Artistic happenings in the greater Falls Church Area.
Falls Church Photo Exhibit
Photographer Rich Tilley currently has work up in two Falls Church locations. Until the end of August at Stacy’s Coffee Parlor , 709 W. Broad Street, and through September at Koons Ford, 1051 East Broad Street.
Academy 2006
This is Conner Contemporary’s annual survey of fine arts grads in the Washington/Baltimore area. Artists were selected after a rigorous process of attending BFA and MFA shows throughout the region, followed up with interviews and studio visits. The show is designed to give an overview of current artistic thinking and execution in area art colleges.
The exhibit runs through Aug. 26 at Conner Contemporary Art, 1730 Connecticut Ave. N.W., 2nd Floor, Washington, D.C. Gallery Hours: Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Phone (202) 588-8750, or see www.connercontemporary.com for more information.
Eames Film Festival
Design Within Reach in Bethesda presents the “Eames Film Festival” Tuesday, Sept. 12, from 7 to 9 p.m. Reservations are required/requested. DWR, 4828 Saint Elmo Ave, Bethesda, Md. Phone: (301) 215-7200, or email at [email protected]
Seven different films made from 1952 to 1981 will be screened, including the 1977 version of the classic Eames film “Powers of Ten.”
Charles and wife Ray Eames are legends in the furniture design field. Thonet created a way of steam bending wood in 1858 (if I remember correctly), and ubiquitously carried out in his cafe chairs, which is also accepted as the first true “world design,” as they were designed to be knocked down and shipped world wide. In the interim, architect/designers such as Alvar Alto executed beautiful bent plywood chairs, but they were always simple curves. Not until the 1940s and the Eames’ research was the compound curve executed in bent plywood. This breakthrough resulted in a blizzard of various bent plywood designs in the 1950s and 60s, just as Thonet’s breakthroughs had done almost 100 years earlier. Of course all this is old hat today, and hardly noticed, but these are the folks who did it.
The film projects were but one of the Eames’ projects. See www.dwr.com/images/promos/169B_EamesFilmFestival.pdf for a complete list of films, and descriptions. As a side note, the Library of Congress has what looks like a truly great overview of the Eames’ work, from a past exhibit. I have books that aren’t this good…and it’s free, just like the Film Festival. www.loc.gov/exhibits/eames/eameshome.html.
The Bluest Day: Visual Meditations on Sept. 11
Beginning Aug. 30 and running until the end of September, the Foundry Gallery (1314 18th St. NW, D.C.) will display the work of Deborah Addison Coburn, titled: The Bluest Day: Visual Meditations on September 11. The work marks a return to painting for the Cornell University painting degree-recipient after a lengthy pursuit of other artistic outlets. There will be three separate artist receptions during the run, with the first on Sept. 1 from 6 – 8 p.m., another Sept. 11 from Noon – 3 p.m. and a final reception Sept. 16 from 6 – 8 p.m.
Artistic Opportunities
Parent and Child Workshop
Local artist, Pat MacIntyre, holds a drop-in, hands-on art session every Saturday from 10 a.m. – Noon at the Reston Museum at Lake Anne. No charge, no pre-sign-up. For more information, call the museum at 703-709-7700, or contact Pat at [email protected] or call (703) 471-1445.
