Spring Fling: Street Photos, African-American Art, Howard Theatre

Jazz at the Howard, ca. 1941: Ray Bauduc, Herschel Evans,
Bob Haggart, Eddie Miller, Lester Young, and Matty Matlock.
(Photo: William P. Gottlieb/Library of Congress/Wikimedia Commons)

The Washingtonian in its April 2012 issue flags up a few great new exhibitions in DC, including one I've already mentioned called "I Spy: Photography and the Theater of the Street, 1938-2010" (April 22-August 5) now on show at the National Gallery of Art.

At the same time, The Smithsonian American Art Museum is exploring a pivotal turning point in American history through "African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era, and Beyond" (April 27-September 3), which includes works by Robert McNeill, Richmond Barthé, Romare Bearden, and 40 others.

On April 9, moreover, Washington's Howard Theatre (built in 1910) reopened "after a $29 million restoration that has turned the landmark into a state-of-the-art venue and revived its architectural glory," Sarah Wildman reported for The Washingtonian.

Located near the corner of Seventh and T streets in DC's historically African-American Shaw neighborhood it "was once an incubator of great music," according to Wildman. "Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin, the Supremes, and Marvin Gaye all played at the Howard Theatre early in their careers."

The theatre reopens with a new lineup including Wanda Sykes, the Roots and Chuck Brown.

Art of Video Games @ American Art Museum

What's your favorite video game?
(Jonathan Sloan/Wikimedia Commons)

I'm not that into video games myself, but if I were, I would probably find this exhibition at the Smithsonian AMERICAN ART MUSEUM cool:

THE ART OF VIDEO GAMES
(March 16 - Sept. 30, 2012)

What makes this exhibition even niftier is that the video games "on display" at the museum were selected via an online voting process.

According to the museum, this exhibition is the first ever to "explore the 40-year evolution of video games as an artistic medium, with a focus on striking visual effects, the creative use of new technologies, and the most influential artists and designers."

Let there be games!

Annie Leibovitz @ American Art Museum

Annie Leibovitz at a 2008 show of her work in San Francisco
which included an infamous August 1991 Vanity Fair
cover photo of a then-pregnant Demi Moore.
(Robert Scoble/Wikimedia Commons)

Her photographs of "famous folk" - from American teen idols to Berlin-based celebrity polar bears to the Queen of England - are legendary and have graced countless "Vanity Fair" covers.

But Annie Leibovitz has also pointed her lens at more "ordinary" subjects.

This private side of her work is now revealed at the Smithsonian AMERICAN ART MUSEUM in an exhibition of 64 original images shot by Leibovitz between 2009 and 2011. Aptly entitled ANNIE LEIBOVITZ: PILGRIMAGE, it promises to be a rare photographic treat.