Seven Ways to Make You Squirm

By Lavanya Ramanathan
Thursday, October 16, 2008

First, a cautionary note about tonight's screening of the film "Seven Easy Pieces" at the Hirshhorn: The easily shocked or squeamish will probably want to quickly leave/run screaming from the theater.

And that's a perfectly understandable response, given the nudity, self-mutilation, self-flagellation and sheer intensity of renowned performance artist Marina Abramovic 's seven-part work.

But for those who do stay through Babette Mangolte's documentary, the screening offers a rare opportunity to see (really, to immerse oneself in) works that include re-creations of groundbreaking performances from the 1960s and 1970s, including those of Joseph Beuys and Valie Export.

In November 2005, Abramovic stretched seven short, identity-exploring and politically loaded pieces (only two of which, "Lips of Thomas" and the far cheerier "Entering the Other Side," were her own) into seven-hour happenings on each of seven days at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, all as part of the first Performa biennial.

To see Abramovic pressing her body into glass as hard as she can for hours (from Bruce Nauman's "Body Pressure"), cradling a dead hare (Beuys's "How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare") and carving into her nude flesh with a razor ("Lips of Thomas") only exposes the irony of the title "Seven Easy Pieces": There is clearly nothing easy about any of it, for the artist or the viewer.

(Abramovic isn't a mere copycat. She went to estates and even to the doors of the artists whose work she hoped to reprise to get their permission in the interest of preservation.)

For the Beuys piece, she took a literal route: She covers her head in honey and gold leaf, just as he did. For Export's "Action Pants: Genital Panic," she offers a twist; although Export walked through an art-house cinema wearing pants with the crotch cut out to force audience members to face her lady parts, Abramovic stands (yes, in crotchless pants) with a fake rifle, giving the whole scene an air of fearfulness and paranoia.

Do we need to tell you this is not for children?

"Seven Easy Pieces" is screened tonight. Free. 8 p.m. Hirshhorn Museum, Ring Auditorium, lower level, Seventh Street and Independence Avenue SW. 202-633-1000.

SAVE THE DATE

[ CONCERT ] John Legend He's been busy of late making the election-season rounds (he played the Democratic National Convention), but that'll be over soon, leaving Legend time to promote a new record. "Evolver" is due late this month, and Legend will kick off a world tour in mid-November. If you're looking for a tease of what the record will sound like, check out his single "Green Light," featuring Andre 3000, which is moving up the charts. Or you could just see Legend himself when he lands at the Lyric Opera House in Baltimore and DAR Constitution Hall in December. Tickets for both shows go on sale tomorrow at 10 a.m. through Ticketmaster. The Lyric Opera House show, set for Dec. 8, is $73; tickets for DAR, on Dec. 9, are $71. Lyric Opera House, 140 W. Mount Royal Ave., Baltimore; and DAR Constitution Hall, 18th and C streets NW. 202-397-7328.

[ THE SCENE ] Two Screenings to Get You in Halloween Mode The AFI Silver's Halloween screenings of "Nosferatu," F.W. Murnau's silent 1922 vampire tale with live accompaniment, are now a tradition. In Annapolis, Live Arts Maryland and St. Anne's Episcopal Church will screen the 1925 silent film "Phantom of the Opera," also with live accompaniment. Take your pick. "Nosferatu" is set for Halloween night; tickets for the screening often sell out, so get them in advance. Organist Larry Molinaro performs his score for "Phantom" at its Oct. 25 screening at St. Anne's in Annapolis (the effect, say organizers, is more campy than terrifying). "Nosferatu" is $20; AFI members, $15; children under 12, $5. 7 and 9:30 p.m. Oct. 31. AFI Silver Theatre, 8633 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring. 301-495-6720 or visit http://www.afi.com/silver. "Phantom of the Opera" is $15; students are $10. 7 p.m. Oct. 25. Church Circle, Annapolis. 410-280-5640 or visit http://www.marylandhall.org.

THE DISTRICT

Today

[ FILM ] Reel Affirmations Returns The city's gay-lesbian-bisexual-transgender film festival (which features parties, filmmaker brunches and dozens of films) returns tonight with "Breakfast With Scot," about a gay Canadian hockey player and his partner raising a young boy. Other highlights: Family Day, with GLBT-themed films including "Dottie's Magic Pockets" and the animated "Buddy G: My Two Moms and Me" and "Tomboy." $10 for individual screenings; opening and closing-night films, $20-$40. Through Oct. 25. Venues across the District and Montgomery County, including the Goethe-Institut and AFI Silver Theatre. For details, visit http://www.reelaffirmations.org.

[ LITERATURE ] "Submersion Journalism" With Barbara Ehrenreich and Others This panel tonight at Busboys and Poets, pegged to the book "Submersion Journalism: Reporting the Radical First Person From Harper's Magazine," brings together writers such as Ehrenreich, who became a low-wage worker to research "Nickel and Dimed." She and others will discuss what it means to shed the notion of objectivity in order to get a story from a different point of view. Also at tonight's event: Ken Silverstein, author of "Turkmeniscam"; Congressional Quarterly editor Chris Lehmann; and the Washington City Paper's Angela Valdez (who memorably ripped the Late Night Shots social-climbing social network last year). Free. 6:30-8 p.m. (Get there early; the events at Busboys often fill quickly.) 2021 14th St. NW. 202-387-7638.

Tomorrow

[ ON STAGE ] "Love Lessons From Abu Ghraib" Jennifer Schelter used detainee interviews and movements derived from yoga to create a one-woman show about Abu Ghraib survivors. The show is at the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop. $20. 7 p.m. tomorrow and Saturday. 545 Seventh St. SE. 202-547-6839.

Saturday

[ EXHIBIT ] "Regime Change Starts at Home" This politically loaded new show at Irvine Contemporary, opening Saturday, boasts the work of media artist Paul D. Miller (a.k.a. DJ Spooky) and new prints and paintings by Shepard Fairey, the RISD grad and graphic designer whose propaganda-inspired "Obey Giant" street-art campaign spawned the Obey clothing line. Also look for works by Al Farrow, a metal sculptor who fashions religious symbols from gun parts and bullets. Free. The reception is 6 to 8 p.m. Through Dec. 6. 1412 14th St. NW. 202-332-8767.

MARYLAND

Today

[ THE SCENE ] Markhoff's Haunted Forest This weekend, the scarefest, with spooky scenarios built into the already ominous MoCo woods, expands from one trail to two, both with new elements for the forest's 16th season. Each trek is 20 minutes, give or take the few minutes you'll have to stop to get your heart rate down. Afterward, hang out by the bonfire. The trails are each $25; $20 for children under four feet tall (bring cash; they don't take credit cards). Dusk-9 p.m. tonight, to 10:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Schedule varies through Nov. 1. 19120 Martinsburg Rd., Dickerson. 301-216-1248 or visit http://www.calleva.org.

Saturday

[ FESTIVALS ] Chesapeake Real Ale Festival This bash held in Baltimore by the Society for the Preservation of Beer From the Wood celebrates not Oktoberfest but plain old beer. Twenty brewers in all, including the Brewer's Art, Victory Brewing and the very Halloweenish Raven Beer (named in honor of Baltimore's own Edgar Allan Poe), pour samples from real casks. $35 in advance; $40 at the door (though organizers suggest the event often sells out in advance). 1-6 p.m. The Wharf Rat, Camden Yards, 206 W. Pratt St., Baltimore. Get tickets in advance at http://www.spbw.org/realale through tomorrow at 5 p.m.

[ CONCERT ] Candlelight Concerts: Eroica Trio The concert series in Columbia brings in the Eroica Trio, a top all-female chamber music ensemble featuring pianist Erika Nickrenz, violinist Susie Park and Grammy-winning cellist Sara Sant'Ambrogio. The glam trio was nominated for Grammys in the late 1990s for the record "Dvorak/Shostakovich/Rachmaninoff." Saturday night, it presents a program that includes Édouard Lalo's Piano Trio No. 1, Mendelssohn's Piano Trio No. 1 and other works. $29; seniors, $26; students, $12. Wilde Lake Interfaith Center, 10431 Twin Rivers Rd., Columbia, 410-997-2324. (Virginians: Note that the Eroica Trio also performs tomorrow night at the Barns at Wolf Trap at 8 p.m. Tickets are $35. Call 877-965-3872.)

NORTHERN VIRGINIA

Today

[ FILM ] Spooky Movie Festival Expect Halloween-season screams with a healthy dash of camp at the Spooky Movie Festival, which opens tonight for its third year at Fairfax's Cinema Arts Theatre. Washington's own vampire emcee Count Gore De Vol hosts the first night's screening, which includes such gems as "Foet," about the hautest handbag to hit New York, made of something fashionistas would never expect. And through Monday, you can expect more of the weirdest scenarios imaginable in horror, from homicidal twin sisters to, um, "Tofu the Vegan Zombie"? Tickets for the festival are $8-$12 per screening; a festival pass runs $30. The first screening is at 7 tonight; the festival continues nightly through Monday. Cinema Arts Theatre, Fair City Mall, 9650 Main St., Fairfax. 703-978-6991. For a full schedule and tickets, visit http://www.thespookymovie.com.

[ EXHIBIT ] Talking "Uncommon Beauty" This exhibition at the Ellipse Arts Center features pieces by Mary Coble, who has, among other performance pieces, had the names of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender victims of hate crimes etched into her body with a tattooing needle; and photos by Jason Horowitz and Frank Hallam Day. Taken together, the works explore the concept of beauty. Tonight, see the show and hear from Coble and Kay Chernush (who made a series of self-portraits after her double mastectomy) talk about their work in a discussion titled "Personal Identity and the Disjunction of Public Perception." Free. 7-9 p.m. Ellipse Arts Center, 4350 N. Fairfax Dr., 703-228-7710.

Saturday

[ THE SCENE ] Tour Arlington National Cemetery: Tales and Tombstones The Smithsonian's Resident Associates program hosts a tour led by historian Jeanne Fogle, who guides participants to some of the cemetery's famous markers, including the tomb of Pierre L'Enfant. The two-hour tour is offered Saturday, and includes a lot of walking, so leave the four-inch heels at home. $30; Resident Associates, $23. (Not recommended for children.) Saturday at 10 a.m. Meets at the Visitors Center, Arlington National Cemetery. Get tickets at 202-633-3030 or visit http://www.residentassociates.org (in both cases, the reference code for the event is 1GW-A03).