Connect 4: at the MLK Jr. Memorial Library downtown - Part 4
Update 9/11/2013 Photographs & Content (at bottom of post)
CulturalDC have announced the final exhibition of their successful temporary public arts project, Connect 4, which have featured in the lobby of Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library. The fourth and final project in the series is presented by Anna Tsouhlarakis, who also had a very successful exhibition earlier this year at the Flashpoint Gallery.
Anna Tsouhlarakis' project 'Before Behind Above Below' is a video installation that deconstructs ideas of biography through images and text. Ms Tsouhlarakis in an explanation of the project states "On the Navajo reservation some canyon walls are lined with black streaks - coal embedded into the layers of rock. The streaks hint at bigger deposits of coal and fade in and out as they continue along the canyon wall. As a young girl, these lines were a language to me, telling me the stories of my family and my future. During my kinaalda, we walked to the canyon and offered prayers. The prayers spoke of family, growth and harmony. I remember reading the lines as we faced the rising sun, wondering if the stories and prayers were real. The ceremony is about the transition into womanhood. It is about preparing for your life as a Navajo woman,
acknowledging those before you and those that will come after you. It is about knowing your role in a matrilineal society. At points, the line is disrupted, but it is never broken."
CulturalDC have announced the final exhibition of their successful temporary public arts project, Connect 4, which have featured in the lobby of Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library. The fourth and final project in the series is presented by Anna Tsouhlarakis, who also had a very successful exhibition earlier this year at the Flashpoint Gallery.
Anna Tsouhlarakis' project 'Before Behind Above Below' is a video installation that deconstructs ideas of biography through images and text. Ms Tsouhlarakis in an explanation of the project states "On the Navajo reservation some canyon walls are lined with black streaks - coal embedded into the layers of rock. The streaks hint at bigger deposits of coal and fade in and out as they continue along the canyon wall. As a young girl, these lines were a language to me, telling me the stories of my family and my future. During my kinaalda, we walked to the canyon and offered prayers. The prayers spoke of family, growth and harmony. I remember reading the lines as we faced the rising sun, wondering if the stories and prayers were real. The ceremony is about the transition into womanhood. It is about preparing for your life as a Navajo woman,
acknowledging those before you and those that will come after you. It is about knowing your role in a matrilineal society. At points, the line is disrupted, but it is never broken."
On the installation Ms Tsouhlarakis continued "The video installation deconstructs
ideas of biography through images and text. The abstracted imagery was taken from locales that played significant
roles within the lives of my grandmother, my mother, my daughters and
myself. The text, on corresponding
monitors, continue the documentation of those meaningful places."
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| Installation "in progress" Opening Reception is September 10th |
The installation opens on September 10th, with a reception, in the MLK Jr. Memorial Library lobby, beginning at 5pm until 7pm. Anna Tsouhlarakis will be present and will be available to answer any questions you may have, best of all and like the previous three projects by Connect 4, the exhibit is free. Hours are the same as the library, so you can put this in your calender at your most convenient time and check out the exhibit.
Update 9/11/2013
The official opening and reception for Anna Tsouhlarakis/Connect4 installation 'Before Behind Above Below' launched yesterday evening at the MLK Jr. Library. Ms Tsouhlarakis opened the event with a talk on her latest work, and how she is attempting to deconstruct the ideas of biography through images and text. I talked to Ms Tsouhlarakis about her ideas, and she explained that through the exhibit she is trying to show that abstract can also be linear ( a pretty deep subject to discuss here) and as she simplified the concept to me, all became clearer. Multiple screens show slips of video's, fields of grass, tree tops, sky, interspersed with screens of words, providing the connections of memory to meaningful times and places in her life. The effect is quite serene and thought provoking, and I found myself linking memory with visual keys (think about a photo you may have, there is one item in it that will trigger the memory of the event)
The installation itself is minimal, and unremarkable, but the provocation to memorize your own experiences, makes this a powerful piece of art.
Update 9/11/2013
The official opening and reception for Anna Tsouhlarakis/Connect4 installation 'Before Behind Above Below' launched yesterday evening at the MLK Jr. Library. Ms Tsouhlarakis opened the event with a talk on her latest work, and how she is attempting to deconstruct the ideas of biography through images and text. I talked to Ms Tsouhlarakis about her ideas, and she explained that through the exhibit she is trying to show that abstract can also be linear ( a pretty deep subject to discuss here) and as she simplified the concept to me, all became clearer. Multiple screens show slips of video's, fields of grass, tree tops, sky, interspersed with screens of words, providing the connections of memory to meaningful times and places in her life. The effect is quite serene and thought provoking, and I found myself linking memory with visual keys (think about a photo you may have, there is one item in it that will trigger the memory of the event)
The installation itself is minimal, and unremarkable, but the provocation to memorize your own experiences, makes this a powerful piece of art.
 |
| Like a word association exercise for the memory |
 |
| slips of video trigger memory |
 |
| drawn to the installation and captured by its depth, viewers become introspective |
About Anna Tsouhlarakis
Anna
Tsouhlarakis is a sculpture, installation, video and performance artist.
Originally from the Navajo Nation in New Mexico, she received her BA from
Dartmouth College in Native American Studies and Studio Art. She then attended
Yale University and received her MFA in 2002. She has participated in various
art residencies and her work has been shown at national and international
venues.
About Connect 4**
Connect 4 is a series of temporary public art projects at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library produced by CulturalDC. CulturalDC, a nonprofit arts organization that makes space for art, launched this series to create opportunities for local contemporary artists to enliven the Library. The participating artists are Brian Davis, Nekisha Durrett, Samuel Scharf and Anna Tsouhlarakis. Projects will be on view in the Library through October 2013. CulturalDC operates Flashpoint (just across the street at 916 G St. NW) and Source (at 1835 14th St. NW). Visit us: culturaldc.org.
**CONNECT
4, a CulturalDC public art project is generously
supported by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and by Timothy Hyde. The artist would also like to thank Jon M., Jason L. and
American University's Art Department for their support.
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