Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Photo Hunt for History
Self-Portraits
Today on photo-sharing and social-networking sites, there are countless digital photographs of people taking pictures of themselves--their arms held out straight or sometimes at an odd angle, blindly trying to aim the lens without cutting off the tops of their heads. The goal is to capture oneself in that one moment, sometimes to prove you were at the Lincoln Memorial, to remember standing in front of the U.S. Capitol, or to use as a new profile picture. These digital photographs are self-portraits, not unlike the famous ones of Vincent Van Vogh, Frida Kahlo, Rembrandt, or Andy Warhol. A conscious representation (whether literal or not) of oneself.
There are hundreds of self-portraits in the Smithsonian's collections. Enjoy browsing through them, or use the options on the left to narrow your search by museum or type of material.
Do you have a favorite?
Read more about self-portraits here and here.
Pictured is Andy Warhol's Self-Portrait, 1986, in the collection of the Hirshhorn.
--Nicole Semenchuk, Research and Scholars Center, Smithsonian American Art Museum
Friday, January 22, 2010
Thank Goodness for Bug Spray
Lorain Wang, National Anthropological Archives
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Sneak Peak: NAA Image of the Day
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
The Power of SIRIS: A Case Study Using Charles Lang Freer
Consider the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery founder, Charles Lang Freer. If you perform a search for him across all of Smithsonian using the SIRIS catalog you will find he doesn't just pop up at his founding Gallery!
By typing in "Charles Lang Freer," I am immediately given 5254 hits! These hits can be collection descriptions, photographs, art he donated, etcetera. You can use the handy sifting tools at the left to narrow or broaden your search as needed; providing you with a hand crafted result of your optimum hits. The power of SIRIS is really demonstrated by Freer showing up in collections not just at the Freer+Sackler Gallery, but also in: Smithsonian Institution Archives, Smithsonian Institution Libraries, Archives of American Art, National Portrait Gallery, and Smithsonian American Art Museum. A query using Freer demonstrates the transcendence of a search from just one individual museum into a search play ground as big as, well, the Smithsonian.
Happy Searching!
Rachael Cristine Woody
Archivist
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives
woodyr@si.edu
Friday, January 15, 2010
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Pictured here is the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Carved on his robe are scenes from the Civil Rights Movement. The front of the base of this sculpture reads:
"Non-violence is a powerful and just
weapon. It is a weapon unique in
history which cuts without wounding,
and enables the man who wields it.
It is a sword that heals. "
The Smithsonian also has in its collection many works related to Martin Luther King, Jr., including photographs, paintings, papers, sound recordings, sculptures, and books.
Enjoy exploring these treasures!
Nicole Semenchuk, Research Databases, Smithsonian American Art Museum
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
George Eaton Simpson Photographs made in Haiti 1936-1937
George Eaton Simpson (1904-1998) was trained in sociology and anthropology at Coe College (A.B., 1926), the University of Missouri (A.M., 1927), and the University of Pennsylvania (Ph.D., 1934). Simpson's research has largely focused on the religions of the Caribbean, including vodun in the Plaisance, Haiti, area.
The photographs made in Haiti during 1936-1937 (ca. 430 items with considerable duplication among the prints, negatives, and lantern slides) show houses, schools, public buildings, street scenes, people (peasants, religious figures, government officials), agriculture, fishing, coumleite (cooperative work groups), markets, food preparation, drummers, and dancers as well as religion. Most of the photographs were made at Plaisance but some were taken at Cap Hatien and other towns. The breadth of the subject matter seems to support Simpson's claims that he intended to avoid vodun as the main subject for research when he first went to Haiti. To view the catalog record click here.
--Stephanie Christensen, National Anthropological Archives
Ernst Herzfeld Drawings online!
These drawings are part of the Ernst Herzfeld Papers, 1899-1962.
The Ernst Herzfeld papers are currently being worked on at the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. Over the past two years with the help of volunteers, interns, and a series of grant funded contractors; we have been able to conserve, digitize and catalog several series of this collection. These particular drawings come from: Series 5: Drawings and Maps 1903-1947 of which there are 1200+ documents!
Check back periodically as we hope to expand our online holdings of this collection even further by adding Herzfeld's sketchbooks, photographs, squeezes and more!
Rachael Cristine Woody
Archivist
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives
woodyr@si.edu
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Earthquakes
Japan 1891
San Francisco (Calif.) 1906
Messina sicily, Italy 1908
Ching-hsien Wang, Office of Chief Information Technology
Friday, January 8, 2010
Calder and a Spider
--Nicole Semenchuk, Smithsonian American Art Museum Research Databases
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
A Normal Day for a Freer+Sackler Archivist
The Freer+Sackler Gallery Facebook page received the following query, and I thought I would copy my response to you here. Enjoy this glimpse into my corner of the Smithsonian!
Q: When I grow up I think I want to be an Archivist. What is their normal day like?
Dear Inquirer,
Every day is different for us in the Freer+Sackler Archives. To give you a brief taste of what it’s like to be an Archivist for a Smithsonian Institution art museum, I can describe to you some of my major responsibilities. (Follow the links to learn more about us and our collections!)
My primary responsibility is to be a custodian to the collections; which includes things like correspondence, diaries, vouchers, maps, drawings and photographs. I work with these materials on three major levels. The first level is collections care: to identify physical needs and perform basic preservation techniques to help prolong the life of the materials. The second level is the organization of the materials: to make them more physically and intellectually accessible to researchers. The third level is then promoting the materials so that researchers know what we have and they can easily access them; this is done with online finding aids (guides to the collections), online catalogs of collections (that you would search for just like a library book), as well as basic outreach like October American Archives Month to help promote what our archives are holding and advertise the crown jewel collections we have available for research.
In addition to my hands on work with the collections, I also collaborate and manage interns and volunteers on their projects. I interact with local and international researchers both in-person and remotely. I meet with my fellow archivists across the entire Smithsonian Institution regularly, in order to establish and maintain policies and procedures for all 12 of the independent Archival units. I write grants to help financially support our collections and projects to preserve and make them accessible to the public, both in-person and online. And when time allows I catch up on the latest news, lectures, and workshops to keep up to date on Archival standards and practices.
I hope that answers your question!
Rachael Cristine Woody
Archivist
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives
Check out our Collection Records online!