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1. Ghosts of a Chance: The End (for now)!

   Posted 2 days ago

   Georgina Bath is the Interpretive Programs Manager for the Luce Foundation Center for American Art, SAAM's visible storage facility.

   

   Searching for final clues in front of Georgia Stele by Jesús Moroles

   In September, SAAM launched an Alternate Reality Game (ARG) titled Ghosts of a Chance. SAAM is the first museum to host an ARG, which is an immersive gaming experience that intentionally blurs the line between reality and fiction, inviting players to interact with the story using tools that are part of their everyday lives such as web sites, email, and cell phones.

   If you have been following our posts you will know that Ghosts of a Chance invited gamers to create objects and mail them to the museum for a one-day exhibition organized by guest curators Daisy Fortunis and Daniel Libbe at the Museum on October 25. Participants, whether they submitted artworks or not, could play a "game within the game", combing SAAM's web site and the Internet, attending special events at the Natural History Museum and the Congressional Cemetery, and even calling special phone numbers for clues to uncover the story of Daisy's and Daniel's spirit guides. As we approached the game's final event, Daisy and Daniel called out for help as the spirits began to grow stronger and even started to threaten the museum.

   On October 25 more than 240 people came to the museum and played a series of six quests. The quests were a bit like scavenger hunts but, instead of collecting objects, players accumulated clues by (among other things) waltzing with a ghost, tracking down a mysterious jacket and answering a ringing cell phone hidden in its pocket, following a treasure map, and unlocking an umbrella to find clues taped inside. Fortunately for Daisy and Daniel (and the museum), 70 players persevered to the end to complete all six quests and the spirits were successfully banished.

   In addition to the live event at SAAM, more than 6,000 people played along with the game online and hardcore ARG players discussed the unfolding narrative on the Unfiction Forum, a gathering place for dedicated gamers. SAAM is now developing a shorter version of the game that will be played on a recurring basis by school groups and fun-loving visitors. To schedule your ghost-hunting experience, contact Georgina Bath at BathG@si.edu!

   
   

   • Ghosts of a Chance, ARG, Luce Foundation Center for American Art, American Art,
     Smithsonian American Art Museum

2. In This Case: Quilts? Quilts!

   Posted 3 days ago
   

   Quilts on Display at Luce

   It's part of my job at the Luce Center for American Art's information desk to explain the concept of the Center to visitors. But I can tell how eager they are to begin exploring when, midway through our conversation, their eyes begin to wander. If they happen to notice a particular case in the craft section, the next question I hear is frequently, "Are those quilts?" They’re right! Part of reason they hesitate to identify the objects in case 57a is because they're stored in a way that perfectly captures both parts of the Luce Center's mission. It is really a treat to have seven quilts in the Luce Center, but fiber works are sensitive to light. The Luce Center's goals include both public access to a wider variety of artworks than is possible in traditional galleries as well as storage and protection of those works. Since the quilts are delicate, our conservators have recommended steps we can take to store them correctly.

   The quilts are rolled up and covered with protective fabric. Then the roll is wrapped with a large photograph of the quilt. A smaller photograph that shows the entire quilt hangs nearby. (We also have a zoom feature on our web site and the computer kiosks located in the Center that allows users to zoom in on an image of the quilts, and all other objects, to see it in more detail.) Luce has come to a happy compromise between conservation and accessibility.

   Making these quilts accessible in open storage has also allowed the Museum to share some of our favorite stories about American art. Quilt making has a long history in America; the earliest quilts in the Luce Center were made during the 1830s and 1840s when quilts were mainly made for utilitarian reasons. We also have more modern pieces that are more decorative in nature. Many of the traditional techniques have remained the same, passed down from generation to generation of women who quilted out of necessity, for recreation, and for self-expression. Consuelo Jiménez Underwood, who quilted Virgen de los Caminos in 1994 believes quilting to be a logical and traditional expression of her ideas, calling "el Hilo" (thread) the "authentic voice of universal womanhood." You can hear Underwood speak about her work in a short artist interview.

   The Luce Center stores more than 3,300 artworks from the Museum’s permanent collection. These are works that would otherwise have a much more limited exposure to museum-goers. We have taken this opportunity to share as much of our collection as possible and in the safest way possible. In doing so, we can tell a greater number and richer variety of stories.

   
   

   • Quilt, Consuelo Jiménez Underwood, Luce Center for American Art, American Art,
     Smithsonian American Art Museum

3. Site Update

   Posted 4 days ago

   We have just updated and relaunched our main Smithsonian American Art Museum Web site. And we are in the process of updating links to that site from Eye Level. This may take a few days so you may be temporarily directed to our older site here and there (the content is still current). In the meantime, we will continue to publish stories here about American art. Thanks for coming back and we appreciate your patience.

   
   

4. Renwick 101: A Brief History of the First Art Museum in D.C.

   Posted 14 days ago
   

   Stereograph of the Renwick Gallery, date unknown

   The grand Renwick Gallery, which is part of SAAM, was built in the mid nineteenth century to house the art collection of Washington banker and philanthropist William Wilson Corcoran. From the beginning the Renwick was an important building, and Corcoran was a superstar mover and shaker in D.C. But, how could a building with such an illustrious pedigree almost have fallen victim to the bulldozers in the 1960s? That's just one of the remarkable things I learned about the Renwick in a recent talk by local architect Judith Capen.

   Corcoran chose the young architect James Renwick to build a new home for his art. Young, connected, and wealthy, Renwick, according to Capen, was "the Frank Gehry of his time." He was also the architect for the Smithsonian Castle, as well as St. Patrick's Cathedral and Grace Church in Manhattan. To get the project off of the ground, Renwick and Corcoran traveled to Paris in the 1850s to visit the new Tuileries addition at the Louvre that had been built in the French Second Empire style.

   
   

   

   The Renwick's Grand Salon today.

   The building we lovingly call the Renwick has seen some major changes in its life, though it still appears today much as the architect intended. During and after the Civil War, from 1861 to 1869, the building housed the Quartermaster General. It became the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 1869 and was home to that collection for nearly thirty years. For more than sixty years from 1898 it was the United States Court of Claims. Capen's images showed that this was not the happiest time for the building. The grand salon was chopped into two separate rooms, and the building became a kind of glorified office building. I found it interesting that gas lights with open flames were employed in many of the rooms.

   Flash forward to the 1950s and 1960s and the building is saved from urban renewal (i.e. demolition) by the combined efforts of President and Mrs. Kennedy, as well as Lyndon Johnson.

   Capen closed her comments with a wonderful observation that architects will love: "The Renwick is the only building in Washington, D.C., named for its architect." I kind of like that too.

   Come take a look at the Renwick's Grand Ballroom. And while you're at it, take in Lino Tagliapietra in Retrospect: A Modern Renaissance in Glass.

   
   
   

   • Renwick Gallery, William Wilson Corcoran, James Renwick, Judith Capen, American Craft, American Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum

5. Happy Halloween!

   Posted 21 days ago
   

   John Whetten Ehninger's October

   When I came home from work last night there were piles of leaves all over the front lawn and two humongous carved pumpkins on our front porch. I'd like to think my family dressed up just like the figures in Ehninger's painting when they picked these beauties. But I think it was more of a suburban look over on Aisle 5 of the grocery store. Happy Halloween!

   
   

   • Halloween, John Whetten Ehninger, American Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum

6. Georgia on My Mind: Miss O'Keeffe "on stage" at Smithsonian American Art Museum

   Posted 21 days ago
   

   Natalie Mosco as Georgia O'Keeffe

   A Brush with Georgia O'Keeffe is a play about the artist who is being celebrated—along with photographer Ansel Adams—in SAAM's current exhibition, Georgia O'Keeffe and Ansel Adams: Natural Affinities. Actress and playwright Natalie Mosco stars in the play she wrote about O'Keeffe and the important people in her life, most notably her husband, photographer and general mover and shaker, Alfred Stieglitz. Mosco does a remarkable job, creating a physical resemblance to O'Keeffe's stark, salt-of-the-earth beauty as she brings the artist to life. It was a long life, too; O'Keeffe lived ninety-nine years and became one of the most respected and beloved of American painters. It will be interesting to see the woman behind the canvas, so to speak, and then have a chance to savor the paintings once the show is over.

   We asked Natalie Mosco a few questions about the play and her thoughts on Georgia O'Keeffe.

   Eye Level: When did you first become interested in Georgia O'Keeffe?

   Natalie Mosco: I was traveling from Sydney Australia to New York in 1988 for the twentieth anniversary concert performance of Hair at the United Nations' General Assembly. My flight had a six- hour layover in Chicago so I asked around and learned The Art Institute of Chicago was exhibiting the first posthumous retrospective of O'Keeffe's work. I telephoned the museum from Australia and they promised me a ticket when I arrived.

   Experiencing the sheer wealth and breadth of her artistic output made me want to know more. It was then that I learned that there were many myths about O'Keeffe but only one biography: Laurie Lisle's Portrait of an Artist. After reading Lisle's work, I became convinced that this woman had a story that needed exploring. Because I was an actor and playwright, it seemed a natural leap to decide to explore her story in my medium.

   EL: How long did it take to write the play?

   NM: The idea for the play was rolling around my head for about ten years, but the actual writing of the first draft took about six years, off and on. The current version has been "tweaked" over the past few years as it became a part of my doctoral dissertation; as academic questions surfaced during the completion of my degree, ideas on how to refine the play came to me. Also, my collaboration with the director Robert Kalfin only commenced in January of 2008. Kalfin is a wonderful director and dramaturge. His suggestions regarding re-shaping and clarifying the piece were invaluable in the play's giant leap from earlier versions to the script that exists today.

   EL: What was the most surprising thing you learned about O'Keeffe?

   NM: I hadn't factored in that Alfred Stieglitz was a product of a ninteenth-century, European, male-dominated sensibility. Consequently, although his bullying of O'Keeffe seemed antithetical to his professions of a desire for artistic integrity and inner directedness, I had to incorporate this less known aspect of their relationship into my work. (I refer those interested in learning more about their dynamic to Benita Eisler's O'Keeffe and Stieglitz: An American Romance.)

   EL: Thank you! We'll see you (and Georgia) on Saturday.

   Natalie Mosco brings her off-Broadway show to SAAM's McEvoy Auditorium on November 1 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $20 for members of SAAM or the Smithsonian and $25 for non-members and can be purchased here. And while you're at it download our latest podcast about the artwork in the Natural Affinities exhibition (iTunes link).

   
   

   • Georgia O'Keeffe, Natalie Mosco, American Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum

7. Collector's Roundtable: Lewis Nerman at Smithsonian American Art on October 28

   Posted 24 days ago
   

   Lewis Nerman

   Lewis Nerman is a passionate collector of contemporary art. In 2007, he and his family opened the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art in Overland Park, Kansas. A major contemporary gallery in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is also named for the Nerman family. Nerman will be speaking as part of the Collectors Roundtable series October 28 at 7 p.m. in our McEvoy Auditorium. Eye Level caught up with by phone him while he was visiting galleries in Chelsea. Despite the cold weather, he stepped outside to take our call. I think we owe him a coffee or something.

   Eye Level: Tell me what you're looking at in Chelsea.

   Lewis Nerman: A brand new artist who I'm not familiar with. That's how we train our eye, by looking. The more we see, the better we understand and can then distinguish between a good work and a great work.

   EL: I've read that you have three rules for collecting. Can you tell us what they are?

   LN: Search, secure, and share. The thrill of collecting is to be able to share it with people. We open our homes to all kinds of groups, even when we're not in the city. In addition to the museum collections, we have our own personal collections in our homes. My parents have one collection, and I have another. We're very fortunate to be able to live with the art. It's a wonderful way to wake up each day.

   EL: How did you first become interested in collecting?

   LM: We can't work all the time. We decided that we needed another passion besides working. My first major painting was a piece by Frank Stella from the Greenberg Gallery in St. Louis. That was back in 1979. Now I look at art everyday. With the advent of the computer and the click of a mouse you can see art from around the world.

   EL: Anything you can tell us about your talk at SAAM?

   LN: I'm going to share what my family and I do and how we collect art. One thing that's different about us is that we try to have an intimate relationship with the artists themselves. It gives us a much better understanding of the artist, whether it's James Rosenquist, George Rickey, or Nick Cave, an artist who creates fascinating Soundsuits made from found fabrics. I love it, love it, love it.

   EL: Thanks for speaking with us. We're looking forward to your talk.

   LN: Thank you!

   
   

   • Lewis Nerman, Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Art Collecting, American Art,
     Smithsonian American Art Museum

8. In This Case: Halloween Costumes

   Posted 24 days ago

   In This Case is a series of ongoing posts on art in the Luce Foundation Center, a visible art storage facility at the Smithsonian American Art Museum that displays more than 3,300 pieces in sixty-four secure glass cases. This piece was written by a SAAM staff member.

   

   Gregorio Marzan's Statue of Liberty

   Not sure what you want to be for Halloween? Do you have visions of making your grand entrance only to find you're the third person at the party wearing a superhero or witch costume? If you're looking for inspiration, please visit us at the Luce Center!

   Here are some ideas for Luce-inspired Halloween costumes that are sure to raise your cred at any gathering.

   Men, channel your inner cavalier and dress up as Cornelius Johnson's Portrait of a Gentleman (1635–1640). This painting was donated to the collection by Ralph Cross Johnson before our mission focused entirely on American art. (Portrait of a Gentleman's neighbor in the Luce Center, Portrait of Rubens' Wife, would be a great costume for women!)

   If the election season has you thinking of something more American, take a look at Gregorio Marzan's Statue of Liberty. This option is not only affordable, but cries out to your creative spirit. Marzan combined found objects—fabric, plaster, a light bulb, even glue caps—to riff on a familiar American icon. Check your attic and your kitchen junk drawer for your materials!

   For maximum effect, work with your friends to recreate a group from a painting or sculpture. If you're going with two friends take a look at James Leonard's Wind Machine with Gabriel, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Louis Armstrong. You might even mimic the motion of this folk art piece on the dance floor. A larger group could be inspired by a painting from Paul Cadmus's humorous series, Aspects of Suburban Life. Though they were commissioned as studies for post office murals, the murals were never installed.

   If I had to create a Luce-inspired costume, I would dress up as Minerva from Abbott Handerson Thayer's Minerva with Chariot; not only do I enjoy mythology and Thayer's painting, but it is simple to imitate classical drapery! If you aren't able to come to the Luce Center in person for inspiration, browse our Web site for thousands of great ideas. There's more to Halloween than bats and black cats!

   
   

   • Halloween, Cornelius Johnson, Gregorio Marzan, James Leonard, Abbott Handerson Thayer, Paul Cadmus, James Leonard, Luce Center for American Art, American Art,
     Smithsonian American Art Museum

9. Lino Tagliapietra: Wedded to Glass

   Posted 1 month ago
   Endeavor (installation of 35 boats), 1998–2003, designed and made by Lino Tagliapietra; blown glass with multicolor canes, cut. Courtesy of Lino Tagliapietra, Inc.; photo by Greg R. Miller When Lino Tagliapietra's wife had admired a Valentino couture gown some years...

10. In This Case: Male Wood Duck in a Forest Pool by Abbott Handerson Thayer

    Posted 1 month ago
    Abbott Handerson Thayer’s Male Wood Duck in a Forest Pool Sometimes we have to accept that one of our artworks is flying the Luce coop. It is always sad, but we resolve to keep a stiff upper lip, pick ourselves...

11. Ghosts of a Chance

    Posted 2 months ago
    Georgina Bath is the Interpretive Programs Manager for the Luce Foundation Center for American Art, our visible storage facility. Earlier this month the Luce Foundation Center launched Ghosts of a Chance, a creative initiative that calls for audience participation on...

12. Zen and the Art of Video with Bill Viola

    Posted 2 months ago
    Bill Viola, Three Women, 2008, color high-definition video on plasma display mounted on wall; performers: Anika, Cornelia, Helena Ballent, Photo: Kira Perov Bill Viola kicked off the 2008 Clarice Smith Distinguished Lectures in American Art series last week to a...

13. Fencing with Christo and Jeanne-Claude

    Posted 2 months ago
    Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Running Fence, Sonoma and Marin Counties, California, 1972–76, © Christo, 1976, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum Purchase, Photo by Wolfgang Volz Christo and Jeanne-Claude, partners in art and in life, were on hand at SAAM Saturday afternoon...

14. A Night at the Museum XXV

    Posted 2 months ago
    Albert Pinkham Ryder's With Sloping Mast and Dipping Prow You've been hearing a fair amount about Night at the Museum II: Battle of the Smithsonian in the papers, in the blog, and via general buzz on the street. It got...

15. Conserving The Lost Pleiad

    Posted 2 months ago
    Helen Ingalls begins the documentation of The Lost Pleiad while Michael Mansfield films the process. The Lost Pleiad, 1874-1875, Randolph Rogers, marble, 49 1/2 x 34 3/4 x 27 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L....

16. Up and Running with Christo and Jeanne-Claude

    Posted 2 months ago
    Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Running Fence, Sonoma and Marin Counties, California, 1972–76, © Christo, 1976, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum Purchase, Photo by Wolfgang Volz In the mid 1970s, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, whose outdoor sculptural works of art have captivated us...

17. Getting a Head @ SAAM

    Posted 2 months ago
    Roy Lichtenstein's Sculpture Modern Head installed today in front of the museum. Click here for larger image. Also see SAAM's flickr photostream for more photographs. It wasn't your typical Wednesday morning in downtown DC. Famed Pop-artist Roy Lichtenstein's Modern Head...

18. Breaking the Mold: Conservators at Work

    Posted 2 months ago
    Santos figure: Santa Barbara Nothing in the collections of SAAM is 17,000 years old, but a recent article in the Washington Post got me thinking about taking care of, and preserving, works of art. The article was about the cave...

19. Sam Gilliam: Thinking Outside the Frame

    Posted 3 months ago
    Sam Gilliam's Swing Sam Gilliam is represented in the current exhibition, Local Color, but there's another painting of his on display nearby. Swing is representative of the artist's canvases that were not stretched, but draped and suspended from the ceiling...

20. Learning to Teach through Art Technology

    Posted 3 months ago
    Teachers learn podcasting at the Cisco-Smithsonian American Art Museum Teacher Institute, 2008 In June SAAM, along with its partner Cisco, hosted teachers from Louisiana and Mississippi, who came to the museum to learn how to use technology in their classrooms....

21. Party Like It's 1865!

    Posted 3 months ago
    Members of the Victorian Dance Ensemble Not every Civil War reenactor tramps off to the battlefields with rations of hardtack; some prefer to hit the dance floor instead. On Saturday August 16 at noon, 2 p.m., and 4 p.m., the...

22. In This Case... Or Not!

    Posted 3 months ago
    The Luce Foundation Center is not a static space. Every so often SAAM's curators come and "shop" for artworks to be included in new exhibitions. The museum is currently expanding the folk art galleries on the first floor and as...

23. In This Case: Assemblage with Found Objects by Simon Sparrow

    Posted 3 months ago
    Assemblage with Found Objects by Simon Sparrow. Explore this artwork in detail. I’m not sure why I like art that incorporates found objects so much. Maybe it’s the idea of someone’s trash being someone else’s treasure. Maybe it’s the unique...

24. Barbara Bosworth's Photographs: No Rush, Take Your Time

    Posted 3 months ago
    One of the most important things I've learned as a photographer is to slow down when looking at images. I've become so used to scanning visuals, from channel surfing to surfing the net, when I come upon photographs that ask...

25. Stan Brakhage's History Lesson

    Posted 4 months ago
    Still from 23rd Psalm, Branch (Part II). Courtesy of the Estate of Stan Brakhage and Fred Camper Stan Brakhage's film, 23rd Psalm, Branch (Part I) from his Song series is forty-four minutes of war footage interspersed with images of the...