If you see four horsemen .....duck and cover...

Christina Sevilla

by contributor Wendy Gordon

Photo credit: Alfredo Flores

It’s the end of the world as we know it…” to coin a phrase.  Or is it?  Apparently not.  The Mayan calendar ended Dec. 21, 2012, marking the end of a 5,126-year era.  

News Flash:  we’re all still here.  Kind of funny, if you have a dark sense of humor.

Tom Toles

So what better way to celebrate than with ApocalypToon 2012 , an Art Soiree three day pop up display ironically laughing off the coming year of the apocolypse featuring cartoon art by Kal of The Economist, The Washington Post’s Pulitzer Prize winning Tom Toles, Jeff Danziger of the Los Angeles Times and Huffington Post, Daryl Cagle of MSNBC, Matt Wuerker of Politico, Damien Glez of La Monde, Courier International, La Gazette, Patrick Chappatte of the International Herald Tribune and New York Times, and Dan Piraro of Bizzaro displayed at The Terrace Gallery at Artisphere in Arlington?  

Josh Meyer

Bryan Greene

Tim Burger

The event kick off took place on Thursday with a guest-packed gallery taking in walls covered with oversized cells of the cartoonist’s works as well as written word projections welcoming guests and annotating the participants. Cagle, Kal,  Wuerker and Toles were in attendance, greeting fans.  Camera bulbs popped and libations flowed.  Apocolyptic attitude?  Not so much. 

It wasn’t just the printed art that was the draw (pun intended).  There was live music—and by that we mean not merely fiddling while Rome (or the rest of the world) burns.  The evening’s highlight was a performance by DC’s best loved ‘journo-band’ Suspicious Package featuring the talent of Tim Burger, Bryan Greene, Christina Sevilla, Josh Meyer and, in a dual artistic role, Tom Toles playing signature covers from Billy Idol to the Rolling Stones as well as original tunes.  DJ Neekola was spinning as the evening progressed, providing the rhythm that was the backdrop to the drawings.

 

Founded in September 2009 Art Soiree’s goal is to showcase emerging talent in the visual arts, short film, music, literature and performance art.  Curators Sandro and Tati host multiple art events each month—exhibit and party all in one, attracting from 200 to 500 attendees for the exhibits and over 7,000 people for art festivals. Over the past two years they’ve exhibited over 150 artists in more than 60 exhibitions, bringing together over 20,000 people together.

ApocalypToon 2012 runs through the weekend at Artisphere's Terrace Gallery. It is free and open to the public.  If you see four horsemen on the way in, we suggest you duck and cover.

Suspicious Package in action: