Jati Lindsay

Jati Lindsay's work is all over the place. Open the City Paper, The Washington Post, The Source and even Essence and you are bound to see of some his photos. His work has been featured in local and international galleries including the Philadelphia African American Museum. His ongoing documentation U Street has brought attention to an area that has gone through more rapid changes than perhaps any other area in Washington DC. His black and white images evoke nostalgia of the days when U Street was a home of jazz greats and urban hangouts, not over priced boutiques and cookie cutter lounges.

Long before photographers such as David Scheinbaum even discovered hip hop/urban culture, Jati Lindsay was shooting hip hop artist in concert and for album covers. Some albums he shot covers for include; Big Brother, Platinum Pied Pipers and The Foreign Exchange. Jati is often seen around town with his camera shooting events, local artist and landscapes.

Once you get a chance check out his website: Jati Lindsay

Trip on Memory Lane: The Solo Show of Joka

Joka's surreal paintings are erie in there detachment from reality. Paintings of babies with watches for faces and naked women fanning themselves with raw meat make for a somewhat screwed view of humanity. I know this sounds like something from the most recent horror movie and believe me some of his paintings are just that demented. But, there is something in his work that draws you in, something very familiar about it. Perhaps it's the fact that death, meat and sex all play a huge part in his work just as they do in American pop culture.
I love his work. But then again, I am a sucka for art that causes a physical reaction in me, even if that reaction is fear and nausea.

The opening for Trip on Memory Lane will be at the Art Whino Gallery on February 22, 2008 from 6-12pm the exhibit runs through March 15, 2008. Music will be provided by HoneyLab's DJ Eddie Twain.

For more information on Joka visit him here

Carlos Luna: El Gran Mambo

Carlos Luna is a Cuban born painter and story teller. He often uses deep jewel tones and organic shapes in his paintings, to quote Jesus Rosado, "Luna's work is the polished convergence he achieves between aesthetic erudition -implicit in his visual expression- and the appearance of a spontaneity born either from the naive in popular culture, or from the intuition of a talented amateur. "

Carlos Luna's latest exhibit is showing at The Katzen Art Center. The exhibit runs through March 17, 2008

The Painted Lady Project

Close your eyes and imagine being surrounded by beautiful fairy princesses, adorned in glitter and various colors of body paint, sound surreal?

Well, The Painted Lady Project is brining fantasy to reality while making you question politics, sexuality and maybe even your own morals.

The Painted Lady Project is a group of women that dress up, rock body pain, and perform at various venues and private parties. The live sculptures that they become send messages of power and resistance to their audiences and the community. The Painted Lady Project was started in 2005 by two women, one a performance artist (Ayo Ngozi), and the other a holistic healer (Tazima Davis).

This art movement is so powerful for many reasons, but the main one being that for many years and still today women (especially brown women) are often over looked and objectified. The Painted Ladies take control of their bodies through performance art and change the way the audience sees themselves and the world around them.

I was fortunate enough to see them perform in an opera at the Fringe Festival and trust me, they are amazingly beautiful.

For more information please visit their Myspace page here

Or

To book them for your next event email them here: paintedladyperformanceproject@gmail.com

What it's all about

Washington DC is a political hot bed of politicians, congressmen, and senators. In spite of all that, there are tons of cultural and creative out post here. Washington DC is about as multi-cultural as one city can be, but within the DC art scene that always isn’t the case. There are tons of artist that don’t get enough shine, due to racial, cultural, and linguistic barriers.

I plan to show you, dear reader, all those avant grade, amazing artist you have been overlooking, and believe me there a lot of them. I’ll also tell you about events, openings, and other things to keep you in the know.

Consider this blog to be like that “up and coming” neighborhood in DC, a place not yet sprinkled with Starbucks and Gap subsidiaries, a place where true urban culture is still appreciated.

Parallel Visions is where you will be able to read about people and places that aren’t on everyone’s radar, yet.

As I am sure you’ve guessed, I am only one person so if you hear of an event or an artist that you think I should write about, please shoot me an email: Candace@urbancodemag.com