Text as Inspiration: Artists' Books and Literature

Where: National Gallery of Art, West Building

When: January 29, 2012


This is a small exhibit of books transformed by artists.  The artists don't merely illustrate the book, they use the text as inspiration to create a work of art.  They bring the book to life, but also use the book itself as part of the artwork.  Some of the works retain the shape and look of the book, others move beyond that and take the book apart to make an entirely new work.

Verdict: Go see this lovely little show.  It's tucked away in the National Gallery on the ground floor, so it may take a few minutes to find it.  It's easily managed in a lunch hour, so you might combine it with a visit to another show.

The Invention of Glory: Afonso V and the Pastrana Tapestries

Where: National Gallery of Art, East Building

When: through January 8, 2012

These are tapestries commemorating Alfonso the V's campaign in Morocco.  What is interesting about them, is that they portray contemporary events, rather than the usual mythology or biblical history.  They are among the finest Gothic tapestries in existence; they date from the late 1400s.

Alfonso used them to invent a glorious image for himself, without worrying too much about pesky details that might get in the way.  In the Landing at Asilah, the weavers were unfamiliar with Moroccan architecture, so it appears that Afonso's army is landing in a Northern European city.  You can see that some of the soldiers are drowning, as the king and his son come to the city, but the focus is on the royalty, not on the common man.

In the Siege of Asilah, Afonso's army used wooden screens to shield themselves from Moroccan horsemen, a clever strategy.  In the Assault on Asilah, the troops are storming the city in hand-to-hand combat.  The conditions were actually much worse than the tapestries depict; there was a lot of rain, and many Portuguese ships were lost.  In the pictures, however, there is only glory.


In the Conquest of Tangier, the army walks into an empty city, as the inhabitants surrendered and fled, rather than suffer the fate of Asilah.  Clearly, one's existence was pretty miserable if one was a peasant.

The tapestries had been in Spain, and had been much damaged.  Recently, they were returned to Belgium, where they were originally woven, for restoration, and are now in such good condition that they can travel.

Verdcit: Make time for this show - when else are you likely to see the finest Gothic tapestries in existence?  There aren't very many pieces, so you can spend plenty of time looking at each one.

Conversations with the Earth: Indigenous Voices on Climate Change

Where: National Museum of the American Indian

When: through January 2, 2012

This exhibit is a result of a collaboration between 15 indigenous communities in 13 different countries.  These people are the first to deal with the momentous results of climate change.  Each community is facing a different challenge, but all of them may be harbingers of what is to come for the rest of the world's population.

One of the communities is the People of the Caribou.  They have noticed that the caribou herds are declining; the permafrost is melting and the foods they eat are disappearing.  It used to reach -70 degrees in the winter (sounds dreadful frankly, but I realize this is how they live and my notions of what constitutes pleasant winter weather do not apply), but now it is no longer that cold.

Peoples in Peru and Ethiopia are working together, across an ocean, to promote indigenous agriculture.  The hope is that they will be able to find new crops to grow, as old ones are no longer feasible.  In Zanskari, India, they are moving the entire village from their 1000 year location to a new place.  Obviously, there are many people who are opposed to the move, but there are others who realize they can no longer live there, and are eager to move somewhere more hospitable.

In South America, the environmental efforts to save the forests are preventing the Guarani from living as they have traditionally done.  The conflict between saving the trees and saving the people's way of life is real, and it seems as if the Guarani are paying the price for others' pillaging of the landscape.

Verdict: Go and see this exhibit.  I was unaware of the devastation that climate change is already causing in various parts of the world.  As people are forced to leave their native areas, one fears that culture clash may be the result.  One hopes for better. 

The Solemnity of Shadows: Juan Laurent's Vision of Spain

Where: National Gallery of Art, East Building

When: through December 30, 2011

Yet another exhibit at the Gallery's library - one of my favorite places to see a show.  So quiet and peaceful - I only wish my library were like that!  This show features 19th century Spanish photography, a topic of which I was heretofore ignorant.

Juan Laurent was a very famous photographer, and took many pictures of public works.  He also photographed many art museum collections, which is an interesting thought.  It would be a way to keep track of what you owned, in case of fire or theft.  Eventually, he became a businessman and sold photographic cartes de visites.  His black and white prints are now brown with age, and I'm glad I was able to see them before they can no longer be put on display.  Some of his prints show buildings with an Islamic art influence; I was reminded of the Islamic influence on Spanish culture (who says a college education is a waste!?!).

Verdict: I always recommend shows at the Gallery's library, if for no other reason than I like to think that whoever went to the trouble of putting it up would be made happy by seeing people look at their display.  It's also a wonderful way to get away from the hustle and bustle of the Gallery, which is well worth the trip.

Made in Chicago: The Koffler Collection

Where: Smithsonian American Art Museum

When: through January 2, 2012

The Kofflers were Chicagoans who collected art by Chicago artists.  Eventually, they had amassed a large enough collection to warrant starting a foundation, and the collection was made part of the Smithsonian in 1979.

Several pieces caught my eye:

• Alligator Spring by Bill Benway - this reminded me of the exhibit (also at American Art) on the decaying of the earth
• Mytystic Pairanoiya by Gladys Nilsson - I liked the colors - there is something comical about it
• Homage to Archimboldo by Theodore Halkin - not quite as easy to see the larger picture in this, as in a real Archimboldo, but I was happy to be reminded of that very fun show

Verdict: Well worth a look; it's not an enormous exhibit, so it fits easily into a lunchtime excursion.  I had never heard of the Kofflers before, so yet again, I've increased my score of knowledge!

Warhol: Headlines

Where: National Gallery of Art, East Building

When: through January 2, 2012

Andy Warhol is the subject of two current shows on the Mall, this one at the National Gallery and another at the Hirshhorn.  I'll be reviewing the Hirshhorn show once I've seen it.  There are so many shows closing in January, that it's all I can do to see them all - a great problem to have!

This Warhol exhibition focuses on his paintings of headlines.  A great quote opens the show: "If your name's in the paper, then the news should be paying you."  I guess these paintings were his way of extracting some payment from the media that made so much money reporting on him.  The first room contains huge paintings of newspaper front pages, including the one pictured here.  I find it these an interesting commentary on our society's focus more on "infotainment" than on actual hard news.  Sad to think this is not a recent phenomenon.

Further along in the show are screen tests, videos of people (who probably didn't know they were being taped - hate to think of the legal ramifications of this) being themselves, just chatting.  Apparently, he made hundreds of these - what's on display are merely a small sample.  In the same room are some drawings of newspaper front pages - the Wall Street Journal is pretty drab, even if Warhol is painting it.  One of the paintings he created was of the reporting on the marine attack in Lebanon in the early 1980s - this is something I remember (I was in college at the time); very sad, and a chapter in our nation's history that I think is probably forgotten.

You can also watch clips from Andy Warhol's TV, a New York cable show, including an interview with Daniel Patrick Moynihan, talking about Afghanistan - makes you realize how long we've been involved in that country, one way and another.

Verdict: Do go see this show - it's quite interesting, especially if you're a fan of Warhol, or are interested in portrayals of popular culture in the news media.

For All The World To See: Visual Culture and the Struggle for Civil Rights

Where: National Museum of American History

When: through November 27, 2011

This show highlights the impact and importance of visual images in the way that African Americans were portrayed prior to the civil rights movement and how imagery was used during the movement to show the American public what was happening in the South.

As you enter the exhibit, you can hear Paul Robeson singing "Ol' Man River" from Showboat.  There are several examples of African American portraiture on display, which reminded me of the exhibit I saw (in the same space) on African American portrait studios.

Much of the imagery in the first part of the show is quite derogatory to African Americans, as well as to women.  I realize that anti-women sentiments are not the focus of the show, but I could not help but notice.

Take This Hammer, a 1963 documentary was playing further along in the exhibit.  It shows James Baldwin talking to several young men, who believe that a black man will never be President of the United States.  Baldwin remonstrates with them, telling them that if they have this attitude, their prediction will prove true.  It was the only time I smiled in the entire exhibit; I can only hope that all of those  young men were alive to see the 2009 inauguration.  There was also some film footage of Jackie Robinson's first game in the major leagues.

There is a notice at the front of the exhibit warning people that the imagery is quite graphic and unpleasant.  This is absolutely true.  The most awful picture there is of Emmit Till, after his gruesome murder.  Although this photograph was never published in mainstream American newspapers, it was published in African American newspapers and served to galvanize resistance to the Jim Crow laws of the South.

Verdict: This exhibit is very well done and very important, especially as the civil rights era moves further into the past.  It is not a show, in my opinion, for young children.  The images depicted are quite disturbing, so if you go, and you should, be prepared.