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Events&EntertainmentTHE CURRENT WEDNESDAY, MAY 28, 2008 21

By MARK LONGAKERCurrent Correspondent

Atrip to Artomatic maymake visitors feel a lit-tle like an ant riding on

the back of an elephant. It’shuge, and virtually impossibleto view com-pletely in asingle visit.

This year’sinstallment ofthe annualspring super-show openedrecently in thebrand-newCapitol PlazaI building justnorth ofUnion Stationin the NoMa(North ofMassachusettsAvenue)neighbor-hood. Itsprawlsacross 10floors, high-lighting 700 visual artists and300 performers. Exhibitsinclude paintings, photography,drawings, sculpture, ceramics,glass, installations and more.There are bands, dancers, filmscreenings, workshops, firetwirlers and a tattoo parlor.Everything is free, and most of

it is homegrown in theWashington area.

There have been seveninstallments of Artomatic sincethe first one in 1999. Beginninglast year, the event becameannual. It always takes place ina different vacant building, usu-

ally in D.C.,though lastyear CrystalCity hosted it.

Anyonecan exhibit inthe show, aslong asthey’re will-ing to ponyup $90 for aroughly 12-by-8-foot dis-play spaceand serve afew volunteershifts to helprun things.All art is wel-come.

AndyWarholfamously said

art is anything you can getaway with. That kind ofcatholic sentiment will servevisitors well at Artomatic. Onething is sure: This cross-sectionof emerging and establishedartists holds plenty of surprises.

Start your tour on the top

Mark Longaker/The CurrentMitra Lore’s steel lion strides across the Artomatic floor.

Artomatic extravaganzacelebrates area’s artists

See Artomatic/Page 39

Mark Longaker/The CurrentMichael Showalter made hisjellyfish lamp from blownglass and glass filaments.

“Yellow Mountain: China’s Ever-ChangingLandscape,” an exhibit of paintings andprints from the late-17th and early-18th

centuries portraying the scenic Yellow Mountain in

southern China, will open Saturday at the Arthur M.Sackler Gallery and continue through Aug. 24.

Woodblock prints, album leaves and scrolls, includ-ing one with a 20-foot panoramic scene, offer anancient vision of what is today a UNESCO WorldHeritage Site.

Located at 1050 Independence Ave. SW, the galleryis open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. 202-633-1000.■ “heART of the tree: 30+ Years of Exotic Wood

Sculpture & SculptedFurniture by Margery E.Goldberg,” featuringwood sculpture and fur-niture by the ShepherdPark artist, openedrecently at ZenithGallery’s AlternativeSpace, where it will con-tinue through June 29.

Located at 1111Pennsylvania Ave. NW,the gallery is openMonday through Fridayfrom 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.202-783-2963.■ “The SublimeLandscape,” a groupshow by artists whoexplore various interpre-tations of the landscape,will open Saturday at

Project 4 and continue through July 19.Featured works “explore historical issues such as

Manifest Destiny as well as contemporary ones suchas the increased amount of artifice and developmentnow transforming our landscape, versus the diminish-

ing open land that once defined it,” states a release.An opening reception will take place Saturday from

6 to 8:30 p.m. Located at 903 U St. NW, the gallery isopen Wednesday through Friday from 2 to 6 p.m. andSaturday from noon to 6 p.m. 202-232-4340.■ The American University Museum will open twoshows Saturday.

“Multiplicitocracy,” continuing through July 27,documents an arts management program at the univer-sity in which students this semester worked with muse-

Sackler exhibition depicts World Heritage Site

On EXHIBIT

“Landscapes for Mr. Liweng,” an album of 18 leavesdating from the Qing dynasty, is part of the SacklerGallery’s exhibit about Yellow Mountain.

See Exhibits/Page 39

An exhibit of MargeryGoldberg’s sculpturesincludes “BranchingOut,” made of padouk,maple, purple heart,walnut and neon.

THE CURRENT WEDNESDAY, MAY 28, 2008 39

floor and work down. Up there,you’ll find the tattoo parlor, wellworth a visit. Paul Roe andCynthia Rudzis of BritishinkTattoos practice their needle artamid the somewhat disorientingdécor, which combines a street-tough Mod look with antiqueVictorianism.

Other highlights on this levelinclude photographs, and paintingsdone from them, by John Sawyer,who endeavors to find the sublimein the ordinary. There are alsosmall mixed-media landscapes byKurt Godwin and larger oil land-scapes by Jean Adamson.

Among the more unusual itemsare Caitlin Phillips’ purses madefrom book covers, Leigh Ruble’sdresses made of wire mesh andRoger Cutler’s installation of sun-flower seeds and plants (feel freeto take some home). Before head-ing downstairs, say hi to winking,blinking, otherworldly “RecycleRobot,” which Tim Grant madefrom junk.

A highlight of the next floor iscertainly Liliane Blom’s“Norwegian Nights” installation. A

glowing white cylindrical curtain 7feet tall and 8 feet in diameter, itstands near the stairs. Part the cur-tain and enter to view a wrap-around panoramic photograph,portraying Norwegian mountainsin springtime, complete with rain-bow. It’s peaceful and transporting.

At the other end of the floor,Laura Peery shows fancy porcelainteapots resembling stitched cloth,decorated with buttons and poly-mer flowers and given whimsicalnames like “Serendipitea.” Nearbyceramic wall sculptures by BillMould mimic parchment, an effectoften enhanced by hieroglyphicsinscribed into them. An alcovebeside a second stairway holdsTim Tate’s glass sculpture contain-ing a miniature video camera andscreen. See yourself on camera,then head down a flight.

Look to your left when comingout of the stairway to catch anotherniche with glass art, gleamingsculptural necklaces by Deb Conti.The floor also includes an enclaveof ceramic pieces by MountRainer’s Flux Studios, includingJanet Gohres’ installation of full-size crows standing on stones.There are tornado paintings by JeffWilson, nature photographs byGreg McElhatton and naughty pic-

tures that Keith Cappellini shot at abiker rally.

Continue this way for sevenmore floors to get a general idea ofthe show’s scope. Along the way,be sure to check out LisaSchumaier’s mixed-media sculp-ture “March to War,” a large red-white-and-blue elephant with bigbullets for tusks and anti-war pro-testers marshaled at its feet.

Some of the finest glassware onview is that of Michael Showalter,subtly colored and intricatelydesigned, especially the hangingjellyfish lamp with long, gleamingtentacles dangling down.Extraordinary craft and design arealso evident in African maskscarved from wood by GeraldShanklin.

Then there is the welded steellion by Mitra Lore. Almost life-size, the regal beast took the artistnine months to create. Its massivemane alone required hundreds ofsteel rods more than a foot long,twisted and hammered into shape.All that effort paid off.

Artomatic will continue throughJune 15 at 1200 1st St. NE. Hoursare Wednesday and Thursday from5 to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturdayfrom noon to 2 a.m. and Sundayfrom noon to 10 p.m. artomatic.org.

ARTOMATICFrom Page 21

um director and curator Jack Rasmussen to programexhibitions and performances. A gallery talk by theartists and curators will be given Saturday at 5 p.m.

“Ledelle Moe: Disasters,” continuing through Oct.26, features concrete and steel sculptures by the SouthAfrican-born Moe. The sculptor will give a talk June21 at 4 p.m.

Located in the Katzen Arts Center at 4400Massachusetts Ave. NW, the museum is open Tuesdaythrough Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 202-885-2787.■ Foxhall Gallery recently opened an exhibit of newpaintings by Tammy Callens and Dean Larson portray-ing indoor and outdoor scenes. It will continue throughJune 16.

Located at 3301 New Mexico Ave. NW, the galleryis open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5p.m. 202-966-7144.■ The Arts Club of Washington will close threeshows Saturday. They feature landscapes by SandraGobar, collages by Elaine Langerman and CynthiaLittleton’s paintings inspired by the U.S. Southwest.

The club, located at 2017 I St. NW, is open Tuesdaythrough Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdayfrom 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 202-331-7282, ext. 23.■ “The White House Garden,” featuring photographs,drawings, maps and correspondence documentingmore than 200 years in the history of the presidentialgarden, opened recently at the U.S. Botanic Garden,where it will continue through July 13.

Located at 100 Maryland Ave. SW, the BotanicGarden is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 202-225-8333.

EXHIBITSFrom Page 21

“Everybody wants to impress each other and to com-municate their case.”

On Friday, the object was to communicate the caseto the six-member “jury” composed of teachers andparents. Matt Seiler, a school administrator, presidedover the trial from an open desk that revealed his run-ning shoes peeking from a too-short robe.

Adults reveled in the play-acting here; each settledinto a witness persona and seemed to enjoy giving eva-sive, sometimes contradictory testimony to the frustrat-ed lawyers.

Nigel Hinshelwood, the school’s academic dean,was a Harvard psychologist parsing the logic of raciststereotypes for the court. As the plaintiff’s counseltried to force the expert to attribute the shooting toGoetz’s racism, and the defense counsel to Cabey etal.’s actions, Hinshelwood tied each side in knots byamending earlier testimony and professing an inabilityto answer certain questions. As Hinshelwood left thestand, a witness about to take the stand heckled thatHinshelwood should “leave [his] doctorate at thedoor.”

That heckler, David Shapiro, Burke’s head ofschool, damaged the plaintiff’s cause as he channeled aManhattan school principal who feared for himself andhis students during the mid-1980s crime wave in New

York City. Lawyer Nelson Sofer tried to catch Shapirowith cleverly worded questions, but Shapiro cutthrough them bluntly. “You can slice and dice it anyway you want,” said Shapiro. “People have the right todefend themselves.”

The jury disagreed with Goetz’s brand of self-defense, however, returning a verdict for the plaintiffand damages totaling $20 million. The verdict eliciteda final moment of adult hamminess, as SandyChamblee-Head, mother of lawyer Karlyn Hackneyand playing Cabey’s mother, dabbed her eyes in theaudience. “Thank you,” she said tearfully to the jury.

“Judge” Matt Seiler acknowledged that the adultsmay have enjoyed the morning’s proceedings as muchas the students did. “It’s a bit of a role reversal, and it’sinteresting to see how each side handles it.” The stu-dents dealt with the adult antics as best they could, hesaid. “It’s evident how well-prepared they are. It’s acomplicated subject matter, and I think they handled itadmirably,” said Seiler.

Lawyer Nelson Sofer observed that the decades-oldcase is still relevant today and welcomed the challengeto wrestle with such important issues as he prepares toleave the insular world of high school. “You do treadon thin ice with this case: There’s race, violence.You’re either speaking on behalf of New York or ofpeople who have been made out to be criminals. Asseniors about to leave school, it’s important to talkabout these things. You really have to step up to theplate.”

BURKEFrom Page 30