The Art of Gaman at the Renwick

The use of found objects in art is a modern notion. In other times, art was made with items available. Scarcity required that everything be used. In no other exhibit is art by necessity more evident than in The Art of Gaman: Arts and Crafts from the Japanese American Internment Camps 1942–1946, an exhibit currently on display at the Renwick Gallery.

Delphine Hirasuna, guest curator of the exhibition and author of the accompanying catalogue, said that the idea for the exhibit began because of a bird pin. After the death of her mother, Hirasuna found a stunning hand made bird pin while she was cleaning out her mom's attic. She realized it was a piece of art jewelry created when her mother was interned in camps at the direction of the FDR following the bombing of Pearl Harbor.


Japanese Americans taken to the camps were only allowed to bring what they could carry. The camps provided only Army cots in the living quarters. Folks interned in the camps began to create objects out of necessity. The made chairs, tables, places to hang their clothes.

As time in the camps progressed, artists began to train camp dwellers in various crafts to help stave off boredom and to add beauty to life events-- both special and ordinary.. Corsages were made out of shells to celebrate weddings. Vases were made from leftover pipes to hold plants. Canes were carved from wood to help folks walk in the mud.

Discovery of the bird pin led Hirasuna to investigate other crafts made in the camps. The result is a spectacular exhibit. Hirasuna managed to select fabulous examples of found art and explain the significance of each piece in a way that highlighted the plight of its maker. My college age son, a government major, declared The Art of Gaman: Arts and Crafts from the Japanese American Internment Camps 1942–1946 "the best exhibit I have seen in a long time." I concur.

The Art of Gaman: Arts and Crafts from the Japanese American Internment Camps 1942–1946 is on exhibit at the Renwick Gallery in Washington, DC now through January 30, 2011.

Photo credits
Himeko Fukuhara, Kazuko Matsumoto (Interned at Amache, Colorado, and Gila River, Arizona). Bird pins. Scrap wood, paint, metal. Collection of the National Japanese American Historical Society. From The Art of Gaman by Delphine Hirasuna, ©2005, Ten Speed Press. Terry Heffernan photo.

Art of Power : Royal Armor and Portraits from Imperial Spain

Photo by Patrimonio Nacional, Real Armería, Madrid

So you missed the Art of Power : Royal Armor and Portraits from Imperial Spain when it was on view at the National Gallery of Art through November 1, 2009. If you find yourself in Spain then plan on visiting the exhibit at Museo Nacional del Prado until May 16, 2010. The exhibition appeals to all ages.

Walk through the Art of Power exhibit hall and you will see shields, helmets and armors worn by holy roman emperors, kings and the children of Spanish royalty. The exhibit consists of 75 pieces of decorative armor fabricated by master craftsmen dating back to the 15th to 17th century.

The pieces included in Art of Power were all intended as parade armor. They were designed and made for show, not war. The armor was more likely worn for tournaments, jousting and other peace time noble gestures than on a battlefield. Crafted of gold on steel, the shields, helmets and armors all contain a not so subtle advertising campaign for the imperial ambitions of the Spanish monarchy and Hapsburg dynasty. No wonder that decades later the armors still fulfills its clear intention to both dazzle and intimidate.

Watching the crowd observe the dazzling art is a treat. Young boys clearly dragged to the art museum by their parents against their will quickly quiet their objections and begin animated discussions about ancient stories of knights and kings. While the comparison to Power Rangers may be a little off putting to some, the excitement is spectacular. Young girls equal victims of their parents efforts to educate also found intrigue at the detailed stories carefully carved, etched and hammered into the armor and then highlighted in gold.

A favorite in the hall is the decorative armor intended to be worn by a horse. Gold images overlaid on steel show the of Sampson and Delilah on one side. On the other side are the stories of Hercules as a child fighting serpents and as an adult killing the multi- headed hydra. Other armor tells the tales of past wars, the procession of roman gods, the passing of imperial power form Egypt to Rome, the meeting of ancient roman generals and the long story of the 300 year rule of the Hapsburg imperial family and Spanish monarchy.

The amazing Art of Power exhibition pieces are all borrowed from the Royal Armory in Madrid. David Brown, curator of Italian and Spanish Paintings at the gallery, said that the selected works are some of "the finest examples of renaissance armor in the world."

The National Gallery of Art prepared both audio and video podcasts for the Art of Power.

If you can not get to the exhibit in Spain or loved the exhibit and want to see even more armor, remember that the National of Art has an impressive collection of armor in its permanent collection. The museum staff prepared a self guided tour of 25 works of art in its permanent armor collection. For a map of the tour click here. The National Gallery of Art, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 7th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, is open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Gallery is closed on December 25 and January 1.

Michael Jackson Exhibit at the GRAMMY Museum

Oil on silkscreen on canvas, 1984 Time cover, March 19, 1984 National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian

Photo courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian

So you missed seeing the stunning 1984 portrait of Michael Jackson by Andy Warhol when it was on view at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC and you are fascinated by the life and works of Michael Jackson after seeing the movie This Is It.

Fans living in or visiting California should head on over to the GRAMMY Museum at L.A. LIVE. On the third floor of the museum you will find an amazing collection of many of Jackson's most iconic wardrobe pieces. The exhibition includes the suit Jackson wore on the cover of his 1984 Thriller album.

The GRAMMY Museum's exhibition was planned before the pop star's death but the exhibition was extended due to the incredible sustained fascination with Jackson. Interest in Michael Jackson soared when Jackson suffered a cardiac arrest at his home in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, California and died on June 25, 2009. Interest in the pop star increased further when the Los Angeles County coroner ruled Michael Jackson's death a homicide this past August. The GRAMMY Museum announced yesterday that it would extend the Michael Jackson exhibition though the summer.

The GRAMMY Museum is located on the corner of Olympic Boulevard and Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles, on the campus of L.A. LIVE. The Museum entrance is located on Figueroa Street. The museum is open Sunday to Friday 11:30 AM to 7:30 PM and on Saturday from 10:00 AM to 7:30 PM. Folks who plan to visit the Museum prior to attending an evening program receive a discounted rate of $8 per person and may visit the Museum from 6:00 pm until it closes at 7:30 pm.

Ford’s Theater and Lincoln Museum

Newly renovated Ford's Theater. Photo courtesy of NPS

If you have never been to the Ford’s Theater and Lincoln museum, now is the time to go. If you have visited, think about visiting again. The Ford’s Theater and Lincoln museum reopened recently after an extensive renovation and the result is spectacular. Gone is the shabby exhibition cabinet highlighting Lincoln’s top hat and the gun that killed the 16th president of the United States. The gun remains as part of the exhibition space, but the museum designers knew how to capture the imagination of visitors young and old alike.

Visiting the museum is different from the moment of arrival. The National Park Service contracted with Ticketmaster to distribute free, timed tickets to the exhibit. The entrance to the exhibit space was moved. You now enter through an entrance separate from the theater. The stairwell down to the museum was transformed to re-create the mood of Lincoln’s time.

The exhibition space itself is divided into areas explaining Lincoln’s life and death. You can look through a file cabinet drawer and view biographies of Lincoln’s cabinet members. OK, it is a little on the cheesy side, but the kids look through and read the material in a way you do not often see in museums. Each area of the museum has a running clip from the history channel embellishing the vast written content of the exhibit.

The museum space is well thought out and well used. It takes about the time given to go through and thoroughly take advantage of the exhibition space. Once time is up, the time ticketed group is invited up into the theater where a park ranger explains the significance of the theater and what happened on the day of Lincoln’s death. The stairwell and hallway toward the entrance of the theater has descriptions of what both Lincoln and Booth were doing throughout the day on the fateful day Lincoln was shot. The sound of a clock ticking in the hall adds to the visitors' experience and is illustrative of the thoughtful multimedia approach taken throughout the museum.

Ford's Theater National Historic Site is open for tours by reservation from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The Petersen House located directly across the street from Ford's Theater (also called the "House Where Lincoln Died") is open 9:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. and also requires a ticket.

To investigate some of the many other sites in the Washington, DC that explore President Lincoln and his legacy see the Lincoln tour of Washington, DC.

Portrait of J.D. Salinger on view at the National Portrait Gallery

“J. D. Salinger” by Robert Vickery, 1961.

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Time magazine, © Robert Vickrey/Licensed by VAGA, New York, N.Y.

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery installed a portrait of the late J.D. Salinger in the first-floor gallery space designated for remembrance of recently deceased individuals. The portrait was created by Robert Vickery and is part of the museum’s collection. Vickery’s portrait first appeared on the cover of Time magazine in 1961. The portrait was made available for public view when the museum opened at 11:30 this morning.

J.D. Salinger is the author of The Catcher in the Rye (1951), a classic coming of age story enjoyed by generations of teenagers. He also published Nine Stories (1953), Franny and Zooey (1961), Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction (1963).

Salinger’s last published work was a novella entitled Hapworth 16, 1924 that appeared in The New Yorker on June 19, 1965. Salinger entered into a book deal to publish Hapworth 16, 1924 with Roger Lathbury, an English professor at George Mason University and owner of Orchises Press, a small literary publishing house based in the professor's Alexandria home. The book deal fell through after Lathbury granted an interview about the upcoming publication with a local business journal and the Washington Post picked up the story. Angered at the advanced publicity, Salinger decided against publication and terminated his burgeoning friendship with the professor.

In Vickery’s Time magazine portrait, Salinger is painted against what the National Portrait Gallery termed “a metaphorical amber wave of grain.” He stands in a white striped dress shirt and a black tie. In the background the painter included a small child dressed in a red sweater and blue jeans. The child's arms are outstretched and he stands beside a cliff. The portrait will be on view in the first floor of the National Portrait Gallery to commemorate Salinger’s life for a limited time.

Salinger shied from public life and is considered a rather infamous recluse. There are few photographs of and little news about the much admired author. Salinger died at the age of 91on January 27, 2010.

The National Portrait Gallery is located at Eighth and G streets N.W. at the Metro’s Gallery Place stop. The museum is open daily from 11:30 a.m to 7:00 p.m.

Meyerhoff Collection at the National Gallery of Art as part of the Cone sisters' legacy

Roy Lichtenstein, Bedroom at Arles, 1992 oil and Magna on canvas

Collection of Robert and Jane Meyerhoff. Photo courtesy of the National Gallery of Art.

The eccentric Cone sisters left multiple legacies to the people of Baltimore when they bequeathed their fabulous collection of modern art. The Cone sisters left a world class collection of enduring art. As importantly, the Cone sisters issued a challenge to the people of Baltimore to appreciate modern art.

The citizens of Baltimore would raise money and build an addition to the Baltimore Museum of Art to house the spectacular Cone Collection of modern art. Many of the people of Baltimore took the Cone contribution as marking the beginning of art collecting as a competitive sport. The Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Collection presented to the National Gallery of Art is evidence of the Cones' legacy.

Selected works from The Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Collection are on view now through May 2, 2010. The post war collection put together by the Meyerhoffs is quite simply sublime. In the opening ceremonies, Robert Meyerhoff stated with his characteristic teasing way "that I regret that I have but one art collection to give to our country."

This is the second exhibition the National Gallery has held featuring the Meyerhoff collection. An exhibition displaying 190 works was held at the National Gallery of Art in 1996. The current exhibition features 24 works acquired after 1996. The entire Meyerhoff collection of almost 300 works of art is promised to the National Gallery and will become part of the Gallery's permanent collection. To date, the Meyerhoffs have donated 47 works of art.

Harry Cooper, curator of modern and contemporary art at the National Gallery of Art acted as for the current exhibition. The National Gallery of art is located on the National Mall at 4th and Constitution Avenue NW in Washington, DC. The National Gallery of Art is open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Ted Bundy’s VW Beetle at National Museum of Crime and Punishment

Ted Bundy's deadly VW Beetle at the National Museum of Crime & Punishment

National Museum of Crime & Punishment

The National Museum of Crime and Punishment (NMCP) today unveiled the 1968 VW Beetle used by notorious serial killer Ted Bundy during his crime spree resulting from 1974 to1977. The bug was purchased by Arthur Nash from the police and stored until its début at the museum.

Wyndell C. Watkins, Sr. retired Deputy Chief of Police for the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) in Washington, D.C. said at the unveiling, “Ted Bundy was a wolf in sheep's clothing. Bundy did not look like a monster. He was well educated. Bundy used his charm and charisma to get close to his victims." Watkins is the author of YOUVESTIGATE, DON’T SPECULATE, a 2008 book explaining processes, procedures and technology members of the public can use to stay safe.

According to Watkins, the term "serial killer" was coined during the Bundy case. Bundy admitted to killing between 30 and 40 women, but the FBI estimates that he may have had as many as 150 victims.

Bundy sometimes used his car as a rouse to lure his victims. The killer often wore his arm in a sling and asked women to help him open the car door. When the victim came near, Bundy would pull out a crow bar and strike her on the head. Other times Bundy would pose as a policeman or fireman to gain his victim's trust.

Watkins explained that the lesson to be learned from the Ted Bundy case is that it is important to be vigilant. "Do not assume anything until you have checked out the facts. Be sure the badge is real. Make sure any ID has a picture on it." Most importantly, Watkins said to do everything you can to get out of the car if you are forced into it. His experience demonstrates that if you can not, you are not likely to get out alive.

Ted Bundy’s VW replaces John Dillinger 1933 Essex Teraplane getaway car in the museum foyer. The Dillinger car was moved to the Southwest terminal at BWI Airport.

NMCP’s mission is to provide insight into issues of crime, crime fighting, and the consequences of committing a crime in the United States. The museum includes the television set of America's Most Wanted with host John Walsh. NMCP is located at 575 7th St. NW between E and F Streets in downtown Washington, D.C. at the Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro (Arena exit).