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Carrie Rodriquez at the Artisphere

Carrie Rodriguez
Three things I learned Saturday night at the Artisphere in Arlington:

  1. Carrie Rodriquez and Luke Jacobs are incredible. If you don’t already own one of her CDs, go download one. Now. If you already own one, order another. If she comes to your town, go see her.
  2. The DC Circulator can be a savior from Metro’s muddled weekends. Things were a mess on every line Saturday, prompting me to look for an alternative way to get to the show over in Arlington. The Circulator came to the rescue. For a buck each way (cheaper than Metro buses or rail), it’s a great deal and it functions more like an express bus. We boarded at 19th and N in Dupont Circle after having amazing mussels at St. Arnold’s and were at the Rossyln Metro station in about 15 minutes, leaving plenty of time for a few glasses of wine before Rodriquez took the stage.
  3. The Artisphere is an overlooked treasure. I had seen Beckett’s Happy Days there a few years ago and was impressed. (I also remember visiting way back when it was the Newseum, before they moved to the District.) But I never found a reason to go back. Carrie Rodriquez gave me that reason. I’m now looking at their upcoming calendar and plan to hit a few more performances at this venue. We’ll definitely be going to see their showing of Amelie in February. I’ve been wanting to see that film for a while since it features one of my favorite artworks, Renoir’s The Luncheon of the Boating Party. And even though it looks creepy strange, I might have to go see The Adventures of Alvin Sputnik, Deep Sea Explorer.

(Here’s the Washington Post’s review of Carrie Rodriquez …)

 

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The Dying Gaul

The Dying Gaul
I’ve been the the National Gallery of Art several times since the holidays. Every time, I’ve stopped to marvel at The Dying Gaul in the rotunda of the West Building. This morning, the Wall Street Journal ran a piece by Catesby Leigh on the sculpture that helps verbalize the visceral sense I had of why this is an incredible work. If you’re in D.C. while this is on display, make sure you stop by to check it out.

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Alexander’s big adventure

Plaque with the Ascension of Alexander the GreatSo this is really strange …

While I was drifting around in the National Gallery of Art’s exhibition, Heaven and Earth: Art of Byzantium from Greek Collections, I stumbled across this image of Alexander the Great ascending into the heavens. Here’s a description, taken directly from the exhibit:

Alexander the Great (356 – 323 BC) truly became a legend in his own time. Having conquered much of the known world, he was said to have explored realms beneath the sea and in the sky. According to the Romance of Alexander, he ascended to the heavens in a basket attached to two starving griffins, mythical winged beasts. To make them leap ever higher into the sky, Alexander held two sticks with meat at the ends just above their heads. This plaque was found in the Byzantine fortifications of Chalikis on the island of Euboea, but it’s original use is unknown.