Another Washington: Feinberg chronicles the grittier side of dreams

Blaze Starr at the Plaza on New York Avenue &14th Street, N.W.: Photo by Paul Feinberg, Another Washington

Local artist Paul Feinberg's "Another Washington" exhibit in American University's Katzen Arts Center ends this Sunday. Before the exhibit ends come see the  71 black-and-white and color photographs taken over the past 35 years: a culmination of Feinberg's early themes — from personal relationships to the struggles of artists. Feinberg’s photographs have also appeared in the Washingtonian and the Washington Post Magazine.

Also make sure to read Naseem Miller's Katzen Museum Store Grows for more on the development of the Katzen Art Center.

The Great Hildegard, burlesque dancer. At the Plaza on New York Avenue & 14th Streets, N.W.: Photo by Paul Feinberg, Another WashingtonTattoo parlors, burlesque, jukeboxes, auto mechanics and luncheonettes once thrived in the neighborhoods around the old Greyhound bus station on New York Avenue in downtown D.C. Personal relationships built between strangers living on the street, retired soldiers at Kenny’s Bar and dancers pursuing a dream. Before Metro Center moved in and Washington, the city of dreams as it was known in the '70s and '80s, disappeared. 

Local artist Paul Feinberg’s "Another Washington" exhibit documents personal relationships and dreams in Washington “as it was in the ‘70s…before the Metro came in and before all the neighborhoods were bulldozed down,” said Jack Rasmussen, director and curator of the Katzen Arts Center at American University.

“Before everything started to look like K Street, there were actually mom and pop stores downtown,” Rasmussen said.

Curious about the close personal relationships people often develop, Feinberg would talk to people on the streets and in local businesses.  Feinberg’s photographs were more than a medium for expression; they were a way for him to get to know other people's stories, Feinberg said.

“I found a real empathy for people that were struggling with dreams at various levels because I was too,” Feinberg said.  “When I talked to people I found their struggles were similar to mine even though they were from completely different backgrounds.”

Black and white photographs of Blaze Starr, a burlesque star, hang in the exhibit.  Her affair with Louisiana governor Earl Long inspired the 1989 film, "Blaze".

Blaze Starr at the Plaza on New York Avenue &14th Street, N.W.: Photo by Paul Feinberg, Another WashingtonIn the ‘70s, Washington had a thriving arts and culture scene, particularly burlesque.  The burlesque scene, in its innocence, lost favor to Go-Go bars and raunchier strip clubs, Rasmussen said.

“Burlesque really stands for what I was trying to convey with the show.  Change in how rapidly things around us disappear,” Feinberg said.  “How quickly things become discarded even though it has a duty, in a sense … the people in those areas have dreams like everybody else.”

In a Washington where Chinatown is defined as Chinese characters in front of Urban Outfitters and Fuddruckers, Feinberg’s "Another Washington" exhibit celebrates a sometimes unconventional, sometimes sordid, but always colorful and vibrant Washington.

Feinberg’s photographs look at people in a more intimate way, fascinated by artists in Washington, Feinberg often went to art openings where he met a fellow named Al Burton.

“He had a warm smile, and he always came dressed in a suit, a little bit frayed, with a tie, and he would engage and seem to know a lot of the artists,” Feinberg said.

Over the years, Burton, who deeply appreciated the arts, became a subject of Feinberg’s works. 

“By chance…I saw him one time in a Dupont Circle house outside, going under the steps and taking out a plastic bag…he had folded, very nicely, a suit and shirt and a tie,” Feinberg said.  “He was a street person…he kept his one suit, one shirt, shoes under the steps of a house that he would put on for all the openings.”

Not many people ever realized Burton was a street person, Feinberg said.

"Another Washington" exhibits 71 black and white and color photographs taken over the past 35 years: a culmination of his early themes from personal relationships to the struggles of artists. Feinberg’s photographs have also appeared in the Washingtonian and the Washington Post Magazine.

“Your world as you’re looking at today, this is only 25 years ago, will be so completely different…when you’re 25 years older, and so appreciate the present,” Feinberg said.  “None of those things at the time I got to my 40s, I really loved as a kid, and most of them had disappeared without me even being aware that they were important."

“Styles, customs, tastes and relationships have changed,” Feinberg said.  “Another Washington preserves and celebrates a vibrant … sometimes gritty, but always beautiful city not seen in the tour books.”

"Another Washington" runs until Sunday, October 25 at the Katzen Arts Center at American University.  Hours are from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and admission is free.