Who is Laurie Anderson?

The multi-media artist just opened a new exhibit in D.C.

Last week I attended the press preview of Laurie Anderson’s new exhibit at The Hirshhorn, “The Weather.” I made a TikTok about the experience, if you want the TL;DR experience. It felt appropriate to introduce a little multi-media into a dispatch about a multi-media artist.

Anderson came up through the avant-garde scene of New York in the 1970s, making her popular debut with her single, O Superman, in 1981. Her work investigates the American identity, language, and the effects of technology on human relationships through performance art, audio, video, poetry, painting, VR, and both digital and physical sculpture.

The exhibit begins with a timeline of Anderson’s career and a floor-to-ceiling video of her early performance art set to a booming beat.

I had to exit alone through the second room when I left the tour for a work call, and I will admit I was a little spooked. This room featured 21 massive robotic red flags that rise, fall, and wave in crashing sync. I probably wouldn’t blink an eye if these red flags were coming from a man I wanted to date, alas, they were in a dark, cavernous room, un-ignorable.

The room that actually succeeded in making me cry was covered in black and white painted words and illustrated dream-scape scenes. This room had a surreal, absurdist energy that would suddenly veer into deep, relatable human emotion. In the center of the room was a gold painted canoe splintered at the hull, a giant ceramic crow, and a smaller crow that gives a speech about being in the witness protection program that lasts over an hour.

I won’t take you thorough each room, as I am on an artists’ retreat with some girlfriends this weekend, and I want to return to them. You’ll just have to visit for yourself.

Oh, and Laurie and Lou Reed of The Velvet Underground were together for 21 years—married from 2008 until his death in 2013.

Isn’t that cool? Let me know if you visit the exhibit.

Until next week,

Elizabeth

This newsletter is just one facet of Zhuzh, my platform dedicated to conscious consumption and making space for delight. I offer secondhand-and-vintage-based wardrobe and interior styling services, art curation, and super chill life coaching. Keep up with me on Instagram and learn more at www.zhuzhlife.com.