SAAM Stories

Yoga in Luce is a new monthly program that pairs yoga and art appreciation. Alongside the artworks of the Luce Foundation Center, participants will practice an hour of Vinyasa yoga, a style that prioritizes flowing movement and breath, taught by a credentialed instructor from Flow Yoga Center. Afterward, Luce staff will invite participants to spend 15 minutes taking a focused look at an artwork of their choosing. Our first Yoga in Luce session will be on March 11 at 6pm.

Karen Lemming, American Art's sculpture curator is organizing an installation that will include Hiram Power's Greek Slave, one of the most popular sculptures of the 19th century. As part of her preparation, she is working with Smithsonian X3D, part of the Institution's Digitization program, to create a 3D model of the Greek Slave. Karen, fills us in on the process.

Billed on his website as "the Soul Superstar You've Never Heard Of," Mingering Mike is an enigma, wrapped in faux vinyl, and carefully packaged in cardboard. The artist, who wishes to remain anonymous but for his sobriquet, is a DC native, who, caught up in the sounds and images of his hometown in the 1960s and 1970s, dreamed of joining the ranks of singer-songwriter Marvin Gaye who was transforming the soundscape of the city and the nation.

How to make an archival storage box for your daguerreotype

What artworks in American Art's collection inspire you? As part of our Luce Local Art Series, local artists discuss their own work and how they connect to works in our Luce Foundation Center. This series is presented in collaboration with CulturalDC. All talks begin at 1:30 p.m. Our next artist talk is by Ben Tolman this Sunday, February 22.

We sure love Valentine's Day around here at American Art. On Friday, February 13th, we are hosting another SweetARTS and Valentines program where you can come to the museum all day to make handmade Valentines for loved ones (or for people you hardly know —we won't judge). This year, we have invited some of our friends at Smithsonian Gardens to join in the fun.

At the museum, some of us have become a bit obsessed not only with the paintings of Richard Estes, but in locating his signature (or name, really) in each of his paintings. Estes usually signs his work, but often in ways that make it nearly impossible to discover.

Save the date for The Winter Luce Unplugged Community Showcase coming up next Friday, February 6th from 6-8 p.m. Since Valentine's Day is just around the corner, invite a date or take a chance and come meet that someone special. Once again, we've teamed up with the Washington City Paper (WCP) to bring you an evening of music and drinks in American Art's Luce Foundation Center. Two local acts will perform: Art Sorority for Girls and lowercase letters. Port City Brewing Company will provide free beer tastings, and there will be a cash bar as well. Like the best things in life, the show is free.

External Affairs Chief Jo Ann Gillula recently chatted with Washington Ballet's Artistic Director Septime Webre about the upcoming premiere of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, opening February 18 at the Kennedy Center. American Art will present the Washington Ballet in excerpts from the new Sleepy Hollow with members of the company, as well as many interactive ballet and art activities on January 31 in the Kogod Courtyard of the American Art Museum.

American Artist, Phil Brown, turns our museum's trees into beautiful art.

On Tuesday, January 20 American Art will screen Aves: Magnificent Frigate Bird, Great Flamingo, a film by Nancy Graves, artist and former member of the museum's Commission. The screening is as part of our exhibition The Singing and the Silence: Birds in Contemporary Art. Former public programs assistant, Laurel Fehrenbach, had a chance to speak with Christina Hunter, director of the Nancy Graves Foundation, who will introduce this experimental film. The screening will be held at the museum's McEvoy Auditorium, starting at 6 p.m. Admission is free.

American Art's Luce Foundation Center hosts local artists who discuss their work and process in the context of artworks on view in the Luce Center. The Luce Local Art Series is presented in collaboration with CulturalDC. All talks begin at 1:30 p.m. Our next artist talk is by Tai Hwa Goh this Saturday, January 17.

On Tuesday, January 13 American Art will present a gallery talk about the overlap between art and nature as part of our exhibition The Singing and the Silence: Birds in Contemporary Art. Former public programs assistant, Laurel Fehrenbach, had a chance to speak with participants Joanna Marsh, American Art's James Dicke Curator of Contemporary Art and the curator of our show and Pete Marra, head of the Migratory Bird Center at the National Zoological Park.

San Antonio-based artist Mel Casas died on November 30, 2014 after a two-year battle with cancer. The Smithsonian American Art Museum is proud to own paintings by artist, including Humanscape 62, which was featured in our exhibition Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art. In this blog post, Curator for Latino Art E. Carmen Ramos reflects on the importance of Casas' art.

It's Throwback Thursday! And we at Eye Level have decided it's a great opportunity to bring back some of our interesting posts from the past. Since the holidays signal the start of winter we thought you'd enjoy Howard's post from 2008 on Harry Cimino's The Marchbanks Calendar—December. We here at the Smithsonian American Art Museum wish all of our readers the best for 2015.

Sara Snyder helped organize the #ArtBirds Social Media Scavenger hunt to encourage awareness of how artists use bird imagery as part of our exhibition "The Singing and the Silence: Birds in Contemporary Art." She fills us in on the bird watching activities, both outdoors and in, as part of our show. "The Singing and the Silence" is on view now through February 22, 2015.

Allison Rabent is a pre-program volunteer at the Lunder Conservation Center. She is working with conservators on a variety of activities. Allison, along with the project's lead, Conservation Technician Susan Edwards, recently investigated an ongoing treatment of Hiram Powers' Greek Slave and shares their findings with us below. American Art's sculpture curator, Karen Lemmey, contributed to this post.

In October, Alexander Calder's sculpture Gwenfritz, part of American Art's collection, was reinstalled outside the National Museum of American History. Karen Lemmey, American Art's sculpture curator speaks about another Calder sculpture, Nenuphar, which he gave to the museum at the same time.