It’s a new year. Out with the old, sure;
but it’s nigh on impossible to separate
modern art from its infl uences. The
two are so densely enmeshed that
separating original from borrowed is like
sifting the Augean Stables for one particular
horse’s handiwork. Nevertheless, we’d like to
talk about the new class. It’s been argued by
certain sage citizens that Washington’s art has
entered a boom period these past few years
– one imagines that credit must be divvyed
up between the Class of 2008 and its artsy
antecedents. Here’s hoping this postmodern
pep rally pays adequate tribute as we venture
onto Washington’s artistic playing fi eld. WL
spoke to emerging – and established – talent
about creating art in the District.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE AN ARTIST
IN WASHINGTON?
COLBY CALDWELL Politics will always be top
dog here, and most everything else continues
to percolate in its own little universe. D.C. does
COLBY CALDWELL has been awarded the Excellence
in Photography Award as well as the Eugene Weiss
Scholarship. He is currently assistant professor of art at
St. Mary’s College of Maryland and has served on the
faculty of the Corcoran College of Art and Design for
many years. Caldwell has been a bulwark of the local
art scene for more than 20 years.
Writer and performance artist HOLLY BASS
has presented her work at the Kennedy Center,
the Whitney Museum and the Experience
Music Project (Seattle). Critics have hailed her
performances as “mesmerizing” (The Village Voice),
“eloquent”(The Washington Post) and “affecting”
(The New York Times).
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have a rich history culturally and musically
– think of [’80s punk record label] Dischord
and the [old] Washington Project for the Arts.
When I fi rst got here, the gallery scene was
still primarily based in Dupont Circle. Ewing,
Jones Troyer, Tartt, and Middendorf were the
more prominent spaces. Now it has pockets
on 14th, Florida, 7th, Dupont and Mt. Rainer,
among others.
As the city is preoccupied with politics
and the Redskins, artists are left to their own
devices for the most part. Trial and error can
take place without the wilting scrutiny that
comes with L.A. and New York City zip codes.
You can make your work at your own speed,
not necessarily the speed of the market.
JAMES HUCKENPAHLER, There’s less money
fl oating around for the arts than New York
City or LA. However, it’s cheaper to get by
as a young artist in D.C. than in New York.
Why live there when you can catch a bus up?
That’s what most of the collectors do. D.C.
is, relatively speaking, an artifi cial city – most
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of the wealth and education comes and goes
with administrations. And people associated
with administrations – policy makers, lobbyists,
even non-profi t watchdogs – can’t always
afford to challenge the political and cultural
status quo. Could you image a Kara Walker
installation in the White House? I’ve heard
that D.C. has the most literate population in
the U.S., which impacts the intellectual climate
in the art scene – there’s been much more
conceptually challenging work in the last ten
years: the continued success of Martin Irvine
[the director of Irvine Contemporary] is proof
of that.
LISA MARIE THALHAMMER, The existence of
approachable non-profi t visual art exhibition
spaces, like Transformer, really sold me on the city.
JAMES HUCKENPAHLER, Earlier this decade,
there were collectives like Decatur Blue
and Signal 66. I was with Fusebox from its
conception until they closed, and though it was
a commercial gallery, it was defi nitely a team
effort – from defi ning the mission to mopping
LISA MARIE THALHAMMER has received
numerous arts awards, including the Amsden
Award, the Hollander Family Foundation Award,
the Daniel Macmorris Scholarship, the Warner
Ferguson Service Scholarship and the Jacobs Prize.
Thalhammer recently received a SPP grant from the
D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities.
JAMES HUCKENPAHLER lives in Washington,
is represented by Hemphill Fine Arts, and is
recovering nicely from his recent solo exhibition,
“Mindless Pleasures.” His work can be seen in
the exhibition “15 for Philip: Fifteen Artists Look
at Arts Patron Philip Barlow,” from January 12 -
February 16, 2008 at Hemphill Gallery.
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