THE GAZETTE
Wednesday, September 18, 2013 s
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Trawick finalists make a great showing One of the highlights of the fall art scene continues to be the exhibit of finalists for the Trawick Prize for Contemporary Art. Now in its eleventh year, the current exhibit at Gallery B in Bethesda features a group of eight artists working in different media. With an emphasis on conceptual but object-focused work, this year’s exhibit is remarkable for its variety and high quality.
ON VIEW BY CLAUDIA ROUSSEAU Yet, the jurors’ selection of prize winners from among this group of both established and emerging artists was more than a bit surprising. The top prize was given to Gary Kachadourian, whose work is represented in the exhibit by an installation specifically made for the space. Kachadourian’s untitled piece reflects his current practice of taking photographs of objects, storefronts and surfaces like an asphalt street. He then makes detailed drawings of these in pen or pencil that are scanned and patched together digitally. The work is finally printed, as in the Gallery B installation, according to one of a prescribed number of scales relative to the size of the original place photographed. Kachadourian also prints these in book or multiple smaller scales which he offers at very low prices — twice the cost of printing them — to encourage sales to the average consumer. Although the process is of inter-
est, the results are rather bland, and, compared to the process of another finalist, Selin Balci, pretty tame. Balci gives living microbes a place to grow and organize themselves on specially prepared plates. The microorganisms, which normally are invisible to the naked eye, are made visible in these conditions. They create maps of “territories” as they battle for the food sources, and their behavior is disturbingly parallel to many scenarios of human conflict. The artist organizes and assembles the landscapes or maps that result from these natural migrations into abstract compositions that are limited in tonal variation but elegant in form. Another finalist who did not receive a prize, but whose work is compellingly strong, is Kate Kretz. Kretz is represented in the exhibit with some very subtle but gently provocative works. However, her overall artistic practice and her iconography are both richer and more extensive than might be implied from this selection. A fine painter and draftsman, Kretz’s canvasses are drenched with color and full of symbolically referential material. The artist also works with embroidery, and, as in three works on display here, uses human hair instead of thread. The themes she expresses with this technique are largely personal and autobiographic, but they resonate with the lives of women everywhere. Set in elegant Victorian frames like relics or memorabilia, they touch on issues like motherhood
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Continued from Page A-15 “It’s basically the opposite of competitive step-dancing but the music and the rhythms are very similar,” Butler said. Now living in New York, Butler grew up an Air Force brat. She was born in Cambridgeshire, England, and moved to the U. S. when she was 4. After seeing “Riverdance,” Butler said she “fell in love” with Irish step-dance. “I knew that’s what I wanted to do,” she said. Other than her “very Irish” first name and a love for Irish step-dance, Butler said she wasn’t in tune with her family’s Irish heritage. “I didn’t really know that I was Irish
FROM GALLERY B
To make his whimsical construction “SuperTuff” Adam Hager combined an old muffler, a xylophone, typewriter keys attached to little wooden mallets to “play” it with, and a coded musical score.
SNYDERMAN WORKS GALLERY
“Deluge II” is one of Kate Kretz’s found pieces of old silverware on which she paints tiny scenes of natural disasters on tarnished silverpoint. Instead of soup, this ladle offers a memory of a flooded town.
and the restrictions that women still face in all aspects of life, from marriage to societal expectations. Perhaps to connote storms of emotion beneath the surface, or how real storms affect the history of families, Kretz uses found silverware on which she has painted, in tarnished silverpoint, tiny scenes of disastrous weather
growing up,” Butler said. “ ... It was kind of bizarre.” Butler took Irish step-dance until she was 18. It was around that time that she moved to Boston to work under distinguished performer, teacher and choreographer of Irish dance Kiernan Jordan. In 2010, during her apprenticeship with Jordan and on scholarship at her studio, Butler began to learn the sean-nós style. “It was definitely bizarre for me,” Butler said. “It took me ... a couple months to get used to bending my knees and using my heels. It just took practice, really. It was definitely awkward at first.” DeMarco has been performing and teaching Irish fiddle music for more than 30 years. He cites sligo players of the previous generation such as Mi-
events like tornados and floods. Clearly open to interpretation, the sense that an old silver ladle (“Deluge II”) carries a history inside it is beautifully and eloquently communicated. The second-place winner was Adam Hager, a young conceptual artist working with mechanical parts from odd places brought together in unexpected combinations. His work is attractive and even amusing. For example, “Super Tuff” is made of a car muffler into which a xylophone has been installed that can be “played” by the viewer with old typewriter keys attached on the front. Hager’s work is mostly fun. It provokes interest in things counterpoised to other things with which they had no apparent history. But his interest in the “strangeness of objects as they relate to function and non-function” led him to take a slice of a large old tree and interlace it with a large cir-
chael Coleman and James Morrison as his influences. “There’s a strong legacy of that style,” DeMarco said. “It’s very improvisational, very much dance music ... A lot of the sligo stuff is very lively, happy ... it plays a little brisker, a little bit faster than some of the other styles.” DeMarco and Butler met two years ago in Boston right before Butler made the move to New York. “I was always a big fan of his music,” Butler said. “[Tony] being [Tony], he’ll jokingly say I was stalking him.” As the two continued to run into each other, they began collaborating. “He had always loved the idea of collaborating with a dancer,” Butler said. “We really feed off of each other.” Butler and DeMarco have been per-
cular saw blade (“Wise”). Only darkly humorous, the work is impressive in both its form and its disturbing message. The third-place winner was Mariah Anne Johnson, another conceptual artist working with fabric, but in a rather unusual way. Growing up in Little Rock, Ark., in what sounds like a chaotic family, Johnson was struck from the time she was a little girl by her mother’s obsession about the linen stored in a special closet devoted to sheets and pillowcases. She probably ironed them, and then laid them carefully in nice flat bundles. This memory has stayed with the artist, and her work employs these same folded bed linens, in all their usual colors, but in new and often dramatically baroque arrangements. In the exhibit, a small corner is occupied by the flatly folded cotton pieces, one hanging from the ceiling, the others bent around the bottom.
TIMMY WHEELAN
Tony DeMarco has been performing and teaching Irish fiddle music for more than 30 years.
forming as a duo for a year now, pairing his tunes with her footwork. The two
GOODNIGHT
FRANTI
Roberta Gasbarre is the educational theater guru and director of “Goodnight Moon,” opening the 2013-2014 season at Adventure Theatre MTC on Friday. The musical is based on the beloved book by Margaret Wise Brown and adapted for the stage by Chad Henry. Hartline will play the role of the old lady whispering “hush,” or the grandmother in Gasbarre’s version. Gasbarre has more than 35 years of experience in educational theater, including 13 years as the director of Discovery Theater, the Smithsonian’s Theatre for Young Audiences. She returns to Adventure Theatre MTC after directing “The Red Balloon,” based on another children’s classic, in 2010. “‘Goodnight Moon’ is packed with possibility,” Gasbarre said. “The book ‘Goodnight Moon’ [is a] place you can live and with ideas you can play ... dances you can dance and ultimately a place you can close your eyes and dream about.” For those wondering how the beloved rhyming bedtime story could possibly translate into a 45-minute stage production, you’re not alone. “I kind of thought, how would they ever do that?” Hartline said. “I was surprised that they were able to make a big exciting musical based on a book about putting kids to bed,” added Maya Brettell. Brettell plays several characters in “Goodnight Moon,” though her main role is the mischievous mouse who keeps the little bunny (Jake Foster) awake. Brettell and Foster, both 15, are two of the youngest members of a cast consisting of teens, adults and puppets. “I personally have been involved with puppets for many, many years,” Gasbarre said. “For me, they’re [a child’s] expression and allow them to become other people.” While Gasbarre describes “Goodnight Moon,” the book as “ ... a lullaby in verse ...” she said “Goodnight Moon” the show isn’t exactly a bedtime story. “This show of magic and fun is really the true story behind ‘Goodnight Moon,’” Gasbarre said. “We know that children don’t eat their dinner and then start yawning and close their eyes and go to sleep. There are lots of other things people do before they go to sleep.” Brettell added that in addition to typical bedtime routines, the musical also explores some recognizable markers of childhood. “Songs stem from things that we all experience as kids,” she said. “Losing teeth or being amused by the moon ... fairy tales ... things like the ‘Three Little Bears’ are represented in the show.” Ultimately, Gasbarre said she hopes “Good-
A&E: You had a pretty serious health scare around that time the song was released, right? Franti: Right when the song came out, my appendix ruptured on tour and I came very close to dying. So it just put everything in perspective, like, wow you have a big hit but you could be dead the next day...
also often feature guest musicians as a part of their performance. “It’s kind of the first time anyone’s done [this] with a sean-nós dancer,” Butler said. “It’s more common with tap.” “It hasn’t been done a whole lot,” DeMarco added. “There hasn’t been a lot of stuff choreographed with this music and the sean-nós dancing.” DeMarco and Butler hope to be part of a movement to bring the style of song and dance to the U.S. “It hasn’t caught on real big but it is [starting] now,” DeMarco said. “It’s a special thing that’s kind of coming to light in this country.” He added with a laugh: “After our concert, everyone will be doing it. chedgepeth@gazette.net
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BRUCE DOUGLAS.
Colin Cech as Bunny in the Adventure Theatre production of “Goodnight Moon.”
GOODNIGHT MOON n When: Sept. 20 to Oct. 27, see website for specific dates and times n Where: Adventure Theatre MTC 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo n Tickets: $19 n For information: 301-634-2270, adventuretheatre-mtc.org
night Moon” the musical is an homage to a book that is treasured by countless generations; from Foster, who said a copy of the story was the first gift he ever received, and Brettell, who recalls her parents reading it to her, to a whole new generation of children like Hartline’s son experiencing the story for the first time. “For the people who really know and love the book, it will be an exploration of the possibilities between the pages,” Gasbarre said. And for those experiencing the “lullaby in verse” for the very first time, the director said the musical serves as a “delightful doorway.” “They can go home to their rooms and look at their stuff and make their connections to ‘Goodnight Moon,’” Gasbarre said. “Goodnight my teddy bear, goodnight my lamp, goodnight my moon outside my window.” chedgepeth@gazette.net
A&E: What was the inspiration for the latest album, “All People?” Franti: The songs are all about asking yourself, “If I only have x amount of days on this planet, how do I want to spend them and who do I want to spend them with? What’s the mark I want to leave here, on this life, my friends, my family, the planet?” It’s also a celebration of diversity. The diversity we see in this country and around the planet and the title track “All People” is really a statement. No matter if they’re black, white, gay, straight, rich or poor, all of us are significant. All of us matter. And that’s really what the record is about. And then stylistically, we really wanted to combine songs that I’ve written on the acoustic guitar with electronic song and dance music. A&E: How would you answer that question? How would you spend your days knowing you only had x amount left on the planet? Franti: First thing, I have an amazing partner in my life, Sara, who is really incredible. I have two great sons who I love dearly and the three of them are really the most important people in my life. But I also want to make a difference in the world. I want to be somebody who promotes positivity and I really believe that the positivity in me will find solutions for problems that we face in life and in our world. A&E: You’re known for your social and political activism. What are some of the issues that have your attention at the moment?
Otherwise notable in the exhibit is the work of Travis Childers, a young artist who grew up in rural Tennessee. The artist says that he “enjoys the challenge of transforming commonplace things into a new object, keeping in mind the original purpose of the material when giving it a new meaning.” There’s a strong environmental message in these pieces. Consider his “Grind.” An oldfashioned school pencil sharpener, the kind we all used as kids, is mounted on a wooden shelf. An ordinary yellow pencil is stuffed into it. Perhaps to remind us that when we grind that pencil we are also grinding the trees the wood in them is from, the pencil bears tiny little trees made of model train landscape material. The effect is subtle but psychologically challenging. How many, we might wonder, would like to turn the crank and see what happens to the trees?
LAUREN DUKOFF
Michael Franti & Spearhead released their latest album, “All People” in July.
Franti: Obviously right now in the news it’s the issue with Syria. Should we attack Syria for using chemical weapons? I wrote a song years ago called “Bomb the World,” and you know, we can bomb the world to pieces but we can’t bomb it into peace. Today is Sept. 11. We felt what it was like to be bombed and any time we do that anywhere else in the world, people are going to feel the same thing. Before we consider dropping one bomb that’s going to kill even one civilian, we should make sure that every form of diplomacy has been enacted. So that’s what I’m hopeful for in this situation. A&E: You’re also giving back through the foundation you recently started, “Do it For the Love Foundation.” What can you tell us about the mission of the organization? Franti: We started the foundation to bring people with advanced stages of life-threatening illnesses and kids with severe disabilities and wounded veterans to live concerts. Any fan can contact us and say, some band is coming to my town who I want to see and we’re kind of like the Make-A-Wish Foundation for music. We like making it possible to get to shows for free. A&E: What inspired you to start the foundation? Franti: Sara is an emergency room nurse so we’re always trying to think of ways to combine what she does in health care with what I do in music. Throughout my years
of touring, I’ve had lots of people say, you know, “I have cancer, I have Lou Gehrig’s disease, I have something where I’m close to dying and I want to come to your show.” We would always invite them and bring them backstage and find a special place for them to watch the show from. Fans who did that were always really moved. They’d say, “Concerts are my favorite thing and it made a beautiful memory for myself and my family.” Sara and I met a couple, Hope and Steve. Steve has Lou Gehrig’s disease. A lot of times you see somebody who’s in a wheelchair or who’s paralyzed and you think to yourself, “Oh, that poor person.”ButhavingmetSteveand Hope, I don’t think that anymore. Now when I see someone I think to myself, “I wonder what their nameis.I’dliketotalktothemand find out about their life.” A&E: You haven’t worn shoes for the last 13 years. When and why did you make that decision? Franti: It started 13 years ago on my birthday, April 21. I had been traveling to a lot of countries where kids couldn’t afford to wear shoes so I came home and I was like, “I wonder if I could go just three days barefoot, just to see what it’s like.” So I decided to go barefoot for three days and then three days turned into three weeks and a month and a year. A&E: And it’s actually led you to a partnership with another charity, right? Franti: After ten years, I started partnering with “Soles4Souls.” They bring shoes to people who can’taffordthemorwholostthem in some natural disaster. They started after Hurricane Katrina bringing shoes down to New Orleans and from there they went to Haiti and now they’re in dozens of countries around the world. They collect shoes and bring them ... we have shoe collections at our shows and we’re working with them to get the word out about the work they do.”
chedgepeth@gazette.net