Meditations on art bring me next to the Corcoran Gallery of Art’s ART ANONYMOUS. As a member of the Washington Project for the Arts (WPA), I’m eligible to donate three 5”x 7” custom-made art pieces to Art Anonymous, presented from May 1-10. The fundraiser supports the Corcoran College of Art + Design’s BFA scholarship by auctioning off post-card-sized art pieces at $100 a pop. Artists’ identities remain hidden. Join WPA and seek out Dali-esque higher-consciousness at www.wpadc.org.
I seriously mulled over showing at the annual month-long creative smorgasbord ARTOMATIC. It’s just that artists have to commit to volunteering for three shifts and I have a commitment problem (so I’ve been told). Still, I’m planning to attend to absorb the art, musical acts, and performing artists, which will keep the Capitol Plaza I Building (1200 First Street NE) buzzing with creative karma from May 9 through June 15.
This meandering path towards universal harmony also includes guitars, harmonicas, Tuesday night rehearsals, and two talented band mates: Franck Cordes and Michael Mateer.
Our band, The Wallows, has been bombarding MySpace and Facebook friends recently with posts about our latest releases. However, we remain chakra blocked until we muster up enough nerve to play live. Mental note: Contact Artomatic Chair George C. Koch and beg him for a performance slot in June.
Of course, if the folk-alt band thing doesn’t pan out there is always the path of internationally- renowned DJ. Ricardo Antonio Reinoso founded THE DJ LAB in conjunction with the National Music Center (801 K St. NW) to offer would-be beat boys and girls, and Ibiza junkies the chance to perfect the real “art of spin.” For $250, I registered for five classes starting in mid-May. With any luck, I’ll be discovered by Deep Dish manager and fellow Contrarian Arash Shirazi. Mental note number two: Remember to buy headphones, pumas, a funky hat, and extra Carhartt t-shirts.
May brings a crash course in celestial cinema thanks to the 48-HOUR FILM
PROJECT. Founded by D.C. residents Mark Ruppert and Liz Langston, the competition has now spread globally (www.48hourfilm.com). The idea is simple: on Friday night you get a character, a prop, a line of dialogue, and a genre; 48 hours later, your seven-minute film must be complete. I put together a team along with a hundred other local filmmakers. We will all get a chance to view our completed works at the AFI SILVER from May 6-8. If viewing your film at the state-of-the-art AFI SILVER theatre doesn’t induce Ravi Shankar-like bliss, nothing will … except, perhaps, fashion.
What’s not to like about the Washington Humane Society’s Tara de Nicolas? She works with cute animals (she’s even cuter) and she organizes one of the most fashion-forward charitable events of the year, FASHION FOR PAWS. While working the runway with fellow celebrity model Corinne Bensahel – in stylists Aba Kwawu and James Cornwell’s hand-picked ensemble from Saks Fifth Avenue (ok, James, I liked the white pants, whatever!) – I felt like Siddhartha staring Zen-like into the river of eternal artsy consciousness. It was surreal … or maybe it was the Surreal Vodka. Either way, sign up next year to raise money for the WHS, and you too, grasshopper, can begin your quest towards creative enlightenment – if you can find time to register. Ommm….
