Jim and I were in Washington, DC last week. We visited many of the Smithsonian Art Museums which have been updated in recent years with new work better representing who we are as a nation. It was exciting to see the diversity of artists and cultural backgrounds currently represented in the collections. Some highlights of new American artworks that have been added to the Smithsonian include pieces by Nick Cave, Simone Leigh, Audrey Flack, Jeffrey Gibson and Kehinde Wiley.
Work by Nick Cave
Work by Jeffrey Gibson
No longer the dusty attic of the past, these museums vibrate with excitement giving us hope for a more inclusive and broad based representation of the arts in the United States.
A highlight for us was making a trip to the new National Museum of African American History and Culture. A stunning building designed by Freelon Adjaye with lead architect Philip Freelon, the museum tells the story of the horrors of enslavement with a step by step recounting of the long journey for enslaved Africans to freedom, US citizenship and then the continuing narratives around the fight for equity and justice.
It is a difficult journey to go through with unimaginable transgressions against a culture that was brought here as prisoners of greed. Ultimately, the museum leads us from the darkness of enslavement into the light with a celebration and appreciation of a free and unified African American people.
The upstairs of the museum bursts with artistic brilliance, showing the incredible contributions made to our country and the unimaginable resilience shown through the years by African American people. The NMAAHC gives meaning and hope to all of us as a nation and offers the possibility of healing and reconciliation through knowledge and truth.
Work by Roberto Lugo
Alongside the many accomplishments from the American Black community are wonderful works of visual art. My favorite was a piece by Roberto Lugo, who visited us in Kingston for a much remembered lecture at Kingston City Hall in 2019.
Work by Kehinde Wiley
The NMAAHC has a lot to take in and certainly can’t be gone through in one visit. It would take several visits to get the full impact of the many interesting exhibits. We are looking forward to returning next year and think everyone should visit to better understand where we have come from, who we are as a nation, and how to heal from the tragedies of the past.
On the evening after our visit to the NMAAHC we had the good fortune to be invited to the opening of Simone Leigh’s retrospective show at the Hirshhorn Museum. The ever present themes of enslavement and colonialism are literally woven throughout Ms.Leigh’s work. Slavery was a byproduct of a greedy world ready to trade people as a commodity to work the worldwide plantations that grew sugar, tobacco and more. There was big money to be made at an absolutely horrific cost to human beings. One can not help but feel paralyzed at times by the terrible damage slavery brought to so many African people.
Yet somehow in Ms. Leigh’s work one experiences a feeling of intense strength and total defiance that gives voice to the power of the creative spirit and the imagination of a woman ready to take these oppressors on. The work is significant, brilliant and empowering to the female spirit.
Ms Leigh is not silent. She is a resilient, centered and inspired artist. As an observer I somehow felt hopeful looking at Ms Leigh’s work. As a potter I was in awe of the huge scale and virtuosity of her clay work. This work is on a scale not typical for works in clay and makes her work more poignant and extraordinarily powerful. That is why you must get to this show! It is on through March of 2024 at the Hirshhorn Museum before moving on to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and California African American Museum in Los Angeles (June 2024-January 2025).
The Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum was our final stop in DC. Here one will find the highest level of craft/art. Having shown there myself many years ago, the museum is a testimony to the power of everyday materials to tell our most important and intimate stories. The Renwick Gallery carries forward the idea that craft becomes art when everyday materials are taken to their highest level by an artist’s hand. The Renwick confirms how many cultures make no division between art and craft. In many places they are completely inseparable. I think today this concept is well understood and accepted especially because of pioneering artists like Roberto Lugo, Kukuli Velarde, Patti Warashina, and others who were educated in art but chose a traditional craft material to create their artwork in.
Work by James C. Watkins
Work by George Rodriguez
Work by Kukuli Velarde
I congratulate our country on making the decision to include so many overlooked histories and shine a light on the amazing and inspiring artwork made by our Indigenous, Black, Asian American, LatinX and LGBTQ+ communities. We are one and we belong to each other. Art helps us share who we are. It builds bridges and creates the opportunity to know each other in deeply personal ways.
