SAAM Stories

I have a confession. I like vending machines a little too much. The convenience, the multitude of options, the opportunity to empty out my change purse—what's not to love?

Long before there was YouTube and social media, there was Nam June Paik who said, "Someday everybody will have his own TV channel."

Crazy, fun things happen when artists come to town. Olek, pictured here and one of 40 artists whose work is in the Renwick Gallery's 40 under 40: Craft Futures exhibition, wrapped the Albert Einstein Memorial in yarn yesterday.

Have you ever looked at a work of art and wished you could ask the artist how they made it? For our conservators, speaking to artists about their works is an important part of their jobs. Conservators want to know exactly what an artwork is made of and how it was constructed before cleaning or treating it.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't stoked about this week's opening of 40 under 40: Craft Futures at the museum's Renwick Gallery. Our curator Nicholas Bell and assistant Debrah Dunner have been working diligently for more than two years to put this baby together, and we're all excited to see the work complete in the galleries.

About two dozen art enthusiasts gathered at American Art's Lincoln Gallery on Tuesday evening to take part in a conversation titled, "Is This Art?"

I've always wondered why one of the figures in this sculpture, The Wounded Scout, a Friend in the Swamp, by John Rogers has a missing hand. It almost appears to be intentional, given the nature of the artwork's theme. But after attending a joint presentation by Helen Ingalls, objects conservator, and Ann Wagner, art historian, I found out that the sculpture suffered this loss of limb before it was acquired by the museum.

DC has always been more than just the seat of the United States government. It has produced a long list of artistic genres and movements (Washington Color School, go-go, and post-hardcore, just to name a few). And, of course, Washington is home to a large number of art museums and organizations. It also has a thriving arts community. Here at American Art, we have been fortunate to be able to host some of the amazing artists and musicians in various programs throughout the year.

This summer we are partnering with the National Postal Museum as Handi-hour goes "postal modern!"

July 20 would have been Nam June Paik's 80th birthday. To celebrate last year we enjoyed a cake inspired by Paik's work Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, and this year I have heard a rumor that there will be cupcakes.

The exhibition Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art will open next fall on October 25, 2013. This may seem like a long time away, but E. Carmen Ramos, the museum's curator for Latino art, is already hard at work preparing for this exhibition, visiting artists and acquiring new artworks for the American Art Museum's collection.

You may remember we interviewed a whole bunch of video game designers, artists, writers, musicians, and producers for The Art of Video Games exhibition. We have hours of footage from these interviews, but only a few minutes made it into the final cuts for the exhibition. Here are some great quotes that ended up on the cutting room floor.

This post is part of an ongoing series on Eye Level: "Q and Art," where American Art's Research department brings you interesting questions and answers about art and artists from our archive.

It’s no secret that we’re excited for 40 under 40: Craft Futures to open at our Renwick Gallery July 20. If you’ve been following along, you know we’ve been featuring videos each of the 40 young artists created to introduce themselves to you. We got so many amazing and creative clips from them, it’s hard to choose favorites. But today we do want to show you the video we received from Gabriel Craig, a metalsmith, writer, and self-proclaimed craft activist.

One of our current exhibitions, African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era, and Beyond, will be visiting five other museums across the country once it closes here in September, and our conservation staff have been hard at work ensuring that the pieces on display are "road ready."

If you haven't noticed, we are very excited about the upcoming exhibition 40 under 40: Craft Futures in honor of the Renwick Gallery's 40th anniversary as the museum's branch for craft and decorative arts! In anticipation of the July 20th opening, we at the Luce Foundation Center thought we’d join in on the celebration by highlighting two craft objects on display in the Luce Center by young artists in our permanent collection.

In just over a month, the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Renwick Gallery opens 40 under 40: Craft Futures, an exhibition celebrating the Renwick's fortieth birthday as our branch for contemporary craft and decorative art.

Do you know that some of the materials used in art conservation are similar to those you might find listed on the back of your hair gel or face lotion bottle?