The third emerge Art Fair at the Skyline Hotel in SW DC, October  4-6, 2013 was an interesting venue for seeing a lot of art in an afternoon.  The event, while very well planned, offered only a few things that merited a sustained look. Showing art in a hotel means addressing many un-white cube constraints.  The rooms, relatively small, come furnished with two double beds, and many have visually challenging wallpaper.  One gallery neatly taped up a band of white paper across the wallpaper as a way to successfully focus attention on a row of small works and many paid an extra fee to have the beds removed and put up their own display.  The underground parking lot area was also limited because of the relatively low elevation and dim lighting.  On the bright side, the art was in an environment with the scale and ambience of (bed)rooms at home.

Artist installations were placed on the main floor in one of two large reception rooms.  Most notable was the table-top work by Tristan Hamel (Finland).  Rectangular, lidded boxes sitting like a ring of townhouses on a schematic map drawn on planks laid-out as a horizontal canvas. Viewers stopping to lift the box lids, found different fillings; tiny landscapes in some, paper waves between which paper fish appeared when a red button was pushed in another, a stack of Ikea instructions the size of a calling card, etc.  The action also activated a recording of voices, presumably in Finnish, adding another dimension.  Other installations in the first floor areas were derivative (e.g. hanging lamps reminiscent but not nearly as interesting as Judy Pfaff installations) or constructed in a monotonous style (e.g. knotted rope bunches piled on either side of a water fountain) and a live (and much mentioned) artist performing the continuous typing of a practice sentence using only two fingers, studiously avoiding learning to effectively and fiercely ignoring visitors wandering through the lobby.  

The second floor hotel rooms housed the weekend gallery displays.  Two artist’s works shown by Nomad Gallery (Brussels) captured our interest.  Small, colored assemblage works in plaster for the wall by Duhirwe Rushemeza (Rwuanda/ US) and shallow relief portraits carved in very thin laminate wood by Aime Mpane (DR Congo).  In some the different tones of the laminate provided skin tones while the surrounding surface areas were painted.  Some areas cut all the way through the thin panel may have pushed the technique too far. The non-functional Objet made of unusual combinations of found materials by Florian Japp displayed by Gallery Rockelmann & (Berlin) looked terrific in the homey bedroom setting standing bedside and bolted to a wall, as did the paintings by Jeffrey Teuton.  Goya Gallery (Baltimore) again brought interesting including a print portfolio, and two small Joyce Scott bead figures added to ceramic figurines neatly displayed on a table that replaced the beds.  The small paintings by Sally Egbert on the walls showed the mastery a long career of painting, subtle color space complemented with a found object here and there to complete the compositions.  The intimate display space made for plenty of art talk among viewers and between viewer and gallerist.

Down in the artist inhabited parking area, location of loud live music, graffiti style and new eco art installations, artist Daniel Wilson provided the best end to our emerge visit.  Sitting in the backseat of a red Taxi we saw city streets pass by, video projections on an  old style projection screen set up in front of the car, and heard conversations recorded during Wilson’s 4-months as a  late shift (5pm- 5am) NYC cab driver and experienced the anticipations of gallery hopping in the Mother-of-all-Art.  Upbeatable. (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/18/nyregion/cab-riders-riffs-secretly-recorded-for-the-sake-of-art.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&)

The Traditional Lakota Ceremony to reconnect to Mother Earth the Creator and the Universe, on September 21st at the Shanti Yoga Ashram in Bethesda was a fall equinox celebration led by Roy and Jean Reddemann, Native Americans who follow the traditional spiritual life of the Lakotas.  As a spiritual leader, Roy conducts ancient tribal ceremonies and is in service to the people, keeping the traditions and teachings of his culture.  Jean, known by her people as a Seer, is gifted with spiritual communication and Lakota healing ways.  They are “Companions”; having chosen to walk the path of life together.  Through drumming, singing and ritual movements, they generate sacred space where pure spiritual energy is present to assist participants with their intentions and goals.  

When I first arrived at 7pm everyone there was quiet, sitting on the floor or on a pillow, meditating. Around 7:30, Jean began describing how an altar was prepared and as she talked, her companion, Roy, set about arranging the altar.  There was a large buffalo skin already on the floor with, what appeared to be a steer skull on it.  He added a big fan-like feather instrument, gri gri (amulet) packets, sweet grass, tobacco (made from tree bark), and sage.  Then he placed some long poles with feathers on them, two long ceremonial pipes, and a few other ceremonial objects. The room which has top to floor large windows on two sides facing out onto greenery was totally filled with a potpourri of participants, many native Spanish speakers, and a few more women then men.  The large windows slid sideways to open, so when it rained hard the sound of the rain came into the room as a soothing backdrop.  As Jean spoke at length about the washing, cleansing, renewing, and the refurbishing of Mother Earth; it certainly felt like that was happening. During the evening Jean and Roy, accompanied by his drum, sung many soulful Indian songs.  One song called down the spirits while the final song thanked and released them.

The ceremony had four parts in which everyone participated. First, a woman walked around and gave each of us a rub of a wonderful scented ointment on the inside of each of our wrists.  We then brought the sent to our noses and inhaled the beautiful aroma.  Next, there was a pitcher of water infused with fresh sage leaves from which each person drank a sip for their own personal medicinal reasons. Thirdly, sweetgrass was burned and Roy came around to each one of us to let us pass the smoke over our heads and around us.

Later in the evening the significance of the pipes was discussed and everyone, one by one, came before the altar putting one foot on the buffalo skin to take a deep inhalation of the tobacco, not to take it into their lungs, but just to swirl it around in the mouth.  Prayers were formulated individually and then the smoke was exhaled. The songs, enhanced with the drumming, really reached into your whole being.  Some of the time the lights were out, especially during the singing, so a spiritual feeling permeated the room.

Lastly the healers came around to shake hands with the participants, one by one, and after you had your hand shake you joined the line and shook everyone else's hand too. It was very nice and something I have never done - so each participant greeted every other one.

by Mimi Wolford, mbariinst@aol.com