The Frida Kahlo Show
Last night's opening was packed to the gills with people, and the attendance even surprised me a little.
In the middle of the announcements for the award winners, someone from the crowd suddenly piped in and shouted the most off putting and random question that can be asked in a juried show paying homage to the influences of a Mexican artist on contemporary artists.
"What about the looting of art by the Nazis in Europe," shouted a young woman sitting on the chairs reserved for the artists (she wasn't one of the artists and her question was essentially what I wrote above but expressed in a more rambling way). "I just found out about this and I didn't know that the Nazis had killed so many people."
I looked at her and she smiled.
The crowd hushed for a second, a little thrown off by this odd question, considering the context of what I was talking about and the place and theme of the exhibit.
I rolled onto a discussion about how any and all empires and empires-wanna-be's had always stolen the art and intellectual ideas of the conquered, I also gave her a little lesson in art history and brought the conversation back to Kahlo.
She had a Joker-type smile frozen on her face the whole time, but she stayed quiet after that.
Weird, uh?
In any event, the prize winners:
First Prize
![Tanya Gramatikova, Tribute to Frida Kahlo II](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidm1a4WGpC89cfb07e8DUTwU31SmSWL1kx63yB2lqFAdtcC_uJWJ20qMKlr3Hp_Vqxga3Khq0kSzit3AtP9smu68vYr6LdedXLvr2zE_fqZwFfDAzkZbuq6r6HK0WN8gar3xPxyw/s400/Gramatikova+-Tribute+to+Frida+Kahlo+II+web.jpg)
Tanya Gramatikova, Tribute to Frida Kahlo II
Second Prize
![Diane Kahlo - Las Desaparecidas](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ReHoPH6DKcPzb0iORDTOEGPGgMlCSrW8DUkAK6qoIDVCub7670DkihkQKuTwlcn1JgzyTDd8VMnQY3d4pCndGpeVUUnIgUt1HNRoLbKH5cmnP71HUPMxmO_vHUqcDJvgjRxaGw/s400/Kahlo.jpg)
Diane Kahlo, Las Desaparecidas
Third Prize
![Kathryn Cook art](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8fXJWz0tqsxEziEvNE4gIb_vn9yw34SU6_gSbaFkfJJhqt1VImTo-yG9IO0c-rStcKdqrrRY2PN11LNeScKB-m7OqzFK7slP7E6aZg2nNy1iEXAMKjonXmrNlFJ1BLqUc15XfPw/s400/Cook2.bmp)
Kathryn H. Cook
Honorable Mention
![Katya Romero](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5JclPOz20EHwOZ1muBZ53Z_usvHvKd22GPS0-C5kw6mLa8MzFhQAe25PQX4H-Mr_3i11cSyS1_Bn_rAEhArKX9ZJsjsFxXvIhjs_uIwDoPI_EGRFNR9VoiVH-Lrj635zoOIKA2Q/s400/katya.jpg)
Katya Romero, Petalos Negros
Honorable Mention
![Marla McLean](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ASuyEvIKJSLrcqcEdUQirPqfQ9t_Bav2yvrfbAYxC5QdA9uQD_1c9_AOBahX-rsOZQt302HWsdlryHO-gehc9YCVx8AsRbCWVZmZB96jymS0XDKYdOBR_n4nWyCtRKQQqIscPQ/s400/McLean.bmp)
Marla McLean
Honorable Mention
![Nancy Pollack](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqzhiP_osD1RbUcWwySMCWJqdZNE__xbdXjICXuDovuuXOUbx2G8Ax7I-cbd3paSqyEreoU8ZfWh5L3BbM6Ne8F_ObTS0SRvRVpTVXkDNM32XE_d8DPNEkyswTNA3i2BAaR_CceA/s400/Pollock.bmp)
Nancy Pollack
Honorable Mention
![Priscilla Pompa Alvarez](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUeIavP413-4okrlKbWLyLywgjlazBuN5SJrBSq7wLiHN_XZzHLD3Ivxt7cMSvCC4g3pTo18CAW_qAVVCPbubPJkI7P1wlfVrO-VIKSCS6AjiYYDrmpAQAB7e7cdNupnVs2seIIg/s400/Pompa2.bmp)
Priscilla Pompa Alvarez
This is a very cool show... go see it.
The Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery is located in the heart of Washington DC's U Street corridor at 1632 U St NW. Call them at 202-483-8600 for info.