A Renwick 'disruption'

Dustin Farnsworth (b. 1983), The Reconstruction of Saints, 2018, collection of the artist who stands in the background/Photo by Patricia Leslie, Nov. 8, 2018

And just when you think you've seen it all...you haven't.

If you missed the show at the Renwick Gallery, Disrupting Craft: Renwick Invitational 2018, you may see photos of it in the catalogue or catch glimpses of some of the artists and their works here which will erase any doubts you may have about today's artists.

Four of them exhibit an amazing diversity of talents and creativity in their handmade works which connect to the world around us.

 Dustin Farnsworth, The Reconstruction of Saints, 2018/Photo by Patricia Leslie, Nov. 8, 2018

 

Dustin Farnsworth with his The Reconstruction of Saints, 2018/Photo by Patricia Leslie, Nov. 8, 2018

Sharif Bey (b. 1974), Assimilation? Destruction, 2000, Juliet Art Museum, Charleston, WVA. The catalogue and wall label note this work is based on Mr. Bey's M.F.A. thesis and includes 1,000 ceramic heads dumped from a bucket into a heap of "collective souls, breaking into more pieces each time."/Photo by Patricia Leslie, Nov. 8, 2018.


Whether you like a particular style, no one can deny the uniqueness, complexity, and sharp edges this group, all born in 1974 or later, bring to the public arena. 

Continuing the biennial Renwick tradition competition which began in 2000, the selected craft artists who "deserve wider recognition" are Tanya Aguiñiga, Sharif Bey, Dustin Farnsworth, and Stephanie Syjuco. Their works were chosen by Abraham Thomas, curator, Renwick Gallery; Sarah Archer, independent curator; and Annie Carlano, curator, Mint Museum, Charlotte, N.C.

 Sharif Bey (b. 1974), 3 White Birds, 2017, collection of the artist/Photo by Patricia Leslie, Nov. 8, 2018

Tanya Aguiñiga (b. 1978) Hand-Felted Folding Chairs, 2006-present, collection of the artist/Photo by Patricia Leslie, Nov. 8, 2018

Tanya Aguiñiga, Nopal, 2017, detail, Volume Gallery, Chicago/ Made from clay, horse and human hair, alpaca, flax, iron and more/Photo by Patricia Leslie, Nov. 8, 2018.

Tanya Aguiñiga, Nopal,  2017, Volume Gallery, Chicago/Photo by Patricia Leslie, Nov. 8, 2018

Stephanie Syjuco (b. 1974) with her Neutral Calibration Studies (Ornament + Crime), 2016, which, according to the catalogue "questions notions of cultural and political identity." The objects "compete for attention" while modernism begins to overtake colonialism. Collection of the artist and Nion McEvoy/
Photo by Patricia Leslie, Nov. 8, 2018

Stephanie Syjuco, Neutral Calibration Studies (Ornament + Crime), 2016, detail/Photo by Patricia Leslie, Nov. 8, 2018

Stephanie Syjuco, Neutral Calibration Studies (Ornament + Crime), 2016, detail/Photo by Patricia Leslie, Nov. 8, 2018

Stephanie Syjuco, from left, The Visible Invisible: Plymouth Pilgrim (Simplicity), Antebellum South (Simplicity), and Colonial Revolution (McCall's), all 2018 and from the collection of the artist/Photo by Patricia Leslie, Nov. 8, 2018

Stephanie Syjuco with her, from left, The Visible Invisible: Antebellum South (Simplicity) and Colonial Revolution (McCall's), both  2018/Photo by Patricia Leslie, Nov. 8, 2018

Stephanie Syjuco with her Ungovernable (Hoist), 2017,  "which illuminates the rich craft history of protest banners ...[and] highlights the distortion of images and information in the Internet age," according to the catalogue. Collection of the artist and Ryan Lee Gallery, New York/Photo by Patricia Leslie, Nov. 8, 2018

Ms. Aguiñiga was born in San Diego but grew up in Tijuana. An activist who questions gender and nationality, she often relies upon her background as a Mexican American for inspiration. In college she studied furniture design.

Mr. Bey was born in Pittsburgh and focuses on African- American culture and Oceania. A Fulbright scholarship recipient, he has a Ph.D. in art education from Penn State and teaches at Syracuse University.


Mr. Farnsworth was born in Lansing, Michigan where the poor economy has influenced his life and work. His XLIII concerns the 43 persons under the age of 18 who were killed by U.S. police officers in 2015. He holds a B.F.A. in woodworking and functional art from Kendall College of Art and Design.

Ms. Syjuco was born in Manila and is based in California where she teaches at the University of California, Berkeley.  Her concentration is large-scale installations about political dissent and other societal issues. According to the catalogue, she is the only one included in the show without a connection to North Carolina, either as a student and/or artist.

More information about each participant and their works may be found in the softbound catalogue ($34.95) available online or in the shop.
 
In Disrupting press releases, the Renwick stressed the importance of choosing artists who challenge the commonplace while seeking to connect communities, and urge collective engagement, wisdom, and tolerance in the age of divisiveness.

Fifty ceramic, photographic, sculptural, woolen and fiber works were on display.

What: Disrupting Craft:  Renwick Invitational 2018

When: The Renwick is open from 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. every day, except Christmas Day. Disrupting Craft ended May 5, 2019.

Where: 1661 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20006, at the White House 17th Street block, adjacent to Blair House.


Admission: No charge

Metro stations: Farragut North or Farragut West

For more information: (202) 633-7970 (recorded) or (202) 633-2850  
 
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Theatre and religion dust-up in Alexandria

From left: Patricia Spencer Smith is Margaret, Ashley Amidon is Melissa, and Michael Fisher is Father Murphy in Little Theatre of Alexander's newest show, Savannah Disputation/Photo by Kyle Reardon


It may be religion they're arguing about, but two old ladies, a priest, and a pretty young thing sure do make it funny.
 
In Savannah Disputation two spinsters live together and the angry one, Mary (Mary Jo Morgan) banishes an missionary evangelist who comes to the door (Ashley Amidon) whom later, the other sister, Margaret (Patricia Spencer Smith) invites in.

To settle some religious questions which Melissa raises and makes Margaret uncomfortable, the Catholic sisters invite their friendly priest (Michael J. Fisher) over for his customary Thursday evening dinner with them, but unbeknownst to him, they invite Melissa, too.

With a conglomeration like this, you were expecting peace in the valley? Not.

What follows is a long and stormy night about religion, who's right, who's wrong, the Bible says this, the Bible says that, scripture this and scripture that. 

Late in the show Mary goes all serious and wants to be ex-communicated (ex-communicated!) about the time the dialogue turns rather preachy.
 
Compare the two sisters to the "bright young thing" prancing through their doorway in a pretty halter-top dress, sexy shoes, and makeup.  

It's yesterday v. today! (Or, "old" v. "new.")

From left, Mary Jo Morgan is Mary, Michael Fisher is Father Murphy, and Patricia Spencer Smith is Margaret in Little Theatre of Alexander's newest show, Savannah Disputation/Photo by Kyle Reardon


Director Will Jarred steers Mary and Margaret on an excellent path to a nursing home as they shuffle along, moving at half steps, with stooped shoulders, and de rigueur hands on hips. 

Their costuming (by Ms. Amidon) complements their characters in the most fitting ways: slippers, shirttails hanging outside elephant pants, gender-free apparel.

John Burgess designed a full set for the ladies' living room, with half of it decorated like a church with large stained-glass pieces on two walls at the entrance. (All that was missing was a confessional.)

The remainder of their domicile is loaded with collectibles from many years of living, book shelves (housing a liquor stash), antiques, a grandfather clock, an answering machine (in 2019? but it plays a critical role), a mantle, dining room table, etc., etc. 

Just the old-fashioned feel one might expect of two old sisters' living arrangements.

I knew the playwright, Evan Smith, had to have some Catholic blood:  He attended an all-boy prep Catholic military school in Savannah, the locale for the show which really could be Anywhere, Anytime, USA.

Most everything is superb in Savannah: the acting, set, costumes, lighting (Franklin Coleman). The sound director David Correia does a fantastic job with frequent doorbell and phone rings, and messages left.

Eavesdropping on a conversation about religion is possible in Alexandria to leave you laughing and guessing, too.  

And maybe, start your own conversation?

Other Savannah crew members are:

Juli Tarabek Blacker, assistant director

Lynn O'Connell and Kevin O'Dowd, producers

Kira Hogan and Donna Reynolds, stage managers

Maureen Roult, hair and make-up design 

Betty Belanus and Susan Townsend, properties designers


What: The Savannah Disputation

When: Now through May 18, 2019. Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. Sunday matinees at 3 p.m.

Where: Little Theatre of Alexandria, 600 Wolfe Street, Alexandria, VA 22314

Tickets: $21 to $24

Rating: "G"

Duration:  90 minutes without intermission

Public transportation: The closest Metro station is King Street, about 13 blocks away. From there, a Dash bus will take you near the theatre.

Parking: On the streets and in many garages nearby. If Capital One Bank at Wilkes and Washington streets is closed, the bank's lot is open to LTA patrons at no charge

For more information: 703-683-0496 or 703-683-5778 or boxoffice@thelittletheatre.com


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National Archives receives WWII diary in signing ceremony

 Robert Edsel, chairman of the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art, shows pages from the diary of S. Lane Faison, Jr., given by the Foundation to National Archives/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Pages from the diary of S. Lane Faison, Jr. given by the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art to National Archives/Photo by Patricia Leslie


 In a signing ceremony Monday morning at the U.S. National Archives, on the eve of the 74th anniversary of the suicide of Adolph Hitler, a diary kept by a U.S. Navy Reservist about Nazi art theft in World War II was donated to the National Archives by the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art.

The diarist, S. Lane Faison, Jr. (1907-2006), recorded observations he made during 1950 and 1951 when he directed the Munich Central Collecting Point which was a storehouse and distribution center for the recovery of art the Nazis seized from museums and private collectors.

A page from the diary of S. Lane Faison, Jr. given by the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art to National Archives/Photo by Patricia Leslie


 Since the National Archives affords access to records by all and Monuments Men wants as many persons to see the documents as possible, it made sense for Archives to have the diary, Robert Edsel, chairman of the Monuments Men Foundation, said at the ceremony.

Earlier, Mr. Faison's four sons had given the book to the Foundation.

 

Dr. Greg Bradsher, senior archivist and "expert on Holocaust-era asset records," with S. Lane Faison, Jr.'s diary/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 

From left, Dr. Greg Bradsher, senior archivist, with Robert Edsel, chairman of the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art, at the signing ceremony at National Archives for the gift acceptance from the Monuments Men Foundation to Archives of S. Lane Faison, Jr.'s diary. Open on the table are pages from one of 43 "Hitler's Albums" recovered and at Archives/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The diary will be reunited with 43 volumes of the "Hitler Albums" which have been recovered and already given by the Foundation to the Archives where they may be digitally accessed. The Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg , the Nazi task force devoted to seizing art and other valuables, compiled the albums, perhaps for the pleasure of Hitler who loved art, Mr. Edsel said.

The volumes are among the estimated 100 albums of photographs of stolen art the Nazis kept with careful documentation about each piece, including the rightful owner, said Dr. Greg Bradsher, senior archivist at Archives and "expert on Holocaust-era assets," according to an Archives statement.

A page from one of "Hitler's Albums" on display at the signing ceremony for the gift acceptance of the diary of S. Lane Faison, Jr. by National Archives from the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A photograph of a stolen painting from one of "Hitler's Albums." Under the photograph is picture identification (below)/Photo by Patricia Leslie

In a "Hitler Album," the identification page underneath the photo which identifies the painting and the family from whom the Nazis stole it, as carefully recorded by the Nazis/Photo by Patricia Leslie


 The majority of the volumes are still missing, and presumably sitting in attics, barns, old houses and garages. A team of about five researchers from the Foundation is actively searching for them, Mr. Edsel said.

It is a crime for anyone to knowingly sell historical documents, artifacts and other records.

The albums were all the same size, Dr. Bradsher said, and were used as evidence during the Nuremberg trials.

Robert Edsel, chairman of the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art, notes that not all 43  recovered "Hitler Albums" have title pages. The one on display has a title page/Photo by Patricia Leslie

On the left is David Ferriero, archivist of the U.S., who signed documents to accept the gift of the diary of S. Lane Faison, Jr. from the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art,. Robert Edsel, chairman of the Monuments Men, is on the right and, standing, is Dr. Greg Bradsher, senior archivist/Photo by Patricia Leslie

From left, David Ferriero, archivist of the U.S., Robert Edsel, chairman of the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art, and Dr. Greg Bradsher at the signing ceremony at National Archives for the gift from the Monuments Men Foundation of the diary of S. Lane Faison, Jr. to National Archives/Photo by Patricia Leslie


 Mr. Edsel said art was extremely important to Hitler who kept volumes of it from the time he was 16 until he died, including some of the "Hitler Albums."

During the war, General Dwight D. Eisenhower issued more than one order to Allied troops that they leave premises as they found them and not take souvenirs, Mr. Edsel and Dr. Bradsher said. With teenaged and 20-something aged soldiers, the order was difficult to follow and enforce.

Today, these sites would be treated as crime scenes, said Mr. Edsel who wrote The Monuments Men which was picked up by George Clooney and made into a film in 2014.

From left, David Ferriero, archivist of the U.S., Robert Edsel, chairman of the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art, and Dr. Greg Bradsher with S. Lane Faison. Jr.'s diary/Photo by Patricia Leslie

From left, David Ferriero, archivist of the U.S., Dr. Greg Bradsher, senior archivist, and Robert Edsel, chairman of the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art, with S. Lane Faison. Jr.'s diary on the left on the table and, on the right, one of 43 recovered "Hitler Albums"/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At Williams College, Mr. Faison was the director of the Museum of Art and headed the art history department where one of his students was recently retired National Gallery of Art director, Earl A. Powell III. Photographs of looted art and memorabilia seized by the Nazis may also be found at the National Gallery’s own Munich Central Collecting Point Archive.

Mr. Faison was born in Washington, D.C.

According to Hilary Parkinson of the Archives' public affairs office:

"The diary will be available to the public in NARA’s textual research room at College Park in the near future. We will be exploring options for providing access to digital images once the diary has been transferred to College Park.
 

"Some of the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR) Photograph Albums have been digitized and can be seen here."

Also present at the ceremony was David Ferriero, archivist of the United States.

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Give your pulse, your heartbeat and fingerprints for a Hirshhorn show

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer (b. 1967), Pulse Room, 2006, at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C., 2018/Photo by Patricia Leslie

An exhibition in Washington will leave its perfect home here tomorrow.  

Pulse by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer has been up at the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden since last fall, during which time it has collected thousands of heartbeats, pulses, and fingerprints from visitors who have stopped to wonder and add their own identities to produce the display.

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer (b. 1967), Pulse Index, 2010, at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C., 2018/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 Some of the latest technologies in yet another interactive art show (isn't that what most contemporary shows are these days?) are combined with voluntary contributions with results to be seen pronto. 

Water, lights, human movement, sensors, touch, and vital signs mix in huge galleries to show a little bit of just who you are in the grand population, physiologically speaking. (Not that you can pick out your own pieces in the show since they all look and sound alike!)

Three Pulse installations fill the museum's second floor, the first, Pulse Index records fingerprints and heart rates when visitors insert their fingers in a sensor. 

That information enters a large grid cell of 10,000 others while simultaneously discarding the oldest record, somewhat like the grand scheme of life. ("Out with the old and in with the new!  Fare thee well!")

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer (b. 1967), Pulse Tank, 2008, at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C., 2018/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The second installation, Pulse Tank (2008) finds visitors interacting with sensors on water tanks. Computers detect pulses, sending ripples on the water which reflect shadows to fall over walls in a combination of unidentified human offerings and links.

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer (b. 1967), Pulse Room, 2006, at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C., 2018/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Hundreds of light bulbs electrified by visitors touching a sensor, hang from the ceiling in the third installation, Pulse Room (2006).  Heartbeats and the concomitant sounds are heard throughout the space.  As more people come through the gallery, new beats become the latest part of the bulb sensation and move on down the row or line, making a pattern of movement until they, too, exit the story at the last bulb or end.  (Question:  How long does this journey take? It would seem to depend on the number of people in the gallery.  A lot would mean a fast exit.)


Rafael Lozano-Hemmer was born in 1967 in Mexico City and graduated from Concordia University in Montreal with a B.S. in physical chemistry. In 2003 he founded the Antimodular Research Laboratory in Montreal where engineers, architects, programmers and artists from around the world study, create and make. Now he and his team are at work on more than 20 permanent installations, commissioned by global "new age" electric collectors.

In 2007 Lozano-Hemmer's art took him to Venice and the Biennale where he was the first artist to represent Mexico. 

Large interactive Lozano-Hemmer displays may be found in New York, Vancouver, Berlin, and museums around the world.

From his website:

His main interest is in creating platforms for public participation, by perverting technologies such as robotics, computerized surveillance or telematic networks. Inspired by phantasmagoria, carnival and animatronics, his light and shadow works are "antimonuments for alien agency".

Whether the FBI, the CIA, the FSB, or the North Koreans would okay their employees engaging in Pulse is debatable, but, on the other hand, maybe they are the ones behind it all. Could be a joint venture.


What:  Pulse by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer

When:  Now through tomorrow, April 28, 2019, from 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Where:  Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden on the National Mall at Independence Avenue and Seventh Street, S.W.

How much:  No charge

Metro stations:  Smithsonian or L'Enfant Plaza (Maryland Avenue exit)

For more information:   202-633-1000

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At the think tanks: Russia's political prisoners, a talk

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 Izabella Tabarovsky, the moderator, and Sergey Davidis at the Kennan Institute, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, D.C., April 23, 2019/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 At the Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars on Tuesday afternoon, the head of Russia's Political Prisoners Support Program said the nation has 263 "political" persons in jail, arrested on vague charges stemming from Russia's Criminal Code. 

It is an “incomplete number,” said Sergey Davidis, also a member of the Council at the Memorial Human Rights Center in Moscow. Since “we are conservative in our approach,” the actual number is probably two or three times 263, he said.


The prisoners support group determined the number 263 by researching official documents and other materials.

Among those jailed are two journalists and many persons from Ukraine.  One prisoner, Mr. Davidis said, has been sentenced to 20 to 22 years for participating in the "Chechen war." (Wikipedia identifies two Chechen wars: 1994-1996 and 1999-2006.)

Another prisoner, a “random person,” was sentenced to eight to ten years.  Researchers have identified four others on the list who are jailed for “random” reasons. Some have lawyers.

Of the 263, 186 have been identified as religious minorities; 60 are affiliated with Jehovah's Witnesses. So far, the maximum prison sentence has been 24 years.

None of the prisoners condone violence, often mentioned in the Russian Federation Criminal Code as a reason for arrest. The prisoners have expressed “no signs of violence.” They practice opposition peacefully, Mr. Davidis said, when they disagree with authorities.

“The aim of the state is scare the society …and frighten people,” he said. “It’s important for the state to send [the people] a signal.” Persecution in the Russian Federation is “rather uneven.”

Izabella Tabarovsky, the moderator, and Sergey Davidis at the Kennan Institute, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, D.C., April 23, 2019/Photo by Patricia Leslie

He cited several articles from the Criminal Code which are used to arrest political prisoners: Article 212.1 is related to punishment for those engaged in “mass riots,” and Article 318, for violence against an officer.

Article 354 ("Public Appeal to Unleash An Aggressive War”) is "seldom used" to arrest anyone, but still it is “obviously dangerous” and can be used to arrest those who attempt to incite the public.

Articles 280 and 282 (“not widely cited”) concern extremist activity, behavior, and freedom of expression. Article 205 describes acts of terrorism, punishment and recruiting others to commit terrorist activities. 

Questions from the audience were invited near the close of the one hour session. One person asked if Russia has prisoner quotas and Mr. Davidis answered that several factors are involved but sometimes, yes, there are “real quotas” which “vary from region to region.”

Another questioner asked about prisoner exchanges between Russia and Turkey. Mr. Davidis confirmed that Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan had exchanged two Russian criminals jailed in Istanbul for murdering four Chechens, for two Tatars jailed for religious beliefs, an uneven exchange the questioner noted.

The Kennan website states: Mr. Davidis was educated in sociology at Moscow State University and in law at Moscow State Law Academy. For many years, he was a participant and one of the organizers of the democratic opposition movement. His research interests are closely related to activities to support political prisoners in Russia, and he studies the sociological and legal aspects of politically motivated deprivation of liberty, in particular, in the context of world practice and international norms.

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