July 26, 2015
(This is part of a 365 project
during my 70th year where I write and illustrate a blog on each
day’s gift.)
There’s something about riding a train that stirs a
sense of adventure, even if it is only to D.C. With a free rewards hotel room about to expire, David was
inspired to book a room at the historic Willard Intercontinental in D.C. Sunday morning we parked at the free lot in
Odenton, took a MARC train to D.C. and navigated our way through a confusing
Metro system to arrive at the hotel where we left our backpacks and explored
some places we had not visited yet.
Before the end of the day, we had walked more than
six miles in 90 degree, humid weather. We headed toward the National Museum of
the American Indian. En route and eager to experience some air conditioning, we
stopped at the Hirshhorn where there was a special exhibit, Shirin Neshat:
Facing History. I was especially fascinated
by the way she combined Farsi script superimposed on faces and feet to tell her
narrative. Through still photography and film, Neshat artistically examines
power and identity, often focusing on women’s role in these dynamics.
By the time we braved the sun again and arrived at
the Indian museum, my stamina was sapped and I’m afraid I was unable to truly
appreciate it. Two things, however, stand out in my mind. First was a film
presentation where, at the same time, images were projected onto a fabric
screen, the ceiling and a rock in the middle of the room. It submerged the viewer
in an appreciation for the connection of Native Americans with nature. As we
left the museum, we looked at several outdoor sculptures created entirely out of
natural materials, much of it clay. Artist Nora Naranjo-Morse intended
for the work, Always Becoming, to
erode over time to reflect transformation.
My
gift today is a continuing becoming.
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Links to artists:
You can find links to my other posts on this project here:
http://bjschupp.blogspot.com/2014/12/365-gifts.html
