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Do Americans appreciate the Fourth of July?

Fireworks explode over the National Mall in Washington D.C. Photo courtesy of the National Park Service.
Fireworks explode over the National Mall in Washington D.C. Photo courtesy of the National Park Service.

In the days before the Fourth of July, many Americans begin to gear up for the celebration which this year marked the 239th anniversary of America’s independence.

Whether it’s eating hamburgers or seeing a fireworks show, many Americans like to party on the special day.

“It’s definitely a focal point of the summer,” said Chris Morgan, 25, from Gaithersburg, Maryland.

As of July 2, Morgan planned to party with his friends, one of which will be meeting him in Pennsylvania with his fellow hikers from the Appalachian Trail. Morgan has many Fourth of July memories from previous years as well, including a glow-stick party in his neighbor’s pool and a firework show over Camden Yards in Baltimore.

There’s no doubt that Americans do their share of partying on the Fourth of July. But is this partying aimed towards the right cause? Is there appropriate reverence for the actions of America’s forefathers?

Buddy Bonner, 48, said the answer is “no.”

“I think we got a gross departure from appreciation with what our freedoms are,” Bonner said. “It’s more than likely just viewed as another day off from work.”

Bonner even admitted that he might be one of those people who does not hold the Fourth of July in high enough regard.

For some, the lack of appreciation of the Fourth of July is rooted in a lack of education.

“What happened exactly only the Fourth of July?” said Kevin Quinto, a 16-year-old from North Carolina. “If you asked 10 people at least five of them wouldn’t know.”

For Francesca Coyne, 18, of Pennsylvania, the holiday brings people together.

“Its really cool to see everybody get together and appreciate something,” Coyne said.

“It’s very rare that you can get a group silent and appreciate something,” Coyne later said.

Marsel Ganeycv, 18, an international student, said the Fourth of July is a worthy celebration for the independence of the country.

“I have a t-shirt with stars and people say ‘I have the same t-shirt,'” Ganeycv said. “They’re all so friendly.”

Like Coyne, Ganeycv sees the holiday as a way to bring people together.

“When you see the fireworks, something is happening in your soul,” Ganeycv said. “You feel that you’re apart of the whole crowd.”

 

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Some district residents say terrorism thoughts always close on Independence Day

People in Washington D.C.’s Tenleytown neighborhood discussed their opinions Thursday regarding the potential terrorist attacks on July 4th, fearing the nation’s capital could be a target.

Brittany Jones, 24, admitted that she is not one to celebrate the Fourth of July, but said she would fear the chance of terrorist attacks.

“When you think about fireworks and gunshots, you can’t really determine what’s what,” Jones said.

“I mean, yeah, I wouldn’t want to go down there, because then that would make me a target,” Jones continued about the festivities on the National Mall.

The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security released a joint bulletin June 26 titled “Holiday Celebrations Remain Attractive Target,” citing the likelihood of ISIS to attack large celebrations during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Despite the warning, Haley Sayre, 23, is planning on celebrating at the National Mall with her friends.

“I mean, it’s scary,” Sayre said. “The people that are supposed to protect us the most are warning us about a terrorism threat, and that’s what scares me the most.”

As a Massachusetts resident who has never witnessed a fireworks display, Sayre is excited. However, she is still uncomfortable about the situation and noted the 2013 Boston Marathon attack struck close to home.

Sayre answered that she normally would not go to watch the fireworks because of the heightened risk of attacks, but pressure from her friends has made her want to go despite the risks. Government security warnings are a help to some.

fireworks
Fireworks over the National Mall in Washington D.C. Photo courtesy of the National Park Service.

The National Park Service said on its website that visitors will be screened at all entry points to celebrate July 4.

Jones appreciates the warning and security: “They should, just to be giving people a heads up, just in case something did happen.”

Others, like Sayre, have mixed feelings. “I don’t really think it’s right for them to scare us, but I think if they do think something is going to happen, they should let us know.”

 

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Couple’s love and love of art on display at American University Museum

Works of art on display.
Works of art on display.

WASHINGTON–An overly-confident, extroverted poet and a timid, war-torn artist found a similar passion for mystical literature that flourished into one artistic relationship. Ten years after the death of 80-year-old Jess Collins, an artist, an art exhibit opens that gives a closer and detailed look into their relationship in the early 1950s called “An Opening of the Field: Jess, Robert Duncan, & Their Circle.” This exhibit was open to all at the American University Museum at Katzen Arts Center on Wednesday. “We predominantly focus on international, political-oriented and local art,” said Lucy Crowley, a senior administrative and marketing assistant at the museum. This exhibit has made its way through the nation and made possible by a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts. Collins and Robert Duncan, a poet, collaborated to make art based on postmodernism, a late-20th-century style in the arts representing the departure from modernism. Duncan commonly used high-colored crayons and Collins made collages and called them “pastes-ups.” The main themes of Collins’ artwork were chemistry, alchemy, the occult, and male beauty. However, their library had works of Greek myths, Victorian fairy tales and the tarot and Paracelsus, according to the New York Times. Their love for literature translated into their works, despite some different themes. Their artistic style may have been different, but they often showcased their relationship through their artwork. After meeting, they lived together in a house in San Francisco. This can be seen in Jess’ “The Enamord Mage, Translation #6” that’s based off of Duncan’s The Ballad of the Enamord Mage, a love poem about Collins. Their collaborative art changed the creative vision of the upcoming generation of writers and artists. “I had never seen so many materials used,” Genevieve Stegner-Freitag, 20-year-old art major, said about the artwork. To find out more about the Katzen Arts Center, call (202)-885-1300.

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The bands play on: Fort Reno concerts start after controversy

Fort Reno Park concert stage readies for performers after controversy nearly stopped it. Photo by Brenda Vega.
The Fort Reno Park concert stage readies for performers on Monday, July 7 after controversy nearly stopped the annual event. Photo by Brenda Vega.

The decades-old Fort Reno concert series kicked off Monday after security costs threatened to cancel the annual community event this year.

The event, which has been held annually since 1968 and takes place at Fort Reno Park in Tenleytown, was abruptly cancelled June 26, generating backlash from community members and a plea to reopen from D.C.’s Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton.

But, concert organizers and the National Park Service reached a compromise that has the concert back on this week to the satisfaction of locals like Owen Kibenge who thinks it’s a great community event.

“I think that it adds color to our community,” said Kibenge, 39. “I like hearing the bands play.”

Kibenge believes that community events, such as the concert series, are important to create close ties among the people in the Tenleytown area, which is in Northwest Washington, D.C. Kibenge also stressed the need for these social occasions which serve as important family events, while at the same time serving the needs of the community.

“One hundred percent, we need those community events,” Kibenge said. “They attract a diverse crowd of people.”

And Kibenge feels the diversity that community events attract is beneficial to Tenleytown. Others agree.

A change.org petition filed to allow the concert to continue reached 1,500 signatures within two days of the cancellation. And a Twitter campaign using #savefortreno garnered other passionate responses. One Twitter user wrote: “So glad that so many people worked so hard to #savefortreno. It is by far my favorite DC institution.”

But other Tenleytown residents were unaware of the event and the controversy surrounding its cancellation.

Menelik Walker, 22, an employee at Whole Foods in Tenleytown, hadn’t heard about the community concert series.

“I find it odd,” Walker said, about the apparent lack of advertising for the concerts. An email sent Monday to the concert organizers was not returned.

Walker believed it was strange he hadn’t heard people discussing the events at Fort Reno Park, and felt it was surprising he hadn’t heard anything from social media, or through traditional advertisements like fliers.

Haddy Gale, 22, another employee at Whole Foods, said she missed advertising and information about the concert, too.

“I hadn’t heard about it,” said Gale, who works but doesn’t live in Tenleytown. “People that live here might hear from friends but I don’t know.”

For those who do attend and look forward to the annual event, the Fort Reno concert series has become a part of local tradition and serves as a platform for feeding the creative need of the community.

“Music is the cup of wine that feeds the cup of silence,” Kibenge said. “I want to drink music all the time.”

 

 

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Local art framed at the Katzen Arts Center

WASHINGTON–A photograph of SpaghettiOs hangs against the wall.

Paintings of bare women, one smoking a cigarette, line a nearby hallway.

A portrait of a cowboy, made of colors and oils, is framed and hung.

These are just some of the many works on display this summer in sixth temporary exhibits at the Katzen Arts Center on the campus of American University in Washington D.C. The works are all on loan and contribute to the museum’s international, local and political messages, according to Lucy Crowley, an administrative and marketing assistant at the museum.

“You can take pictures and even small videos,” Crowley said.

Will's picture-S.O's
A picture of SpeghettiOs stands out in the local art exhibit at the Katzen Arts Center. Photo by Will Amari.

The local art exhibition is a donation from the Franz and Virginia Bader Fund, a 13-year-old organization that gives grants to artists within 150 miles of Washington, D.C.

In order to be eligible to receive a grant, an artist must be at least 40 years and must write an essay on why it would advance their lives as an artist, according to the Bader Fund website. Donations are given out every year, with minimum grants awarded of $15,000.

The exhibit opened on June 14 and closes Aug. 17. Artists include Aaron Brown, Hadieh Shafie and Rik Freeman, all of whom are long-time painters still trying to master their craft.

“My favorite piece is this one,” said Maia Plesent, a 20-year-old who works at the museum. She pointed at one of the works done by Emily Piccirillo. It is a photograph of what looks like the branches of trees.

“All of it so strange and interesting,” Piccirillo said.

Genevieve Stegner-Freitag, 20, is a gallery attendant at the Katzen Arts Center and she feels that it is a great idea to promote artists in the local metropolitan area.

“It is a way of expressing your individual personality, who you are,” Stegner-Freitag said. “It’s fun.”

To find out more about the Franz and Virginia Bader Fund, visit the website.

Summer museum hours are 11 a.m to  4 p.m. Located at 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20016

 

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Bader Fund grants opportunities to local artists

Jason Horowitz's "SpaghettiOs with Sliced Franks." Photo by Will Amari.
Jason Horowitz’s “SpaghettiOs with Sliced Franks.” Photo by Will Amari.

WASHINGTON–“The Franz and Virginia Bader Fund: Second Act” is spending the summer at the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center, continuing the work of its founders to reveal hidden talent in local artists.

Established in 2001 in accordance with Virginia Bader’s will, the Bader Fund provides a minimum of one grant annually to visual artists of at least age 40 living within a 150 mile radius of Washington, D.C. “Second Act” gives the public another look at the art produced by grantees over the past 13 years.

Maia Plesent, a gallery attendant, believes that the fund benefits artists’ development.

“The money goes towards the artists to expand their repertoire and explore new mediums,” Plesent said. “So I think it’s a great way to allow artists to learn and improve their art.”

The exhibit offers a variety of artwork, something that Plesent said makes it interesting.

“I enjoy how different everything is, there’s so many different mediums, so many different types of art in this exhibit,” Plesent said.

Rik Freeman is a narrative painter whose oil on canvas painting Samba na Praia is travelling with “Second Act.”  His art falls on the Bader Fund’s unique spectrum due to its ability to tell stories, a skill which Freeman picked up as a child in Athens, Georgia.

Yukiro Yamaguchi's "Energy," made of hand-cast resin and stainless steel wire. Photo by Melanie Pincus.
Yukiro Yamaguchi’s “Energy,” made of hand-cast resin and stainless steel wire. Photo by Melanie Pincus.

“I would ‘overhear’ grown folks’ conversations and feel their emotions, read a book, listen to music, and there’s a movie going on in my head,” Freeman wrote on his website. “This fueled my artistic style as a narrative painter.”

Stories like Freeman’s can be beneficial in applying for a Bader Fund grant, a process requiring artists to provide a detailed resume and a 1,000-word proposal outlining what receiving a grant would mean for their lives and work as an artist.  This process ensures that selected artists’ “ability to concentrate on their art would be enhanced by receiving a grant,” according to the Bader Fund’s website.

Olivia Whitener, 17, and a participant in a summer program at AU, was unaware of the “Second Act” exhibit at Katzen, but doesn’t think that the fund’s efforts to recognize older artists are necessarily optimum.

“These people should be established,” Whitener said.

However, she still appreciates some benefits of acknowledging a different age group.

“People often support younger artists,” Whitener said. “It’s encouraging people out of the norm.”

To find out more about the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center, call 202-885-1300, or visit the museum at 4400 Massachusetts Ave. N.W.

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Messages hidden in metal

WASHINGTON—Splatters of paint, hardware formed in unconventional ways, a message hidden within metal.

These are what consist of BK Adams’ latest exhibit, Mynd Alive, on display this summer at the Katzen Arts Center on the campus of American University in Washington, D.C.

In his artist statement about his works, which are outside in the sculpture garden at Katzen, Adams says, “I present to you Mynd Alive Sculptural Exhibition. Each sculpture tells its own story as do WE…Enjoy.”

In a piece titled “Ladder Me,” Adams forms a chair and places it high on a pole, almost like it’s the grand prize.

A paint splatted chair sits high upon a pole in BK Adams’ sculpture, “Ladder Me.” Photo by Courtney Allen.

In Adams’ writing about “Ladder Me,” the overall message of the sculpture is that before you relax in life, more important things should get done first. Adams’ sculptures speak volumes of color, spirit and individuality.

A message of self-empowerment is displayed in Adams’ “Where Do I Belong.” Similar to “Ladder Me,” the sculpture is of a chair placed high on a stand.

Next to the picture of “Where Do I Belong” in a booklet of his work found at the Katzen Arts Center, Adams’ writes, “If U want 2 B a Teacher, Shoot 4 a PRINCIPAL. If U want 2 B a Lawyer, Shoot 4 a JUDGE. If u wanna B SOMEBODY, shoot 4 YOURSELF.”

A work by BK Adams on display at the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center. Photo by Courtney Allen.

Adams, a Washington, D.C.-based artist born in 1972, is self taught. He takes experiences from earlier years to mold his artwork.

According to his biography, located on Adams’ website, “Adams considers himself a Thinker, foremost. It is important to the artist that all of his work has meaning—that it shares a story.”

His works are among six visiting exhibits at the museum this summer, according to Lucy Crowley, an administrative and marketing assistant at the museum.

To find more information about BK Adams, visit his website.

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Brink and Boundary: a multi-sensory experience

WASHINGTON—At first glance it appears to be any ordinary elevator. But it’s actually a work of art.

The ceiling of the elevator is covered with a photo of a plane in flight.

A similar story is told in the emergency stairwell. It appears to be nothing special, but it, too, is a work of art. Walking down the staircase, Alberto Gaitán’s media exhibition is heard but not seen.

Brink and Boundary is a unique artwork exhibition showing at the Katzen Arts Center on the campus of American University in Washington, D.C. All of the different pieces in the exhibition possess multisensory features that set them apart from more traditional forms of art.

Brink and Boundary also makes use of the Katzen Arts Center’s non-exhibition spaces–ones that are “overlooked and forgotten”–such as the emergency stairwell, the elevator, the entryway, and the barrier surrounding the main entrance.

Located within the entryway of the Katzen Arts Center is an auditory exhibition piece that invites visitors to link to a mobile app on their smartphones.

“You had the dream? You had the dream again?” said a voice from an app.

“Yes I dreamed I was choking and couldn’t breathe,” replied another voice.

Halsey Burgund’s piece entitled “Hotel Dreamy,” does not have a physical side but exists digitally in a smartphone application or in a touchscreen terminal, both of which are only able to be used within Katzen Arts Center.

“Hotel Dreamy” is an auditory piece of art that explores dreams and the ways people interpret their dreams.

Burgund’s piece has a unique form of interactivity. The piece allows users to contribute their dreams–using the smartphone application–and their own meanings behind them. Each visitor to the exhibition has the opportunity to help make the exhibit even more unique.

Away from the entryway and “Hotel Dreamy” is Adam Good’s piece “Untitled.”

Does text taken from a from another document and remixed still hold true meaning?
Does text taken from a from another document and remixed still hold true meaning?

“Honey this is your blood to take and make and take and make flow,” the words appear on blue stickers stuck to the

glass walls surrounding the main entrance of the Katzen Arts Center.

Using words that were taken from a scholarship piece by Felix Gonzales-Torres, Good explored whether or not context is essential to understanding words. If words are removed from their original context and arranged in a different way do they still retain their original meaning? This is a question Good tries to answer.

Moving inside the museum’s exhibit space, another artist had a different take on the multisensory exhibition.

Hasan Elahi chose to make use of one of Katzen’s elevators to present his piece entitled, “Sky.”

“Sky” makes up the entire ceiling of an elevator in the Katzen Arts Center, and presents the image of a plane in flight against a gray sky.

The empty sky leaves the viewer wondering about the fate of the flight and “turns the elevator into a mobile site for reflection and a charged form of sky-gazing,” according to the promotional brochure for the exhibit.

The last piece of art in Brinks and Boundary has its entrance on the third floor. In his piece, Gaitán presents a seemingly empty staircase with a loud-high-pitched-acoustic noise.

The audio exhibit called, “Untitled,” is a three-story staircase descending from the third-floor to the first.

As the listener enters the stairwell, they are immediately hit by the high-pitched ringing. This, combined with the echo of their footsteps, creates a sensory overload for the listener, forcing them into a state of hyper sensitivity.

This hyper sensitivity helps provide the viewer with a sense of meditative calm and lets them fully take in the exhibit.

For more information on the exhibits at the museum this summer, visit the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center’s website.

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Independence Day celebrations with international perspectives

WASHINGTON– People on American University’s campus are planning to exercise their patriotism with traditional and nontraditional activities for the Fourth of July this year.

Imani Muleyyar, a media production assistant at AU, is taking a slightly different approach this holiday. Muleyyar plans to travel to Baltimore, Maryland to visit family and box and kick box with friends. He explained that any day he’s off work, he and his friends use to train for boxing.

Though he enjoys athletics, Muleyyar expressed the importance of family time on this day.

“It’s good to be around happy people,” Muleyyar said.

The owner of an on-campus hair salon and spa, TIGI Boutique, Taher Kahel, is trying something new on America’s birthday this year.

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Taher Kahel, owner of TIGI Boutique on American University’s campus. Photo by Courtney Allen

Kahel is participating in traditional firework watching of the National Mall festivities, but is watching them from a rooftop with friends. Though he is Tunisian born, he has been in America for half his life, and happily celebrates Independence Day every year by hanging out with friends and family and going to festive parties. Kahel joyfully punched his fist when answering if Tunisia’s Independence Day is as exciting as America’s.

“Of course it’s, exciting. We beat the French!” replied Kahel.

Kahel thoroughly enjoys the Fourth of July here with the same excitement.

“I think it’s a happy holiday, Independence Day,” said Kahel.

Amrong Chey, a Cambodian-American, said she will be participating in the typical activities for Independence Day this year by going to cook outs and watching the fireworks. She also spoke about the similar day held in Cambodia for the country.

“Everyone gets together with family and friends to celebrate the country,” Chey said

It is clear to see that no matter where people are from, America or outside of America, they still excitedly participate in Independence Day each year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Fireworks, hot dogs, celebration…and traffic.

July Fourth fireworks on the National Mall.
July Fourth fireworks on the National Mall. Photo courtesy of the National Park Service.

WASHINGTON– With the anticipation building for the upcoming Fourth of July festivities, people in Washington D.C. are also preparing for the incoming traffic from tourists and visitors.

Road closures will be in place starting as early as Thursday night around the Washington monuments where an estimated 700,000 are expected to show up to watch the grand spectacle of fireworks that take place yearly in our Nation’s capitol.

Many will visit the National Mall, where fireworks will start at 9:10 p.m. on July 4, according to the National Park Service website.

The National Mall, being one of the most popular spots in Washington, D.C. for viewing the fireworks is expected to be packed and crowded and many at American University will avoid Fourth of July traffic by skipping firework viewings near Capitol Hill and downtown.

Mary Spanarkel, a New Jersey native, who was used to celebrating the Fourth of July on the beach back home, will steer clearly of the “super touristy” spots like the National Mall by hanging out with friends.

Eva Gates, who works as a receptionist at American University and moved from Long Island, will avoid the heavy traffic by going home for the holiday where she will enjoy barbecue with her family and friends on the beach.

Festus Allaotey, who was born and raised in Ghana, has been an employee at American University for two years, will not go out and plans to “stay in and watch on TV instead.”

Despite traffic, Washington, D.C. remains a favorite in places to experience America’s Independence Day for students attending summer programs at American University.

Celine Castronuovo,16, from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, is participating in NSLC and is spending her first Fourth of July in the nation’s capitol.

“I am looking forward to being able to look out my window and watch the fireworks and I’ve been watching them on TV forever and now I have the chance to actually see them in person, ” Castronuovo said.