A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...some museum nerds found themselves so excited about the latest installment of a certain epic space opera that they began to see connections to it everywhere they turned, even in the artworks in their museum’s collection.
If there’s a bright center to the universe, you’re on the planet that it’s farthest from
Sandro Somare, "Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present."--Albert Camus, The Rebel, 1951. From the series Great Ideas of Western Man., 1967, oil and pencil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Container Corporation of America, 1984.124.274
Sandro Somare, “Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present.”–Albert Camus, The Rebel, 1951. From the series Great Ideas of Western Man., 1967
She’s fast enough for you, old man
George L. K. Morris, Ascending Space, 1946, gilded bronze on stone base, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1978.29, © 1978, Frelinghuysen Morris Foundation
George L. K. Morris, Ascending Space, 1946, gilded bronze on stone base, Smithsonian American Art Museum, © 1978, Frelinghuysen Morris Foundation, Museum purchase, 1978.29
How long before you make the jump to lightspeed?
Trevor Paglen, NEMESIS Rocket Body in Orion (Discarded rocket from Satellite Data System Spacecraft; USA 179rb), 2009, chromogenic print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Nion McEvoy, 2012.9.2, © 2009, Trevor Paglen
Trevor Paglen, NEMESIS Rocket Body in Orion (Discarded rocket from Satellite Data System Spacecraft; USA 179rb), 2009
That’s no moon
Toshiko Takaezu, Full Moon, 1978, stoneware and glaze, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase and gift of the James Renwick Alliance, 1989.36.2
Toshiko Takaezu, Full Moon, 1978
I find your lack of faith disturbing
John Himmelfarb, Lava Flow (Meeting) Red, 1986, color lift ground etching on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by Nathan Appleton, 1988.32.1, ©, John Himmelfarb
John Himmelfarb, Lava Flow (Meeting) Red, 1986
Oh, my dear friend, how I’ve missed you
John Hultberg, The General, 1966, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. David K. Anderson, Martha Jackson Memorial Collection, 1980.137.48
John Hultberg, The General, 1966
Let the hate flow through you
Jacob Landau, Human nature is originally good. Any evil in it results from the changes made upon it by external things. Of man's first disobedience and the fruit of that forbidden tree whose mortal taste brought death into the world for all our woe. --Lu Wang (1139-1192), Chinese Philosopher and John Milton's Paradise Lost. From the series Great Ideas., 1960, watercolor on paperboard mounted on board, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Container Corporation of America, 1984.124.168
Jacob Landau, Human nature is originally good. Any evil in it results from the..., 1960
Fulfill your destiny
Alice Pike Barney, Woman with Red Hood, n.d., oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Laura Dreyfus Barney and Natalie Clifford Barney in memory of their mother, Alice Pike Barney, 1952.13.66
Alice Pike Barney, Woman with Red Hood, n.d.
May the Force be with you, always!
