Arlington, VA - In their second collaboration, The Ellipse Arts Center and The Washington Project for the Arts are proud to present Uncommon Beauty,  juried by Sarah Tanguy. Sarah Tanguy is an independent curator and critic, as well as a curator for the ART in Embassies Program. The artists selected for this exhibition create photo and video-based works that explore the relative definition of feminine beauty. On exhibition Friday, October 3 through Saturday, December 13, 2008.

The six artists in Uncommon Beauty peel away taboos and biases to tackle the

underpinnings of desire and self-worth. By isolating conventional loci of corporeal and

ornamental beauty, their photographs and videos reveal a charged intersection of

strength, beauty, and identity, with implications both personal and cultural. Alternate

perspectives emerge that move beyond victimization and acceptance of fads to

empowerment and liberation of the individual. While approaches to the subject vary, the

power of transformation in each project fuels a tension between outer and inner beauty.

None of them are set-ups or constructed realities, reflecting the artists’ self-conscious

lens of raw honesty ...

Widely known for his Pulitzer Prize photographs, Lucian Perkins is also creating video and multimedia works that complement his ongoing love for traditional photography. His piece Divine Divas follows a women’s social group inspired in part by the TV show and movie, Sex in the City.

Please join us for the opening of Uncommon Beauty on October 2, 2008 at the Ellipse Arts Center. At 5:30 pm the artists and juror will give a talk about the works. Following the discussion, there will be a reception from 6:30 - 9:00 pm. The Ellipse Arts Center is one block from the Ballston Metro (orange line) at 4350 Fairfax Drive, Arlington Virginia 22203. All events are free, open to the public, and handicapped accessible.