Georgetown Glow

"Free your mind
And the rest will follow"

These meaningful lines within the lyrics from En Vogue's song "Free you Mind" are continuously lingering in my head. I've been finding lately more and more the importance of such powerful words. Freeing one's mind is not only necessary to be completely open minded, but there is a certain peace and repose that occurs when I close my eyes and tell my mind to be "Free" stop thinking, stop analyzing, stop stressing over the hurts, over the things I especially can't control. This simple act of telling oneself to "free the mind" has been so holistic and meditative for me. I find myself especially now during the holiday season resorting over and over again to it to anchor myself and find a source of calmness and wholeness.

Ah, the holiday season and all its glory does happen to be one of my favorite times of the year - I am sure many can relate to that. With its extra holiday sheer and feeling the Christmas spirit, I try to look for little "miracles" in every corner, be it the kindness of a stranger, neighborly love or a fun loving Hallmark Holiday movie - I seek to see the good in everyday. December is one of my favorite months packed with goodies in every shape, from culinary seasonal delights to festive lights that give much glow and joy to the season. On Saturday, which was a sunny warm day, I decided to catch up on my Christmas Shopping and have a jolly good time in Georgetown. A stroll after a substantial meal, and a walk in the festive Georgetown waterfront led me to the "Talking Heads" sculptures that are currently on display for this holiday season in the "Georgetown Glow" outdoor light installations featuring a number of intriguing light fixtures within the Georgetown area. Glow is produced by Georgetown*DC / Business Improvement District, and is currently ongoing till Jan 7, 2024. What I found captivating about the "Talking Heads" which are 2 sculptures' installations facing each other and overlooking the Potomac river and the Arlington skylight is that they seemed to have a sense of pride. A certain refinement to their shape along with the simplicity of their rendering allows any individual to look at them and relate to their subsistence. They seem to be powerful enough with their heads up high for anyone to remark and notice that there is something special about these two illuminated busts. They seem dignified, which is a character we all seem to aspire to attain. I also like the fact that they are placed high up on a pedestal that we have to look up to them and see their gaze into the panoramic cityscape. "Talking Heads" is an installation by Hungary based light artist Viktor Vicsek in collaboration with Light Art Collection. The usage of 4000 controllable LEDs provide an array of lights to infuse the idea of a conversation between the 2 heads. The light artist explains that we humans communicate with our expressions and even without words we can understand each other's emotions just by our facial expressions, be it sad or joyful. We can console each other when we see a sad face, by which Vicsek asserts, "someone is inclined to comfort you. When you laugh, you invite someone to join you." The act of responding to expression and not words is by itself for me one of our most important proof of our emotional intelligence. A quality I find extremely essential and needed especially in our day and age. There are even times when EQ is more important than IQ in knowing how to navigate challenging encounters, or simply in "reading the room." Vicsek along with his company Limelight have been designing for the past 20 years major light projections in world cities such as New York, Tokyo and Dubai. I find this work especially to be illuminating and pensive. I do hope the Georgetown Business committee will decide to make it a permanent fixture in the Georgetown riverfront promenade park and keep it situated in the same spot for all to enjoy throughout all seasons. Such works of art that bring people together along with sparking a creative and intellectual dialogue should become a staple in DC to elevate not only the city but its people along with its visitors.

For more about multifaceted artist/curator, Vian Borchert, of the newly launched "VB Contemporary" online gallery which is currently open to all artists both local and worldwide to submit and exhibit for free in its inauguration exhibit titled "Beginnings", visit:

https://vb-contemporary.com/