The Week Ahead…& Some Photos from the Past Week
by Larry Janezich
Posted March 23, 2025
Currently at the Rubell Museum. American Vignettes: Symbols, Society, and Satire.
September 27th, 2024 – Fall, 2025. 65 I Street, SW. 11am – 5pm. You can probably find parking on a nearby side street.
American Vignettes: Symbols, Society, and Satire showcases nearly 100 artworks spanning painting, photography, sculpture, installation, and mixed media by over 40 emerging and established artists, all from the Rubells’ collection of more than 7,700 works of contemporary art. Here’s a selection of some pieces categorized as Symbols which address our and the artist’s relationship to flags, emblems, and slogans.
Piotr Uklanski. Untitled (American Eagle). Styrofoam. 79 X 118 in.
“In an untitled American Eagle Piotr Uklanski depicts the eagle used on the American quarter. The eagle is a symbol with layered implications, emblematic of the United States, Uklanski’s native Poland, and many other countries, while also being associated with the Nazi Party and later appropriated by Neo Nazis worldwide. In engaging with such imagery, the artist challenges viewers to recognize and reinterpret symbols across cultural codes, whether political or historical.”
Natalie Ball. Bang Bang. Elk hide, rabbit fur, oil stick, acrylic, charcoal, cotton and pine. 84 X 124 in.
“Bang Bang came from my solo exhibition in New York at Half gallery titled Bad Lucky Indian. … I was thinking through gesture, materiality, complex narratives, form, assemblage, but mostly humor. In the studio I was looking at the great seal of the United States and I started to think about what that seal and its eagle means to me, what it means for our history, and what it means to be a dual citizen: to be a citizen of the Klamath Tribes, of a sovereign nation, but also a citizen of the United States…..I wanted my own seal. The eagle and its symbolism have been appropriated historically. It has a significance in my culture too, and I wanted to bring that forward and honor it in a different way.
Sterling Ruby. Flag. Bleached and dyed fabric and elastic. 174 X 343 in.
Damian Ortega. Transportable Obelisk. Fiber glass with metal base and wheels. 236 1/8 x 23 5/8 x 23 5/8 in.
“I am thrilled by the idea of a work that commemorates an imprecise moment, which could be associated with anything, just by the fact of moving the piece to one place or another. This work is a mobile print of reference. It is a point of departure but also a full stop, even though it could change its position.”
Vaugn Spann. Dark Days Bring New Hope (Never Forget). Polymer paint, pulp, mixed media, terry cloth, canvas on aluminum stretcher bars. 160 x 220 in.
“This painting centers around the idea of hope but also around the idea of gloom or even doom. Dark days bring New Hope (Never Forget) is from Flag series. The series is a postmodern idea of how we might take these symbols, our relationship to these icons, and splice new meanings into them. The totallity of the piece is about the idea of claiming space and holding on to that proximity to the flag to interpret it on my own. In the painting the flag is very dark; it’s a gloomy flag because there’s a lot of darkness and trauma we as a nation are perpetually working through.”
Glenn Lignon. Condition Report D. Iris print and iris print with serigraph, each 35 x 26 in.
“The text displayed on both panels of this diptych derives from protest placards from the American civil rights movement of the 1960s, specifically the Memphis sanitation workers strike in 1968. During this strike, over 1000 African American men went on strike for better pay and safer working conditions. Martin Luther King Junior went to Memphis to march with these workers and make speeches in support of their strike. He was assassinated in Memphis the following day. Ligon first created a painting of the protest placard in 1988, untitled (I Am A Man), which the print on the left directly mirrors. For the right panel, Ligon gave his painting to an art conservator to create a condition report with handwritten annotations, which was in turn made into a print. In addition to the historical depth of the text presented, Ligon allows the object to be reinterpreted in a new context.”
The Week Ahead….
Highlights:
- Friday: CM Charles Allen holds community office hours at Quill & Crumb at the Folger Shakespeare Library (see below).
- Tuesday, Wednesday & Saturday: (See Free DC Events under “Capitol Hill Corner Would Also Like You To Know About” below)
Monday, March 24
ANC7D 7D01 Hold a Special Virtual Meeting to confirm election/voting details for filling Single Member District 7D01 seat at 6:30pm.
- For info on how to join the meeting, go here: https://7d0761.wixsite.com/anc7d-1
ANC6A Community Outreach Committee will hold a virtual meeting at 7:00pm.
- For info on how to join the meeting, go here: https://anc6a.org/community-calendar/
Among items on the draft agenda:
Announcements and Reminders:
- People’s Front of H Street, Sunday Clean Ups in 6A01.
- Mardi Gras Feedback.
- Free DC Update.
- ANC 6A Grant Application.
- Public Safety Discussion & Brainstorm: Mutual Aid & Caring for Our Community.
- Community Comments.
The ANC6B Public Safety Task Force Meeting, schedulted for Monday night, has been cancelled.
Tuesday, March 25
ANC6B Executive Committee will hold a virtual meeting at 6:30pm.
For info on how to join the meeting, go here: https://anc6b.org/
Among items on the agenda:
- The agenda for the ANC6B April meeting will be discussed, voted upon, and adopted.
- Prior to the April agenda being adopted, the Executive Committee will address the items below, deferred from the March full ANC6B meeting:
- ANC6B Resolution on B26-48.
- Historic Preservation Application re 4-5 Library Court SE: Second floor additions to two adjacent attached alley dwellings.
- Update on ABC Protest of restaurant license for Acqua Al 2
ANC6A Alcoholic Beverage Licensing Committee will hold a virtual meeting at 7:00pm.
- For info on how to join the meeting, go here: https://anc6a.org/community-calendar/
Among items on the draft agenda:
- Discussion of the renewal of a Class C restaurant license with entertainment and summer garden endorsements at Granville Moore’s, 1238 H Street, NE.
- Discussion of a new Class C Restaurant license with extended holiday hours, carry out and delivery endorsements at Tapori 600 H Street NE, located within ANC6C.
- Discussion of the status of the application for a new medical cannabis license for Proper Exotic, 313 8th Street, NE.
Friday, March 28
CM Charles Allen holds community office hours at Quill & Crumb at the Folger Shakespeare Library from 4 to 5:30pm. RSVP here: http://charlesallenward6.com/calendar
Capitol Hill Corner Would Also Like You To Know About:
Free DC Event – Tuesday, March 25
Members of Congress Office Visits: Encourage House Reps to pass the DC Local Funds Act – 10:00am to 3:00pm .
Rayburn House Office Building, 45 Independence Avenue Southwest, Washington, DC,
For more info and to register, go here: https://freedcproject.org/event-list/office-visits-encourage-house-reps-to-pass-the-dc-local-funds-act
Free DC Event – Wednesday, March 26
March Campaign Orientation, online – 6:00 pm – 7:30pm.
For more info and to register, go here: https://freedcproject.org/event-list/campaign-orientation-mar-26
Free DC Event – Saturday, March 29
Community Art Build! – 10:00am to 3:00am – St. Martin’s of Tours Church
1908 North Capitol Street Northwest, Washington, DC.
For more info and to register, go here: https://freedcproject.org/event-list/community-art-build
Hill Center Event
Thursday, March 27 – 7:00 pm – $10
Memoirist Kat Chow Discusses Her Bestselling book Seeing Ghosts in Conversation with Jung Yun. Kat Chow is a reporter, teacher, writer and the author of Seeing Ghosts: A Memoir, named a Notable Book by The New York Times.
For more info and to register, go here: https://bit.ly/4iV5LuQ
Hill Center Event
Saturday, March 29 – 2:00 pm – FREE
Volunteer Capitol Hill
Sponsored by Hill Center Private Events. Local organizations will be present to share how you can help them meet their mission. Find the right fit for your talents as we build a better community.
For more info and to register, go here: https://www.hillcenterdc.org/event/volunteer-capitol-hill-2/
Hill Center Event
Friday, March 28 – 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm – $20
Global Sounds on the Hill Celebrating Bolero with Miramar, a Richmond-based bolero group.
For more info and to register, go here: https://bit.ly/4hGa6kt
CAPITOL HILL CORNER 