Join Rex Weil, curator for the Arlington Arts Center’s current show, Picturing Politics 2008, for a discussion of the relationship between contemporary art and politics, featuring artists in the exhibition and guest panelists:

Kriston Capps, creator of Grammarpolice and writer for Sculpture Magazine, Art in America, and Art Paper

Welmoed Laanstra, public art curator for Arlington County abd independent curator, the Found Sound and Street Scenes public art projects she organized in Washington, DC.

Josh Shannon, professor of contemporary art history and theory at the University of Maryland, College Park. His book, The Disappearance of Objects: New York Art and the Rise of the Postmodern City, 1960, will be published by Yale University Press in Spring, 2009.

Topics: What’s the difference between political expression out in the world and inside the gallery environment? Is political speech in the gallery protected? Does it have teeth, or does it exist simply to be consumed or marginalized? How does contemporary art speak to pop culture and to the media–and vice-versa?

From the Gallery to the Street: Artists Talk Politics, Friday, September 26, 6:30 - 7:30pm

Stay for an after-party from 7:30 to 9:00 and a special screening of the first presidential debate between John McCain and Barack Obama in the Tiffany Gallery at 9:00.

Image: Placemakers, by Jose Ruiz depicts the Communist sickle and hammer in new light with paint roller and electric drill.

The Library (Baltimore, MD) and Curator’s Office (Washington, DC) joined forces to co-present Empyrean by Cliff Evans, a five-channel HD video projection to be presented on October 17th, 2008 at The Library, an artist-run organization located at 1401 Light Street in Baltimore.

Empyrean is a digital polyptych with photomontage animation that recalls the form of 15thcentury Northern European altarpieces merged with contemporary advertising narratives. Scene after scene of Evans’s five-channel projection has deliberate order and disquieting disorder, creating a loose but provocative narrative around the subjects of power and population control, coded with interesting and often humorous subtexts.
Special Dates to keep in mind:
Opening Reception: Friday, October 17 6 – 10 pm
Another Late Night: Saturday, November 1 6 – 10 pm
Election Day Party: Tuesday, November 4 7 – 11 pm (Proof of voting required to gain entry.)
The Library Gallery Hours: Thursday – Saturday 4 – 8 pm or by appointment

From Aquila Theater’s production of the Illiad
This fall and next spring The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland will highlight issues at the pulse point of contemporary life: “Art Responds to War,” and “War and Representations of War.” Upcoming programs will include:

Oct. 30: Kronos Quartet performs “Black Angels,” George Crumb’s highly unorthodox, 1970 work inspired by the Vietnam War. Also on the program: “…hold me, neighbor, in this storm…,” the latest work of Serbian composer Aleksandra Vrebalov, co-commissioned by the Clarice Smith Center.

Nov. 2: Kronos Quartet presents “Alternative Radio: Another World is Possible,” weaving together musical performance and discussion about world events in a radio show format, featuring broadcaster/writer David Barsamian and Code Pink co-founder Diane Wilson.

Nov. 6-7: David Dorfman Dance’s multi-media “underground” scrutinizes the boundaries between activism and terrorism and poses the question, “In a violent world, can you fight for peace?” Performances will incorporate community participants in choreographed scenes of protest.Nov. 11-12: Aquila Theatre Company sets “The Iliad,” Homer’s epic poem about the final year of the Trojan War, in WWII Normandy in June 1944. In honor of Veterans’ Day, both performances are offered at a reduced price of $15 to current members of the military and retired veterans.

More information and tickets are available at www.claricesmithcenter.umd.edu or by calling the ticket office at (301) 405-ARTS (2787). The Center is located on Stadium Drive near the intersection of University Boulevard (Route 193) and Stadium Drive in College Park. A parking garage is conveniently located across the street from the Center.

About the Exhibit:

COLLATERAL DAMAGED by Ann Johnston-Schuster

The show’s title Collateral Damaged refers to the incalculable and resonating damage incurred by war. In her woodcuts artists Ann Johnston-Schuster endeavors to redefine personal vulnerability, not as a constraint but as a link to our humanity.  Her figures are children that have fallen victim to the physical and emotional constraints placed upon them. In a society built upon the precepts of aggression, vulnerability leaves them often isolated and forgotten.

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District of Columbia Arts Center

Wednesday, August 13th, 2008

Date: October 17th- November 16th

Location: District of Columbia Arts Center (DCAC)
2438 18th Street NW
Washington, DC 20009

www.dcartscenter.org

Exhibit Description:

“Suspicious Activities” is a collection of paintings and works on paper exploring the politicization of language during the process of corporate globalization. Instead of accusing the individual of “suspicious activities” the Artists Aziza Claudia Gibson-Hunter turns a critical gaze on the language of the Bush administration. Her work deals with Katrina, but also other recent government activities like extraordinary rendition and the war on terror.

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Touchstone Gallery

Wednesday, August 13th, 2008

Date: September 10th- October 4th

Location: TOUCHSTONE GALLERY
406 7th St NW 2nd Floor
Washington, DC 20004

www.touchstonegallery.com

Presented by: The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Embassy of Afghanistan

“In Afghanistan” Photographs by Award-winning Dutch photographer Hans Stakelbeek

Hans Stakelbeek documented daily life through photography during his visit to Afghanistan. His photos capture Afghans as they rebuild their lives in the background of their countries spectacular landscape. “In Afghanistan” is a series of 54-high quality professional photographs that reveal the daily lives of Afghan people in vivid color. These photographs were taken during the NATO mission that assisted the Afghan government to bring security and stabilization to the nation. The exhibit was previously shown in Berlin and London. Touchstone Gallery will be the host for this exhibits American opening.

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