A closeup of Chris Jordan’s Barbies, which is featured in Close Encounters at the Katzen Arts Center. Copyright Chris Jordan. Courtesy Paul Kopeikin Gallery, Los Angeles. Provisions Library, D.C.’s learning laboratory for the arts and social change, which opened its doors in September of 2001, launched a new initiative this past summer, BrushFire. By staging socially-minded public art events nationally, BrushFire aims to promote discourse about democracy, including key political and social issues such…
In an audacious presentation of political and protest art, the Katzen Arts Center’s Art of CONFRONTation showcases three separate exhibitions that share a confident outspokenness. Whether it’s the poignant reenactments of torture of Abu Ghraib by Fernando Botero, or the surreal depictions of the city-dominated human condition by Irving Norman in Dark Metropolis, or the multifaceted collection of some of the 1970s most important feminist art in Claiming Space, these works are united by a…
>> 9:30 Club has Editors, Ra Ra Riot, and Biffy Clyro. $15 tickets still available, and don’t miss our full preview of Ra Ra Riot by clicking here. >> Michael Powell’s 1969 erotic drama Age of Consent features a young Helen Mirren in her film debut. Screening for free tonight at 7 p.m. at the Library of Congress’ Pickford Theater. Call (202) 707-5677 by 4 p.m. to reserve a seat. >> Malcolm MacPherson covered Ambassador…
As a practical matter, any art museum or gallery needs to carve out a niche for itself in order to remain relevant. To that end, Jack Rasmussen, Director and Curator of the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center, chose local art and political art as two areas of emphasis. Two exhibitions reflecting this institutional philosophy opened this past weekend. Bush Leaguers: Cartoonists Take on the White House is a collection of 99 editorial…
I recently meandered over from the School of Communications, where I teach at American University (disclaimer 1), to the art department, from where I graduated a couple years ago, back when it was still largely a painting program (disclaimer 2) to check it out the MFA Thesis Exhibitions. I’d heard a few accounts already; the word “postmodern” lumped in a few times. But it’s easy to be a bit skeptical of a dismissive comment that…
>>Seriously, Just Don’t Hit Send Next Time: If you missed the gallery-style cage match and possible legal battle between artist Doug Sanford and his ex-girlfriend caused by the Fraser Gallery’s last exhibit, stop by the space anyway and see what drama their new exhibit will cause. Though the 6th Annual International Photography Competition probably won’t spur the hatred of a woman scorned, it’ll at least feature some ridiculously talented artists. The opening reception is tomorrow…
MONDAY Kenneth Brannagh’s Hamlet. Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet. Bob and Doug MacKenzie’s Strange Brew. All fine examples of Shakespeare on film. Got questions? Well, pepper Simon Crowl, author of Shakespeare and Film: A Norton Guide, with them. Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 East Capitol St. SE., at 7:30 p.m. $12. TUESDAY According to the Wikipedia, Ralph Nader’s father “owned a bakery and restaurant where he engaged customers in discussions of political issues.” That bakery? The “Ugh…I Mean,…
MONDAY Audrey Niffenegger follows up her best-selling The Time Traveler’s Wife with another Edward Goreyian flight of fancy, The Adventuress. We bet she has one of the prettiest signatures of any author on this page. National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Ave. NW., at 7 p.m. $10. Reservations: (202) 783-7370. TUESDAY Of course, Persepolis author Marjane Satrapi’s flair for visual artistry and imaginative text is on abundant display in Chicken With…
>> Andrew Wodzianski wins bonus cool points for combining visuals inspired by Mexican luchadores and an interactive blog, the use of cell phones and a podcast (or Wodcast) in his new show Lucha Libre! at the Fraser Gallery. His “Lucha Libre! 2” is pictured here. >> Observant District residents will have noticed the slew of retro-fitted Port-a-Potties that popped up outside of city art galleries over the weekend. Rather than being evidence of a rare,…
>> Tomorrow the Fraser Gallery in Georgetown closes the exhibit of winners from the 9th Annual Georgetown International Fine Arts Competition – this year selected by Jack Rasmussen, Director and Curator of the American University’s Katzen Arts Center’s Galleries. (You can see the list of winners on their Web site.) Then, on Thursday, a new exhibit of work by tape-obsessed Mark Jenkins opens. DCist can’t wait to see the full-sized cast of a 1995…
