Mural in Washington, DC

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7/6/26, 6:56 AM

DC Fringe Festival ... Matt Sesow ***

As part of the Capital Fringe Festival, on July 21st and 22nd,
Matt Sesow and Dana Ellyn painted a mural
on the outside wall of the Warehouse Downtown Arts Complex
1017-21 7th street, NW (Washington, DC)

click image to visit photo set by photographer James Calder. photos from night of July 21.

https://www.sesow.com/fringe.htm

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116126, 6:56 AM

Ss

LU

Ward Two News

sy SUSAN RUETHER

Local Artists Fringe Ward 2
in 24 Hours of Color

Perched on a ladder fixing the face of
Jesus, Dana Ellyn avoided the blazing sun
in the late afterncon as shade fell on the
bright orange wall she detailed. It made
sense, afer all, that she and fellow artist
Matt Sesow begin their round-the-clock
inural painting session at 3 p.m. so a3 to
avoid having their sweat drip into the
botles and boxes of paint below.

Not thaesuch a thing would have been
frowned upon; it was a 24-hour act of
painting asociated with the Capital Fringe
Festival. This year, the frs-annual festival
brought together hundreds of artiss for
over 400 shows in eleven days: a mind

boggling range of performances, some
experimental and others on the verge of

wacky. Unlike che theatre performances

btps:/wow.sesow.conviringe htm

DC Fringe Festival .. Matt Sesow #**

IDCNORTH

AUGUST 2006

however, the mural will become a perma-
rent part of the 7th Street landscape,
though Ellyn and Sesow expected their
mural to bea work in progress even afer
they finished. “We expect that people will
write on it - chats fing,” Sesow comment
ed. "We know it will change

[After coming ta terms with the scale
of the project and the texture of hundreds
of stapks jammed into the wonden store-

front, the artists began their work with

house-paint and acrylies, Describing the
painting as “frce and looser” than the stu-
dio work they are used to, each of the
inter filled the space with lange Figures.

sso and Diego Rivera rip-off,” Sesow
commented of his half of the mural, The
painting, after just thice hours, depicted
large scale artists and borers, a figure of
Jesus looking down on the current sate of
affairs and a lady voyeur sipping a drink in
the cornet

Before the artists got there, you might
say the wall Ellyn and Sesow covered (a
Jong-abandoned storefront adjacentto the
Warehouse Theatre) had their names on it.
When Fringe festival director, Julianne
Bri
she and Warchouse co-director, Molly

7a, thought of the idea ofthe mual,

Rupert immediately chose the duo local
painters and a couple - who had showed
work at the Warehouse.

‘The Warchouse served as home base
for the festival this yea, hosting 2 majori-

ty of productions and events

We're not used to being watched as
wwe paint,” Sesow commented in regards
think the
painsing is done, no matter the stage,” he

to onlookers. “People alwa

said. Not soon after,a man stopped to ask.
iff they would paint around the comer of
the building, Sesonv also admitted that the
painting might be “influenced by work-
ing at 2am. after afew beers.” Yet at the
beginning stages, che figures are clear and
deliberate, and the colors are bold.

The history ofthe Fringe Festival cates
back to 1947, when cight uninvited

performance groups arrived at the exclu

sive Edinburgh Intemational Festival and
staged a series of guerilla performances
S have adopted the
tradition, with DC as the7 6th location to

Cities across the

‘make space forthe peculiar and particular
in local ar

“Besidesare-o-matic, the Fringe Fest
val is really the only grass-roots venue for
support of the visual arts [in DC]," com-

seated Sesow, who now supports himself
entirely through the sale of his paintings.
He describes DC as a “galler:

where you have to sign an uber-contract
and give up your soul to sell a psinting for
50 percent [ofthe profit)” Both artists say
that venues like the Fringe allow artists to
show and sell directly to patrons which ul-
imately benefitsaristic production in the
city, Ellyn and Sesow painted well into the

wee moming hours for fiee this time, how-

ever, to “enjoy the process of making art
it's fun to support the Fringe,” Sesew
commented.

Matt Sesow will bold an open studio on
Aug. 5 from Noon 6 pm. wnerssesouscom,
202-319-1459, Dana Elhn will hold her
‘pen studio on Aug. 12,from Noon ~6 p.m.
tn danaelyn.coms, 202-737-6161. For
‘more Capital Fringe Festival details, visit

[page 2 machine-read (OCR) from the image]

6:56AM ival .. Matt Sesow

ashingtonpost.com
OING QUT GURUS

Fringe for the Eyes

Nearly every kind of performance art will invade downtown over the
Inext 10 days in conjunction with the much-anticipated Capital Fringe
Festival, which kicks off today. The visual arts are not a huge part of
IFringe festivities, but three events give a taste of offbeat contemporary
lart in Washington.

I'm most looking forward to "Watch This Space (Get Painted)," a 24-
hour painting project by local artists Dana Ellyn and Matt Sesow. The
artists will complete a mural on the Warehouse building between 3 p.m.

n Friday and 3 p.m. on Saturday, and the event corresponds with the
24-hour showing of Unmapped at the Warehouse

Ellyn and Sesow are in the midst of 31 Days in July, a project they have
faken on every year since 2003. For each day in July, the artists paint a
canvas inspired by news on the front page of that day's Washington
Post. (Examples of their work so far are posted here and here). Though
he artists haven't planned what exactly will end up on the Warehouse

all, they expect the work might reflect the 31 Days project. Graffiti
stencil elements might also make their way into the project; it is on the
side of a building after all

Iso from Sesow and Ellyn is a project called "Banners From the
Fringe." For this exhibition -- on view at the surprisingly attractive exhi-
bition space at the Washington, D.C. Economic Partnership - Sesow,
Ellyn and about 20 of their artist friends created art on top of old street-
lpost banners donated by the Downtown Business Improvement District.
Despite the fact that all of the artists had to work in basically the same

ramework -- skinny or fat vertical rectangular canvases -- the result is
lan incredibly diverse show.

[page 3 machine-read (OCR) from the image]

7/6/26, 6:56 AM

DC Fringe Festival ... Matt Sesow ***

They will begin painting at approximately 3pm on July 21st and finish by 3pm on July 22nd 2006
(with a break during the wee-hours of the night/morning).
Images of the completed mural and photos of them at work will be posted here after the event.
View the work of Matt Sesow by clicking here (www.sesow.com)
View the work of Dana Ellyn by clicking here (www.danaellyn.com)

Dana Ellyn and Sesow after posting their "WATCH THIS SPACE" flyers on the future site of the mural.

Local Artists Fringe Ward 2 in 24 Hours of Color, July 2006 written by Susan Ruether (DC North
Newspaper)
Perched on a ladder fixing the face of Jesus, Dana Ellyn avoided the blazing sun in the late afternoon as
shade fell on the bright orange wall she detailed. It made sense, after all, that she and fellow artist Matt
Sesow begin their round-the-clock mural painting session at 3 p.m. so as to avoid having their sweat drip
into the bottles and boxes of paint below.
Not that such a thing would have been frowned upon; it was a 24-hour act of painting associated with the
Capital Fringe Festival. This year, the first-annual festival brought together hundreds of artists for over 400
shows in eleven days: a mind boggling range of performances, some experimental and others on the verge
of wacky. Unlike the theatre performances however, the mural will become a permanent part of the 7th
Street landscape, though Ellyn and Sesow expected their mural to be a work in progress even after they
finished. œWe expect that people will write on it " that's fine,
Sesow commented. œWe know it will
change.



https://www.sesow.com/fringe.htm



4/5

7/6/26, 6:56 AM

DC Fringe Festival ... Matt Sesow ***

After coming to terms with the scale of the project and the texture of hundreds of staples jammed into the
wooden storefront, the artists began their work with house-paint and acrylics. Describing the painting as
œfree and looser
than the studio work they are used to, each of the painters filled the space with large
figures. œPicasso and Diego Rivera rip-offs,
Sesow commented of his half of the mural. The painting,
after just three hours, depicted large scale artists and laborers, a figure of Jesus looking down on the
current state of affairs and a lady voyeur sipping a drink in the corner.





Before the artists got there, you might say the wall Ellyn and Sesow covered (a long-abandoned storefront
adjacent to the Warehouse Theatre) had their names on it. When Fringe festival director, Julianne Brienza,
thought of the idea of the mural, she and Warehouse co-director, Molly Rupert, immediately chose the duo "
local painters and a couple " who had showed work at the Warehouse.
The Warehouse served as home base for the festival this year, hosting a majority of productions and
events.



œWe're not used to being watched as we paint,
Sesow commented in regards to on-lookers. œPeople
always think the painting is done, no matter the stage,
he said. Not soon after, a man stopped to ask if
they would paint around the corner of the building. Sesow also admitted that the painting might be
œinfluenced by working at 2 a.m. after a few beers.
Yet at the beginning stages, the figures are clear and
deliberate, and the colors are bold.





The history of the Fringe Festival dates back to 1947, when eight uninvited performance groups arrived at
the exclusive Edinburgh International Festival and staged a series of guerilla performances. Cities across
the US have adopted the tradition, with DC as the 76th location to make space for the peculiar and
particular in local art.
œBesides art-o-matic, the Fringe Festival is really the only grass-roots venue for support of the visual arts
[in DC]," commented Sesow, who now supports himself entirely through the sale of his paintings. He
describes DC as a œgallery-centric city, where you have to sign an uber-contract and give up your soul to
sell a painting for 50 percent [of the profit].
Both artists say that venues like the Fringe allow artists to
show and sell directly to patrons which ultimately benefits artistic production in the city. Ellyn and Sesow
painted well into the wee morning hours for free this time, however, to œenjoy the process of making art . . .
it's fun to support the Fringe,
Sesow commented.





CLICK HERE FOR MORE PAINTINGS...

https://www.sesow.com/fringe.htm

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