Graciela Iturbide and "art chat" at the Women's Museum

The photographer, Graciela Iturbide, at the opening of her exhibition, Mexico, at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Feb. 25, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The photographer, Graciela Iturbide, at the opening of her exhibition, Mexico, at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Feb. 25, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Please keep this a secret so all the Friday afternoon classes  don't fill up before I can make my reservations, but the National Museum of Women in the Arts has free participatory art history sessions every week! 

And they're all sold out for the rest of June, but wait!  July comes, and the museum plans to keep up the chats 'til fall which are more popular than anticipated, wrote Adrienne Gayoso, the museum's senior educator and one of the "Art Chat" presenters.

Great news!

Graciela Iturbide, Pajaros, Nayarit, 1984. Collection of Joan and Robert Stein

Graciela Iturbide, Peregrinacion, Chalma, 1984. Masked figures surround a man dressed as a skeleton and there is a baby dressed possibly as an angel, these disguises worn as part of a funerary procession to represent life and hope. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

The "chats" are all about women artists and their works which the curator presents over 30 minutes, soliciting opinions from the 20-or-so attendees who Zoom in from all over the world to attend, ask questions, and comment.

For art lovers, it's super-fantastic!

One week Ms. Gayoso led us in discussion of Rosa Bonheur (French, 1822-1899) and Niki de Saint Phalle (French-American, 1930-2002). Another week, Ashley Harris directed discussion of photographer Esther Bubley (American, 1921-1998), and Alma Woodsey Thomas (American, 1891-1978). 

Graciela Iturbide, Novia Muerte,  Chalma, 1990; Courtesy of the artist; © Graciela Iturbide. This is a man whose extended arm possibly represents his missing partner.

Then, the featured artist of an exhibition currently on display at the museum, Graciela Iturbide's Mexico, was the solo subject one Friday in a presentation by NMWA's Deborah Gaston.

(That show of 140 photographs is extended through August 30, after the museum's hoped-for-reopening date of July 7, according to museum director, Susan Fisher Sterling, quoted in the Washington Post: "We felt that setting the date helps us move toward our goal of serving the public.")

Graciela Iturbide, El Baño de Frida, (Frida’s Bathroom), Coyoacán, Ciudad de México, 2005
Courtesy of the artist; © Graciela Iturbide. In 2005 Ms. Iturbide was granted a one-week permit to photograph the life Frida Kahlo left behind at her "Blue House" in Mexico City where Ms. Kahlo was born and died (1907- 1954).

Graciela Iturbide, El Baño de Frida, (Frida’s Bathroom), Coyoacán, Ciudad de México, 2005
Courtesy of the artist; © Graciela Iturbide. Behind Ms. Kahlo's crutches is a photograph of Stalin. Reflected in the protective glass over the picture are more photographs of her bathroom in the Frida gallery at the museum.

 Graciela Iturbide, El Baño de Frida, (Frida’s Bathroom), Coyoacán, Ciudad de México, 2005
Courtesy of the artist; © Graciela Iturbide

The NMWA gallery of Graciela Iturbide, El Baño de Frida, (Frida’s Bathroom), Coyoacán, Ciudad de México, 2005 


Ms. Iturbide (Mexican, born 1942) is a cultural historian-photographer who for decades has pictured indigenous Mexican men and women in natural settings, amidst festival, funerals, everyday life, and their conflicts with modernity.  She is "widely regarded as Latin America's greatest living photographer," according to the NMWA quarterly publication, Women in the Arts.

Born in Mexico City, Ms. Iturbide was the oldest of 13 children who received her first camera when she was 11.  After she married an architect at age 20, she had three children in rapid succession and at age 27 began her art studies. 

When her daughter, Claudia, died at age six, Ms. Iturbide's life reset. Photography helped to bring her some measure of comfort and peace. 

Graciela Iturbide, INRI, Juchitan, 1984. The museum label copy contrasts the standing woman with the man a viewer may not notice at first, lying drunk on the stones, roles evident in this society (and many others!). "INRI" is an abbreviation for Latin and means "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews."

The photographer, Graciela Iturbide, at the opening of her exhibition, Mexico, at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Feb. 25, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The photographer, Graciela Iturbide, at the opening of her exhibition, Mexico, at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Feb. 25, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

You may recall Ms. Iturbide's enduring photograph of the lady with the iguanas on top of her head.  Five (?) of them at last count which we learned at the discussion were alive!  Mercy! (They are not shown here, but at the show you can see them to believe them.)
,
This is another show not to miss at the National Museum of Women in the Arts! You see how happy this makes me!  Whatever will be the effects upon you? I am going to Mexico City in February to visit Frida's house!

*To register for "Art Chat," go to the website>What's On>Calendar>Signature Programs.  I found the next open date is July 17, 2020.

Just remember, when it comes to "art chats," mum's the word! The sessions do zoom by! Thank you, National Museum of Women in the Arts!

The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston organized the show.

Who: Various female artists including Graciela Iturbide

What: "Art Chats" and Graciela Iturbide's Mexico


When: Fridays at 5 p.m. for "Art Chats." (The museum's usual open hours are 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 12 - 5 p.m., Sunday.)

Where: Online and soon, in person! The museum is located at 1250 New York Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20005

How much:  No charge for online sessions. Customary admission: Adults, $10; seniors over 65 and students over 18, $8; no charge for anyone under 18 or for members. The first Sunday of the month is a free-for-all!

For more information: 202-783-5000 or 1-800-222-7270

patricialesli@gmail.com

Book review: 'Justice in Moscow' by George Feifer

If Russian scholar and cultural historian George Feifer (1934-2019) had not died, it's unlikely I would have ever known about his book, Justice in Moscow (1964), which I found listed in Harrison Smith's engaging obituary of Mr. Feifer in the Washington Post last November. 


The book is all about the lower court system in Russia in the 1960s, and if the subject sounds dull, believe me, the way Mr. Feifer writes, it's anything but.

Written from an American perspective (Mr. Feifer was born in Paterson, N.J. and educated in the U.S.), Justice was one of several books Mr. Feifer wrote about Russia, including two semi-autobiographical novels. 

He first went to Russia in 1959 as a guide for an American automotive show and then later as an exchange 
student. That led to his affinity for and writing about Russian everyday life and the characters he discovered and befriended (one of whom he married and later divorced).
 
The book's dialogue can run for pages, but Mr. Feifer's excellent writing never leaves a reader wondering who is speaking. He brings the courtroom to life with his personal descriptions of domestic conflicts, minor crimes, and harsh penalties. (Shouts from the audience were [are?] permissible.)

Disagreements about childcare, living arrangements, alcohol's effects, and financial responsibilities filled the courts. Grandmothers often were handed parental roles while parents continued their flings. Marriage then (and now? Russia's divorce rate in 2016 was 60%, meaning there were more divorces than marriages) seemed like a sometime-thing which few took seriously.

It's a rare day in Russia when there are no weddings/Photo by Patricia Leslie, Tsarskoye Selo, 2018


Courts were open to anyone who wanted to come and see. On the occasions when the courtrooms were crowded and no seats were available, Mr. Feifer's dress (coat and tie) got him in. (Pages 200-201) 

Before trial, a two-to-four months' wait in jail for lesser crimes was not unusual. Many charged remained free, but Russia had no patience with those who failed to contribute to society. (88-89)

There was "the Soviet tendency to set an example by punishing the more affluent wrongdoers more severely. In the People's Court it is poor work in the factory, rather than a poor purse, that puts a defendant at a disadvantage." (79)

"Hooliganism" (being lazy without contributing to society) was a crime frequently mentioned. Russian citizens then could not understand the "American way," i.e., that many Americans live at societal expense. Mr. Feifer quotes a cleaning woman: "I just don't see how you can justify people living off capital instead of sweat." (198)  (A label commonly applied was known as "the Parasite Law.")

It was assumed that most of the accused were to be found guilty (216-17), and not every accused (save juveniles and mentally ill persons) were represented by lawyers. 

Mr. Feifer often observed "palsy-walsy" relationships between prosecutors and judges in courtrooms where the accused had no legal representation!

In some cases, the defendant's attorney was so harsh on the client, the attorney came across as a prosecutor, and in one courtroom, the attorney stated he didn't believe his own client! 

Many defendants relied on "the investigator" who supposedly acted as a researcher of the crime. Individuals had little protection in the courts which Mr. Feifer blamed on Peter the Great, Nicholas I, "and even the Moguls," rather than Stalin. (102)

Stalin's tomb at the Kremlin Wall, Red Square, Moscow/Photo by Patricia Leslie, 2018

At Red Square, Moscow/Photo by Patricia Leslie, 2018

Catherine the Great's gift of Peter the Great's statue welcomes visitors to St. Petersburg/Photo by Patricia Leslie, 2018

Unlike American legal hierarchy, Russian judges often abandoned the judiciary to become lawyers since the pay was about the same and attorneys' hours were shorter with opportunities to earn more "on the side." (234)

Mr. Feifer found lawyers to be better dressed than judges, friendlier to strangers (like himself), and full of questions about American legal practice. 

He observed many scars and amputations among Russian lawyers whose World War II experiences were evident.  "When these Russians talked about disarmament, there was a ring of honesty to their appeals." (237-38)


In the early 60s punishment for "economic crimes" was treated in the extreme. Despite earlier codes which defined sentencing for "currency speculation" to several years in prison, upper courts could change punishments to executions which they did. (247-248)

But rather than punishment and in "spirit of dedication to the Fatherland and to Communism," the book cites the primary purpose of Soviet courts was to educate the people about laws, discipline, and the respect of others related to "the rules of socialist living and behavior." (107)

Sixty years later and one wonders how this 1960s version compares to present-day Russia. With a thriving bureaucracy, it is doubtful much has changed.
 
A great book which I obtained through Fairfax County's interlibrary loan program.

Another wedding in Russia/Photo by Patricia Leslie, 2018

patricialesli@gmail.com

Christians rally in D.C. for Black Lives Matter

A Christian protester on Pennsylvania Avenue on Sunday carries a sign which reads "All Mothers Were Summoned When George Floyd Called Out For His Momma." June 7, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Hundreds of Christians marched in Washington on Sunday for Black Lives Matter.  At the Capitol Reflecting Pool they gathered to walk to the White House and join thousands in unison crying for justice.  Here they round the corner at Third Street, S.W. at Pennsylvania Avenue. June 7, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 Christians march for justice and peace June 7, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 Christians march on Sunday June 7, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

They walked up Pennsylvania Avenue where Trump Tower loomed in the distance, protected by police. June 7, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 

Police on bicycles followed the crowd June 7, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The woman carries a banner which reads, "Love Never Fails - If We Can Pick Up Trash To Be Reusable, We Can Pick Up People To Be Reusable" and the banner on the right the man carries says "Christians Together in Action - I Corinthians 12:12-27" June 7, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 A family of four at the Navy Memorial on Pennsylvania Avenue, part of the Christians' rally for Black Lives Matter. On the back of his bicycle is a sign which reads in part: "Black Lives Are Beloved, Are Worthy, Are Necessary"
June 7, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 In front of the FBI building, a National Guard tank and soldier stand watch.
June 7, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 Marching on Pennsylvania Avenue June 7, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 On Pennsylvania Avenue, they marched June 7, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 

 At Freedom Plaza they marched and turned the corner up 15th Street, headed towards the White House seeking justice and peace for all. June 7, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 

patricialesli@gmail.com