Smithsonian American Art Museum
I spent the last two days driving back to DC from Maine. I have to admit I was not happy to leave the gorgeous, crisp weather "Down East" and return to this soup, but I am
happy to be turning my attention to our fall schedule here at American Art. I must say we have an impressive slate of programs--talks, concerts, films, younameit--planned. Please consider joining us tonight for a special on-screen celebration of John Cage, or perhaps later next week for a showcase of area bands paired with a tasting from DC Brau! If Fall doesn't join us in spirit for a bit at least we have something to do while we wait for the leaves to turn!

Mandy
Public Affairs

 

 

 


Tonight @ 7pm


A Tribute to John Cage by Nam June Paik
This special premiere of a previously unscreened version of Nam June Paik's A Tribute to John Cage illuminates the parallels between Cage's work and that of Paik through performances, stories, and interviews. Celebrating the 100th anniversary of Cage's birth, John Hanhardt, senior curator for media arts, will introduce the program and lead a discussion afterward.
(Unrated,1973, re-edited 1976; 60 minutes, color)



This Week

Pixels and Painting:
Artist Talk with Kristoffer Zetterstrand
September 6 @ 7pm
Artist Kristoffer Zetterstrand talks about how computer games have influenced his painting and will describe his process, from sketching virtual still-lifes using game engines, landscape generators, and 3-D software to the finished painting. He will also tell how his pictures inspired by pixel art ended up in the game Minecraft.



GameFest 2.0
September 8, 11:30am - 5pm
Reboot your system and come play with us before The Art of Video Games closes. Test your skills with a new live-action game from Spontaneous Art, or challenge a buddy to onscreen video games. Craft activities, scavenger hunts, and music will keep you moving all day, from one level to the next! Click here for schedule 
 


Upcoming

Steinway Series: Smithsonian Chamber Players
September 9 @ 3pm
Since 1976, the Smithsonian Chamber Music Society has performed for audiences around the world. Flutist Aaron Goldman, violinists Heather LeDoux Green and Teri Hopkins, violist Mahoko Eguchi, violoncellist James Lee, and pianist Kenneth Slowik will perform Franz Schubert's Trio in B-flat Major, D 898 and Franz Joseph Haydn's "London" Symphony No. 104 in a contemporary arrangement by Johann Peter Salomon. Free tickets required and available at 2:30pm in the G Street Lobby.


Photography Changes Everything
September 12 @ 7pm
Photography Changes Everything, a new book from the Smithsonian and the Aperture Foundation, uses the visual assets of the museum to explore how photographs impact our culture and our lives. Join Marvin Heiferman, editor, Bruce Hoffman, director of security studies at Georgetown University, and Philip Kennicott, art and architecture critic of the Washington Post, for a discussion moderated by Merry Foresta, founding director of the SI Photography Initiative.


Luce Unplugged Community Showcase
September 14, 6 - 8:30pm
Join us for sets by Kokayi, The Caribbean, and Alex Minoff, selected with the help of Washington City Paper's managing editor, Jonathan L. Fischer. Local brewery DC Brau offers free tastings from 6 to 7 p.m. (must be 21) and a cash bar featuring other local beers will be available.


Clarice Smith Distinguished Lecture:
Kevin Salatino
September 19 @ 7pm
Kevin Salatino is the Director of Art Collections at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, CA. He has curated exhibitions on the work of Robert Rauschenberg, Ed Ruscha, and William Wegman, among many others. Salatino, who recently curated the groundbreaking exhibition Edward Hopper's Maine at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, will share his insights on the artist and his work in his presentation Edward Hopper and the Burden of (Un)Certainty. Free tickets required and available at 6:30pm in the G Street Lobby. Reception follows.


Take 5!
September 20, 5 - 8pm
The Donvonte` McCoy Ensemble performs lesser-known works by Lee Morgan, whose famous piece, The Sidewinder, was Blue Note Records' highest chart-topping song. A free drawing workshop inspired by the museum's exhibition, Abstract Drawings, offers the chance to build your own sketchbook from recycled materials to take home.


Is This Art?
September 27 @ noon
Baffled by a lot of contemporary art? Feel like you don't "get it?" Join us for a new series of gallery talks focused solely on modern and contemporary art. Guided Looking is facilitated by a museum staff member.



IMAGES

Nam June Paik, A tribute to John Cage, 1973, � Estate of Nam June Paik, Courtesy Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI) New York

Spontaneous Art players are ready to challenge you in live-action gaming!

Image from Photography Changes Everything, courtesy of Aperture Foundation

Visitors enjoy Second String Band during the May 2012 Luce Unplugged Community Showcase

John McLaughlin, #17, 1966, 1966, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. Sterling Holloway
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Smithsonian American Art Museum 

8th & F Streets NW

Washington, D.C. 20004

 

Renwick Gallery

Pennsylvania Ave at 17th Street NW

Washington, D.C. 20006

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