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Neighborhood, the art of Metropolis

November 16, 2006

Metropolis Development Company, LLC., announces the fourth installation in its public art series, Neighborhood, the art of Metropolis.

In the spirit of building vibrant neighborhoods, Metropolis presents Movement in b Flat, by longtime Washington artist Renee Butler. This dynamic installation is consistent with Metropolis' commitment to excellence in the fine arts and the art of design as reflected in Metropolis' extensive project portfolio. The buildings Lofts 14 I and Lofts 14 -II, where the installation is on exhibit, were recently awarded the Mayor's Award for Historic Preservation in design. The work is on view from 4:30 pm to 3:00 am daily at 1520 14th Street, NW through December.

R. Scott Pannick, owner of Metropolis Development Company, believes the company's public art installations "capture the spirit of the Logan Circle neighborhood as being on the cutting edge of the urban renaissance in Washington. Pannick articulates,"Logan Circle is the hottest, most successful example of urban renewal in the city because it is a real neighborhood, vibrant, alive, active, diverse, and dynamically moving forward. We believe the use of commercial space to showcase fine art leverages our commitment to fine design and building neighborhoods in a way that accelerates that progressive momentum."

The projected videos, of people, cars, neon, flora and water, dance and move around the multiple screens in the space, reflected onto the floor, ceiling and walls. Spliced among the different sized screens and shining through hanging frames, Butler's installation is like a cubist painting in three-dimensional video form.

B flat for Butler "refers to sadness and improvisation through the note's historic importance to blues and jazz music. It is cosmic and universal due to the note's newest influence, as the deepest sound detected in the universe, emanating from a black hole 250 million light years away. The piece reminds us of our ultimate connectedness to the world while humbling our own individual human experiences."

Metropolis Development Company,with its headquarters and sales center on 14th Street, is a residential and retail developer with a business and civic commitment to Washington, DC communities. Metropolis has completed or has under construction 603,338 square feet of artful, urban development within the Greater 14th Street Historic District.

Renee Butler, raised in Washington, has been a working artist since 1980. She has studied and shown nationally and at the Corcoran in Washington. Ms. Butler is a co-founder of The Washington Arts Museum.

Photos: credit to M.V. Jantzen, release on file
www.flickr.com/photos/77945684@N00/294274360/
High resolution photo available on request

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