Artful Links Around DC
In this edition of Artful Links, we’re sticking close to home to share some DC-area goodies. Enjoy!
In The Ballad of Holland Island House, a short animation by Lynn Tomlinson, you can hear the story of a house in the Chesapeake Bay that sank beneath the water in 2010.
Tomlinson created the moody, stormy short by painting on glass with oil-based clay, a process you can see at work in the behind-the-scenes video. (h/t kottke.org)
We’re used to seeing DC’s monuments, surely some of the most photographed in the world — especially around this time of year. Sometimes, making the old new again is all a matter of timing:
If you time the sunrise right, you'll see the Washington Monument transform to orange for 2 minutes. Worth it. #mydccool pic.twitter.com/koikn7wq3A
— Austin Graff (@AustinKGraff) March 30, 2017
Want to capture some DC views of your own? Artist Mike Francis is leading a Weekend in the Plein Air Landscape workshop this weekend on the banks of the Potomac. Come paint DC and Alexandria for two afternoons! (As featured in Washingtonian magazine.)
Many of us find art museums a place for quiet reflections and the occasional selfie. For others, they can be a source of frustration.
“For the longest time I really felt angry when I came into a museum,” Kilof Legge told NPR in this story. Legge, and other visually-impaired visitors, have a new resource at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, where InSight tours offer creative new ways of experiencing visual art. You can find the schedule and more information on the SAAM website.
In our review of “Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors” at the Hirshhorn Museum, we said we enjoyed its accessibility. Not only are tickets free of charge, but the art itself has a low barrier to appreciation. However, accessibility is more complex than that, as Washington Post critic Philip Kennicott explained in his follow-up review:
“[T]hose who have financial resources are more likely to be able to enjoy it. Not only do they have greater freedom to arrange their schedules around the experience, they are more likely to gain in social status from saying they have participated.”
Of course, Kusama’s not the only exhibit in the area right now. We can heartily recommend Artomatic, open Wednesday to Sunday through May 6. It features seven floors of art as well as performances and workshops. You can see all the upcoming events on their calendar.
Seen a mural in DC that you like? It could be one of 60 created thanks to a city murals program that’s turning 10 years old in 2017. Now, MuralsDC is facing new challenges in maintaining, and finding space for, the artwork.
And finally, if you enjoyed the photos in that or pretty much any Washington City Paper article, you have this photographer to thank: Darrow Montgomery, who is now in his 31st year at the paper.
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