Thursday, November 17, 2011

The Composer

MPA/Corcoran longtime art teacher Barbara Januskiewicz, together with NY jazz pianist Matthew Shipp, is part of a collaborative art project called The Composer. This is more than an independent film, as it can be developed into outreach programs, art installations, and multimedia exhibits.

Her work this year has been to fuse music, art and the idea of creative critical thinking together. Here with The Composer project, she can reach into cultural art centers, museums and alternative art venues around the world. We know Barbara as a multimedia artist/filmmaker who sees herself and art as a way to celebrate creativity. Her actions have advocated taking art outside of the boundaries of the (art) system and to open it up to multiple possibilities thus bringing creativity into all areas of life. She now needs our support in reaching her goals with this project.

Matthhew Shipp, Barbara's partner:

is a perfect match for her. His talent persists as a resilient outsider, maintaining strong ties to NYC's free-jazz community even as he assails its orthodoxies. His strengths draw from listening to his own voice and taking risk in both composing and performing. He has performed around the world and has over 20 CDs, both solo and in groups. He is also the leader of the Matthew Shipp Trio.
You can support this project on their Kickstarter page at your preferred level. This is a charitable tax deduction courtesy of the American Jazz Museum.

100 Artists of Washington, DC book
This was taken at a book-signing party for the artists in the "100 Artists of Washington, DC" book at the home of one of the top DMV area art collectors.

That's me signing a book in the rear. In the foreground there's some major talent... that's Prof. Chawky Frenn, the top gun at GMU's Art School taking a pic of the legendary Lida Moser - yep... she whose's work is in every major museum in the world (including all DMV museums except the Hirshhorn... hello H?), and whose life has been documented in not one but two documentaries, and whose image (painted by Alice Neel not once but four times) hangs in a few major museums of their own around the planet...