The Rolling Stone cover image of a naked John Lennon hugging Yoko Ono taken the morning he was killed. The Vanity Fair cover of a nude pregnant Demi Moore.  The images of the Rolling Stones during one of their American tours.  Her classic images for the American Express card celebrity campaign. Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A. album cover. And most recently, the controversial Vanity Fair implied semi-nude photos of Miley Cyrus in April of this year. 

She was the chief photographer for both Rolling Stone and a featured photographer for Vanity Fair. 

She will discuss her new book, “Annie Leibovitz at Work”, which was just released November 18th, 2009.

Her latest book details how she created images of Richard Nixon’s resignation, many of her now classic images, as well as images from Barack Obama’s campaign.

Annie Leibovitz 
Sixth and I Historic Synagogue
600 I Street, NW
Washington DC  (map it)

Dates and Times – Tuesday, December 9, 2008, 7:00 p.m.

Tickets – $16.00 or purchase her book, “Annie Leibovitz at Work”, at the venue and receive two tickets.

Nearest Metro Subway Station – Gallery Place – Chinatown – Red, Green and Yellow lines, then a 3-block walk or use the DC Circulator.

Parking – Metered street and garage parking is available in the area.

Images – Annie Leibovitz, Sixth and I Historic Synagogue – personal collection – ©2008, Jon Rochetti
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Post from: The DC Traveler

Created by J. Seward Johnson, Jr. as part of a sculpture exhibition, the 5-piece cast aluminum piece is now at its new home on a sandy beachfront location at Washington’s National Harbor, near the stage and plaza. 

The new location is inches off the waters edge and a smaller, somewhat less inviting and playful place than the former locations in a large grassy park.

Watch the video of the statute’s removal from Hains Point and installation at National Harbor.

The Awakening
National Harbor
137 National Plaza
National Harbor, MD 20745  (map it)

Dates and Times – Open daily, 24-hours a day.

Admission - FREE

Nearest Metro Subway Station – Branch Avenue – Green line, then a 20-minute bus ride (NH-1 Metrobus).

Parking – Garage parking is available at $1.00 per hour ($10 max.)

Images – from personal collection   ©2008, Jon Rochetti 
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Post from: The DC Traveler

Throughout the week of November 15-22, 2008, Washington, DC will celebrate the art of photography, with a gathering of the best in the DC photographic community, with series of exhibits, lectures, competitions, and celebration of all things photographic.

FotoWeek DC brings together photographic talent and a collection of images ranging from artistic to business, political to editorial. Events include:

• Exhibitions at over 60 galleries and public spaces around DC
• Juried exhibitions of some of Washington, DC’s most gifted photographers
• Lectures and book signings by well-known photographers
• Talks from representatives who manage institutional and museum photo collections 
• Workshops and lectures for both the new and expert photographer
• Personal portfolio reviews by professional photographers

One highlight will be the world premiere giant outdoor high-definition (HD) digital image slide show, presented in a large multi-story format, of selected photos from some of Washington DC’s most popular institutions, including the Newseum, American Art Museum, National Museum of American History, Corcoran Gallery of Art and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. The slide presentation will run at the following locations (all between 5:00 and 10:00 p.m. unless noted):

• National Museum of the American Indian — 10/13-15
• FotoWeek DC Central – 3337 M Street, NW –10/14-15
• Smithsonian Photography Initiative – 3333 M Street, NW – 10/14–22
• Newseum – 10/14/16
• U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum – 10/14-16
• Corcoran Gallery of Art – 10/14-15
• American Art Museum – Kogod Courtyard 10/18-19 (5-7 p.m.), 10/20 (5-8 p.m.)
• Museum of American History – 10/20-22

FotoWeek DC
Various locations around Washington, DC

Dates and Times – November 10-22, 2008. Check the events calendar for events and details.

Admission – Registration is required for all free events. Register online or at the site. Some events, workshops require paid tickets.

Images – all public domain – D-Day, Hindenburg, Aldrin on the Moon _________________________________________________

Post from: The DC Traveler

The collection on exhibit at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC showcases 21 images, including:

• Stieglitz’s series of ten photos of clouds over Lake George, New York, a collection which has not been shown in its entirety since a 1923. 
• Ansel Adams’ photos of the coastline and surf along San Mateo’s coast, south of San Francisco.
• Robert Adams’ images of the Columbia River emptying into the Pacific in Oregon. 

Oceans, Rivers, and Skies: Ansel Adams, Robert Adams, and Alfred Stieglitz
National Gallery of Art
4th and Constitution Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20565 (map it)

Dates and Times  – Daily, October 12, 2008 through March 15, 2009. Hours – Monday-Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Sundays 11:00 – 6:00.

Admission – FREE.

Nearest Metro Subway Station – Archives – Yellow and Green lines, then a 2-block walk or use the DC Circulator.

Parking – Metered street and paid garage parking is available in the area.

Image – With permission from the National Gallery of Art, Ansel Adams, Surf Sequence 3, San Mateo County Coast, California, 1940, gelatin silver print, 1982, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Virginia B. Adams. Courtesy of the National Gallery of Art.

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Post from: The DC Traveler

Pronounced ah-NEE-may, it’s a popular form of art used in television shows, video games, movies, and on countless Internet sites.

Animation was popular in both the U.S. and Japan after WW-II, but in Japan, anime and magna (animation and comics characters) accounted for over 40% of all of Japan’s domestic films. While in the U.S., animation was mostly targeted at young children, in Japan, it had appeal with all age groups.

A couple Japanese anime programs, Astro Boy and Speed Racer, were modified for American audiences and became popular in the 1960s on television.

Here’s a sample of some 1960s Anime…

The art form uses a specific style or look, which is generally instantly recognizable.  Some characters is highly sexualized and racy.

It’s also about those Japanese animated characters and super heroes that some people are totally enamored with.

Events and activities include:

• Art Show and Gallery
• Anime Music Videos
• Art Show and Auction
• Autograph Sessions
• Kabuki Ball (semi-formal dress code, Cosplay costumes welcome) with dance instructions
• Cosplay contest and skits

• Saturday night dance
• Anime vendors room
• Game Shows with prizes
• Karaoke
• LARP (Live-Action Role Playing)
• Panels and Workshops – from cel-painting to story plots
• High-tech Video Game Room and Tournaments with prizes
• Video Rooms – four anime video rooms and a live-action Japanese video room
• Bands, celebrities and more

And here’s samples of current Anime…

Anime USA
Hyatt Regency Crystal City
2799 Jefferson Davis Highway
Arlington, Virginia 22202 (map it)

Dates and Times – Friday-Sunday, October 10-12, 2008, hours vary by day.

Tickets – Three-day Pass – $50, Friday – $35, Saturday – $40 and Sunday – $30 and are available at the door. Children 7 & under – free, kids 8-12 – half-price with an adult (limit 2 kids per adult).

Nearest Metro Subway Station – Crystal City – Blue add Yellow line.  The Hyatt’s shuttle stop at the station every 20 minutes.  Look for the White\Red Shuttle or call the hotel at 703-418-1234 for pick-up.

Parking – Valet only at the hotel. Or try the two paid parking garages behind the hotel.

Weapons Policy – There is a strict weapons policy, not sure why it  needs to be stated, but  here’s the link to  it.

Images – Flickr – green woman drawing, cosplay group, Anime in LA

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Post from: The DC Traveler

And KISS front man Paul Stanley is no exception. He will be exhibiting his oil and acrylic paintings, along with Giclee prints, at the Wentworth Gallery in Tysons Gallery in suburban McLean, Virginia.

If you can’t recall the different KISS characters, Stanley was the Starchild and is probably one the most recognizable of the ten different KISS members.

His collection over 100 painting, including one-of-a-kind pieces and limited edition prints, will be on display starting Saturday, October 7th at the gallery. And if you purchase a piece in advance, you get to attend a 1-hour VIP event where you’ll  get to meet Paul, have your artwork personally autographed and pose with a photo with him.  If you buy a piece at the show, you can also meet Stanley, but the pre-showing VIP event will be less crowded and more relaxed.

Here’s a link to some of his work, which includes images of KISS band members, as well as abstract and pop art.  Prices ranges from $1,500 to over $65,000.

Besides singing for KISS for a three decades, and exhibiting and selling his painting since 2005, Stanley also starred in a production of The Phantom of the Opera, in Toronto for three months in 1999, where he played the lead role.

Paul Stanley Art Show  
Wentworth Gallery
Tysons Galleria  
1731 M. International Drive  
McLean, VA 22102  (map it)
703-883-0111

Dates and Times – Saturday, October 11. 2008, Noon  to 3:00 p.m.

Tickets – Admission is free

Nearest Metro Subway Station – West Falls Church – Orange line, then a 10-minute cab ride.

Parking – Free

Images – Flickr – Face, on stage

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Post from: The DC Traveler

This blue painted stainless steel, 31-foot tall sculpture was installed at the corner of Ninth and F Streets in late August, on the grounds of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

First installed in 1996, just one block from the World Trade Center, in Battery Park in New York City, it survived the September 11th attack with only minor scratches.  A month later, it was moved to another gallery in Nassau County, New York, then to a botanic garden in Coral Gables, Florida. 

The piece is part of a series of four sculptures by Lichtenstein that created sculptures of human figures that look like machines.

Roy Lichtenstein is most widely know for his giant pop art comics Ben-day Dots paintings, such as his most famous piece “Wham”. The National Gallery of Art is the largest collector of Lichtenstein’s work, after he donated over 150 prints to the museum a year before his death.

“Modern Head” by Roy Lichtenstein.
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Ninth and F Streets 
Washington, DC  (map it)

Dates and Times – Viewable 24 hours-a-day. The museum is open daily 11:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Admission – FREE to view the statute or enter the museum.

Nearest Metro Subway Station – Gallery Place – Chinatown, Red, Green and Yellow lines, then a 2-block walk or use the DC Circulator.

Parking – Metered street and paid garage parking is available in the area.

Images – from personal collection; ©2008, Jon Rochetti

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Post from: The DC Traveler

The exhibit catapulted these eight independent American artists and a new artistic movement. The artists, called The Eight, were a group of American painters who united to oppose academic traditions held by the established art world.

Their style advanced modernism, incorporating realist artistic movement, was dubbed the Ashcan style, (or the Ash Can school); named for its gritty portrayal of people living in the crowded tenements of New York’s working class and poorer neighborhoods.

The show toured the U.S. after becoming a New York sensation.

The styles and subject matter of The Eight vary greatly, but the original exhibit paved the way for future modern art shows. The Eight included Robert Henri, George Luks, William Glackens, John Sloan, Everett Shinn, Maurice Prendergast, Ernest Lawson and Arthur Bowen Davies.

The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC remembers the exhibit’s centennial with a special installation of 20 Ashcan works.

American Art Rebels – The Eight
The Phillips Collection
1600 21st Street, NW, between Q and R Streets
Washington, DC 20009 (map it)

Dates and Times - September 27, 2008 – January 11, 2009. Hours – Saturday 10:00 a.m.– 6:00 p.m., Thursdays until 8:30 p.m., Sunday 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Closed Mondays and major holidays.

Tickets – Are available online and are $12.00 for adults, $10.00 for seniors (62+) and students, free for 18 and under.  Tickets include admission to the museum as well.

Nearest Metro subway station - Dupont Circle – Red line, use the Q Street exit. Then a

Parking – Metered street parking is available, but can be a bit challenging to find. Paid parking garages are available nearby.

Images – public domain – Bellows, Shinn,

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Post from: The DC Traveler

His individualist style were based, in part, of earlier works of abstract expressionists from a decade earlier. 

By the 1960s, he had become a known and respected abstract expressionist on America’s Pacific coast.

Closing soon is an exhibit of his influential work, at The Phillips Collection, in Washington, DC.

Diebenkorn in New Mexico
The Phillips Collection
1600 21st Street, NW, between Q and R Streets
Washington, DC 20009 (map it)

Dates and Times - Through Sept. 7, 2008

Hours – Saturday 10:00 a.m.– 6:00 p.m., Thursdays until 8:30 p.m., Sunday 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Closed Mondays and major holidays.

Tickets – Are available online and are $12.00 for adults, $10.00 for seniors (62+) and students, free for 18 and under.  Tickets include admission to the museum as well.

Nearest Metro subway station - Dupont Circle – Red line, use the Q Street exit. Then a

Parking – Metered street parking is available, but can be a bit challenging to find. Paid parking garages are available nearby. 

Image

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Post from: The DC Traveler

Three-time Pulitzer prize winning cartoonist Herbert Block (“Herblock”), cartooned about politics starting with his first cartoon that appeared in the Chicago Daily News, back in 1929.  The topics he covered early in his career included the aggressive pre-WW-II stance of the USSR and the growing concern of the rise of Nazi Germany.

In 1946, immediately after serving in WW-II, he joined the staff of the Washington Post where he worked until his death in 2001, at the age of 91.

In 1950, he coined the word “McCarthyism” in one of his cartoons against Senator Joseph McCarthy’s communist witch hunt. 

At an exhibit of 40 original drawings by Herblock along with his first Pulitzer Prize from 1942 are on display at the National Portrait Gallery. The exhibit, Herblock’s Presidents: “Puncturing Pomposity”  cover seven decades of presidential cartoons, from Franklin Roosevelt through Bill Clinton. An additional 120 cartoons are available from an on-site interactive kiosk.

It proves that the same issues – inflation, the economy, war,  

Herblock’s Presidents: Puncturing Pomposity 
National Portrait Gallery
Eighth and F Streets, NW,
Washington, DC 20001 (map it)

Hours – Daily 11:30 a.m. – 7:00 p.m., through November 30, 2008

Admission – Free

Nearest Metro subway station – Metro Gallery Place-Chinatown – Red, Yellow and Green lines, or use the DC Circulator.

Parking – Metered street and paid garage parking is available in the area.

Images: from personal collection – ©2008, Jon Rochetti

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Post from: The DC Traveler