Eye Level

Eye Level is the blog of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Renwick Gallery. Publishing behind-the-scenes museum stories since 2005.

• 

  Chair-y Blossom at SAAM

  Part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival’s inaugural “Art in Bloom” event, the cherry blossom sculpture Cherry Garden by artist Rashin Kheiriyeh is one of 25 that double as chairs sprinkled throughout DC and the neighboring areas.

Christine McHorse, an Artist Whose Clay Works Pushed Against Conventions

Remembering the Navajo artist whose clay works pushed against conventions over her fifty-year career

Craft and Decorative Arts

Beyond the Studio with Revery Paper Flora

No green thumb? No problem. Hear from local botanical artist and educator, Emily Paluska of Revery Paper Flora, as SAAM's Luce Foundation Center connects with local artists.

Luce Foundation Center

Chicanx Graphic Arts in Focus: Hasta La Victoria Siempre

Luis González’s Hasta La Victoria Siempre combines bold graphics and text in a powerful political poster designed to support the Chicano movement

Chicano Graphics

Exhibitions

Alexander Nemerov on Helen Frankenthaler

The author’s new book, Fierce Poise, chronicles the artist coming into her own in the 1950s

Five Question Interviews

Making the Most: In the Studio with Donté K. Hayes

The ceramic artist reflects on his art, studio practice, and life during this challenging period

Making the Most - Craft Practice during the Dual Pandemics

Five Women Changemakers in American Art

Celebrating Women’s History Month by illuminating the stories of women who challenged both what art could be and who could be an artist.

The Year of Photography: A Remembrance of Joan Clark Netherwood

Curator John P. Jacob reflects on his recent conversations with the photographer Joan Clark Netherwood, her legacy, and the East Baltimore Documentary Photography Project

Exhibitions

Podcast Release: Music and Conversation with DC Soulpunk Band, Lightmare

DC soulpunk band, Lightmare, discusses writing and recording an album during a pandemic with Hometown Sounds.

Luce Foundation Center

Five Question Interviews

Chicanx Graphic Arts in Focus: Bee Pile

Sonia Romero pushes the boundaries of graphic arts beyond paper and seeks to bring art out of the museum and into the community

Chicano Graphics

Exhibitions

Standing Together Against Hate

At the Smithsonian, we condemn xenophobia, misogyny, and racial and gendered violence.

The Graphic Appeal of Amish Quilts

Celebrating National Quilting Day with a gift of Amish quilts

Exhibitions

New Acquisitions

Craft and Decorative Arts

Get Crafty: Cherry Blossom Edition

Celebrate the splendor of spring with cherry blossom crafts you can make at home

Craft Making Activities

From Recycling to Revolution: Alternative Media in Chicanx Protest Art

How Chicanx protest artists in the 1970s used discarded materials in their work

Chicano Graphics

Exhibitions

Chicanx Graphic Arts in Focus: Dolores

Barbara Carrasco's vivid portrait of Dolores Huerta honors the iconic labor activist

Chicano Graphics

Exhibitions

Honoring Artists as Changemakers for Women’s History Month

Stephanie Stebich, the Margaret and Terry Stent Director, shares her thoughts on artworks by women in the collection.

From the Director

Making the Most: In the Studio with Linda Lopez

Checking in with the artist who creates lively and unexpected sculptures from clay.

Making the Most - Craft Practice during the Dual Pandemics

Craft and Decorative Arts

Lauren Fensterstock in Focus: Finding Inspiration in the End of the World

New artwork explores how weather and celestial activity have been used as metaphor

Exhibitions

Craft and Decorative Arts

Virtual Women Filmmakers Festival Inaugurates Women’s History Month at SAAM

Cecila Vicuña, Coco Fusco, and Miriam Ghani address climate change, social justice, and the pandemic

Programs