Street Art in D.C. #8

Not from our apartment building, we discovered another outdoor sculpture.  The sculpture (pictured below) is called Street Signs.  The sculpture invited viewer interaction.  So, we accepted the invitation to "enhance" the artwork.  We hope you like our respective enhancements.   

Below, Susan does her impression of John Travolta n the film Saturday Night Fever. 

 

Greg recently learned how to signal the time using his arms.  Below, Greg shows off his newfound skill--It's 4 o'clock and all's well. 

P.S. The artist Christopher Gardner is apparently well known for his use of arrows in his work.  The works are called "arrowdynamic" sculptures.  Who knew?

Street Art in D.C.#7

Nearby is the Foggy Bottom neighborhood, home to George Washington University. 

Recently, we were strolling through the quad in the heart of the GWU's urban campus and noticed a gent lounging alone on a bench.  Always-friendly Susan introduced herself and sat down for a chat. 

It turns out that the gent is General Washington.  Although the general is modest, he is proud to be remembered by a university and a  city named in his honor.  He is also happy that he can still attract beautiful women, much to Martha's chagrin.

Some random hottie gets frisky with a man-spreading Founding Father.

Museums: The Andy Warhol Museum (Part 6 of 6)

Andy Warhol famously wrote:

"In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes."

Another cool exhibit at the Andy Warhol museum features Warhol's "screen tests", which were 3 minute long B&W films of famous and unfamous individuals doing absolutely nothing.  You can read more below.

"Between 1964 and 1966, Warhol created almost five hundred Screen Tests of famous and anonymous visitors to his studio, The Factory, including Salvador Dalí, Dennis Hopper, and Edie Sedgwick. Warhol filmed his subjects using a stationary, silent Bolex camera loaded with 100-foot rolls of black and white 16mm film. Sitters were instructed to sit still for about three minutes, the length of time it took for the roll of film to run through the camera. He later projected the Screen Tests in slow motion, thereby extending their duration and imbuing them with a dreamlike stillness. During the 1960s, these films were rarely shown in public, but were often shown at The Factory."  (The Warhol Museum)

Andy Warhol filming a screen test

The ultra cool part of the exhibit is, after learning about Warhol's "screen tests", you get to make your own.  The gallery includes a small film set arranged like Warhol's, complete with a vintage movie camera.  .  

Greg's screen test:  Lights, camera, action!

The vintage movie camera has been modified to record video.

Greg enjoyed making a screen test.  Rather than sitting still for several minutes, he chatted about the museum. Unfortunately, there was no microphone.  So, Greg's screen test is a silent movie.

"Alright Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my closeup."

If you have want to see Greg's screen test, click here.  Susan makes a cameo appearance around 1:17.

Greg enjoyed his 15 minutes of fame.

Thanks for visiting the Andy Warhol Museum with us.

Museums: The Andy Warhol Museum (Part 5 of 6)

The Andy Warhol Museum has some very cool exhibits.  

One exhibit is called Silver Clouds--a long, black room filled with "silver clouds", large, helium-filled silver mylar balloons blown around by fans.

To enjoy the "immersive, bodily experience" of Silver Clouds, click  here.

The exhibit also includes a film showing an avant garde dance performance called Rainforest that featured his Silver Clouds. 

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Next Up:  Another cool exhibit at the Andy Warhol Museum.

Museums: The Andy Warhol Museum (Part 4 of 6)

The Andy Warhol Museum has a very large collection of portraits on view.  Below is a small sampling of portraits that caught our attention.

In case you didn't know, Greg is a fan of The King.  Greg once dressed as a young Elvis for a Halloween costume many years ago.  (P.S.  Don't tell Greg that Elvis is gone.  Greg thinks Elvis is alive and well and hanging out with Andy Warhol somewhere in Florida.)  

Closeup of Elvis 11 Times

Pia's ultra red lipstick is attention-grabbing.

Next Up:  Some out of the ordinary exhibitions.

Museums: The Andy Warhol Museum (Part 3 of 6)

Our tour of the Andy Warhol Museum continues.  

The museum includes many works from the later part of Warhol's career.

One interesting work (pictured below) is part of a series of paintings and prints depicting Renaissance artwork.  The original Renaissance work (also pictured below) is Sandro Botticelli's Birth of Venus.

The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli (1486?) (photo of the painting in the Uffizi)

Closeup of The Birth of Venus

You might remember when Venus went Blub during Year 1.  Here is Blub's version of Venus.

While touring the exhibition, we learned that Andy Warhol was an early computer nerd.  In 1985, he used a computer, a Commodore Amiga 1000, to create works of art.

To see Andy Warhol use the Commodore Amiga to "paint" a portrait of Blondie's Deborah Harry, click here.  

Andy Warhol with Debbie Harry (1985)

The museum's collection includes several of Warhol's collaborations with Jean-Michel Basquiat.  Here is one those collaborations.

This next work really pisses us off.  For an explanation why, you can read the description after the photograph.

The museum has a special climate-controlled room where hundreds of boxes are stored.  Each box is a sort of "time capsule" painstakingly created by Warhol.    

Instead of calling each box a "time capsule", Greg thinks the expression buying "a pig in a poke" is more apt.

Next Up:  Portraits

Museums: The Andy Warhol Museum (Part 2 of 6)

[Today's blog post is another milestone, post #900.  Thanks for following the blog.  We hope you enjoy reading some of the posts.]

Our tour of the Andy Warhol Museum continues with the art for which Andy Warhol is best known.

The museum has a large collection of Warhol's Pop Art.

What is Pop Art?  Pop Art is the movement in art when artists began to create art using iconic elements of popular culture, such as famous people, advertising and movies. 

Here is a sampling of Pop Art in the museum's extensive collection.

During Year 2, we visited museums in Italy that included tactile reproductions of famous works of art for visitors with visual impairments.  The Warhol Museum likewise included tactile reproductions.  Check it out.

Next Up:  More Warhol works of art