Art in the city

Testudo update

Here's an update, with pictures and sketches, of the progress being made on that public art project that the University of Maryland is running.

Noche Tropical at Mary's Center

Mary's Center for Maternal and Child Care is getting ready for their annual gala, Noche Tropical, to be held on Saturday, November 12th from 7pm to 1am at the Homer Building Atrium at Metro Center.  They'll be holding an online auction (click here to check it out) and if you'd like to donate anything, call Priscilla Vasquez at 202-420-7052.  They're accepting donations of art work, sports memorabilia, stays at local bed & breakfasts, they're even auctioning off an indoor parking space in Adams Morgan. 

Mary's Center is, like it's name suggests, a prenatal and pediatric care center.  Originally established to reach out to DC's Spanish speaking population in Ward 1, it now serves every ward in the city and reaches out to every community.  Find out more about the Center here. 

You can still get tickets to the gala.  VIP tickets are $500 a person, regular tickets $125 each, and just $35 for late admission after 10.pm.  For tickets, contact Priscilla Vasquez at the above number.

An evening of medieval french drama

If there's anything that makes me happier than free beer, it's free medieval french drama readings at the Arena Stage.  banished? theater productions will be presenting Greenwood Follies & Other Old French Plays at the Arena Stage on Monday October 17th at 7:00 pm.  Admission is free and everyone's invited to the reception after.  Here's what the press release has to say about the evening:

Greenwood Follies & Other Old French Plays will feature the world premiere of these 13^th century comedies translated by John DuVal, a nationally acclaimed translator of poetry who was awarded an NEA grant for his research and translation of Adam de la Halle’s Greenwood Follies, one of the readings in this event. The two other plays that will be read are The Miracle of Theophile, and an excerpt from The Play of Adam.

These plays represent some of the very first examples of western drama after the collapse of the Roman Empire.   Despite their historical significance, they were almost never produced in the English-speaking world for want of better versions than the few crude prose English translations. These much-anticipated, lively verse translations of a variety of medieval street drama sparkle with humor and poignancy and are wonderfully accessible to a modern audience. The readings will be historic in shedding light on these nearly forgotten plays and Washington, D.C. audiences will be first to experience them.

Check it out.

 

Second Thursday in Old Towne Alexandria

This Thursday is Old Town Alexandria's art crawl/walk.  This month's theme seems to be Octoberfest, so I guess that could make it more of an art stagger, stumble, and crawl.  Check out participating galleries here.

Lenin lived, Lenin lives, Lenin will live...

It's been what?  14, almost 15, years since the fall of the Soviet Union and the Russians are still trying to figure out what to do with Lenin's remains.  My suggestion?  Give the body to Mark Jenkins.  He'll know what to do with it.

The Baltimore Comic-Con

One of the great avenues of opportunity for the artistically inclined has always been the world of comics.  And one of the great showcases of that world is Maryland's own Baltimore Comic-Con.  This is the sixth year running for the Convention and, speaking as someone who has attended each one, this year was one of the best yet.  The convention is a prime showcase for all sorts of talent, mainstream and underground, big-name distributors and the self-published.

Of course, the chief reason I attend is to support my brother, Tom Martin, co-creator of Some Big Lumberjack.  He's pictured here with one of SBL's other co-creator's, Chris Peel.  These guys have had a table at each of the past 3 or 4 Conventions and have done very well each time, except this year.  DHL screwed up their shipment this year and they ended up with nothing to sell until late Saturday afternoon.  They rebounded a little on Sunday and were able to cover expenses, but Tom, ever the optimist, was able to turn it into a good networking experience.

Here he is with Dennis O'Neil, one of the writers of Batman.

The Hemingway-looking guy is John Romita, a comics legend.  Mr. Romita is the original artist of Spiderman and worked closely with Spidey's creator, Stan Lee.  According to Tom, there was a benefit auction on Saturday where some of Mr. Romita's work was on the block.  One of the more popular sketches he did for the benefit was one of Mary Jane in a Spiderman outfit. 

Here's Tom with Louise Simonson (yes, there are women in the comic world), one of the writers for Superman:Man of Steel. 

There were a number of other artists and writers there, notably Jim Starlin, the man who killed Robin, Frank Cho, creator of Liberty Meadows, Rob Liefeld, creator of Youngblood and the subject, if you can remember commercials from the late 80's or early 90's, of a Spike Lee commercial for Levis. 

Baltimore Comic-Con

Just a quick reminder that the Baltimore Comic-Con is on this weekend, Saturday and Sunday.  Check out the schedule here.  It'll be at the Baltimore Convention Center and cost $15.

UPDATE:  Just found this article in the Baltimore City Paper about Marc Nathan, the founder and organizer of the Comic-Con.  Read it here.

Adams Morgan Day 2005

There's a lot going on this weekend and one of the more fun events you can check out is the Adams Morgan Day festivities on September 11th from noon-6 pm.  Get more information here.  Don't forget to check out the Arts on Belmont. 

Art on Call

Next Saturday, September 10th, the Dupont Circle Conservancy and the Dupont Circle Citizens' Association will be sponsoring "Art on Call".  They've reclaimed, if you will, those old police and fire call boxes you see around town adn used them to create public art.  The unveiling will be at 10:30 am at 20th and Mass. Ave.  Get more info here and here.

Check it out...

...you can take art classes at the DCJCC right after you get your ass whooped at the Krav Maga classes.