Washington Capital, National Art Gallery, Portrait Gallery
For me, the Washington Metro subway system ranks up there with the Swiss Railway. I want to someday experience the Japanese bullet trains. I found parking in the same building as the Reston Metro station for $4.95 per day. The Reston Silver line goes directly to the Mall and I got off at the Capital South stop.
Iranian Demonstration
On the mall, there was a photo exhibition pointing out the atrocities that have been committed by the government in Iran. I believe it is related to the recent Woman’s uprising in Iran after the death of Mahsa Amini. Masha has taken on special meaning now in Iran. The story of the abduction of Mahsa Amini and subsequent depth at the hands of the Iranian Morals police has caused a giant wave throughout Iran. Many say it is time to shift the government and that it has gotten so bad in Iran that they are willing to die for this movement.
The number of people killed by the police since the Iranian revolution is staggering.
IMAGO had the following posted today:
November 2, 2022, WASHINGTON, D.C, WASHINGTON, D.C, USA: A photo exhibition of Iranians killed in past protests, according to the Organization of Iranian American Communities (OIAC) is set up on Capitol Hill and the National Mall on November 2, 2022 in Washington D.C.. The exhibition showcases ongoing human rights violations in Iran. The United States will work to remove Iran from the UN Commission on the Status of Women, US Vice President Kamala Harris announced Wednesday.
The Capital Building
I’ve walked around The Capital building before, but many things looked different. There was scaffolding on the front of the building. I knew that part of the capital was sinking and had been shored up. I’m not sure what the current project is. The dome itself has been cleaned up as well.
Looking at the capital from the mall, there is a reflection pond. Beyond the reflection pond is a statue of General Grant and two bronze sculptures depicting civil war events. I never looked at these sculptures before, but the work is impressive. The artist really captured the agony of battle and the daily hardships the soldiers went through in this struggle. I couldn’t find any indication of who produced these. In the third image, in the heat of battle, a horse has gone down below its rider and the man is reaching out as he’s being trampled by the horses behind him. I recently learned from Patrick at Fort Fredrick, that over a million horses were lost during the civil war. Patrick talked about the special relationship between the men and their horses.
I remember being able to walk up to all the doors and on the balcony back in the 70’s. I would sometimes come in from College Park and study on the capital grounds or somewhere at the capital. The back side of the capital has changed as I remember as well. There is a visitor center, built up plaza and more police stations. The capital police presents is very obvious now.
While I was on the East side of the capital, I went over to the Library of Congress building. This is another building that you can’t enter without being on a tour. Not much has changed with this building as I remember.
National Gallery of Art - East Wing
I remember when the East Wing was completed. I went to as many exhibitions as I could take in. The East Wing is the modern art portion of the National Gallery of Art. I remember the Rodin and the Josef Albers exhibitions specifically.
The architecture of the building was something I always appreciated. The building alone is an art piece and makes you want to be there.
I went to the Photography and Travel in Sargent’s Spain exhibition in the library but it didn’t do much for me. The photography itself is impressive and shows a period in Spain that may not have been captured so much in photography. I enjoyed the design of the library more.
Called To Create: Black Artist of the American South
The Called To Create exhibition begins to expose some black artist that have been creating art for a long time but have received little recognition. I didn’t like all of the works as is the case with most exhibitions but there were many power pieces and stories that needed to be told.
I wasn’t familiar with the woman of Gee’s Bend, Alabama and their exquisite quilts made for old clothing and leftover remnants. Quilts are often used to tell a story and document some family history.
Some of the artist described themselves as being lost until they found their art and were able to express something deeper. One of my favorites, James “Son Ford” Thomas, was a grave digger and busts of the dead from the clay he dug up. The works were all pulled together at one corner of the gallery in the form of a multimedia review of their work.
Andy Goldsworthy
At the entrance / exit to the museum is an Andy Goldworthy piece. If you’re not familar with his work, he created what is called Land Art. He would create pieces out of ice, sand, leaves and other pieces found in nature. The pieces typically were not permanent, but he would photograph them. The photographs themselves were works of art. He also built or stacked stones in creative ways.
Andy Goldsworthy: Roof
Between the old an new museum builds is a water fountain. The runoff from the fountain creates a waterfall on the wall in the tunnel between the two buildings
A Great Crossroads
There is a Downtown Heritage Trail through the streets of Washington, D.C. The locations have plaques that describe what happened at or near the location. I stopped for a coffee and plaque in front of the building was titled Civil War to Civil Rights. There is a quote by Walt Whitman on the plaque that reads as follows:
“Image a great wide avenue [with] solid ranks of soldiers, just marching steady all day long for two days …”
National Portrait Gallery
Pocahontas Portrait
Many of the museums in Washington close at 5:00 pm, but the National Portrait Gallery stays open until 7:00 pm. I had never been to this museum. The gallery is mostly what it sounds like, portraits of people related in some way to our national history. There special exhibitions as well some Hudson River School paintings thrown in periodically and statues (kind of a portrait) in the hallways.
The building is laid out in a rectangle with a hall running around the inside and rooms both on the inside and outside. The portraiture is grouped by periods. Many of the portraits I skipped, but some were just fascinating. For example, the Pocahontas portrait didn’t look anything like other images I’ve seen. There was certainly no likeness to the Disney animated character. Daniel Boone and Davey Crocket didn’t look like the backwoods fighters I expected to see. Francis Scott Key pened the words to the national anthem and he looks like a young boy in his portrait.
I found the following information very useful, not only for view a portrait painting but also for portrait photography. These are the things that people would take into account when painting a portrait.
My favorite part of the gallery was the Hall of Presidents.
Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)
During my tour of the gallery I could hear Spanish being spoken and Mexican music being played. There was a big celebration of the Day of the Dead in the inner court yard. Some of the performers walked through the hall of presidents and I was able to grab a few photos. I later went to the courtyard after the gallery closed.
