“Art is long. Life is short. You can't live without art.”
Go into the studio of renowned artist Audrey Flack (1931-2024) for an engaging personal interview. Flack discusses the quest for truth in her artwork and the significance behind her iconic work “Queen,” part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's permanent collection. Explore how she created her last body of work, which she has labeled “religio superpop,” to foster peace and understanding.
Take a contemplative look into artist Carrie Mae Weems’s upstate New York studio as she discusses the ideas we carry throughout our lives, how she grapples with injustice, and the resolve and compassion she is bringing to her next phase in life and as an artist. Her immersive multimedia installation “Lincoln, Lonnie, and Me—A Story in 5 Parts” and photographs from her series “Constructing History” are part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s permanent collection.
Doctor Paul and Elmerina Parkman discuss “Parkman Coupe” by glass artist Dan Dailey
Today we remember Paul Parkman, whose contributions to the first successful vaccine against rubella, or German measles, inspired this glass vase by artist Dan Dailey.
As Dr. Parkman described it, "The vase is mostly red, like the German measles rash." Dailey captured what Parkman referred to as "the ah-ha moment" of discovering the serum.
“The coupe that was made by Dan for us has imagery on it, a representation of me holding a flask full of the vaccine, you know. Dan called it the “Aha!” moment, and it has a picture of me earlier writing in my notebook. It has a picture of Dr. Harry Meyer. He’s immunizing a child. Around the top of the vase is a quotation from Lyndon Johnson. At the base are some animals.”
The quotation that circles the coupe’s rim is taken from a letter written by President Lyndon B. Johnson to Dr. Parkman in 1966: “Few men . . . directly . . . advance human welfare, save precious lives, and offer new hope to the world.”
Inspired by the scale of Mickalene Thomas’s “Portrait of Mnonja” (2010), Trap Bob considers what changes and what stays the same as artists push themselves to grow.
Which artwork #atSAAM inspires you?
Video Description: A person speaks on camera about a portrait painting, they have short locks and are wearing a black leather jacket. The brightly colored painting has rhinestones, and features a reclined portrait of a woman.
SAAM x Emon Surakitkoson
What is that?”
Artist Emon Surakitkoson considers what might be revealed when taking a closer look at conceptual art.
Which artwork #atSAAM inspires you?
Video Description: A person speaks on camera in a museum gallery. They are wearing black and carrying a black shoulder bag, have long black hair and wear glasses.
What makes an artwork timeless?
Photographer Farrah Skeiky reflects on messages that endure.
Which artwork #atSAAM inspires you?
Video Description: A person speaks on camera about a museum gallery, they have dark curly hair and are wearing a green dress.
Brandon Hill x Barbara Kruger
As we continue this series, Brandon Hill ( @chickens.of.insta ) on the experience of tracing a favorite artist’s inspiration as he muses on the importance of showing love to the originator—in this case, Barbara Kruger.
🎨: Barbara Kruger, “Untitled (We Will No Longer Be Seen and Not Heard),” 1985, 9 prints, photo-offset lithograph and screenprint, Smithsonian American Art Museum
#atSAAM #SmithsonianWHM
Trap Bob x Audrey Flack
Continuing our series with local artists, listen to Trap Bob explore feminist symbols in the work of Audrey Flack.
Audrey Flack, “Queen,” 1976, acrylic on canvas
#SmithsonianWHM #atSAAM
Musician Jo Palmer draws parallels between art in a gallery and songs on a mix tape, and considers the importance of making spaces for creativity and reflection.
Which artwork #atSAAM inspires you?
Carrie Mae Weems, “Lincoln, Lonnie, and Me - A Story in 5 Parts,” 2012, video installation and mixed media, color, sound
Video description: A person speaks on camera about a museum gallery full of sculptures, paintings, and video. They are wearing a backwards black baseball cap, glasses, a black jacket, striped shirt, and gray pants, and their shoulder-length hair is in braids.
Watch as illustrator Sky Chandler creates the cover for a comic book about the life and work of artist Miriam Schapiro.
“My illustrations are heavily influenced by the outdoors, fairy tales and magic, botanical illustrations, and nostalgia. I am interested in creating art that tells stories, captures fleeting memories, and showcases human connection and intertwinement with nature. By merging all of these sources of inspiration together with an additional sprinkle of whimsy, my goal is to create illustrations full of wonder.”
This comic is part of a series “Drawn to Art: Tales of Inspiring Women Artists” that illuminates the stories of women artists in the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Inspired by graphic novels, these short takes on artists’ lives were each drawn by a student-illustrator from the Ringling College of Art and Design.
Read the full comic for free online:
https://americanart.si.edu/art/art-comics/miriam-schapiro-comic
#illustration #drawing #artist #SmithsonianAmericanArtMuseum
Meet the Artist: Kay WalkingStick
“I think the world would be a better place if everybody made some sort of art.”
Meet artist Kay WalkingStick (Cherokee). Go into her studio for a meditation on her creative process. WalkingStick discusses her inspiration, the role of place in her work, and how she finds the divine through the act of painting.
#SmithsonianNAHM #SmithsonianWomensHistory
As a child, Sonya Clark grew fond of handmade crafts while stitching with her grandmother. As an artist, she weaves stories that celebrate Blackness while interrogating the historical roots of racial injustice in the United States. Her woven artwork, aptly titled “Monumental,” was inspired by the dishtowel used by the Confederate army to surrender, now in the collection of the National Museum of American History. It elicits thoughts about reparations, abolition, and freedoms for Black people. The scale and dimensions of “Monumental” reference the Star-Spangled Banner, another iconic object in the National Museum of American History’s collection.
This comic is part of a series “Drawn to Art: Tales of Inspiring Women Artists.” Inspired by graphic novels, these short takes on artists’ lives were each drawn by a student-illustrator from the Ringling College of Art and Design.
Read this free comic online and discover more about Sonya Clark and her artwork, “Monumental.”
https://americanart.si.edu/art/art-comics/sonya-clark-comic
#SmithsonianBHM #BlackHistoryMonth
Meet the Artist: Marie Watt
“I’m compelled how an object that is in some ways so humble and simple can have so much meaning and power.”
Explore Marie Watt’s (Seneca Nation of Indians) artistic journey through unconventional materials and textiles. In this video she discusses how her work Edson’s Flag honors veterans, her family, and her Native culture. Learn how her artistic focus turned to blankets, which she sees as humble and simple objects that are imprinted with the powerful stories of our lives.
#NDNsEverywhere
Meet the Artist: Rupert García on the Influence of Social Justice Icons in His Printmaking
Meet artist Rupert García, who discusses the rise of the Chicano movement and the political icons who became the inspiration behind his posters. By highlighting individuals engaged in the fight for social justice, García challenges who gets to be represented and examines the relationship he creates between aesthetics and politics.
Nam June Paik‘s “Electronic Superhighway” - American Art Moments
“Father of Video Art” Nam June Paik was born on this day in 1932. Take a journey into Paik’s life and work, including his monumental “Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii” (1995) in this American Art Moment with SAAM curator Saisha Grayson.
Learn more about this iconic artwork that was a gift from the artist to the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM). Saisha Grayson, SAAM’s curator of time-based media, shares insights about Paik’s life and the personal associations that, along with popular culture references, inform the media clips the artist included within this monumental map of the United States. Grayson also discusses the installation’s complexity and continued relevance today.
This video is part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum‘s ongoing series “American Art Moments.” Join a SAAM expert and go beyond the artwork label to discover the untold stories and rich connections represented in some of the museum's most iconic artworks.
Making of the Comic: Berenice Abbott Picturing the City
Go behind the scenes to see how illustrator Madeline Kneubheul brought Berenice Abbott’s story to life for our new series, ”Drawn to Art: Ten Tales of Inspiring Women Artists."
Meet the Artist: Frank Romero