Your Body and the Stars

I just tuned into Stephanie Marango’s new book, "Your Body and the Stars," published a few weeks ago by Atria Press, an imprint of Simon and Shuster. It can be purchased at Barnes & Noble or through that little outfit owned by my Cuban peeps... Amazon.

Even though this is an art news outlet, I get a lot of books sent to me to look at... and let me affirm that this is the first book of its kind – a fun, practical and insightful handbook that takes a revolutionary approach to wellness by showing the relationship between the twelve Zodiac signs (e.g. I'm a Virgo) and the specific body region each sign represents (e.g. the Upper Back and Heart). 

Stephanie is a holistic health physician and educator, and her collaborator, Rebecca Gordon, is the resident astrologer for Harper's Bazaar.

Two impressive minds...

While new to modern times, the relationship between health and astrology actually dates back to Babylon and forms much of the history of medicine and science, from Plato, Aristotle and the school of Hippocrates, and all through the history of Rome, and weaves all the way through medieval times. 

How can you apply this ancient wisdom to your life? 

Pick a body part (e.g. neck) or a star sign (e.g. Taurus), and read how to bring your well-being into greater balance including practical tools like self-directed questions and yoga/Pilates/strengthening exercises for an effective result.

And I think that artists can learn a lot from the other arts, especially those with ancient roots, that seem to reach and tickle each individual cell, as though each cell is tied to each floating bit of energy in the Universe.

Even though I get a lot of unsolicited books to review, as you constant readers know, seldom do I wander away from the art world, but this is a good meander -- You can find the book at Barnes & Noble as well as my bud Jeff's Amazon... you can read and enjoy it now... and learn.

Whether or not you believe in astrology, the book’s an exceptional read, weaving in mythology, history and health - and that's how it hooked me in. 

I think that you'll find it a welcome exercise at expanding your perspectives and further opening your mind to "what if?"

Read it! Use it! Art it!

It's the parents' fault...

Two young boys gleefully destroyed a piece of art at a museum in Shanghai last week while adults, presumed to be their mothers, filmed the incident.

Read the story here. 

Color Chords

City of Alexandria to take over the Torpedo Factory

The city’s controversial move last week to temporarily take control of the Torpedo Factory Art Center caught many in Alexandria off guard. While three years seems to be pushing the boundary of what’s truly “temporary,” on face value the action makes sense.

Read that Alexandria Times story here.

 “The expectation now is that if we are leasing directly with the artists, now the city is bringing in that income, so we’re expecting the business model to still be self-perpetuating as it currently is but in a slightly different channel,” Ruggiero said. “Especially since this is a temporary measure, we will set it up within our system as a separate budget so it won’t be absorbed into the office of the arts. It’ll be a separate thing so we can track it better.”

Read that other Alexandria Times story here. 

Artists and art patrons have been expressing concern about the future of the center since a consultant’s report in January excoriated how the Torpedo Factory is organized. The report called the management structure dysfunctional, citing distrust among those involved and a lack of diversity among the artists. It also described the center as “continually hampered by disruptive politics about the distribution of power and authority.”

Read that WaPo story here.

A 5th force discovered?

A laboratory experiment in Hungary has spotted an anomaly in radioactive decay that could be the signature of a previously unknown fifth fundamental force of nature, physicists say—if the finding holds up.

Details here. 

Please Touch

Please Touch
Saturday, June 4 – Sunday, July 17, 2016
Reception: Thursday, June 9; 6 – 8 pm with talk at 7 pm

Target Gallery, the contemporary exhibition space for the Torpedo Factory Art Center, encourages people to touch, feel, dine upon, and even lick the artwork in Please Touch, on view Saturday, June 4 through Sunday, July 17, 2016. 

Sixteen national and international artists, including four people from Virginia, were juried into this group show. This all-media exhibition features 20 works with which audiences should engage.

“I chose work that specifically challenged the traditional expectation of experiencing art,” said Cynthia Connolly, Arlington County’s special projects curator and juror for the exhibition. “In this case, one must touch the artwork in order to completely understand, appreciate and experience the intention of the artist.”

For example, Colleen Ludwig’s Pod Field is a series of wooden forms affixed with long pod stalks. The audience is invited to brush against the pods as they walk through the installation, triggering the bamboo chimes. The more people in the space, the more it fills the industrial surroundings of the

Jenifer Hansen’s Project Share is two ceramic dish sets and a social art project. One set stays in Target Gallery for display, the other is for visitors to borrow and use for a meal with a stranger. There is no fee for this project, participants are merely asked to snap a few photos and write a blog entry. (See the blog from a similar project in Columbus, Ohio.) The dishes are a vehicle to engage in conversation over the intimate act of sharing food.

Fumi Amano, of Richmond, Virginia, created one of the most intimate works in the show with Look at Me. An immigrant from Japan, Amano’s work is a reflection of her sense of isolation and the challenges of connecting with others through a language barrier. In her work, visitors sit on opposite sides of a frosted pane of glass, unable to see each other. The person on the frosted side then licks the pane, revealing a face. This intense and visceral act mimics Amano’s own desire to break through barriers and communicate with others.

“We are told not to touch fine art, and definitely never to lick it,” said Kaitlyn Ward, Target Gallery director. “I want the gallery experience to be completely interactive, and for the visitor to feel like he or she is breaking the rules.”

The participating artists are:

·        Fumi Amano – Richmond, VA

·        Marcelyn Bennett Carpenter - Bloomfield Hills, MI

·        Brielle DuFlon – Charlottesville, VA

·        Sherman Finch – Cypress, TX

·        Magdalene Gluszek – Show Low, AZ

·        Jennifer Hansen – West Olive, MI

·        Dana Lynn Harper  – Columbus, OH

·        Tim Harper – Midlothian, VA

·        Katie Hudnall – Indianapolis, IN

·        Young Suk Lee – South Bend, IN

·        Colleen Ludwig – Detroit, MI

·        Charles Benjamin Rosecrans – Sandy Hook, CT

·        Richard Starbuck – London, England

·        Kurt Treeby – Buffalo, NY

·        Art Vidrine – Alexandria, VA

·        Dukno Yoon – Manhattan, KS