitution Avenue, NW
East Building Ground Level, Information Desk

Allison Recht

Goings On: FotoWeek DC!!!

For those of you who don't know, FotoWeek DC is a week-long celebration of photography and new media all over the District, and there is SO MUCH going on that I don't even know where to begin...

FotoWeek DC includes:

• Exhibitions
• Lectures
• NightGallery photo and video projections on building facades around the city
• An international photo competition, which for the first time includes a mobile phone category
• Workshops for photographers to improve their skills or learn new techniques (such as shooting at night or techniques used in food photography)
• Portfolio reviews with professional photographers.

The big FotoWeek DC kick off is TOMORROW! An official launch party will be held at the Corcoran Gallery of Art and College of Art + Design. There will be large scale projections both indoors and outdoors, light food, cocktails, and music. During the party the winning photographs from the 2010 International Photo Competition will be unveiled. The Award Winners Exhibition will then be open November 6th-13th in the Corcoran Gallery of Art Atrium. To view the winning photographs online, visit the 2010 Award Winners Gallery

Most events require registration and are free, but some events, such as the launch party and portfolio reviews, cost money.

This is only the tip of the iceburg. For more information and a full list of events visit the FotoWeek DC website.

FotoWeek DC Launch Party
Friday, 11/5 @ 8pm-11pm
Corcoran Gallery of Art Atrium
500 Seventeenth Street NW
$45 click here for more info & to register

Photo: Benjamin Lorenz, 1st Place - Contemporary Life category

Allison Recht

Goings On

There are two exciting events going on TONIGHT:

At 6:00 pm the Corcoran Gallery is hosting the National Arts & Humanities Month Grand Fete. DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (DCCAH) is celebrating art as a valuable part of our daily lives with works on display by the newly announced visual and media Artist Fellows' at Gallery 31, along with newly acquired pieces from the Art Bank Collection as part of a two week installation titled "Synergy." For more information, visit dcarts.dc.gov

FREE
Call 202-724-5613 to order
Corcoran Gallery of Art and College of Art + Design
500 Seventeenth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006
202-639-1700

At 6:30 pm Irina Stotland will be discussing The Self-Portraits of Paul Gauguin as part of the Kreeger Museum’s Post Impressionism Lecture Series. Stotland will explore the variety of methods that the painter employed in developing his image of self in his works, and offer a theory that links his visual vocabulary of self-imagery with his words, by exploring his letters and articles.

$7-$10
Call 202-338-3552 to order
Kreeger Museum
2401 Foxhall Road, NW
Washington, DC 20007
202-337-3050

 This weekend the National Gallery of Art is offering a gallery talk titled “Masterworks from American Modernism: The Shein Collection: ‘Painting VI’ by Morton Schamberg”. 30 minute lectures will be given by lecturer Wilford W. Scott about Morton Schamberg’s 1916 oil painting Painting VI.

Saturday 10/23 @ 12:00 pm and Sunday 10/24 @ 12:00 pm
FREE
National Gallery of Art - East Building, Ground Level, Information Desk
401 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20565
202-737-4215

Wednesday is Art on the Rocks, an art-inspired cocktail competition hosted by The Art League in which 5 local mixologists from Austin Grill, Chadwicks, Columbia Firehouse, Jackson 20, and Vermilion must choose a piece from the juried exhibit Dinner Party as inspiration and create a cocktail. Ticket holders may sample the cocktails and vote for their favorite at the event. Enjoy appetizers from the restaurants, demos by Art League instructors and drawings for prizes. Must be 21 or older.

Wednesday 10/27 @ 6:30 pm
$25 in advance, $30 at the door
Call 703-683-1780 to order or download an order form from www.theartleague.org
The Art League
105 North Union Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
703-683-1780

Image Credits:
Anna U. Davis, Self Portrait
Paul Gauguin, Self Portrait
Morton Schamberg, Painting IV
From the exhibit Dinner Party, The Art League

Allison Recht