Artwork at Capital One Hall’s The Vault and Level 7
Location: Capital One Hall The Vault Lobby
John T. Scott, 1940—2007
Louis No. 3 (2002), 79 x 48 in.
Louis: Neighborhood (2003), 80 x48 in.
The Smile (2002), 79 x 48 in.
Woodcut
African American artist John Scott made work that was profoundly impacted by the aesthetic of his hometown, New Orleans, where he lived most of his life before relocating to Houston in 2005 to escape Hurricane Katrina.Scott died in 2007 at the age of 67. While Scott is best known for his giant woodblock prints, he was also a well-regarded sculptor whose kinetic public art can be found throughout the city of New Orleans. He’s been quoted as saying that he tried to capture the musicality of New Orleans in the colors and rhythms of his sculptures. Scott’s work drew inspiration from African, Afro-Cuban and African American culture and music, especially the genres of blues and jazz.
In his Louis series of woodcuts, the artist visually combined figuration and abstraction to depict the iconic trumpeter and singer, Louis Armstrong. Viewed up-close, the marks of the woodcut possess a highly abstract energy that alludes to musical rhythm. The figurative or narrative image reveals itself only when the viewer steps back.Scott has described his work as akin to “blues and jazz. If one looks at the blues, the blues is a narrative. It’s a story...I think my work can be taken on many levels. It is narrative in nature but the narrative is very abstract.” The trio of prints hang in The Vault lobby in Capital One Hall. The center print, Louis: Neighborhood (2003), was originally part of Capital One’s corporate art collection and displayed in theCenter 2 office building before becoming part of the Capital One Hall art collection.
Born in New Orleans, John Scott grew up in the city’s Lower NinthWard. Scott studied at Xavier University in Louisiana—where he was a professor for over four decades—and earned his MFA and honorary doctorate at MichiganState University. In 1992, Scott was awarded a grant from the MacArthurFoundation. Scott's work has been widely exhibited and is part of many permanent collections, including the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in NewOrleans, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. In 2005, Scott’s work was exhibited in a major retrospective at the New Orleans Museum of Art, titled Circle Dance: The Art of John T. Scott.
Location: COH Level 7Hallway
Epigram
Creative director/lead artist: Julieta Guillermet, b. 1985
Artist team:
Edwin Coimbre, b. 1985
Hector Montalvo, b. 1984
Jorge Fuertes, b. 1984
Echoustic (2021), 60 x 280 inches
Mixed media
Capital One Hall is a world class performing arts center that highlights local creatives as well as artists hailing from around the world. So it makes sense that its interior is filled with breathtaking, specially commissioned artwork that weaves together Washingtonian and international roots. Echoustic (2021) is a photographic art installation by Epigram, a group of artists, including Julieta Guillermet, Edwin Coimbre, Hector Montalvo and Jorge Urgell. The photographs feature images of the international acoustic world-jazz band Veronneau, which homes in Washington, D.C. Located in the hallway on Level 7 near the stairs to Level 9, it provides a dramatic accent to the beautiful architecture of Capital One Hall.
To create the installation,Epigram took photographs of the award-winning Veronneau during a band rehearsal. Epigram chose to highlight the instruments: a bow slides across a violin, a hand grips a microphone, and drum brushes tap a snare drum. Each photograph was printed as a monochromatic image with a subtle wave pattern to visually evoke sound waves and music onto a large panel screen. In this installation and other works by Epigram, the artists present an“up-close-and-personal style of photography that showcases [their] fun and creative personality.”
Based in Baltimore, Epigram is a group of talented creatives—Guillermet, Coimbre, Montalvo, and Urgell—who have teamed together to complete design-based projects in art making and production. They believe that “through design, we can make an impact in our community by fusing our experiences in the different mediums to represent versatility and expertise.”
About Capital One Center
Capital One Center, the public-facing portion of Capital One’s global headquarters in Tysons, Virginia, redefines mixed-use development by providing an arts-focused enriching indoor/outdoor experience. When fully built-out, this 6 million sq. foot entertainment destination will be home to a vibrant array of public art, performances, and retail, including a world-class performing arts center, Capital One Hall, a 2.5 acre skypark, The Perch, and 300-key boutique hotel, The Watermark. Capital One Center is thoughtfully designed to create a walkable campus where small steps lead to big experiences.
