Itō Jakuchū, Peonies and Butterflies (J. Shakuyaku gunchō zu), c. 1757 (Hōreki 7) ink and color on silk, from Colorful Realm of Living Beings (J. Dōshoku sai-e), set of 30 vertical hanging scrolls, c. 1757-1766, Sannomaru Shōzōkan (The Museum of the Imperial Collections), The Imperial Household Agency.>> Opening this month at the National Gallery of Art is a large-scale installation by two important 17th century Dutch painters, Govert Flinck and Bartholomeus van der Helst. These two group portraits depict an emergent theme from the era in which leadership of professional and civic organizations were featured as a source of Dutch civic pride. Civic Pride: Dutch Group Portraits from Amsterdam goes on display from March 11 for a period of five years. Then, beginning March 30 through the end of April, see the complete 30-scroll set of bird-and-flower paintings by Edo-period artist Itō Jakuchū. Colorful Realm: Japanese Bird-and-Flower Paintings by Itō Jakuchū (1716-1800) displays masterful detail and chromatic effects of the natural world through delicate and deliberate placement of pigments.
>> Now in it’s 70th season, the annual free concert series features pianists Pascal and Ami Rogé performing the music of Debussy on March 4, soprano Carmen Balthrop with pianist José Caceres presenting music by Greenleaf on March 11, and violist Cyrus Forough and pianist Stephen Ackert performing Bach, Beethoven, Bloch, and Falla on March 18 (6:30 p.m. in the West Building, West Garden Court). On March 25, soprano Jessica Jones with pianist Danielle Hahn with music by a variety of composers at 6:30 p.m. in the East Building Auditorium. A performance by Taiko drumming ensemble Taikoza on March 31 at 4 p.m., part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, rounds out the month.
>> Two exhibits open this month, at the National Portrait Gallery. Photographic reproductions depict Washington during the Civil War using recognizable landmarks, large-scale views, maps and a display of the protective forts that surrounded the city. Grant and Lee recalls the rivalry between the two generals on personal and professional levels through paintings, photographs, documents, and other objects. Opening March 1 and 14, respectively.
>> Learn about the history of the samurai and and their role in fostering relations between Japan and the United States when the National Geographic Museum opens Samurai: The Warrior Transformed on March 7. The exhibition includes swords, armor, and other artifacts as well as photographs of this Japanese cultural symbol. In addition, a companion exhibit highlighting Japanese life through the photographs of writer, photographer and geographer Eliza R. Scidmore, who played an important role in the Japanese gift of cherry trees to Washington, D.C., now marking it’s 100th anniversary, will also be in display.
>> Wish Jackson Pollock a happy 100th birthday this month at the Archives of American Art. Memories Arrested in Space, currently on exhibit, celebrates the life and impact this leader in Abstract Expressionism left on the modern art rule book in his short 12-year career. Personal family photographs, letters, and rare printed material document Pollock’s artistic growth and transition through earlier studies in Regionalism, Surrealism, and Native American subjects to his own technique coined “direct painting”, in which internal conflict was channeled through emotions and sensations on canvas in an individual freedom of expression. Guest curator, Helen Harrison, of the Pollock Krasner House, will host a gallery talk on March 8 at 2 p.m. in the Lawrence A. Fleischman Gallery.
>> The National Museum of Women in the Arts dedicates the the newest installment of the New York Avenue Sculpture Project from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on March 8, which also happens to be International Women’s Day. This is the second of four large-scale sculptures created for the site in honor of women artists by sculptor Chakaia Booker. While you’re there, explore peace and love through the eyes of a nun who delivered her message through artwork based on advertising. Join one of two curator-led gallery talks for a more in-depth look at R(ad)ical Love: Sister Mary Corita at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. The Museum also presents several films including Dangerous Liasons, the first in a five-part French-inspired series, on March 4 at 2 p.m. (free), plus a two-part environmental film festival. ARC OF LIGHT: A Portrait of Anna Campbell Bliss, which chronicles the architect-turned-artist, on March 19 at 7 p.m., and deafening silence, a documentary on the brutal military dictatorship in Burma, on March 20 at 7 p.m. Tickets to each film is $5.
>> The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery continues its Japan Spring series with selections from Kano Kazunobu’s 100-painting series Masters of Mercy: Buddha’s Amazing Disciples created for the Pure Land Buddhist temple Zōjōji between 1854 and 1863. Then, Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, woodblock prints by Katsushika Hokusai, Japan’s most famous artist, opens on March 24.
>> Sewall-Belmont House & Museum celebrates Women’s History Month with a series of discussions all month long, plus a trivia night on March 19 and an open house with free tours and talks on Sunday, March 25 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
>> In a fascinating and tragic twist, two of the world’s most horrific passenger disasters operated as the world’s largest mobile post offices, providing the fastest worldwide mail delivery service available at the time. On March 22, the National Postal Museum remembers the Titanic and Hindenburg tragedies with Fire & Ice: Hindenburg and Titanic, an exhibit marking the respective 75th and 100th anniversaries of the two accidents, in which visitors can view mail and artifacts from the post offices aboard both vessels.
>> Two new exhibits open at the The Textile Museum on March 23. Eleven artists, invited by renowned textile designer Jack Lenor Larsen, found inspiration within the Museum’s collections and created their own work for Sourcing the Museum, which will display both the source and inspired result together. A Morning with Contemporary Fiber Artists beginning at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 31, with presentations by many of the exhibit’s artists. $25 for non-members; call (202) 667-0441, ext. 64 to register. Woven Treasures of Japan’s Tawaraya Workshop displays kimono, screens, and other colorful silks produced by the workshop located in the Nishijin neighborhood of Kyoto.
>> 65 million years ago, the Titanoboa slithered around the prehistoric Colombian rainforest with its 2,500-pound self crushing and feasting on crocodile and, well, whatever the hell it felt like (the dinosaurs were gone by then but can you imagine the epic battles we missed out on? Or, the interspecies mingling? Poor Titanorex never had a chance). In 2009, scientists uncovered 28 fossils of the Titanic-sized Titanoboa cerrejonensis from deep within a Colombian coal mine. Explore a life-size model of the 48 feet long (that’s the size of three Hummer H1s) predator when Titanoboa: Monster Snake opens at the National Museum of Natural History on March 30. Also on March 30, 2012 Nature’s Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International Awards presents 48 large-format, squeetastic prints of animals and ocean life (there’s also plants and landscapes, too, though those are more awe-inspiring).
>> Do you realize that video games were first introduced only 40 years ago? The artistry of the medium has evolved quite a bit since then. The Smithsonian American Art Museum explores the history of the video game and the artists and designers behind them over the five eras of game technology, from early pioneers to contemporary designers, with a focus on the interplay of graphics, technology and storytelling that they all have in common. The Art of Video Games opens on March 16.
>> In addition to the book signings, childrens’ Story Time readings, Ask an Expert sessions, and stargazing opportunities that are monthly staples at the Air and Space Museum, two family days round will keep visitors busy. March 23 is Family Day at both Museum locations – from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Udvar-Hazy Center, learn more about the contributions of Women in Aviation and Space while National Mall visitors experience Kites of Asia. Check out the entire schedule and plan your visit.
