It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the public so engaged with an exhibition. Leave it to the impish, provocative Ai Weiwei to awaken Washington’s conservative soul. If China needs artists like Ai, so do we. Ai Weiwei: According to What?– the artist’s first retrospective in North America– opened today at the Hirshhorn and … Continue reading »
If you’re the kind of person, like me, who’s looking forward to the Hirshhorn’s big Ai Wei Wei exhibit this October, you’ll love Never Sorry, a smart new documentary about the artist/activist. First-time American director Alison Klayman does a masterful job illuminating Ai’s many facets — brilliant social critic, media manipulator, patriot and loving father. … Continue reading »
I’m reaching beyond the Beltway for my top five this year, to include the Met and–a nice surprise– the Denver Art Museum. My most memorable museum experiences this year ranged from contemplative to camp: 1. Fragments in Time and Space (Hirshhorn): Seeing Hiroshi Sugimoto’s Seascapes series, illuminated in a pitch-black gallery that mimicked the curve … Continue reading »
The cicadas are in full voice outside my window, which means it’s almost time for my annual trip to Block Island, RI — 25 years and counting. For me, it’s the most relaxing place on earth. I watch my nieces and nephews play in the surf, look out at the Atlantic and feel my urban-induced … Continue reading »
My colleagues and I are contending with high stress levels lately, in advance of big meetings in mid-April. Long hours have fragmented my attention span. To force myself not to think about work on my free Saturday, I found three places to exhale, in and around the Mall. Highly recommended: Rothko room at the National … Continue reading »
Arianna Huffington wrote a thoughtful post this week on the challenge museums face in balancing new technologies with preserving the analog wonder of the museumgoing experience. “It’s great to see institutions dedicated to what is often seen as elitist high art engaging with the bottom-up energy of the web,” she writes. “But if museums forget … Continue reading »
Time for a look back at what inspired me in DC’s museums this year. These are the exhibits that lingered in my mind weeks after I saw them. 1. Terracotta Warriors: Guardians of China’s First Emperor: This one’s a holdover from last year, but bears repeating because those faces are unforgettable. I first saw the … Continue reading »
You know when you reserve a ticket for the symphony and the seating chart pops up online? Ever consider that seating plan from the perfomer’s point of view, on stage? Ever consider it art? Argentinian artist Guillermo Kuitca, whom I’d never heard of before yesterday, did consider it, and produced an oddly beautiful series of … Continue reading »
Plenty of these in Washington, now that I think about it. Taken with my iPhone on a rainy morning in the Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden. Continue reading »
