The D.C. Docent

Today, relax. Tomorrow, see Wilmer. Yes, I have climbed on board the WWIV bandwagon. 

Tomorrow he’ll perform FOREVER, “a suite of performances based on the historic 19th C. figure of Henry ‘Box’ Brown…the slave who mailed himself to freedom…he will cover himself with three grades of postage stamps and walk into post offices asking to be mailed.” 

As my friend Archie would say: “I love this story.” I also like one other artist’s treatment of the Henry Box Brown legendary feat. If you experienced Glenn Ligon’s America at either the Whitney or LACMA as I did last year, you saw the To Disembark installation piece inspired by HBB, and augmented by KRS-One and Billie Holiday.

It’s too bad this is scheduled for work hours, but it’s unavoidable if you’re trying to get to a U.S. Post Office. I can only imagine what kind of scene this will invoke, especially at the 14th & T St., NW post office. I hope that someone is taking video.

Wilmer Wilson IV performs FOREVER on Monday, April 9th, 9am-3pm, at Lincoln Theatre, 1215 U St., NW.

Transformer is on a roll lately, fresh off the success of DANDANS, a collection of work from contemporary Japanese artists, and having recently announced its Collector’s View 2012 summer series, it’s definitely not resting on its laurels.

And so it leads with the promise of these recent successes, to present a series of artists performing under the banner of Bread and Butter: Artistic Perspectives on Food and Culture. Guest curated by Carolina Mayorga and featuring Chanan Delivuk, Sara Pomerance, Kari Scott and Shannon Young, the series will take place over the next month and address themes through performance, installation, photography, and sculpture.

Opening Reception on April 7 from 6-8pm. Exhibit runs through May 19.