Ramp it Up Exhibit at the NMAI

The National Museum of the American Indian in DC has an interesting exhibit right now on Native American skateboard culture.

The exhibit starts with surfing (an indigenous Hawaiian invention). It shows how surfing's land-based cousin gained in popularity and how influential skate culture is in native communities.

Different native skaters are highlighted, but the most interesting part for me were the skateboards. The artwork is really cool and I totally want to order some for my wall.

Check it out. It runs through October.

Annmarie Garden on Solomons Island

We almost didn't stop at the Annemarie Garden. I'm so glad we did. It turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip.

Annmarie Garden is affiliated with the Smithsonian, specifically the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. If you have ever been to the sculpture garden here in DC, you have an idea of what Annmarie Garden is like.

Except Annmarie is even better. There is a wooded area that is filled with sculptures. There is a whole walkway filled with just sculptures of women. There are modern pieces and quirky faces in unexpected places. Some of the trees have paintings.

There is also a beautiful gallery inside. It is filled with really interesting pieces. My favorite was a mosaic butterfly. I also loved the giant, elegant rabbit in a reclining pose that looked like it should have been at the entrance to temple.

There were crazy fish and disco balls and horse heads and even some roadkill. (In case you haven't figured it out, they were exploring the animal kingdom in their exhibit.)

They don't stop there though. The museum is very interactive. There are activities dispersed all over the place. When we arrived, we were drawn to a picnic table outside set up with paints. Visitors were asked to paint a gourd with the theme of "home is where the ____ is." The gourds are going to be used for an art exhibit. The ones that are done are currently displayed in the sculpture forest in some crazy baskets.

They also have a school where they teach everything from painting to ceramics to jewelry making. Oh, and did I mention the very cool gift shop? If I lived around there, I would be at that place all the time.

Sad Ignorance at the Museum of American History

So, as I mentioned yesterday, we went to the National Museum of American History a couple weekends ago.

The museum has the Woolworth's lunch counter where Ezell A. Blair, Jr. , Franklin E. McCain, Joseph A. McNeil, and David L. Richmond sat down in 1960.

Hopefully, most of us have heard of how these four African American students set off a protest that ultimately desegregated Woolworths. But I don't think most of us know any more than that.

Well this poor kid at the museum was (while in character from the era) trying to educate the museum crowd. He kept asking questions and getting no response. You just know he goes home every day and marvels at our collective ignorance.

On a happier note, the crowd watching his performance was about as diverse as any I've ever seen. They just didn't know much about how they got that way.

The Scurlock Studio Exhibit at the NMAH

The National Museum of American History has an incredible photography exhibit through February of 2010.

The Scurlocks were local photographers who chronicled African American life in Washington DC. The exhibit covers about eighty years of DC history.

The photographs are beautifully done. Particularly impressive was an overhead shot of a ballroom from the thirties or forties. I don't know how they got that shot with that old equipment.

Of course, there were plenty of pictures of famous people (Martin Luther King to Marian Anderson), but it was the shots of everyday life that I really loved.

Also, there is a spot in the exhibit where locals can write down their DC memories and they post some up on a board. My favorite was the woman who talked about how nylon stockings used to last six months when they first came out, but how they make them like crap now. (My words, but the sentiment is the same.)

If you can't make it to the museum, you can see quite a few of the photos online.

Goethe-Institute Human Rights Films

The Goethe-Institute is a German cultural center with locations all over the world, including in DC. They have exhibit space, a theater, events spaces, and classrooms where you can learn German.

This past weekend they were showing films from a human rights film festival based out of the Czech Republic. Chris and I saw two of them.

The Reckoning was about the International Criminal Court (ICC). It gave an overview of international justice, starting with an interview of the attorney who prosecuted the Nazis at Nuremberg. Then is followed the ICC through its formation and its first few cases - Uganda, Sudan, Colombia. It was sad and fascinating and made me want to punch John Bolton in the face.

The second film we watched was called Life After the Fall. A documentary filmmaker who had been living in London and working for the BBC for decades returned to his home country of Iraq after the fall of Saddam. The film follows his family for four years, watching them grow increasingly frustrated, disillusioned, and dejected. It's a long film, Lord of the Rings long, but it's worth it.

Best of all, most of the events at Goethe are free.

Fritz Scholder Exhibit at the NMAI

There is a phenomenal exhibit at the National Museum of the American Indian through August 16th. The artist is Fritz Scholder.

Scholder was a controversial Native American artist who really pushed the boundaries of what was considered Native American art. You won't find the same old stylized representations that you're used to seeing - except maybe to make fun of them.

His work is vibrant in color, but often dark in content. It is violent and playful. Wild and free, yet contained. Much of it is purposefully incongruous. One of Chris's favorite pieces was a buffalo dancer holding an ice cream cone.

Photos don't do it justice, but if you can't make it to Washington, DC or New York (where a sister exhibit is showing at the American Indian museum), check it out online.