My name is Chela Robinson. I am interning at the Copyright Alliance for the summer of 2009. I am a native Washingtonian, with a degree in Music Performance (vocal) from Rutgers University. I have a music business background from interning at Atlantic Records, Interscope Records, and Warner Chappell Music Publishing. I wish to run a successful artist development and music publishing company in the near future.

Artomatic is Washington, D.C.’s celebration of the arts, and a confirmation that our nation’s capital consists of more than lawyers and politicians. I had never been. So, on the way, I couldn’t help wondering how it would be and what to expect. Eight floors of art, music, film and performance sounds pleasantly overwhelming, and I must say that I enjoyed myself.

Every year, this special event takes place in a different venue that is donated space or no longer in use. For example, last year Artomatic took place on ten floors of a new but, unfinished office space in Northeast D.C. This year, Artomatic celebrates its 10th birthday. Local artists and their displays are open to the public on Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 12 pm-10pm and Friday-Saturday from 12pm-1 am until July 5th.

I walked through the doors of the unfinished Half Street luxury apartments and obediently followed the signs to the reception area. I didn’t want to look like a beginner, so I rode the elevator up to the second floor. As I stepped out of the elevator, I realized that there is something very artsy about unfinished buildings. My first stop was at the Britishink booth, where a man received final touches to his newest tattoo finished by Cynthia Rudzis. I chatted with them for a bit, and gave praise for the space that she and her partner Paul Roe altered into what looked like a real tattoo parlor.

I then went to the graffiti-designed Artist Resource Center where materials from our very own Copyright Alliance and other arts-involved organizations like the Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts stock pertinent information for local artists.

I admired the urban inspired acrylic paintings by Zenia Bennett, whose pieces featured different African-American women with purple lipstick. I laughed at jocose images from Graham Meyer. I think that the two most innovative works of art were Alexandria, Virginia-based Linda Eliff’s handcrafted mirrors out of vintage china, and a young woman who took iPhone pictures and placed them in iPhone replicas made out of Plexiglas.

Some displays were great to explore like Amin Swessi’s abstract painting collection and her vow to “Making the World Pretty”, while others were bizarre, like an electric wire outline of a talking Martin Luther King in a darkened black tent.

Whether exhilarating or disappointing, I discovered one of the greatest facets of viewing artistic works: perception. I perceived as much as I could until I reached the 7th floor. My new found artistic eye became restless and a little faulty. Everything began to look the same, so I decided that I would refresh and visit again on the weekend with a few friends. Restaurants, movie theatres and beaches will be around all summer, but Artomatic will not. After the fifth of July, we will wonder if anything else compares.

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Tags: Artomatic, arts events, intern blogs

This entry was posted on Monday, June 15th, 2009 at 11:57 am by admin and is filed under creators, events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.