The Georgetown gallery scene doesn’t always get the attention it deserves, but gems are ready and waiting to be unearthed for those industrious enough to pick up a few brochures. But first, a brief lesson in jock culture: because the bodies of water polo players are submerged in water, the helmets players wear serve the same identifying function as jerseys do in other sports. John Trevino, a D.C. based artist and Howard University professor, has taken this idea and run with it in “What Comes Next,” an exhibit of portrait photography at District Fine Arts (DFA) on Wisconsin Avenue. The portraits, photos of black men and women in cartoon water polo helmets, ultimately fall short of their aim to “examine dreams and memory created as the residual of human interaction.”
While the images of Trevino’s contemporaries don’t quite jive with the artist’s stated aim, they certainly create a purposeful air of mystery. Who are these people, and why did they agree to be a part of this project? The brightly colored clip-art-like headgear is something less than flattering. Taken with a grain of salt, however, the exhibit produces some interesting juxtapositions in terms of the way the subjects present themselves and the way that Trevino alters these notions with his customized helmets.
Trevino makes teammates of businessmen, young ladies, and old dudes with similar, yet subtly different helmets that don’t always mirror the outer appearance of their wearers. In a portrait titled “Teresia,” a tastefully dressed older woman has been haberdashed with a purple, black, and white helmet emblazoned with an image of the Rolling Stones tongue. Just what Trevino is trying to say about this woman is unclear, but the image is certainly indicative of art’s ability to claim its subjects and twist them out of convention’s grasp.
This effort to move beyond tradition is part of DFA’s own tradition, and it is something the gallery has done well in the past. In October 2007 it housed an exhibit titled “Hit Me With Music!”, which featured photographs, sculpture, and paintings dedicated to exploring music’s place in celebrity culture and in the lives of ordinary music-loving folk. Chester Simpson’s vivid photographs of rock n’ roll icons from The Boss to Twisted Sister popped from the walls of the small gallery and offered amusing insights into a raucous world many only dream about. New York based artist Leah Tinari’s brilliant, colorful paintings turned her friends and family into celebrities, who twisted and bumped to music unheard, but nevertheless felt by the viewer.
While “Hit Me With Music!” closed on February 2, DFA is sponsoring a special event at the Chevy Chase Bloomingdales that resurrects the exhibit. The event ends on Saturday, but it’s worth the trip to the ‘burbs to see the kind of show DFA can really put on.
