Culture update: Smithsonian Portrait Gallery

So one thing I love about DC is being so close to these museums we can go into for free. Today I went to the Portrait Gallery that's off of the Chinatown Metro stop and saw this great exhibit on hip-hop culture. Some of the exhibit:

B&W Photography by David Scheinbaum These photographs were really powerful. He plays with light and shadows really well, but my favorite one was the movement seen by the crowd and DJs...I thought these captured the energy and excitement at clubs when these artists were performing.




Portraits by Kehinde Wiley. These were commissioned by VH1 for the Hip Hop Honors in 2007, but I think they were amazing. The Three Graces, below, takes classical themes and relates them to hip hop with bright colors and the elegant decoration shows the flashiness of the style. Definitely check out the rest of these on the web site.