Journ 459 My trip to AU's Katzen Art just for traffic circles

This is from FEB 4th on my other site before this was created.

This past week I went to art reception at the Katzen Art Center at American University. The space is three levels and is large like a department store. The Center has in its collection over 300 works of art from fine, to pop and folk art.

This exhibit on display is modern and consisted of works from six female artists. It was quirky. In fact, two of the artist focused on circle themes, on their own, one using records, the other video projections.

On the first level was the work of Dafna Kaffeman, entitled "What Could be Sweeter Than Going to Paradise?" The phrase is something a young Palestinian girl said that Kaffeman, who is Jewish, took as her theme. The quotes were from post-terrorist attacks in Israel. She had that phrase and others embroidery in Hebrew on high quality handkerchiefs. Then using wax, made fine, delicate flowers to surround or frame the square shape material. Each Lucite box, about two dozen, was about 12 inches high by 12 inches wide, on mounted on the wall in a single row for the installation. Each piece had its own message. You had to get close to to read and to see the details of the fine work of the embroidered quotes and wax sculpted in flowers. I liked the displays but after looking at few, I was ready to move on to something else.

Upstairs, it was all action, music and motion moving quickly. Marisa Baumgartner had a video installation. Projecting on the various walls were moving roulette wheels, six feet high but in the middle, photos of different people, places and things. The colorful wheels were to represent "traffic circles" a way of life for those of us who live in DC area. The dark room and the projector lights gave the room a feeling of being in a disco. Not my type of art but others were smiling and taking photos of themselves in front of the moving videos that were being beamed onto the wall.

The other circle project was from Nicole Cohen who used old vinyls with maps. Again, DC is full of circles from a transportation perspective so locals may have appreciated the show.

I am person who likes to go into museum gift shops. Katzen's gift shop is tiny compared to the actual space for displaying the art. Only 20 feet by 10, is my ballpark guess. It does have an eclectic mix of items including works by local artists for sale; something you would not find with the big institutions downtown. On a scale of one to five, it is 3 because of the unique items but too small to offer an out-of-towner a large selection.

Katzen is fun for an art reception- the food, the atmosphere and to see many people if you live in that the neighborhood -but not for going alone. I was with friends so it was fun.