By -- Lavanya Ramanathan
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Nothing has exploded and no one is wounded in Phil Nesmith's photographs of Iraq. And that might be the most extraordinary thing about his show, opening Saturday at Irvine Contemporary.
"My Baghdad" chronicles Nesmith's two trips to the war zone in ambrotypes -- hazy, antique-looking images created on glass plates.
The surprisingly placid images were shot in 2003-04 and during a brief stint in 2006, and they include barren Iraqi landscapes, birds on a wire and sunsets marred only by a passing helicopter. They have the patina of old Civil War photographs, but were shot digitally -- because things move too quickly in Iraq to pull out a large camera and wait for a long exposure. "It's too dangerous for that," Nesmith says.
So how does one go to Iraq and come back without images of bloodshed and atrocity?
"That's what CNN is for, that's what Fox News is for," says Nesmith (pronounced nee-smith), an Arlington-based former Army intelligence sergeant who left the service in 2000 and arrived in Iraq as a civilian defense contractor in the early days of the war.
Part of it, of course, is that most of the photos were snapped during a markedly calmer period.
But it is also that Nesmith's objective was to capture "common daily scenes if you're an American soldier living and working there for a year." The images were plucked from personal snapshots from his time embedded with a single Army unit. Though he had taken war-zone photos while serving in Bosnia in the 1990s and has since become serious about photography (he had a space in last year's Artomatic), he hadn't considered a show until his first trip to Iraq was nearly complete. Last summer, some of the shots got a test run in smaller form at H&F Fine Arts gallery in Mount Rainier.
The Irvine show, with 10 of the glass plates and large-format images, opens with "Reunion," which compiles new works by the gallery's artists, on Saturday. The reception is from 6 to 8 p.m. 1412 14th St. NW. 202-332-8767.
Save the DateEXHIBIT: It's Raining Frogs Because of the nature of the exhibits at the National Geographic Museum -- including CritterCam and the Nigersaurus display -- it's very rare that animals are around for you to gush over, as you might at the zoo. Skeletal re-creations and photos are usually all you get. But the next exhibit, the traveling show "Frogs: A Chorus of Colors," brings in 15 varieties of live amphibians and sets them up with habitats in the museum. The show, which has been to the American Museum of Natural History in New York, among other spots, allows visitors to hear different frog calls, see a frog skeleton (how did we know?) and catch Mark W. Moffett's separate photography show of frog close-ups. It opens Jan. 25. Free. Monday-Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday 10-5 through May 11. 1145 17th St. NW. 202-857-7588.
ON STAGE: "The Snow Queen" Goes Airborne Mara Neimanis spun and dangled and dreamed her way through a set of sold-out shows as Amelia Earhart on a giant jungle-gym of a plane in her theater work "Air Heart" at last summer's Capital Fringe Festival. And in a week, she's debuting her latest aerial work, this one suitable for kids. Her trapeze "Snow Queen," set atop "floating" ice castles and amid flying forest creatures , is part of Baltimore's experimental theater event, QuestFest, Jan. 17-20. $15; students and seniors, $10. Jan. 17 and 19 at 8 p.m., Jan. 18 at 10:30 a.m., Jan. 20 at 1 p.m. Towson University Center for the Arts, Studio Theatre, 8000 York Rd., Towson. 410-704-2787. For more on QuestFest, visit http://www.questfest.org.
THE SCENE: A Celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Next week, a slew of events will celebrate the life of the civil rights hero, and one of the regulars is the Anacostia Community Museum's, which each year has a different theme (last year, it was poetry). In this year full of global-warming warnings, the subject of the upcoming talk (held off-site at the National Museum of Natural History) is environmental sustainability and justice, led by Robert Bullard. Free. 7 p.m. Jan. 17. Baird Auditorium, 10th and Constitution Ave. NW. Call 202-633-4875 for reservations or e-mail acmrsvp@si.edu.
The DistrictToday
FILM: A Kick-Off to German Films Film{vbar}Neu, the Goethe-Institut's annual festival of new German films, doesn't start till Jan. 18. But tonight the cultural center offers a little primer on the country's cinema, complete with clips and a rundown on classic traits to look out for, led by U-Md. German literature professor Peter Beicken. Free but reservations required. 6:30 p.m. Goethe-Institut, 812 Seventh St. NW. 202-289-1200, ext. 160.
TomorrowFILM: Many Many Examples of How to Look Disillusioned How fitting that just as British mod fashions from the 1960s (stockings, flats, mini-dresses) rule the day, the National Gallery of Art pulls out some of the harsh, realist films from the same conflicted era in England. "England's New Wave," a series that focuses on those films often called "angry young men" flicks, begins tomorrow (at 3:30 p.m.) with "The Entertainer," Tony Richardson's 1960 tale of down-and-out performer Archie Rice (the late great Laurence Olivier). And Saturday, watch for "Look Back in Anger" (at 2 p.m.), the class-warfare drama based on a groundbreaking play by John Osborne. Free. Various times through Feb. 3. Screenings in the East Building Auditorium, National Gallery of Art, Fourth Street and Constitution Avenue NW. 202-842-6799 or visit http://www.nga.gov/programs/film.
SaturdayCONCERT: Dumbarton Concerts: The Eclipse Chamber Orchestra The latest in the Dumbarton Concerts, set at Georgetown's Dumbarton United Methodist Church, is this weekend's performance by the Eclipse Chamber Orchestra, which performs Schubert/Mahler's "Death and the Maiden," the new work "Solaris" by Tudor Dominik Maican and a third work. (The show celebrates the 30th anniversary of concerts at the 1850 landmark). The Eclipse ensemble includes a number of National Symphony Orchestra members. $30; seniors and students, $26. 8 p.m. 3133 Dumbarton St. NW. 202-965-2000.
ON STAGE: "Making Political Theatre With a Pulse" As part of the Inkubator Festival (a fest of new-play readings and open rehearsals centered at the H Street Playhouse), political theater group eXtreme eXchange presents "Making Political Theatre With a Pulse," a roundup of five short political plays followed by a discussion. Pay what you can ($10 suggested). 8 p.m. 1365 H St. NE. For tickets, visit http://www.boxofficetickets.com, use keyword "extreme."
MarylandToday
FILM: "Masculin, F¿minin" It's France, 1960-something, and the free-loving kids are famously considered the spawn "of Marx and Coca-Cola." Jean-Luc Godard's film closes its run at the AFI Silver tonight. $6.75-$9.75. 9:20 p.m. AFI Silver Theatre, 8633 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring. 301-495-6720.
TomorrowON STAGE: "Fiddler on the Roof" The exuberant musical about Jewish peasant Tevye and his daughters closes Sunday at Olney Theatre Center. $25-$46; ages 18 and younger are half price. Tomorrow at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 7:30, Sunday at 2 and 7:30. 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Rd., Olney. 301-924-3400.
SaturdayFOR KIDS: "Twice Upon a Time" There are only a couple more days to catch Imagination Stage's production of this double bill featuring "The Lorax" (a piece cut from "Seussical" before the musical reached Broadway) and a contemporary take on Hans Christian Andersen's "The Emperor's New Clothes." $10-$20. Saturday at 12:30, 3:30 and 7 p.m., Sunday at 12:30 and 3:30 p.m. 4908 Auburn Ave., Bethesda. 301-280-1660.
Northern VirginiaToday
THE SCENE: Snowy Winter Nights at the Torpedo Factory Never mind that the week started out with temperatures in the 70s, Snowy Winter Nights is the theme of tonight's monthly event at the Torpedo Factory. In addition to the regular open studios and galleries (including Target Gallery, with its show "Molded Earth") and scavenger hunt at the arts hub, there will be a candy "buffet" and other refreshments. Free. 6-9 p.m. Torpedo Factory Art Center, 105 N. Union St., Alexandria. 703-838-4565.
TomorrowFOR KIDS: "Cinderella" Community troupe the Children's Theatre presents Vera Morris's take on the old tale (hers is better known as "The Glass Slipper") plus a few new characters. $10; children, $8. Fridays at 7:30, Saturdays at 3 and 7:30 and Sundays at 3 p.m. Through Jan. 19. Thomas Jefferson Community Theatre, 125 S. Old Glebe Rd., Arlington. 703-548-1154.
CONCERT: The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The London-based orchestra will be joined by conductor and renowned violinist Pinchas Zukerman for a performance at GMU's Center for the Arts tomorrow night. On the program: Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36, and Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 26. $30-$60. 8 p.m. George Mason University Center for the Arts, 4400 University Dr., Fairfax. 888-945-2468.
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