An item about an appearance by Aimee Mullins did not include the venue, time or phone number. Mullins, a double amputee who has set Paralympic records, modeled in runway shows for designer Alexander McQueen and acted in "Cremaster 3," is a motivational speaker and collector of custom prosthetic legs as "body art." At 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Kennedy Center, she will give a talk with Kristen Hileman, curator of contemporary art at the Baltimore Museum of Art; the evening is called "Redefining Disability: Body as Art." The event is free with reservations. E-mail efkey@vsarts.org or call 202-628-2800, Ext. 3896, to reserve tickets.
Washington Arts Briefs
Washington arts briefs
BODY ART: Aimee Mullins's designer prosthetics, now at Baltimore Museum.
(Greg Staley)
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'Redefining Disability'
Sexy double amputee Aimee Mullins -- you remember her star turn as a ferocious cheetah woman aggressing Matthew Barney's Entered Apprentice in "Cremaster 3" -- comes to Washington next Thursday, her many protheses in tow.
Born without calf bones, Mullins had both legs amputated at age 1 and has defied the term "disabled" ever since. At Georgetown for college, she competed in running, eventually breaking Paralympic records. In 1999, late British designer Alexander McQueen plucked her for a runway show. A few years later she was shooting "Cremaster" with Barney.
Now a motivational speaker and collector of custom prosthetic legs, Mullins comes to D.C. to reboot the concept of "body art." She'll talk with Baltimore Museum of Art curator of contemporary art Kristen Hileman; the evening is called "Redefining Disability: Body as Art."
On view that night: the carved wooden legs designer McQueen commissioned for her runway debut, plus a selection of other protheses. The McQueen legs are artworks unto themselves, featuring a bacchanal's worth of vines and grapes curling around the calf, which sits atop five-inch, Louis-heeled feet that almost look like hooves. Barney would approve.
-- Jessica Dawson
'SNL' alums to fete Fey
To no one's surprise, Tracy Morgan and Amy Poehler have been added to the crowd of colleagues saluting Tina Fey at the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
Morgan is part of the "30 Rock" crew, which is Fey's weekly award-winning workplace comedy. For several seasons Morgan was a mainstay on "Saturday Night Live," where Fey rose to fame over nine seasons. Poehler is another fixture of the "SNL" family and is an alum of Second City and Comedy Central. She and Fey starred the movie "Mean Girls."
All the presenters and performers will toast Fey on Nov. 9 at the Kennedy Center, and the event will be taped by WETA and air on PBS Nov. 14.
-- Jacqueline Trescott
'CSI' fact & fiction
The USA Science and Engineering Festival continues today on the Mall with an intriguing topic for television crime fans: At 11:30 a.m. New York criminal defense attorney Marvin Schechter will lead a discussion titled "The Scoop on CSI: Separating Fact From Fiction," with Matt Partney and Tamara Jaron, both writers for "CSI: Miami."
The writers will feature clips from the CBS series and discuss the writing process for a full episode. Their discussion will focus on forensic science and techniques and the similarities between the events in a courtroom and what is seen on television. Schechter will focus on the role science plays in releasing defendants who have been wrongly convicted. The tent, No. 102, will be located between the Capitol Reflecting Pool and Third Street NW.
-- Erin Williams
