On the “Nature” of Things
Shinji Turner-Yamamoto’s recent Shigeko Bork Mu Project (521 Wisconsin Ave. NW) exhibit, De Rerum Natura: On the Nature of Things (through April 21), has such close ties to the natural world that (in some cases) the environment actually laid down the brushwork. For his colorful “Rainbow” series, he even left canvases outside, where raindrops fell onto a layer of ash to form abstract patterns. Another Turner-Yamamoto project, “Three Windows: Sun, Moon, Star,” will open at the Embassy of Japan’s (2520 Massachusetts Ave. NW) lovely “ippaku-tei” (teahouse) on the 17th of this month. Even while reaching for the stars, this artist still remains rooted in the community. He’s been at work on a “global tree project” (www.yamamotoshinji.com) and a “seeding project,” in which he’ll collaborate with elementary science students to germinate seeds they collect from their food and to create small gardens, to be made later into a large-scale installation.
Shop Locally, Theme Globally
Environmental art can also mean on-site, or site-specific (meaning tailored to the topography of a certain locale, idea, or culture) art. Brian Corrigan’s “14th Street and the Creative Economy” (a Spring 2008 course at the Corcoran College of Art and Design) will engage students with the small business community in the emerging 14th Street neighborhood (and unofficial Gallery Row of the District, according to many) of northwest Washington. Students will conduct research and create window installations for select retailers (among them Muleh, Vastu, and Home Rule, all part of the “eclectic little neighborhood retailer” bracket which makes shopping a personal experience rather than an off-the-rack routine stop). An event will be held in May, date to be determined, to unveil and auction off the window displays to raise money for a student scholarship.
How Green Were My Galleries?
Georgetown gallery Govinda (1227 34th St. NW) is known for urbane, stylish cultural commentary (examples are past shows such as “John and Yoko: a New York Love Story” and “Punk Love,” featuring Henry Rollins scooping ice cream in his pre “Black Flag” days), brings Irish import Carlotta Hester and her “Elemental Journey” across the pond on April 18. Hester’s “notebooks” looks as much a part of record as a time capsule, with their lovingly manhandled edges in dreamy pastels. The notebooks record the artist’s memories through “collected bits of life,” metaphorical dreck and fallout which resemble the twigs and stones of Arte Povera’s search for a common unity among men. Whether the predominance of natural materials in art shows one’s political leanings or just one’s penchant for rolling around in the dirt, it comes naturally to many of our local artists. And, if art is life, as so many say, why not remove as many layers of that artificial onion as is humanly possible.
