This post was written by L.K. Ward and was originally published on the Oceans Portal blog on March 21st, 2016.
You may not have realized it, but you’ve been acquainted with Mary Anning since you were young.
“She sells sea shells by the sea shore.”
Remember this grade school tongue-twister? What you probably didn’t know is that this nursery rhyme is based on a real person who not only sold seaside curiosities by the seashore, but became world renowned for her fossil discoveries.
This March, in honor of Women’s History Month we’re highlighting notable women who are represented in our collections.
Sophie Blanchard was the first professional female aeronaut in history. Born March 25, 1778 near La Rochelle, France, Sophie was initiated into ballooning by her husband Jean-Pierre-François Blanchard, himself a pioneer in ballooning. Jean-Pierre along with his co-aeronaut Dr. John Jeffries, were the first to cross the English Channel by balloon in 1785.
In honor of Women’s History Month, we’re highlighting a book written and illustrated by female artists, The Ultimate Safari. The book is currently featured in our exhibition, Artists’ Books and Africa, which is open until September 2016 and is located in the National Museum of African Art.
The short story “The Ultimate Safari,” by Nadine Gordimer, was originally published in 1991 in Jump and Other Short Stories (London: Bloomsbury).[1] This new edition of The Ultimate Safari is distinguished by its illustrations: twelve lithographs drawn by Aletah Masuku, Alsetah Manthosi, and Dorah Ngomane. Mark Attwood at The Artists’ Press initiated and produced the book in collaboration with Tamar Mason, co-director of the press.
This post was written by Tim Cannon, intern in the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Library.
Suspended Animation, which opened on February 10 at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, features work by six contemporary artists working with digitally generated images. Among these artists is Ian Cheng, a New York-based artist who worked for George Lucas’ visual effects company, Industrial Light and Magic, before earning an MFA at Columbia University. His work is typically based on computer simulations, often lacking a fixed duration or narrative, so that the action unfolds more or less spontaneously, according to an algorithm rather than a plan. Cheng’s live simulation (his term for the programs he makes) Emissary in the Squat of the Gods, will appear in the exhibition.
Join the Smithsonian Libraries and the wider Smithsonian community as we explore careers in museums, libraries and research through Museum Day Live! 2016. Special events and opportunities will be held throughout the Smithsonian on March 12, 2016, as well as nation-wide through participating institutions. According to the Museum Day Live! website, “held during Women’s History Month, this “special edition” of “Museum Day Live!” will encourage all people, and particularly women and girls of color, to explore their nation’s museums, cultural institutions, zoos, aquariums, parks and libraries—which will offer free admission for the day.”
On February 5th, the Smithsonian Libraries presented its first Indoor Recess, a creative lunchtime getaway geared toward museum professionals and educators. Led by Sara Cardello, the Libraries’ education specialist, the monthly Recess events seek to fuse libraries and art. Participants are invited to bring their lunch, listen to a fun story by a museum professional, and make a themed craft. The next Indoor Recess is happening today at noon!
Born in 1861 in Paris, Georges Méliès started his artistic endeavors as a child. By the age of ten, he was building his own stage sets for marionette shows and drawing caricatures of his teachers. Méliès continued his artistic and theatrical pursuits, including studying magic, despite his father wanting him to work solely in the family shoe business. In time, the family business was successful enough that Méliès was able to buy his own Paris theater: Théâtre Robert-Houdin.