A beautiful, warm sunny spring day in Washington, DC. I ate lunch outside in the cool air with the warm sun on my face and spent the rest of my lunch time looking at amazing art. There is a new exhibit at the Renwick called The Art of Gaman it just opened on March 5, 2010 and will run through January 30, 2011. The Japanese word gaman (pronounced gah-mon) is defined as "the ability to endure the seemingly unbearable with patience and dignity."
Here is a link to some of the art in the show http://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/archive/2010/gaman/
It is a powerful exhibit of art made by the Japanese Americans interned in camps (from 1942-1946) after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The art is made from scraps of wood, found objects, shells, rocks, seed pods, scraps of metal and anything that could be found in the camps. Since I work so close to the museum, I will be able to visit the exhibit again and again.
When I saw the beautiful traditional Japanese dolls they touched my heart. I purchased the DVD that was made to go along with the exhibit that tells the stories of the families who made the art. I can't wait to watch it. I almost bought the book, but thought I would start with the DVD.
1 comment:
Hi- I found your blog through googling Altered Books Washington DC. I was wondering if you had any knowledge of an altered book club in the area (I live in Silver Spring, MD)? A fellow book dealer is heading up the Kensington celebration of Day of the Book on April 25th and I promised I would help her find some altered book people. She would like to have a booth set up with examples. Hope this makes sense:) You can find me at www.tinselandtreasure.blogspot.com
Thanks! Stacey Newton
Post a Comment