American Letterpress - Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition

Transcription

American Letterpress
10
The Art of Hatch Show Print
Contents
Approximately 120
original posters
(including authorized
restrikes from vintage
blocks), 20 handcarved wood blocks,
text panels, labels
“Advertising without posters is like fishing
without worms.”
— The Hatch Brothers
Like all art, the posters of Hatch Show Print in
Nashville, Tennessee, are designed to stop us
in our tracks, draw us in for a closer look, and
make us pause for a moment of reflection. Pure
artistry and masterful composition are what
make Hatch posters part of the story of American art and culture. Snappy graphics, punchy
titles, and humor are what make them irresistible.
Hatch Show Print, founded in 1879, is still
a working letterpress and design shop, creating posters today using the same letterpress
methods as yesterday. The technology at this
Nashville institution has not changed in more
than 100 years, only the faces of the customers:
from Elvis Presley to Elvis Costello, Buddy Guy
to Bruce Springsteen, Etta James to Emmylou
Harris, the Carter Family to Coldplay, and many,
many others. While Hatch’s name is synonymous with the music business, its posters
promoting football games, vaudeville acts, state
Supplemental
Poster, educational
and promotional
resources, speakers
list, bibliography
Participation fee
$18,000 per 10-week
booking period, plus
prorated shipping
Size
3,000 square feet
Security
High
Prorated shipping
SITES-designated
carrier
Weight TBD
15 crates, est.
Tour begins
Fall 2008
Content/Design
Marquette Folley
202.633.3111
[email protected]
Scheduling
Hatch Show Print is the destination for hands-on graphic artists
and designers. In fact, the shop trains interns and students from all
over the world.
fairs, stock car races, and picture shows reflect
the breadth of American popular culture.
Whether an archived classic or a cutting-edge
advertisement, a poster crafted by Hatch is a
work of art steeped in the traditions of American graphic design that embrace both craft
and high art. Organized in collaboration with
Hatch Show Print and The Country Music Hall
of Fame® and Museum (owners of Hatch Show
Print since 1992), American Letterpress illustrates
the fascinating fusion of art with popular culture and music history. This visually compelling
exhibition includes vintage, hand-carved wood
blocks, authorized restrikes, and a diverse collection of original posters.
American Letterpress is supported by America’s
Jazz Heritage, A Partnership of
The Wallace Foundation and
the Smithsonian Institution.
Opposite: An iconic performer, Bill Monroe is
the subject of this monoprint, a bold example
of the integration of Hatch’s traditional style
and contemporary art.
Michelle TorresCarmona
202.633.3143
[email protected]
Images courtesy Hatch Show Print
Far left: The typeface for this poster is part
of a collection of wood blocks and letters
dating from 1879, when the shop first
opened for business.
Left: The Hatch poster became synonymous
with the best in contemporary music
entertainment posters. Artists as diverse as
Bruce Springsteen, The Wailers, Bob Dylan,
and Beastie Boys commissioned Hatch Show
Print to create their concert posters.
www.sites.si.edu · [email protected]
11
American Letterpress
12
Ancestry & Innovation
African American Art from the American
Folk Art Museum
39 quilts, sculpture,
framed paintings
and works on paper;
pedestals, text panels,
labels
Supplemental
Poster, brochure,
curriculum material,
educational and
promotional resources,
speaker list
Participation fee
$25,000 per 10-week
prorated shipping
Size
3,000 square feet
Security
High
Prorated shipping
SITES-designated
carrier
5,605 pounds
14 crates
(See website for
details)
The American Folk Art Museum has explored
the creativity of African Americans through
its exhibitions, collections, and publications
almost from its inception in 1962. Since then,
drawings, sculptures, paintings, and quilts by
black artists have become an important aspect
of the museum’s holdings, and 20th-century
artists are represented through significant numbers of works.
The ongoing contribution of self-taught black
artists to the kaleidoscope of American culture
and visual experience is celebrated in a new
exhibition organized by the American Folk Art
Museum. Originally on view at the museum in
2005, the highly acclaimed Ancestry & Innovation
juxtaposes complex and vibrant quilts with
paintings and sculpture by an elder generation
of creators, such as Sam Doyle, David Butler,
Bessie Harvey, and Clementine Hunter; works
by contemporary masters such as Thornton Dial
Sr.; and provocative pieces by emerging artists
such as Kevin Sampson and Willie LeRoy Elliott.
This exhibition has been made possible by
MetLife Foundation.
Matt Hoebermann
Contents
Many of the quilt artists in Ancestry & Innovation, such as
Pearlie Posey (1894–1984) of Yazoo City, MI, were taught to quilt
by their mothers or grandmothers and have, in turn, taught their
own daughters. Posey’s 1981 Hens Quilt is featured in a colorful
curriculum poster provided to exhibitors.
Cotton and synthetics; 71 x 69”; collection American Folk
Art Museum, New York, gift of Maude and James Wahlman,
1991.32.2
Opposite: Clementine Hunter (1886/1887–1988), who worked
in Natchitoches, LA, documented her community in such works as
Playing Cards, ca. 1970.
Oil on canvas board; 18 x 24”; collection American Folk
Art Museum, New York, gift of the Mildred Hart Bailey/
Clementine Hunter Art Trust, 1996.1.2
Tour through
October 2009
Content/Design
Parker Hayes
202.633.3113
[email protected]
Left: Now a retired police officer in Newark, NJ, Kevin Sampson
(b. 1954) creates sculptural tributes, such as his 2000 Mother
Oatman, from ephemera and discarded objects.
Mixed media; 26 x 23 x 9 1/2”; collection American Folk Art
Museum, New York, gift of Jacqueline Loewe Fowler, 2000.7.2
Scheduling
Opposite: Gavin Ashworth
Gavin Ashworth
202.633.3143
[email protected]
13
Ancestry & Innovation
14
At the Controls
The Smithsonian National Air and Space
Museum Looks at Cockpits
Contents
21 large-format color
digital images with
text printed on flexible
material, freestanding
units
Supplemental
Companion book,
educational and
glossary card, CD
of digital file for
production of Space
Shuttle Columbia
memorial graphic
Participation fee
$1,500 per 8-week
outgoing shipping
Imagine the training and confidence necessary to fly even the simplest of aircraft, like the
Senior Albatross Falcon sailplane. Or consider
the time and dedication needed to master the
hundreds of controls necessary to safely guide
the Mercury Friendship 7 capsule around Earth.
For all forms of flight, the key to control lies in
the cockpit.
Now visitors can visualize what it’s like to sit
at the controls of 20 historic and iconic airplanes and spacecraft from the world-renowned
collection of the Smithsonian’s National Air
and Space Museum. Printed nearly to scale, At
the Controls’ large-format color photographs of
cockpits trace a century’s worth of changes and
refinements in aviation technology from the
pilot’s point of view. Printed on flexible material
that can be displayed on lightweight, freestanding structures or on exhibition walls, each photograph is accompanied by information about
the aircraft and some of the instruments specific
to each cockpit.
Lightweight and easy to install, At the Controls gives audiences
an up-close look at the cockpits of historical aircraft, from the Spirit
of St. Louis flown by Charles Lindbergh to the Columbia space
shuttle (shown). Visitors will enjoy a century’s worth of changes to
controls, buttons, gauges, and windscreens.
Size
130 running feet
Security
Limited
Outgoing shipping
380 pounds
3 crates
Tour extended
January 2009
Content/Design
Devra Wexler
202.633.3114
[email protected]
Eric Long and Mark Avino/National Air and Space Museum
Fully booked
Becoming American
15
Teenagers and Immigration,
Photographs by Barbara Beime
“We truly enjoyed hosting Becoming American. The
subject was a perfect fit for our primarily Latino community and drew one of the largest audiences in our
exhibition history.”
— National Steinbeck Center, Salinas, CA
In many ways, ours is a nation of immigrants—
hungry for freedom, peace, and the opportunity
promised by the American Dream. The realities
of that immigrant experience are most vividly
read in the faces and words of young people
who have made this journey. Faithful to their
native cultural traditions, but motivated to create a better life for themselves and their families,
teenage immigrants have a unique vantage
point from which to remind us what it means,
and what it has always meant, to be American.
Becoming American: Teenagers and Immigration
features 59 riveting black-and-white images
of young immigrants by accomplished documentary photographer Barbara Beirne. Each
sensitive portrait is paired with excerpts from
Beirne’s interviews with teens from Latin
America, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, the
Middle East, and Asia. All of their stories are
unique, and we read in every quote—and in
every face—the individual struggles and hopes
of “becoming American.”
Contents
59 framed black-andwhite photographs, text
panels, labels
Supplemental
Educational and
speakers list,
bibliography
Participation fee
$6,500 per 10-week
outgoing shipping
Size
200 running feet
Security
Moderate
Outgoing shipping
940 pounds
4 crates
Tour through
February 2010
Content/Design
Marcie Hocking
202.633.3112
[email protected]
Scheduling
Photo © Barbara Beirne
Ed Liskey
202.633.3142
[email protected]
Thought-provoking and enlightening quotations accompany each portrait. Lili Shek, from China, sums up her thoughts: “We bring our culture with
us and share it. Truly, it has been a bittersweet journey.”
16
Beyond
Contents
35 framed color and
black-and-white
photographs, text and
graphic panels, labels
Supplemental
Companion book,
educational and
promotional resources
Participation fee
$7,500 per 8-week
booking period
Size
250 running feet
Security
Moderate
Prorated shipping
SITES-designated
carrier
2,740 pounds
7 crates
Tour through
December 2011
Content/Design
Devra Wexler
202.633.3114
[email protected]
Scheduling
202.633.3143
[email protected]
During the last few decades, interplanetary
probes such as Magellan, Voyager 1 and 2, and
the Viking Landers have sent us astounding
images from the depths of space. Journalist,
filmmaker, and artist Michael Benson carefully
reviews these images and then digitally enhances the original raw data from the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration and other
archives. Flawless and beautiful, the pictures
look as though they were captured while Benson
himself floated above the surface of each planet.
By studying these amazing images, we gain a
deeper understanding of Jupiter’s bizarre moons
and the varied landscapes of Mars and Venus.
We can make virtual landings on the surfaces
of Mercury and the Sun, fly by ethereal Neptune and Uranus, and soar between the rings
of Saturn. Beyond is a comprehensive look at
our solar system enhanced by educational text
about the planets, their moons, and the probes
themselves.
Author of the award-winning book Beyond:
Visions of the Interplanetary Probes (Abrams,
2003), Benson allows us to journey through the
solar system like never before, finally making
other worlds accessible to earth-bound enthusiasts. This is truly the next best thing to hitching
a ride on the wings of a space probe.
Looking like a beach scene, a field of dunes on Mars gives new
credence to the theory of the planet’s wind-blown and possibly
watery past.
Images by Michael Benson, Kinetikon Pictures
Visions of Planetary Landscapes
The rare and unusual images in the exhibition include glimpses of the
machines used to capture them. Here, a portion of the Rosetta probe’s
comet lander is visible 621 miles away from the Martian surface.
Even our own moon’s relatively familiar face looks new in Benson’s
meticulously processed images. This Beyond photo shows an
enormous impact crater.
17
Beyond
The mysteries of Saturn’s rings are
revealed in this exhibition—up close,
from a distance, or juxtaposed with
other spheres as seen here with this
image of Saturn’s moon Dione.
18
Beyond Baseball
The Life of Roberto Clemente
5 freestanding units
with images and text
Supplemental
Brochure, 10min. video (venue
provides equipment),
educational and
speakers list,
bibliography, website,
audio podcast,
children’s reading list
Participation fee
$2,500 per 8-week
outgoing shipping
Size
1,000 square feet
Security
Limited
Outgoing shipping
1,495 pounds
3 crates
Tour through
October 2012
“Any time you have the opportunity to make a
difference in this world, and you don’t do it, you
are wasting your time on this earth.”
— Roberto Clemente
The baseball diamond has produced legendary
athletes who have broken records and shattered barriers. But for many, Roberto Clemente
is the most inspiring of all. With a cannon arm
and lightning speed, he was an outstanding
ballplayer. But the Puerto Rico native was also a
dedicated humanitarian.
SITES, the Smithsonian Latino Center, the
Clemente family, and the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico are pleased to present Beyond Baseball:
The Life of Roberto Clemente as a tribute to this
monumental figure’s outstanding achievements
on the field and off.
With a lightweight, easy-to-install structure,
this bilingual (English/Spanish) exhibition is
richly illustrated with images of Clemente’s
life and accomplishments. Beyond Baseball
debuted at the Louisville Slugger Museum in
2007 and is complemented by a downloadable
Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory
Contents
“Beyond Baseball has star power,” says Anne Jewell of the
Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory. “We had about 1300
people come to the exhibition, compared to a typical Sunday in
October, which would maybe be 200 or so visitors . . . we’re very
pleased and excited with how it went!”
bilingual podcast and interactive website (www.
robertoclemente.si.edu) that includes lesson plans,
biographical highlights, historic photographs,
game footage, and baseball trivia. A journey into
sports history, ethnic pride, and Clemente’s profound commitment to helping others, Beyond
Baseball is ideal for libraries, community centers,
ballpark galleries, and small museums.
Content/Design
Parker Hayes
202.633.3113
[email protected]
Scheduling
AP/Wide World Photos
Opposite: AP/Wide World Photos
202.633.3143
[email protected]
Clemente cracks a triple to left center in the 1971 World Series. The free Beyond Baseball audio podcast (www.robertoclemente.si.edu) gives
fans a taste of this and other highlights in Clemente’s amazing career.
19
Beyond Baseball
By the time this portrait was taken
in 1957, Clemente was well on his
way to becoming a baseball legend,
national hero, and cultural icon.
Beyond Baseball provides
a unique look at the America
of Clemente’s time, the game of
baseball, and the hero who
transcended both.
20
Bittersweet Harvest
The Bracero Program, 1942–1964
Contents
15 freestanding
illustrated banners with
text, audio component
with equipment
Supplemental
Educational and
Participation fee
$2,000 per 10-week
outgoing shipping
Size
1,000–1,500 square feet
Security
Limited
Outgoing shipping
455 pounds, est.
4 crates, est.
Designed as a stopgap measure to address labor
shortages during World War II, the Mexican
Agricultural Labor Program, otherwise known
as the bracero program, became one of the
largest guest worker initiatives in U.S. history.
By the time the program was cancelled in 1964,
small farmers, large growers, and farm associations across the country had awarded an estimated 4.6 million contracts to Mexican laborers
during peak cultivation and harvest times.
Though the work was grueling and living
conditions poor, many braceros did benefit financially. They sent money back home and created
economic opportunities in Mexico. Some braceros stayed in the U.S., raising families and taking
part in the benefits of a prosperous economy.
Bittersweet Harvest, a poignant new bilingual
exhibition from the Smithsonian’s National
Museum of American History (NMAH), with
support from the Smithsonian Latino Center,
examines the experiences of bracero workers
and their families. Presented on 15 large
freestanding banners, the exhibition combines
current scholarship with powerful photographs
from the 1950s from the Smithsonian’s collection.
An audio unit containing excerpts from oral
histories of former braceros, many of whom are
now in their 70s and 80s, provides additional
first-person insight into an issue that remains
relevant today.
NMAH is leading a national consortium of
museums, universities, and organizations to
preserve this vital piece of American and
Mexican history. More information is available
at www.braceroarchive.org.
Opposite: The lure of paid work drew thousands of Mexican braceros to the United States, despite their discomfort at being away
from family and deplorable working conditions.
Tour begins
Spring 2010
Content/Design
Laurie Trippett
202.633.3102
[email protected]
Scheduling
Photos by Leonard Nadel/ National Museum of American History
Minnie Micu
202.633.3160
[email protected]
The freestanding banner system combines ease of installation with compelling stories that will draw new audiences to host venues. The voices of
these migrants have been virtually silenced in most traditional accounts of American migration and immigration.
21
Bittersweet Harvest
22
Covered Bridges
Spanning the American Landscape
Contents
with reproductions
of photographs,
illustrations,
memorabilia, and fine
art with text, panelhung vitrines, 11 objects
Supplemental
Docent material,
educational and
speakers list,
bibliography
Participation fee
$3,500 per 8-week
outgoing shipping
Size
1,000 square feet
“There is no country of the world which is more in
need of good and permanent bridges than the United
States of America.”
— Thomas Pope, A Treatise on Bridge
Architecture, 1811
Covered wooden bridges have long captivated
the American imagination. More than quaint
relics of horse-and-buggy days, these remarkable achievements in civil engineering helped
forge the physical and economic growth of the
United States for over a century. By the 1870s,
more than 10,000 covered bridges spanned the
American landscape. Today, roughly 750 remain,
with the majority located in Pennsylvania, Ohio,
Vermont, Indiana, New Hampshire, and Oregon.
Developed with the Historic American
Engineering Record (HAER), a division of the
National Park Service, Covered Bridges highlights
the innovators who advanced the design and
construction of covered bridges; the decline,
disappearance, and preservation of these structures; and their pervasive influence in popular
culture. The exhibition includes reproductions
of a number of stunning photographs and drawings produced by HAER to document America’s
surviving covered bridges, models of bridge
trusses, and other objects.
Covered Bridges is funded in part by the
Federal Highway Administration.
Opposite: The exhibition examines and dispels a few myths about
covered bridges in America. Dramatic bridges, such as the Knights
Ferry Bridge (1864) in Stanislaus County, CA, were built throughout much of the U.S., not just in New England and the Midwest.
Security
Limited
Outgoing shipping
1,410 pounds
17 crates
Tour through
© 2006 Don Giles/The Pennsylvania State Museum
Opposite: Jet Lowe/Historic American Engineering Record, National Park Service, 2004
October 2009
Content
Katherine Krile
202.633.3108
[email protected]
Scheduling
Minnie Micu
202.633.3160
[email protected]
With assistance from a MetLife Smithsonian Community Grant, The State Museum of Pennsylvania collaborated with engineers to develop physicsbased field trips to local covered bridges. The bridges became a living laboratory for SciTech High students, many of whom had never seen one before.
23
Covered Bridges
24
Contents
48 matted and framed
color and black-andwhite photographs, text
panels, labels
Supplemental
Companion books,
educational and
bibliography, film guide
Participation fee
$3,000 per 8-week
outgoing shipping
Size
240 running feet
The Dancer Within
“Working with Rose was spiritual; an intellectual,
magically creative experience that woke up some old
muscles, reminding me of why I loved dancing so
much in the first place.”
— Russ Tamblyn, dancer and actor
Where does the urge to dance come from?
How do dancers and choreographers cope with
the highs and lows of the artist’s life? What are
their responsibilities to each other, to their
audiences, to themselves? These are just a few
of the questions that dancer-turned-photojournalist Rose Eichenbaum posed, with camera
in hand, to America’s most celebrated dancers
and choreographers.
captured in Eichenbaum’s revealing portraits
and dramatic performance photos. Accompanying each photograph are excerpts drawn from
face-to-face interviews that speak of her subjects’
lives, triumphs, and fears.
Complementing the exhibition are Eichenbaum’s books, The Dancer Within: Intimate
Conversations with Great Dancers (Wesleyan
University Press, 2008) and Masters of Movement:
Portraits of America’s Great Choreographers (Smithsonian Books, 2004). The exhibition is generously
supported by United Dance Merchants of
America. Additional support has been provided
by The Enchanted Garden Conservatory of
Music, Dance & Drama.
Security
Limited
Outgoing shipping
1,250 pounds, est.
5 crates
Tour begins
April 2008
Content/Design
Katherine Krile
202.633.3108
[email protected]
Scheduling
Eichenbaum says photographing live performance, such as this
2006 shot of Eiko (shown) and Koma’s Cambodian Stories, is
challenging but enjoyable. “It’s where the vision of the choreographer comes together with the talent of the dancer.”
The Dancer Within takes visitors on a spectacular tour of the multi-dimensional world of
dance. Mikhail Baryshnikov, Jacques d’Amboise,
Katherine Dunham, José Greco, Cynthia Gregory, Bill T. Jones, Ann Reinking, Chita Rivera,
Lar Lubovitch, Tommy Tune, Ben Vereen, and
some 35 other choreographers and dancers are
Photos © Rose Eichenbaum
Minnie Micu
202.633.3160
[email protected]
Eichenbaum interviews her subjects before taking their portraits.
As evidenced by this 2000 body study of Matthew Rushing, the
result is a thoughtful portrayal. Quotations from her interviews are
prominently featured in the exhibition labels.
Opposite: A number of choreographers featured in the exhibition fuse
several dance styles to create their works. Jawole Zollar adds poetry
and a cappella vocalizations in her dances for Urban Bush Women,
shown performing Walking With Pearl . . . Africa Diaries in 2007.
25
The Dancer Within
26
Diana Walker
Photojournalist
Contents
82 black-and-white
and color photographs,
9 mounted magazine
covers/layouts, text
panels, labels
Supplemental
Companion book,
educational and
promotional materials
Participation fee
$5,000 per 12-week
outgoing shipping
Size
250 running feet
Security
Moderate
Diana Walker photographed White House life
from the Ford to the Clinton administrations.
Occasionally, she and Time magazine were
granted behind-the-scenes access to the private
side of life in the White House. As a talented
photographer and shrewd journalist, Walker
captured images that were consistently chosen
by her editors to lead articles and grace numerous covers.
Diana Walker: Photojournalist contains 82 color
and black-and-white photographs of her White
House work as well as wonderful portraits
of other noteworthy people and events. Time
and other magazine covers and page layouts
accompany the photographs, documenting the
transformation of individual images into iconic
publishing moments.
Walker’s photographs of first ladies from Rosalynn Carter (shown
here with Joan Mondale) through Hillary Clinton provide an
intimate look at the role of the first lady. The images highlight their
supporting roles in their husbands’ campaigns and programs as well
as their own active public roles.
Opposite: Extraordinary vantage points offer an unexpected perspective on the presidents and their families. This photo of Nancy
Reagan was taken from a helicopter during the landmark’s 100th
birthday commemoration on July 5, 1986.
Outgoing shipping
860 pounds
4 crates
Tour through
March 2009
Content/Design
Photos by Diana Walker. Center for American History, University of Texas, Austin
Jeff Thompson
202.633.3115
[email protected]
Scheduling
Ed Liskey
202.633.3142
[email protected]
Museum visitors will savor Walker’s coverage of moments that merge the personal with the ceremonial, including this one taken at the dedication of the
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in 1991.
27
Diana Walker
28
Dig It!
The Secrets of Soil
Contents
54 soil monoliths
from across the US,
3 territories, and DC,
3 large freestanding
scale models, 5 video
components (1-10 min.
each), 7 interactive
computer stations, 5
mechanical interactives, 49 wall-hung and
freestanding graphic
panels, 2 environmental entry portals,
2 internal portals,
flexibly-designed panel
and case structure
Supplemental
Brochure, family
guide, docent material,
educational and
speakers list
We know more about the dark side of the moon
than we do about the earth beneath our feet.
This is the teeming domain of amoebas, bacteria, mites, mold, worms, and countless other
organisms, so numerous that scientists haven’t
even named them all. In fact, there are more
creatures in a shovelful of rich soil than human
beings on the planet!
Journey into the dark, secret center of it all
with Dig It! The Secrets of Soil. This highly interactive exhibition, organized by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History,
where it will debut in July 2008, is a comprehensive
and exciting look at the complex world underground—an ecosystem so important that it helps
sustain virtually every form of terrestrial life.
Audiovisual and interactive media components help visitors get the dirt on this little-
known subject matter, from a set of interactive
blocks that can be assembled into the soil
substructure, to an animated film that depicts
bizarre soil organisms and their interactions, to
a display of soil-coring devices and models of
what lies beneath towns, parks, and farms. Dig
It! also includes environmental designs, scale
models, multiple high-tech interactives, real
soil samples from every state in the nation, and
ample hands-on experiences for curious visitors.
The exhibition is ideal for teachers, students,
and family groups but will appeal to anyone
who has ever made a mud pie!
Dig It! is designed with kids in mind. Where in the soil world are
you? Peer through a periscope to learn how the soil underground is
related to the life above. How do scientists identify soils in the field?
Use the same tools as they do to describe the color and texture of
soils and reveal their identities.
Participation fee
$150,000 per 3-month
prorated shipping
Size
5,000 square feet
Security
High
Prorated shipping
Natoinal Museum of Natural History/MFM Design
Opposite: Wood Ronsaville Harlin © Smithsonian Institution
Weight TBD
90 crates, est.
5-6 trucks
Tour begins
Spring 2010
Content/Design
Jennifer Bine
202.633.3106
[email protected]
Scheduling
Ed Liskey
202.633.3142
[email protected]
29
Dig It!
Below the line where land meets sky, there are other
horizons: descending layers within the soil. Through
hands-on models, interactives, and soil monoliths taken
from every state and territory in the U.S., visitors can
explore the hidden horizons underfoot.
30
Documenting China
Contemporary Photography
and Social Change
Contents
57 framed color and
black-and-white
photographs (7
oversized), text panels,
labels
Supplemental
Brochure, catalogue,
educational and
bibliography
Participation fee
$4,000 per 8-week
outgoing shipping
Size
250 running feet
Security
Moderate, with light
restrictions
Outgoing shipping
“This exhibit met an existing community desire—
to better understand this crucial moment in China’s
history and how artists have played a role in
representing it.”
—Weisman Art Museum, University
of Minnesota
Seven contemporary photographers reveal a
nation that has been, until now, largely hidden
from Western view. Today’s rapidly changing
China is increasingly international, urban, and
open. As millions of rural workers surge into
the cities, metropolitan centers cope with the
needs of their new occupants, straddled between
an adherence to traditional ways of life and the
desire for viable work.
Originally presented by Bates College
Museum of Art in Lewiston, Maine, and curated
by Gu Zheng of Shanghai’s Fudan University,
Documenting China: Contemporary Photography
2,275 pounds
6 crates
Tour through
August 2009
Content/Design
Marquette Folley
202.633.3111
[email protected]
Scheduling
Ed Liskey
202.633.3142
[email protected]
and Social Change takes viewers to ultra-modern
hotspots such as Shanghai and Beijing, replete
with futuristic skyscrapers and hip cafés. But the
exhibition also presents a more complete view
of China, transporting us to the countryside just
after the death of communist leader Mao Zedong
and to the gritty industrial fields of Henan and
Heilongjiang provinces.
More than 50 black-and-white photographs,
interspersed with an array of colorful, oversized
portraits, record the monumental changes that
have created a new class of citizens and forever
altered the social and economic climate of China.
This exhibition has been made possible
through the generous support of Crystal Cruises.
Over 12,000 people attended Documenting China at the Boca
Raton Museum of Art in Florida. One visitor called the exhibition
“a refreshingly honest view of contemporary China.”
Earth from Space
High-tech satellites are constantly circling the
globe, capturing conditions and events that are
nearly impossible to document on the planet’s
surface. With these precise, up-to-the-minute
images, geologists, meteorologists, and other
scientists can study how the Earth changes from
day to day and year to year. Recording environmental cycles, natural disasters, and man-made
ecological effects, satellite images provide clues
about the dynamic nature of our planet.
Earth from Space was developed in collaboration with geographer and curator Andrew
Johnston at the Smithsonian’s National Air and
Space Museum’s Center for Earth and Planetary
Studies and won a 2007 U.S. Geological Survey
31
communications award for science content.
Vivid freestanding banners present rare views of
events such as dust storms, forest fires, volcanic
eruptions, and hurricanes.
Explaining how satellite imagery is gathered
and used to explore the Earth, this relevant, fascinating, and thought-provoking presentation
is accompanied by Johnston’s acclaimed book
Earth from Space (Firefly, revised ed., 2007) and a
Magic Planet interactive globe.
The exhibition was made possible by Global
Imagination with additional support from the
U.S. Geological Survey and the Smithsonian
Women’s Committee.
Contents
41 large-format color
digital images with
text printed on flexible
material, freestanding
units, 1 mechanical
interactive with on-site
installation assistance
Supplemental
Companion book,
brochure, educational
website, educational
and promotional
resources, speakers list
Participation fee
$2,500 per 8-week
outgoing shipping
Size
210 running feet
No matter when they were taken, the images in Earth from
Space are timely and pertinent. This 2003 image of forest fires in
California was an ominous precursor to the fires that ravaged the
state in 2007.
Wherever this exhibition travels, it has attracted the attention of
broad audiences with diverse interests. Earth from Space has
been especially popular with families.
Security
Moderate
Outgoing shipping
1,365 pounds
7 crates
Tour extended
January 2012
Content/Design
Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC
Eric Long
Devra Wexler
202.633.3114
[email protected]
Scheduling
Ed Liskey
202.633.3142
[email protected]
32
Contents
Approximately 40 art
prints, text panels,
labels
Supplemental
Companion book,
poster, educational and
Participation fee
$15,000 per 12-week
prorated shipping
Size
300 running feet, est.
Security
High
Elvis at 21
Art is about choices. A photographer chooses to
be engaged by a subject and that subject chooses
to let his guard down. Al Wertheimer chose to
capture 21-year-old Elvis Presley on the threshold
of super stardom not because he was a fan, but
because he was a student of human nature, because he was curious and because, like Elvis, he
could be swept up by the purity of experience.
That unscripted eloquence resulted in photographs so unique that they remind us why
Elvis matters.
What is so remarkable about Wertheimer’s
documentary portraits of Elvis is how fresh and
contemporary the pictures still seem, utterly
unlike any other portraits of this endlessly
scrutinized figure.
Prorated shipping
SITES-designated
carrier
Weight and crates
TBD
Elvis at 21 reveals images without a hint of
irony or visual comment. We are scarcely aware
of the photographer, though he is always present. We are witness to Elvis before he became
an icon and constant security created walls
between him and his fans.
Forty large-format Wertheimer photographs
chronicle Elvis’s dazzling emergence in a
pivotal year, 1956. Created by master printer
David Adamson, these 37 x 42” pigment prints
radiate a richness and depth that make Elvis’s
road to fame palpable. With cinematic luminosity, Wertheimer’s photographs document a
remarkable time when Elvis could sit alone at a
drugstore lunch counter.
The exhibition and the national tour are sponsored by The History Channel.
Tour begins
Spring 2010
Content/Design
Marquette Folley
202.633.3111
[email protected]
Scheduling
Images courtesy Govinda Gallery/Al Wertheimer
Ed Liskey
202.633.3142
[email protected]
Back home in Memphis, Elvis listens to “Hound Dog” and “Don’t be Cruel,” which he had just recorded in New York. Barbara Hearn, a former
high-school sweetheart, listens with equal intensity. This is a rarely seen Elvis.
33
Elvis at 21
Riding the train back to Memphis in 1956,
Wertheimer captured a photo of Elvis coming
out of the washroom. Wertheimer called the
image “No More Paper Towels.” Somehow,
even these unscripted, mundane moments
became opportunities for Elvis to demonstrate
his charismatic stage persona.
34
Exit Saigon, Enter Little Saigon
Vietnamese America Since 1975
Contents
93 panels with text
and images, 14 life-size
contour cut-outs
Supplemental
2 videos (venue
educational and
Participation fee
$1,500 per 10-week
outgoing shipping
Size
150 running feet
Security
Limited
Outgoing shipping
3,200 pounds
7 crates
(See website for details)
Tour through
August 2010
“We came to America not for material gain but
for freedom.”
— Vietnamese Buddhist nun
Imagine living amidst decades of devastating
war. Do you stay and face your fate, or do you
flee, perhaps never to see your home, your
family, or your friends again? Ask the many
Vietnamese Americans who have started their
lives over in the United States.
Produced by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific
American Program and SITES, Exit Saigon, Enter
Little Saigon recounts a journey more than 30
years in the making. Images of overcrowded
refugee camps across the Pacific Rim provide
a visual starting point, conveying the profound
sense of displacement experienced by warweary people en route to the United States.
When the U.S. government opened its gates
to thousands of Vietnamese in 1975, migrants
faced the idea of permanent resettlement with
a mixture of survivors’ guilt and overwhelming
relief. Once here, equality and acceptance were
not always guaranteed, but Vietnamese Americans have adapted to life in the United States
while maintaining their linguistic, cultural, and
religious traditions.
A celebration of cultural diversity, Exit Saigon,
Enter Little Saigon explores civic and political
issues as well as the intergenerational tensions
experienced by families as they negotiate new
lives in a new country.
The national tour of Exit Saigon, Enter Little
Saigon has been made possible by Farmers
Insurance.
The arrival of the Lunar New Year (known to Vietnamese-Americans as Tet) is cause for celebration in this Southern California
community. Exit Saigon, Enter Little Saigon offers an excellent
opportunity to explore diverse customs and holidays with visitors.
Content/Design
Jeff Thompson
202.633.3115
[email protected]
Scheduling
Office of U.S. Representative Loretta Sanchez
Ed Liskey
202.633.3142
[email protected]
Feast Your Eyes
35
The Unexpected Beauty of Vegetable Gardens
Over the centuries, vegetable gardens have been
variously prized as sources of food and places
of beauty—but typically not at the same time.
Feast Your Eyes traces, across continents and
cultures, the transformation of the “Cinderella
of the horticulture world” from hardworking
wallflower to “belle of the ball.”
This colorful exhibition begins with the “floating gardens” (chinampas) of Montezuma II’s Aztec
empire and the baroque potager of Louis XIV
at Versailles. More recent history is represented
by the war and victory gardens of World Wars I
and II and a host of contemporary ornamental
vegetable gardens. Rounding out this historical
survey are an examination of vegetables in art
and “biographies” of five vegetables that have
drifted back and forth across the fuzzy line separating food and flower.
Organized with the Smithsonian’s Horticulture Services Division, Feast Your Eyes is accompanied by a book (University of California Press,
2002) by exhibition curator Susan Pennington.
Contents
with reproductions
of photographs,
illustrations, art, and
documents with text
Supplemental
Companion book,
educational resources,
speakers list,
bibliography
Participation fee
$3,500 per 8-week
outgoing shipping
Size
1,075 square feet
Security
Limited
Outgoing shipping
1,375 pounds
5 crates
Tour through
December 2008
Evelyn Figueroa
202.633.3110
[email protected]
National Archives and Records Administration
Caroline L. Hunt/Smithsonian’s Horticulture Services Division, Archives of American Gardens,
Garden Club of America Collection
Content/Design
Botanic gardens, libraries, arts centers, and historical
societies are among the venues that have hosted this wildly
popular exploration of vegetable gardens throughout history.
Left: At this Dallas, TX, garden, a set of parterres radiates
from the central statue. Contained by crisp box edging,
vegetables provide more height than one usually finds in
classic parterres.
Fully booked
36
Forget Me Not
Women and the American Landscape
Contents
with reproductions
of photographs,
illustrations, and
documents with text,
3-4 props
Supplemental
Educational and
speakers list,
bibliography
Participation fee
$4,500 per 8-week
outgoing shipping
Size
1,000 square feet, est.
Security
Limited
Outgoing shipping
During the early 20th century, women helped
cultivate a new awareness of America’s natural
and designed landscapes. Gardening and working with nature had long been viewed as acceptable pursuits for women within their traditional
roles as guardians of domestic life. However,
many unheralded pioneers went beyond such
traditions to shape new roles for themselves—as
amateurs and professionals, advocates and practitioners—and to contribute in diverse ways to
the stewardship of the land.
In addition to gardening and practicing
landscape design, these women led garden, design, and environmental organizations; taught
nature study to schoolchildren; and contributed to the discipline as writers, photographers,
and illustrators. Some were wealthy patrons and
middle-class housewives; others were workingclass and immigrant women and girls. Despite
their different backgrounds, they shared a belief
in the critical role of the landscape in American
life and culture.
Forget Me Not explores the interactions and
networks that developed as these women strove
to define and shape the American landscape.
Graphic reproductions of rarely seen photographs, artwork, and ephemera from the
Smithsonian’s Archives of American Gardens
and other national collections are complemented
by case-mounted objects that add depth to a
fascinating story that has parallels with today’s
“green” movement.
This exhibition was made possible in part by
the Smithsonian Women’s Committee.
Opposite: During World War I, Americans contributed to the war
effort by planting vegetable gardens in yards, vacant lots, and
schoolyards. This 1918 poster by Herbert Andrew Paus publicizes
a program to train female volunteers to perform agricultural labor,
filling in for men at war.
Weight and crates
TBD
Tour begins
TBD
Content/Design
Deborah Macanic
202.633.3101
[email protected]
Scheduling
The Collections of Hampton University, Hampton, VA
Opposite: Library of Congress
Minnie Micu
202.633.3160
[email protected]
Hampton Normal School (now Hampton University) was among the first of many land-grant colleges to encourage women, seen here on a field
trip with fellow students, to pursue training in agriculture and horticulture. The multicultural scope of Forget Me Not makes the exhibition
intriguing to a wide range of audiences.
37
Forget Me Not
38
Contents
Freestanding
“entryway,”
with graphics and
text, artifacts, videos
with equipment and
cabinetry, mechanical
and electronic
interactives, photo
booth, resource center
furniture
Supplemental
Brochure, curriculum
material, educational
and promotional
resources
Participation fee
$3,500 per 10-week
booking period,
includes shipping
Freedom’s Sisters
Much of our national memory of the civil rights
movement is embodied by male figureheads
whose visibility in boycotts, legal proceedings,
and mass demonstrations dominated newspaper
and television coverage in the 1950s and ’60s.
Missing from that picture is a group of extraordinary women who, while less prominent in the
media, shaped much of the spirit and substance
of civil rights in America, just as their mothers
and grandmothers had done for decades.
Freedom’s Sisters, a collaboration between
SITES and Cincinnati Museum Center, brings to
life 20 African American women, from key 19thcentury historical figures to contemporary leaders, who have fought for equality for people of
color and for all Americans. Geared to elementary school students, the exhibition is organized
around the themes of Dare to Dream, Inspire
Lives, Serve the Public, and Look to the Future.
Graphically striking freestanding structures,
many with interactive stations, tell the stories
of Harriet Tubman, Mary McLeod Bethune,
Septima Poinsette Clark, Fannie Lou Hamer,
Dorothy Height, Coretta Scott King, Rosa Parks,
and 13 other notable women leaders.
Sponsored by Ford Motor Company Fund,
Freedom’s Sisters includes educational and
community outreach components to facilitate
engagement with local audiences. The exhibition will tour eight selected cities after opening
at Cincinnati Museum Center in 2008.
Opposite: Journalist Ida B. Wells-Barnett is one of the exhibition’s
20 extraordinary women who fought for freedom and changed
the course of American history.
Size
2,500 square feet
Security
Moderate
Prorated shipping
State Archives of Florida
Opposite: Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
Included in fee
SITES-designated
carrier
Weight TBD
5 crates, plus blanketwrapped structures
and 12-14 wheeled carts
Tour begins
Fall 2008
Content/Design
Katherine Krile
202.633.3108
[email protected]
Scheduling
Minnie Micu
202.633.3160
[email protected]
Mary McLeod Bethune founded the Daytona (FL) Literary and Industrial School for Training Negro Girls in 1904. Contemporary students can add
their own “page” to the Freedom’s Sisters story at the exhibition’s “build-a-book” activity.
39
Freedom’s Sisters
40
Contents
25-30 freestanding
units/banners, est.
Supplemental
Companion book,
video (venue
educational and
Participation fee
To be determined
Size
Security
Limited
Hidden Depths
The world’s oceans cover more than 70 percent
of the Earth’s surface. Yet we know more about
Mars, millions of miles away, than we do about
the waters that supply us with oxygen, food,
medicine, and transportation routes. And until
a devastating event, like the 2004 Indian Ocean
tsunami, reminds us of the oceans’ awesome
power, most of us give little thought to what’s
often called “the last frontier” on our blue planet.
Hidden Depths, based on the eponymous new
ocean atlas (HarperCollins Publishers in collaboration with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Smithsonian
Institution, 2007), aims to increase and update
our knowledge of our most valuable natural
resource. The exhibition features detailed new
maps of the oceans, delineating such aspects as
the ocean floor, salinity, temperature, and other
scientific measurements. Newly created charts
examine ocean circulation, ecosystems, and
hazards (both natural and manmade), ranging
from typhoons and tsunamis to shipwrecks,
pollution, and marine debris.
This intense look at oceans will appeal to
everyone who agrees that a continued understanding of the ocean world will help achieve,
in the words of the atlas editors, “a balanced
state of economic development, environmental
stewardship, and security.”
Outgoing shipping
1,200 pounds, est.
4 crates, est.
Tour begins
Fall 2010
Content/Design
Devra Wexler
202.633.3114
[email protected]
Scheduling
Walter Smith and David Sandwell, NOAA
Minnie Micu
202.633.3160
[email protected]
State-of-the-art imaging techniques offer exciting new perspectives on the world’s oceans. This satellite image of the Pacific Ocean (the continents
appear black) uses color to delineate its oceanic mountains, wide basins, and deep trenches. Traditional maps show these ranges in depth with
gradations of blue.
IndiVisible
41
African-Native American Lives in the Americas
From the National Museum of the American
Indian and the National Museum of African
American History and Culture comes an important and enlightening exhibition about the
intersection of American Indian and African
American people and cultures. IndiVisible:
African-Native American Lives in the Americas
explores historical and contemporary stories of
peoples and communities in the U.S., the Caribbean, Central America, and the northern coast
of South America.
The exhibition sheds light on the complex
dynamics of race, community, culture, and
creativity and addresses the human desires of
being and belonging. With compelling text
and powerful graphics, the exhibition includes
accounts of cultural integration and diffusion
as well as the struggle to define and preserve
identity. Stories are set within the context of
a larger society that, for centuries, has viewed
people through the prism of race brought to the
Western Hemisphere by European settlers.
By combining the voices of the living with
those of their ancestors, the exhibition provides
an extraordinary opportunity to understand
the history and contemporary perspectives of
people of African and Native American descent.
Contents
20 large-scale,
freestanding color
banners with text
and graphics
Supplemental
Companion book,
10-minute video (venue
educational website,
educational and
speakers list,
bibliography
Participation fee
$2,400 per 8-week
booking period
Size
Security
Limited
Outgoing shipping
575 pounds, est.
6 crates, est.
Tour begins
February 2009
Content/Design
Katherine Krile
202.633.3108
[email protected]
National Museum of the American Indian
Scheduling
This ca. 1895 color postcard shows a bride and groom from the Seminole Nation in Florida, near the Everglades.
202.633.3143
[email protected]
42
In Focus
National Geographic Greatest Portraits
Contents
56 framed color and
black-and-white
photographs, text and
Supplemental
Companion book,
educational and
Participation fee
$5,000 per 8-week
outgoing shipping
Size
300 running feet
Security
Moderate
Outgoing shipping
“What incredible stories are told through the eyes
of a portrait.”
— Exhibition visitor, Durham Western Heritage
Museum, Omaha, NE
Since the 1880s, the glossy pages of National
Geographic have delivered some of the most
memorable images of people ever created. The
magazine’s photographers, visual storytellers
with a true sense of exploration, have recorded
individuals at work and at play in virtually
every country on Earth.
Developed in cooperation with the National
Geographic Society, In Focus: National Geographic
Greatest Portraits assembles 56 of the Society’s
most telling portraits, dating from the late
19th century to the present. Steve McCurry’s
extraordinary picture of the Afghan girl is included as are a host of other critically acclaimed
cultural and ethnographic images from around
the world. National Geographic’s contrived
images of life in the United States during the
1930s and 1940s are especially compelling as the
country and the magazine struggled to maintain
a rosy outlook in the midst of myriad economic
and political crises. With a blend of history,
science, geography, and anthropology, In Focus
offers something for everyone.
Opposite: The exhibition’s iconic images take visitors around the
globe and offer glimpses of lifestyles and cultures that most of us
will never experience. This 1971 photo shows a Zulu couple on
their 10-mile journey to market.
The post-Depression era images in the exhibition, including this
photo of a girls’ school in Charleston, SC, reminded Americans that
happiness and prosperity were still within reach.
1,500 pounds
4 crates
Tour through
February 2010
Content/Design
Marcie Hocking
202.633.3112
[email protected]
Scheduling
Anthony Stewart. Photos courtesy photographers and National Geographic
Opposite: Dick Durrance II
Ed Liskey
202.633.3142
[email protected]
43
In Focus
44
Contents
5 specimens
(Architeuthis beak
and suckers, common
squid eggs and gladius,
selection of giant squid
prey); freestanding text
panels, 3-min. video
with equipment and
cabinetry, 3 interactives
Supplemental
Brochure, activity
guide, 10-min video
(venue provides
equipment),
educational and
Participation fee
$15,000 per 14-week
prorated shipping
In Search of Giant Squid
Massive tentacles constrict around an unsuspecting ship as a gnashing beak crunches down
on its soft wooden hull. For centuries, such were
the nightmares of fishermen and sailors from
around the world. A real-life sea monster, the
giant squid (genus Architeuthis) can reach 60 feet
in length. Remains of these creatures have been
found in waters around the world; however, it
was not until September 2004 that Japanese researchers captured an adult giant squid on film
in its natural habitat. There is still much to learn
about the giant squid. How does this enormous
mollusk mate and defend itself from its only
known predator, the sperm whale? Where are
its favorite hunting grounds?
Based on an exhibition at the Smithsonian’s
National Museum of Natural History and in
partnership with the Discovery Channel, In
Search of Giant Squid explores what is known
about these animals and about scientists’ ongoing efforts to study them in the wild. Visitors
will also examine the myths surrounding the
giant squid and compare Architeuthis to other
squids and mollusks.
In Search of Giant Squid is made possible
with the support of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration and the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Opposite: Visitors tall and small enjoy squid specimens and the
“Deep Sea Viewer,” which shows some of the weird creatures that
share the giant squid’s mid-ocean habitat.
Size
1,500-2,000 square feet
Security
Moderate
Prorated shipping
Yale University, Peabody Museum of Natural History
Opposite: Dan Rockafellow/American Fish and Wildlife Museum, Springfield, MO
SITES-designated
carrier
3,455 pounds
16 crates
Tour through
January 2009
Content/Design
Jennifer Bine
202.633.3106
[email protected]
Fully booked
Giant squid are a passion for Clyde Roper, curator of the exhibition. Wherever Roper speaks, people gather to hear about this elusive beast, which
has only been caught on film once in its deep-sea habitat.
45
In Search of Giant Squid
46
Contents
130 framed works
of art; photographic
reproductions,
documents, 14 puppets,
49 additional objects
in floor and wall cases,
4 videos (5-20 min.
each) with equipment,
illustrated timeline,
education room
materials, text panels,
labels
Supplemental
Brochure, podcast,
educational and
Participation fee
$30,000 per 12-week
prorated shipping
Jim Henson’s
Fantastic World
“Jim Henson’s Fantastic World . . . the museum’s
all-time blockbuster.”
— Arizona Museum for Youth, Mesa, AZ
The incredibly prolific mind of Jim Henson
(1936-90) was a veritable celebration of ideas
for wondrous creatures and characters, stories,
songs, and imagery. From the earliest age, Henson drew pictures, wrote jokes, built mobiles,
and planned whole worlds. He thought in three
dimensions and experimented in a huge variety
of media, both with still and moving images. He
was fascinated with how ideas are formed, how
they interconnect in the mind, and how they can
be shared through the visual and performing arts.
Organized with The Jim Henson Legacy,
Jim Henson’s Fantastic World offers audiences a
rare peek into the imagination of this brilliant
innovator and creator of Kermit, Big Bird, and
other beloved characters. The exhibition documents Henson’s process of “visual thinking”
through works of art, photographs, documents,
puppets and other 3-D objects, and film and
video clips. Museums may create a separate
activity center with the educational and interactive resources provided.
This exhibition is made possible by The
Biography Channel. Additional support has
been provided by The Jane Henson Foundation
and Cheryl Henson.
© 2008 The Jim Henson Company. Jim Henson’s mark and logo are
trademarks of The Jim Henson Company. All Rights Reserved. | MUPPET,
MUPPETS, and the Muppet Characters are registered trademarks of Muppets
Holding Company, LLC. All Rights Reserved. © 2008 Muppets Holding
Company, LLC. | Sesame Street ® and associated characters, trademarks,
and design elements are owned and licensed by Sesame Workshop. © 2008
Sesame Workshop. All Rights Reserved.
Size
The Jim Henson Company. ™ & © 2007 Sesame Workshop. All rights reserved.
Opposite: Photo by Richard Termine, courtesy The Jim Henson Company. Kermit the Frog © The Muppets Studio, LLC.
3,000 - 3,500
square feet
Security
High
Prorated shipping
SITES-designated
carrier
9,650 pounds
27 crates
Tour through
January 2011
Content/Design
Deborah Macanic
202.633.3101
[email protected]
Scheduling
202.633.3143
[email protected]
The first comprehensive exhibition of the work of this creative genius, Jim Henson’s Fantastic World traces the evolution of his ideas, from doodles and
drawings to puppets, films, and television. Jim and Jane Henson were pioneers in developing ways to synchronize the movements of puppets for TV.
47
Jim Henson’s Fantastic World
48
The Kennedys
Portrait of a Family
Photographs by Richard Avedon
Contents
27 framed black-andwhite photographs, text
panels, labels
Supplemental
Companion book,
educational and
speakers list
Participation fee
$20,000 per 8-week
prorated shipping
Size
125 running feet
Security
High
Prorated shipping
SITES-designated
carrier
1,000 pounds, est.
4 crates
On January 3, 1961, elite fashion photographer
Richard Avedon, on assignment for Harper’s Bazaar and Look magazines, unpacked his portable
studio in the Palm Beach, FL, family compound
of president-elect John F. Kennedy. Over the
next several hours, Avedon took candid and
posed portraits of the young president-to-be,
his elegant wife, and their adorable children.
Combining elements of fashion and art photography, Avedon sought to capture the essence of
the Kennedys at their finest.
Avedon created a single edition of the Harper’s
Bazaar images and in 1966, a mere three years
after the assassination that rocked the world,
donated the prints and negatives to the Smithsonian’s newly opened Museum of History
and Technology (now the National Museum of
American History, NMAH).
For the first time, original images from this
photo session are on view in their entirety.
Tour begins
November 2008
The president-elect and his daughter, Caroline, just prior to
beginning life in the White House.
Available only to select venues, The Kennedys |
Portrait of a Family, an exhibition developed
by NMAH and circulated by SITES, showcases
Avedon’s beautiful photos of the “picture
perfect” first family. Text panels offer additional
insight into Avedon’s career and approach as
well as the technical aspects of photography and
magazine production.
A companion book (Collins Design, 2007) by
exhibition curator Shannon Perich includes a
foreword by Kennedy historian Robert Dallek.
The exhibition is supported by the Rudolf
Eickemeyer Jr. Fund and Collins Design, an
imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers. The exhibition and national tour are sponsored by The
History Channel.
Opposite: At the beginning of the “New Frontier,” Avedon created this
flawless portrait of the first lady-to-be and her son, John Jr., imbuing
it with the youth and elegance that characterized her style.
The media-savvy president-elect and his wife selected Richard
Avedon to photograph their family in the weeks before inauguration
day. The Kennedys | Portrait of a Family lets visitors experience
the excitement of that photo session in its entirety.
Photos by Richard Avedon/National Museum of American History, Photographic History Collection
Content/Design
Jeff Thompson
202.633.3115
[email protected]
Scheduling
Minnie Micu
202.633.3160
[email protected]
49
The Kennedys | Portrait of a Family
50
Lasting Light
125 Years of Grand Canyon Photography
Contents
60 framed color
photographs, text
panels, labels
Supplemental
Companion book,
educational and
Participation fee
$5,000 for 12-week
outgoing shipping
Size
175-200 running feet
Security
Moderate
Outgoing shipping
2,500 pounds, est.
7 crates, est.
“Every visit to a new side canyon . . . is a chance to
uncover a new facet of an old and valued friend.”
— Gary Ladd, Grand Canyon photographer
A photographer who has a love affair with the
Grand Canyon is a different kind of artist—
more comfortable on the trail than in the studio,
someone who brings a compass and canteen to
work rather than a laptop. A photographer who
cultivates a relationship with the Grand Canyon
is only at home among red rocks and running
rivers. It’s that kind of relationship with the
Canyon that results in the most unforgettable
pictures of this awe-inspiring place.
Lasting Light features works by over two
dozen of the Canyon’s most devoted fans. Each
exquisite photo reveals something new and unexpected: A quiet moment by a clear blue pool
contrasts with a dramatic lightning storm above
the cliffs. A shot of an elusive rainbow gives
way to a close-up of a king snake. An image of a
sheer precipice rests next to one of wet pinecones in a tall ponderosa forest. Sixty stunning
contemporary images, selected by jurors from
National Geographic and Eastman Kodak, tell
the Canyon’s dynamic story. They are complemented by an array of rare archival images that
will surely give visitors a new appreciation for
the phrase “extreme sports.”
Beginning its tour in January 2009, Lasting
Light commemorates the 90th anniversary of
the birth of Grand Canyon National Park. It also
celebrates wild beauty, raw power, and forces of
nature that are as ancient as the rocks themselves.
Tour begins
January 2009
Opposite: Larry Ulrich
captured the peace and
calm of a quiet creek
deep in the Grand
Canyon, with only a
hint of its well-known
rocky cliffs.
Content/Design
Devra Wexler
202.633.3114
[email protected]
Scheduling
Ed Liskey
202.633.3142
[email protected]
Tom Bean
Opposite: Larry Ulrich
Left: Visitors atop
the rim gaze out over
the immense Canyon,
illuminated by a
rainbow.
51
Lasting Light
52
Let Your Motto Be Resistance
African American Portraits
Contents
70 matted and framed
black-and-white
modern prints, text
panels, labels
Supplemental
Companion book,
educational and
Participation fee
$5,000 per 12-week
outgoing shipping
Size
350 running feet
Security
“The faces are powerful and gorgeous. Their poses
telegraph dignity and warmth. Their stories tell how
they made steps forward as individuals to forge an
image of a resilient, talented people.”
— Jacqueline Trescott, The Washington Post
Let Your Motto Be Resistance, the inaugural
exhibition of the Smithsonian’s new National
Museum of African American History and
Culture, highlights individuals whose passion,
determination, and talent played an influential
role in shaping notions of race and status over
the past 150 years. Produced in collaboration
with the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery,
where it was recently on view, Let Your Motto Be
Resistance opened to widespread acclaim at the
International Center for Photography in 2007.
The SITES traveling version contains a selection
of 70 matted and framed modern prints.
The portrait subjects, selected by photography
historian and guest curator Deborah Willis, come
from many sectors of the African American
community, from Frederick Douglass and Edmonia
Lewis, to W.E.B. Dubois and Wynton Marsalis.
Among the featured photographers who employ
a variety of strategies to create their powerful
images are Mathew Brady, James VanDerZee,
Doris Ulmann, Irving Penn, and Carl Van Vechten.
This exhibition is made possible by MetLife
Foundation.
Limited, with light
restrictions
Outgoing shipping
1,500 pounds, est.
6 crates, est.
Tour begins
June 2008
Content/Design
Marcie Hocking
202.633.3112
[email protected]
Scheduling
Gordon Parks. Images courtesy National Portrait Gallery
Opposite: Addison N. Scurlock
202.633.3143
[email protected]
Iconic images of civil rights leaders including Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Angela Davis, and this one of Malcolm X present the theme of
resistance in its most fundamental form.
53
Let Your Motto Be Resistance
Educational opportunities
abound in this exhibition,
which presents historic
photographs from
across the 19th and 20th
centuries. Early AfricanAmerican educators
and scholars, including
W.E.B. Du Bois, resisted
prevailing stereotypes
and sought intellectual
heights exceptional by
any standard.
54
A Magic Web
The Tropical Forest of Barro Colorado Island
Contents
40 framed large-format
color photographs, text
panels, labels
Supplemental
Companion book,
educational and
12-min. video
(venue provides
equipment), virtual
gallery program on
CD-ROM, bibliography,
speakers list
Participation fee
$2,500 per 8-week
outgoing shipping
Size
250 running feet
Security
Home to a dense and varied tropical ecosystem,
Panama’s Barro Colorado Island has hosted scientists for almost a century. In this rich environment, plants, animals, and other organisms have
developed fascinating behaviors and physical
attributes that help them compete for light,
space, nutrients, and other scarce resources. The
evolutionary alliances and the predator-prey
relationships that result from such competition
form a “magic web” of interactions that sustain
this fragile world.
Ecologist Christian Ziegler spent 15 months
on Barro Colorado Island doing intensive fieldwork with the Smithsonian Tropical Research
Institute (STRI). A scientist with an acute artistic
awareness, Ziegler photographed the intimate
exchanges and far-reaching relationships of the
island’s animal and plant inhabitants. Produced
in cooperation with STRI and the Smithsonian’s
The wide variety of plants, animals, and other organisms seen in
the exhibition’s photographs mimic the diversity found on Barro
Colorado Island. Scientists now know that while tropical forests
only cover about 7% of the Earth’s land surface, they contain at
least 50% of its biodiversity.
National Zoological Park, A Magic Web features
40 of Ziegler’s vibrant large-format photographs
and includes bilingual (English/Spanish) text.
Through these remarkable images, the beauty
of an island ecosystem comes into sharp focus.
Moderate
Outgoing shipping
1,400 pounds
6 crates
Tour through
November 2008
Content/Design
Marcie Hocking
202.633.3112
[email protected]
Scheduling
Photos © Christian Ziegler
Ed Liskey
202.633.3142
[email protected]
Many of the exhibition’s images are spectacular action shots, providing visitors the unique opportunity to carefully study a scene that changes in an
instant. In this photograph, a bat quickly departs the tree hollow in which it roosts during the day.
55
A Magic Web
Visitors will be drawn in by
the large-format scale of these
photographs, which allow
even the smallest details to
become larger-than-life. This
close-up image of an iguana is
especially unique, as its bright
green color makes it difficult to
see in vegetation
56
More Than Words
Illustrated Letters from the Smithsonian’s
Archives of American Art
Contents
58 framed works of
art on paper, 8 wallmounted light shields
for the most sensitive
letters, text panels,
labels
Supplemental
Companion book,
educational and
speakers list,
bibliography
Participation fee
$15,400 per 10-week
prorated shipping
Size
for popular magazine illustrator Rutherford
Boyd, for instance, to describe his New York studio to his out-of-town fiancée. Rather, Boyd filled
a page of his 1905 letter with an on-the-spot
sketch of the city view and the bustling traffic of
23rd Street, complete with “its hurrying people,
clanging trolleys, [and] Italian fruit vendors.”
For Boyd and his counterparts, the act of writing and illustrating was the only way to fully
convey meaning and experience. Reflecting the
actual voices of the artists, More Than Words
captures intimate details of artists’ lives that
cannot be gleaned from other sources.
A hand-written letter is a welcome surprise
in this hurried electronic era. An illustrated
letter, filled with masterful drawings, comical
cartoons, or whimsical doodles, is even more
remarkable, expressing an irrefutable sense of
creativity, intimacy, and purpose.
More Than Words: Illustrated Letters from the
Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art offers art
lovers an unprecedented window into the lives
of some of the most revered artists of the 19th
and 20th centuries: Alexander Calder, Thomas
Eakins, Frida Kahlo, Andy Warhol, Andrew
Wyeth, and many others.
Nearly 60 exquisite examples of epistolary art
reveal the artists’ passions, heartbreaks, business
affairs, and travels. Words alone weren’t enough
Opposite: Did you know that Samuel Morse (1791-1872), best
known as the inventor of the telegraph, was also a celebrated artist
in his day? In this 1827 note to his cousin, Morse reveals a keen
sense of humor as well as his talent as a draftsman.
200 running feet
Security
High
Prorated shipping
SITES-designated
carrier
3,200 pounds
8 crates
“More Than Words is a quiet exhibition that invites contemplation,”
said Georgia Museum of Art curator Ashley Callahan. One colorful
example is this letter from Allen Tupper True (1881-1955) to
his daughter.
This exhibition reminds us that even the most mundane items can
become works of art. Here painter Gladys Nilsson (b. 1940) used
United Airlines stationery to send a thank-you “collage” to fellow
artists Mimi Gross and Red Grooms.
Tour ends
Content/Design
Deborah Macanic
202.633.3101
[email protected]
Scheduling
Ed Liskey
202.633.3142
[email protected]
Mimi Gross papers, 1960-81
Opposite: Breese and Morse family Papers, 1772-1846
Allen Tupper True and True family papers, 1841-1987. Images courtesy Archives of American Art,
Smithsonian Institution
July 2009
57
More Than Words
58
NASA | ART
50 Years of Exploration
Contents
73 paintings,
photographs, works
on paper, sculpture,
mixed-media, and
video art (venue
text and graphic
panels, labels
Supplemental
Companion book,
educational and
Participation fee
$33,000 per 12-week
prorated shipping
Size
Security
Soon after the establishment of the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration in 1958,
Administrator James E. Webb created the NASA
Art Program, believing that artists could contribute to the public’s understanding of his agency’s
history-making activities. Since then, this
innovative program has granted America’s most
renowned artists behind-the-scenes access to the
wonder and magic of NASA missions, from the
Mercury and Apollo projects to the space shuttle
program and today’s planetary probes.
In celebration of NASA’s 50th anniversary,
SITES offers museums across the country a rare
opportunity to share the riches of this one-of-akind art collection with their visitors. Ranging
from the illustrative to the abstract, the artworks featured in NASA | ART include paintings,
photography, sculpture, and video by artists
as varied as Norman Rockwell, Vija Celmins,
Robert Rauschenberg, Annie Leibovitz, Andy
Warhol, Nam June Paik, William Wegman,
Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Jamie Wyeth, Robert
McCall, Russell Crotty, E.V. Day, Doug and Mike
Starn, and Chakaia Booker, among others.
All artworks are drawn from NASA’s collections and from the collection of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, which
is the repository of all NASA artwork commissioned before 1976.
A companion book (Abrams, 2008) accompanies the exhibition.
Opposite: Using a range of media, artists document every step of
space flight, from construction and launch to mission and return.
Jack Perlmutter’s Liftoff at 15 Seconds boldly depicts green earth,
red fire, and blue sky in oil.
High
Prorated shipping
SITES-designated
carrier
Weight TBD
20-25 crates, est.
(See website for
details)
Tour begins
October 2008
Content/Design
National Air and Space Museum
Opposite: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Devra Wexler
202.633.3114
[email protected]
Scheduling
Ed Liskey
202.633.3142
[email protected]
Gemini Launch Pad 1965, a watercolor by Jamie Wyeth, pairs high-tech and low-tech. Although surrounded by cutting-edge technology,
technicians relied on a bicycle for check-up trips to the launch pad.
59
NASA | ART
60
Contents
15 freestanding
banners with text and
graphics
Supplemental
11-min. DVD (venue
educational website,
educational and
speakers list,
bibliography, film guide
Participation fee
$1,700 per 10-week
outgoing shipping
Size
Native Words, Native Warriors
“It’s strange, but growing up as a child I was forbidden to speak my Native language at school. Later my
country asked me to. My language helped win the
war and that makes me very proud. Very proud.”
— Charles Chibitty (Comanche), U.S. Army
When the United States issued the call to arms
in World Wars I and II, American Indians answered as warriors. Some men discovered that
words—in their Native languages—would be
their most valued weapons. Crackling over the
airwaves and telephone lines, the code talkers’
messages proved indecipherable to the enemy
and helped the United States achieve victory
in combat. Decades later, the U.S. government
declassified the code talker programs, paving
the way for the participants’ long-overdue
recognition.
Native Words, Native Warriors tells the remarkable story of Indian soldiers from more than
a dozen tribes who used their Native languages
in the service of the U.S. military. Developed
with the Smithsonian’s National Museum
of the American Indian, this inspiring exhibition was made possible in part thanks to the
generous support of Elizabeth Hunter Solomon.
Additional support has been provided by the
Smithsonian Women’s Committee and the
AMB Foundation.
150 running feet
Security
Limited
Outgoing shipping
455 pounds
4 crates
Tour through
July 2011
Content/Design
Katherine Krile
202.633.3108
[email protected]
Scheduling
Kenji Kawano
Minnie Micu
202.633.3160
[email protected]
Many of the men who were later honored for using their Native languages during their U.S. military service had been punished as children in
government-sponsored boarding schools for speaking those same languages. A 1989 reunion of Navajo code talkers at Shiprock, NM, provided an
occasion for reminiscing and camaraderie.
Our Journeys /Our Stories
61
Portraits of Latino Achievement
Nuestros Caminos/Nuestras Historias: Retratos del Logro Latino
Our Journeys/Our Stories: Portraits of Latino
Achievement highlights the diversity of contemporary Latino success in the United States
through biographical sketches and specially
commissioned photographs of 24 individuals
and one extended family.
While each of the featured Latinos tells a
distinct and individual story, the exhibition
as a whole reflects shared Latino experiences,
values, and the dichos, or familiar words of inspiration, passed down through generations. The bilingual (English/Spanish) exhibition, developed
by SITES and the Smithsonian Latino Center,
also includes a dozen influential figures from the
past, such as Cuban revolutionary and poet José
Martí and legendary performer Celia Cruz.
The tour of this immensely popular exhibition
has been made possible by the Ford Motor
Company Fund, which also offers host venues
financial support for community education and
outreach efforts.
Contents
25 framed color
photographs, text
panels, vinyl lettering
of 10 bilingual dichos
and poetry verse
Supplemental
Brochure, family guide,
educational and
Participation fee
Celia Alvarez Muñoz
“To have the Smithsonian tell our story along with
these great people . . . it gives me chills.”
— Telca Garza Porras, who is featured with her
family in Our Journeys/Our Stories
$2,000 per 12-week
booking period,
includes shipping
Size
2,800 square feet
Security
Moderate
Many multi-generational exhibition visitors see themselves in
the Garza family of Texas, who have made higher education an
important priority.
Prorated shipping
Included in fee
SITES-designated
carrier
2,800 pounds
8 crates
Tour through
June 2008
Content
Evelyn Figueroa
202.633.3110
[email protected]
TAMIU Office of Public Relations
Fully booked
Before the exhibition opens at each venue, the Ford Motor Company Fund sponsors Committee of Honor events to recognize local Latino leadership.
Forty-five Texas A&M International University Latino/Latina alumni were honored for their contributions to Laredo and surrounding areas in a
companion exhibit, Picture our Lives: Portraits of TAMIU Alumni Achievements.
62
Singgalot (The Ties That Bind)
Filipinos in America, from Colonial Subjects
to Citizens
Contents
30 panels (each
approximately 68” x
42”) with photographs
and text
Supplemental
Brochure, educational
and promotional
resources
Participation fee
$1,500 per 10-week
outgoing shipping
Size
100 running feet
Security
Limited
Outgoing shipping
750 pounds, est.
3 crates, est.
Tour begins
August 2008
Today there are more than 2.5 million Filipino
Americans in the U.S. Yet many people, including Filipinos themselves, aren’t familiar with the
details of their rich history in America—their
experiences, traditions, and culture. Singgalot is
their story.
Beginning with the first transoceanic trade
missions between Manila and Acapulco in the
1500s, Singgalot also explores the tenuous political relationship between the United States and
the Philippines after the Spanish-American War.
Rarely seen historical images detail Filipino
migration between 1906 and 1935 as Hawaiian
sugar plantations, West Coast farms, and Alaskan canneries recruited Asians to join the labor
force. When the U.S. government sounded the
call to arms in the 1940s, Filipino immigrants
answered, faithfully serving their new nation.
Nearly 20 years later, the 1965 Immigration Act
hastened a third wave of Filipinos who would
champion major changes in gender equality and
class in the Filipino American community and
make significant contributions to the fight for
civil rights.
In 2006, the Smithsonian Filipino American
Centennial Commemoration marked 100 years
of Filipino migration to the United States with
insightful exhibitions, special programs, and
downloadable education resources (www.apa.
si.edu). Singgalot celebrates Filipino Americans
as they share their struggles, challenges, and
achievements with the rest of the nation.
The national tour of Singgalot has been made
possible by Farmers Insurance.
Opposite: The need for ready agricultural labor on the West Coast
and Hawai’i spurred the growth of Filipino population there.
Rarely seen archival images like this one document the early
history of Filipino immigrants in the United States.
In 2000, Navy Captain Eleanor “Connie” Mariano, Medical
Corps, was promoted to Rear Admiral, the highest military rank
occupied by a Filipino American.
Content/Design
Jeff Thompson
202.633.3115
[email protected]
Scheduling
Filipinas Magazine. Images courtesy Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program
Opposite: Center for Labor Education and Research, University of Hawai’i at West O’ahu
Minnie Micu
202.633.3160
[email protected]
63
Singgalot (The Ties That Bind)
64
Contents
Approximately
150 historical and
contemporary objects,
50 photographs and
illustrations, cases
and vitrines, audio and
video with equipment
and cabinetry, text
and graphic panels,
labels; see website for
additional details
Supplemental
Companion book,
brochure, website,
educational and
Participation fee
To be determined
A Song for the Horse Nation
The National Museum of the American Indian
(NMAI) draws upon its extraordinary collections to present A Song for the Horse Nation, an
epic story of the horse’s influence on American
Indian tribes from the 1600s to the present.
Rare and significant historical objects as well
as new pieces by contemporary Native artists
reveal how horses shaped the social, economic,
cultural, and spiritual foundations of American
Indian life, particularly on the Great Plains.
The exhibition text recounts historical events
and includes traditional and contemporary
stories, songs, and poetry. Audio visual presentations of contemporary Native American
horsemen, breeders, rodeos, powwows, and
horse races bring the story up to the present,
reminding visitors that the horse, though no
longer ubiquitous, is still venerated in Indian
Country today.
The exhibition, which debuts at NMAI in
2010, is an outgrowth of the acclaimed publication, A Song for the Horse Nation: Horses in Native
American Cultures (Fulcrum Publishing, 2006),
edited by George P. Horse Capture and Emil Her
Many Horses.
Opposite: This Northern Cheyenne quilled horse mask was used
for parades. The exhibition will include a life-size replica of a horse,
decorated from head to tail in full parade regalia.
Ledger drawings, hide robes, saddles, paintings, and other items,
such as this ca. 1885 Cheyenne River Sioux beaded tipi
bag, are among the stunning objects featured in A Song for the
Horse Nation.
Size
4,200 square feet, est.
Security
High
Prorated shipping
SITES-designated
carrier
Weight and crates
TBD
Tour begins
2012
Content/Design
Images courtesy National Museum of the American Indian
Katherine Krile
202.633.3108
[email protected]
Scheduling
202.633.3143
[email protected]
65
A Song for the Horse Nation
66
381 Days
The Montgomery Bus Boycott Story
with reproductions of
photographs, political
cartoons, illustrations,
and fine art with
text, 8-min. video
with equipment and
cabinetry, wall panels,
platforms, text and
graphic panels
Supplemental
Brochure, curriculum
and promotional
resources, 2 films
(HBO’s Boycott,
Spike Lee’s Four Little
Girls; venue provides
equipment)
Participation fee
$5,000 per 10-week
outgoing shipping
“A pebble cast in the segregated waters of Montgomery,
Alabama, created a human rights tidal wave that
changed America . . . And it all started on a bus.”
—Fred Gray, attorney for Browder v. Gayle, which
affirmed that racial segregation of public buses
was unconstitutional
On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give
up her seat on an Alabama bus. She wasn’t the
first to challenge segregation laws, but this time
was different. Parks’ resistance spread through
a community that was tired of enduring years
of insult and humiliation. For more than a year,
in the face of violence and intimidation, 50,000
black citizens forced a segregated bus system to
open its doors to equality. The city of Montgomery gave birth to America’s modern civil rights
era, and a young preacher emerged as a symbol
of international significance.
Darren Freeman
Contents
The civil rights-era stories of thousands of visitors have been
collected and preserved in the Voices of Civil Rights Archive at
the Library of Congress.
381 Days: The Montgomery Bus Boycott Story
offers a gripping account of the men and
women whose non-violent approach to political and social change matured into a weapon of
equality for all. Based on an exhibition created
by Troy University Rosa Parks Library and
Museum and dedicated to the memory of Rosa
Parks, 381 Days has been made possible through
the generous support of AARP.
Size
3,500 square feet
Security
Prorated shipping
SITES-designated
carrier
10,230 pounds
20 crates
Tour through
Don Craven/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images
April 2010
Content/Design
Marquette Folley
202.633.3111
[email protected]
Fully booked
Museum educators are using this multi-layered exhibition to teach millions of schoolchildren across the country the lessons of civic responsibility
and cooperation.
Opposite: Estate of Charles Alston, Randall Galleries, Ltd., and Sydney Smith Gordon
Moderate
67
381 Days
Inspired by ordinary human
beings achieving extraordinary
change, Charles Alston’s 1958
Walking in turn prompted
school-age visitors to paint
their own murals as part of
exhibition-related educational
outreach programming.
Contents
76 framed illustrations
and paintings, stamps,
6 floor cases with
works on paper and
objects, text panels,
labels, quotes in vinyl
lettering
Supplemental
Website, curriculum
and promotional
resources, speakers
list, bibliography
Participation fee
$8,000 per 10-week
prorated shipping
Size
250 running feet
1,000 square feet
Security
Moderate, with light
limitations
Prorated shipping
SITES-designated
carrier
Weight TBD
4 crates and
6 blanket-wrapped
pallets
Trailblazers & Trendsetters
The story of stamps is the story of America. Each
image is a message, a cultural clue . . . telling us
what we do, where we go, and who we are.
Developed and presented by the National
Postal Museum, Trailblazers & Trendsetters takes
a vibrant look at the best of America through
the artist’s lens. Executed in a range of media
by 40 top artists and illustrators, 76 original artworks commissioned by the U.S. Postal Service
over four decades pay tribute to quintessential
innovators and innovations in literature, arts
and entertainment, history and exploration,
transportation, and sports.
The exhibition assembles a veritable gallery
of American luminaries—with some surprising
juxtapositions. Emily Dickinson rubs shoulders
with Bear Bryant, while Bobby Jones swings
with Benny Goodman. Christopher Columbus
and Neil Armstrong forge new frontiers a few
feet away from Arctic explorers and an equally
cool 1953 Chevrolet Corvette. Freestanding
cases with rarely seen sketches and preliminary
designs offer a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the
process of creating “America’s calling cards.”
Trailblazers & Trendsetters can be appreciated
by visitors of all ages—from students of Americana, to art and graphic design aficionados, to
the millions of philatelists avidly pursuing the
world’s most popular hobby.
General Motors Corvette Trademarks used
under license to the USPS
68
Art Fitzpatrick and other stamp artists use exacting skill to
portray subjects, such as this 1953 Chevrolet Corvette, within
very small dimensions.
Opposite: Thomas Blackshear II’s painting of author James Baldwin
is one of the images featured in the graphic design templates provided
for this exhibition. Venues can customize the ads, invitations, postcards, and other promotional items with venue-specific information.
Below: Advances in printing technology offer Al Hirschfeld and
other artists more ways to bring to life Laurel & Hardy and other
symbols of American culture.
Tour begins
Fall 2008
Content/Design
Stamp images © U.S. Postal Service. All rights reserved.
Marquette Folley
202.633.3111
[email protected]
Scheduling
202.633.3143
[email protected]
69
Trailblazers & Trendsetters
70
Transitions
Photographs by Robert Creamer
Contents
39 framed color
photographs, text
panels, labels
Supplemental
DVD (venue
educational and
artist lecture available,
bibliography
Participation fee
$5,500 per 10-week
outgoing shipping
Size
150 running feet
Security
Moderate
“I’m challenging the traditional notion of beauty as
something that is perfect and flawless.”
— Robert Creamer
More than 350 years ago, Northern European
artists painstakingly illustrated the symbolic
process of decay in exquisite still lifes. Today,
one tech-savvy artist brings something new to
the idea of capturing organic change.
Baltimore native Robert Creamer, a photographer for more than 30 years, has discovered an
inventive way of documenting the many stages
of life. Using a high-powered flatbed scanner,
Creamer carefully arranges flora and fauna on
his glass “canvas,” so sensitive as to record even
individual grains of pollen on its transparent
surface. The result of Creamer’s scans, ranging
Prorated shipping
SITES-designated
carrier
1,525 pounds
6 crates
“This poppy was freshly picked from my garden and then scanned,
still covered in early morning dew,” said Creamer. His images
illustrate how technology can turn botanical specimens into
abstract and sometimes fanciful works of art.
from representations of lotus blossoms and
water lilies to natural history specimens and
iridescent feathers, are astonishingly life-like,
shadow-free images.
These stunning pictures are now on view
in Transitions, a collaboration between SITES
and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of
Natural History, where the exhibition originally debuted. Featuring some 40 photographs
as appealing to the art lover as to the science
enthusiast, Transitions includes a DVD that
details Creamer’s fascinating creative process
and his search for the perfect specimen. The
artist himself is also available to lecture on his
amazing imagery.
Opposite: As captivating as any painting, Creamer’s scans reflect
the successful marriage of color, composition, and texture. Such
images have garnered attention from high-profile publications such
as Smithsonian magazine and The Baltimore Sun.
The artist’s unusual subject matter and technique have inspired
many followers. One museum visitor recently wrote that he too had
started using his flatbed scanner as an artistic tool: “I am having a
wonderful time creating amazing images,” he proudly exclaimed.
Tour through
November 2009
Content/Design
Devra Wexler
202.633.3114
[email protected]
Scheduling
Images by Robert Creamer
Ed Liskey
202.633.3142
[email protected]
71
Transitions
72
The Way We Worked
Contents
86 framed blackand-white and color
modern prints, 10
photomurals (optional),
text and graphic
panels, labels
Supplemental
Catalogue, video,
educational and
Participation fee
$8,000 per 10-week
outgoing shipping
Size
300 running feet
Security
Moderate
Outgoing shipping
1,350 pounds
5 crates
Tour through
Work and the workplace have gone through
enormous changes between the mid-19th century, when 60 percent of Americans made their
living as farmers, and the late-20th century, with
its shift from an industrial to a knowledge-based
economy. The Way We Worked reveals the effects
of industrialization, urbanization, immigration,
labor unrest, wars, and economic depression
on ordinary working Americans, whether they
toiled in a coal mine, on a tractor, at a typewriter, or on an assembly line.
Spanning the years 1857–1987, the exhibition’s 86 black-and-white and color photographs
document, in rich visual detail, American
workplaces, work clothing, working conditions,
and workplace conflicts. They also reflect a
workforce shaped by immigration and ethnicity,
slavery and racial segregation, wage labor and
technology, gender roles and class, as well as by
the American ideals of freedom and equality.
Depending on gallery space and design
parameters, venues may choose to mount one
or more of the 10 oversized canvas photomurals
Images courtesy National Archives and Records Administration
Photographs from the National Archives
The exhibition highlights in dramatic ways the changing roles
of women in the workforce. During World War I, these female
employees donned oxygen masks prior to cleaning blast furnaces
at a Gary, IN, steel works.
provided. These large images make quite an
impact and can help draw visitors into a gallery.
The exhibition was created by the National
Archives with the support of the Foundation for
the National Archives.
July 2010
Content/Design
Jeff Thompson
202.633.3115
[email protected]
Scheduling
Ed Liskey
202.633.3142
[email protected]
Phenomenal growth in office jobs in the last half of the 20th century shaped new white-collar work environments, like this New York City example
from the late 1950s.
73
The Way We Worked
Remember when? Advances in energy
and technology have altered our notions
of labor and the workplace. In 1917,
hand-shoveled coal powered the looms of
this New York state textile mill.
74
Contents
Approximately 6
freestanding units
with reproductions
of photographs,
drawings, maps, and
correspondence with
text
Supplemental
Companion book,
brochure, 30min. video (venue
educational and
speaker list,
bibliography
Participation fee
$4,500 per 8-week
book period, plus
outgoing shipping
Size
The White House Garden
Developed and supported by the White
House Historical Association, The White House
Garden traces the development of the gardens
and grounds from the plans of Pierre Charles
L’Enfant to the present. Reproductions of archival materials and historic and contemporary
photographs from the National Archives and
Records Administration, Library of Congress,
and other sources focus on the presidents and
their families, White House gardeners, special
gardens, and the grounds’ magnificent trees.
“In this small garden of not less than two acres there
are forest and fruit-trees, shrubs, hedges, esculent
vegetables, kitchen and medicinal herbs, hot-house
plants, flowers, and weeds to the amount, I conjecture,
of at least one thousand.”
— John Quincy Adams, 1827
If the White House is the “People’s House,” then
its gardens are truly America’s gardens. From
Easter egg rolls and ceremonies honoring fellow
citizens, to treaty signings and receptions for heads
of state, the gardens and grounds surrounding
the White House bear the mark of history. This
spectacular 82-acre ensemble of formal gardens,
secluded natural retreats, and expansive parkland has been shaped by America’s presidents
and first ladies, some of the nation’s best-known
landscape designers and architects, and generations of dedicated gardeners and horticulturists.
Opposite: Despite functioning as a national symbol of America, the
White House grounds are still essentially a garden—a place for
rest, relaxation, and contemplation of nature’s beauties. The White
House Garden explores how the nation, its presidents, and first
families related to and left their mark on this historic landscape.
1,000 square feet
Security
Limited
Outgoing shipping
Rutherford B. Hayes started the tradition of hosting the annual
Easter egg roll on the South Lawn. This 1894 invitation to the event
is one of the examples of ephemera reproduced in the exhibition.
Harry Truman and Admiral Chester Nimitz unwind on the South
Lawn with professional horseshoe pitcher Jimmy Risk.
2,000 pounds, est.
Crates TBD
Tour begins
May 2008
Parker Hayes
202.633.3113
[email protected]
Scheduling
Library of Congress
Minnie Micu
202.633.3160
[email protected]
Harris & Ewing, Library of Congress
Opposite: Erik Kvalsvik, White House Historical Association
Content/Design
75
The White House Garden
76
Wondrous Cold
An Antarctic Journey
50 framed color and
black-and-white
photographs, text
panels, labels
Supplemental
Companion book,
poster, educational and
Participation fee
$3,500 per 10-week
outgoing shipping
Size
250 running feet
Security
Moderate
Outgoing shipping
1,310 pounds
6 crates
Tour through
May 2010
Content/Design
Jennifer Bine
202.633.3106
[email protected]
Scheduling
Ed Liskey
202.633.3142
[email protected]
“. . . Quite possibly the most successful exhibit we have
shown in the community.”
— Teton County Library, Jackson, WY
Dangerous, beautiful, and endlessly fascinating,
Antarctica lives up to its reputation. Its harsh
climate allows only the best-adapted creatures
to survive there year-round. Research bases are
scattered across its 5.4 million square miles,
each relying on support from the outside world.
These extreme, isolated conditions are what
make Antarctica an unparalleled setting for
scientific discovery.
Funded by an Antarctic Artists and Writers
Program grant from the National Science Foundation, award-winning photographer Joan Myers
spent four months photographing the daily
lives of scientists and support staff working at
and around the continent’s scientific research
stations. The result of her work is Wondrous Cold,
an exhibition of 50 spectacular photographs and
a companion book of the same title. Enhanced
by commentary on the scientific and historic
significance of her subjects, the exhibition
juxtaposes sweeping panoramas of Antarctica’s
severe beauty with scenes of wildlife, people,
and the abandoned huts of legendary explorers.
This exhibition has been made possible through
the generous support of Quark Expeditions.
Photos © Joan Myers, 2002
Contents
Don’t like to take out the trash? Try doing it during an Antarctic
blizzard! Today, all of McMurdo Station’s trash is carefully sorted
and removed on the annual resupply ship.
Opposite: As the exhibition underscores, Antarctica is a continent
devoted to science. The U.S. has three Antarctic bases, all run by the
National Science Foundation. Currently 27 other countries have
active scientific research programs with more than 40 stations
(including Germany’s Neumayer Station, shown here) operating
year-round.
Antarctica, much like photography itself, perfectly preserves evidence
of human habitation. The Cape Evans darkroom of Herbert
Ponting, the photographer on Robert Falcon Scott’s 1910-13 Terra
Nova expedition, doubled as his bedroom.
77
Wondrous Cold
78
The Working White House
Two Centuries of Traditions and Memories
Contents
15 objects,
freestanding units
with reproductions
of photographs,
illustrations, and
documents with
text, floor and wall
cases, interactive
elements, 8-min. video
with equipment and
cabinetry, text and
Supplemental
Brochure, educational
and promotional
resources, digital
graphic templates,
speakers list,
bibliography
Participation fee
$7,500 per 10-week
prorated shipping
“I see the White House as belonging to the people,
not only as a home for a president every four years,
but as a monument to the hopes of the people.”
— Alonzo Fields, chief butler and maître d’,
Hoover through Truman administrations
Since 1800, when John and Abigail Adams
moved into what was then called the President’s
Palace, hundreds of men and women have toiled
behind the scenes to help the White House
fulfill its roles as a seat of government, family
residence, ceremonial center, museum, and
historic building.
Through written accounts, radio interviews,
and oral histories, White House staff have left a
vibrant body of material that brings the White
House as workplace to life. Their memories
cover times of grief, war, and political tension
as well as charming moments with presidents
and their families, feelings of kinship with colleagues, and satisfaction with a job well done.
Their experiences are preserved in The Working
White House, an exhibition developed and
supported by the White House Historical
Association with assistance from the Smithsonian
Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. Archival
and contemporary images, a video and an audio
tour, and fascinating histories of workers who
have served presidents through George W. Bush
convey the occupational culture of this uniquely
private yet public place.
Opposite: The occupational culture of a typical restaurant kitchen
is even more distinctive at the White House. During his 1994-2005
tenure at the White House, executive chef Walter Scheib (center)
and his staff prepared menus and meals for the First Family and
guests as well as for official functions.
Size
2,000 square feet
Security
Moderate
Prorated shipping
George Bush Presidential Library
Opposite: Maggie Knaus, White House Historical Association
SITES-designated
carrier
Weight TBD
25-30 crates, est.
Tour begins
September 2008
Content/Design
Parker Hayes
202.633.3113
[email protected]
Scheduling
Minnie Micu
202.633.3160
[email protected]
The Working White House explores the traditions, memories, and skills of those who have served in this unique environment. Ensuring that the
Queen of England, shown here at a 1991 state dinner, had a cushion on her chair was only one of the staff’s many responsibilities.
79
The Working White House

American Letterpress - Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition

Transcription

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