Art on Capitol Hill

Looking at art is as powerful as the act of creation itself. A work of art is never finished until you look at it—you make it complete in your own way. Take your average oil painting. It is nothing but light rays reflecting off a surface. The light is collected and perceived in different ways by different people, especially the perception of color. But here is the fun part—once the images are in your head they belong to you. Your mind can do anything it wants with them. They are knocked about by your cultural heritage, your experiences and even your mood. The artwork has a meaning that is yours alone. That is why the enjoyment of art is universal. It is a basic human need—a genetic hunger to have more in our lives than the tangible, touchable world. It’s a drive to fashion a parallel, intangible reality. But while looking at art is so individual, it is always shared with the artist. If you are drawn to a work at all, you can really connect—you can be pulled into a visual conversation. But there is no conversation without listening. Sometimes the message is profound, but often is it just a statement of joy about a place or time or color. Add other people and the conversation really gets going. There is much to share and so much to learn.

For me, the conversations work best when I am standing in front of the original work. I am standing right where the artist stood, and thought and sweated. That is why a finger painting by a three year old has more intrinsic value than a reproduction of the Mona Lisa. The ultimate conversation with the artist comes, of course, when you own a work of art. Perceptions and meanings are joined on the currents of timelessness—forces beyond our world that you can touch with your minds and souls if you reach together.

When Walter Kravitz sees space, he sees something that is alive, not empty—a place to put solid images that dance with kinetic energy. When you pass through his space you move through light and movement and colors that leap. Look again and you will be drawn into a visual conversation that makes you part of the experience.

The figures are transparent and are cut into forms that translate light into meaning. The materials are clear polycarbonates (plastics) that he molds and paints with acrylic pigments and places in complex arrangements. The intricate sculptures are suspended in grand atriums, walkways and places where people gather. Walter Kravitz is both a sculptor and an engineer, but only a visual poet can make the images rhyme and dance to rhythms.

All of this is created and developed in his studio on Capitol Hill—a truly great space connected with his home and family. His work can be seen in major places all over the Washington area, but Walter is known and respected throughout the country. He has major works in cities from Alaska to Florida. He graduated from the Chicago Art Institute and got his graduate degree from Syracuse University. But his most formative year may have been working in an animation studio. There he began to think in terms of kinetic movement with a transparent medium. He began teaching at George Mason in 1977 and has been a major force in building a full art program and faculty.

Walter Kravitz has a passion—a mission—to develop a sense of what goes in a space. He is not interested in “public art,” the predictable and forgettable kind, but an art with a link back to his studio; a personal, private energy transformed into a public conversation, and an opportunity to reach together to create a better place.

The Capitol Hill Arts Workshop means a lot of things to a lot of people. Just say “CHAW” to anyone who has lived here for a while and it’s like saying “Library” or “Court,” or “Eastern Market.” It’s part of the language. At one time or another, CHAW touches all of us through its range of adult and kids classes, vintage movies or performances.

To me, it has meant the Capitol Hill Art League, which is affiliated with the workshop. At 545 Seventh Street, SE, it is off the beaten path. But find it, and you find one of the best-kept secrets in Washington—a place with excellent art at very low prices. It has had its organizational problems, but Julia Robey, the new Program Coordinator, is pouring her considerable energies into giving the league broader and brighter recognition. With Jeffery Watson, CHAW Director, Julia is adding new members and creating partnerships with business on the Hill where artists can also show and sell. One of the popular features has been the “Gallery Talk.” The person who judges the entries for a monthly exhibit talks to the artists about why certain pieces were selected. The May talk will be coordinated with the annual Capitol Hill House Tour and the usual “Second Saturday” activities in the community. Make it a part of your tour. For information on the juried exhibits or joining the art League, call CHAW at 202-547-6839.