Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service's Blog

Traveling through the Solar System

As always, people here get excited when an exhibition, usually several years in the making, is nearing completion. I imagine that it's something akin to sending a child off to college. Even though they put you through the ringer on a daily basis, it's a bit hard to let them go when it's finally time.

But, alas, SITES project director Devra Wexler dropped off the last two prints for Beyond: Visions of Planetary Landscapes at the framer's shop yesterday. We did a final pass over the .pdfs of the exhibition panels on Wednesday, looking one last time for grammatical inconsistencies and to ensure that the language was as strong and compelling as the images themselves. All the planets must have been properly aligned as almost everything was perfect.

Of course, it's easy when you're working with these kinds of images--so amazing that they make you wish you paid more attention in Astronomy 101. The man behind these interstellar visions is Michael Benson, an artist and filmmaker who spent years scouring NASA's archives for raw material with which to work. Benson essentially took stills that the space probes had shot on various missions (going back some 40 years) and collaged them together, creating seamless alien landscapes and panoramas. From the blazing inferno at the center of our solar system to the terrestrial and gaseous planets and their bizarre moons, Benson makes these far-away places appear tangible and real. It's art and science and a great deal of patience as some of the completed images took months for him to assemble. These are the kinds of images that inspire 5th graders to be astronauts and astronomers. And for the rest of us, Benson's planetary pictures make us realize that there is a beautiful sense of continuity in our wondrous solar system.

Beyond starts its national tour in March 2008 at the Monmouth Museum in Lincroft, NJ. It travels until 2011. Check the schedule to see if Beyond will make a stop in your hometown.

Roberto Clemente Podcast

We've officially entered the new digital world. SITES is proud to announce that its first-ever podcast is now online. The subject: the extraordinary life and accomplishments of baseball great Roberto Clemente.

Clemente became a legend during the 1960s and '70s with his explosive throwing arm, lightning speed, and highly effective line-drive swing, but he was much more than an astounding athlete. For millions of fans across the world, especially in his native Puerto Rico and throughout Latin America, Clemente was a cultural hero who gave underprivileged people a voice. His story is a study in character, drive, and the ascendancy of man to myth. Clemente died tragically in 1972 when his plane crashed while carrying aid to earthquake-stricken Nicaragua.

A bilingual (English/Spanish) podcast about Clemente accompanies the traveling exhibition Beyond Baseball: The Life of Roberto Clemente, crisscrossing the country until 2012.

Go to Beyond Baseball to listen to Clemente's family, friends, and teammates talk about how this larger-than-life sports hero changed the world on and off the field.

Exhibitions and Light Damage

A few days ago Erica Johnson, one of SITES registrars, showed us something quite startling at an internal staff meeting. She passed around a set of proof banners from the exhibition Booming Out: Mohawk Ironworkers Build New York, which just ended its successful three-year tour. At first glance, the images on the banners seemed fine. But after closer inspection, you could see that the images were, literally, green.

Erica speculated that this color change was light damage, and the proofs showed that this was indeed the case. It was in Erica's office that the proofs sustained the dramatic color change/light damage, especially noticable because the prints were partially covered. This was an accidental demonstration of a standard materials test; that is, to cover a portion of the material to block light, expose it to light for a period of time, and gauge the visible effects of the light damage by comparing the two areas.

The proof example demonstrates why many of SITES' exhibitions have light level restrictions, even if they do not contain overtly valuable or fragile works of art. After all, the final venue on the tour should have as positive an experience as the first venue. While we make every attempt to use durable materials that are resistant to fading, the effects of strong lighting, daylight, and temperature fluctuations can damage even hardy materials.

"The graphics for Booming Out were printed on a vinyl substrate," Erica notes. "The vinyl was chosen because it is sturdy and resists tearing, cracking, peeling, wrinkling and punctures, all important features for an exhibition on a multi-year tour with many installations and de-installations. New advances in printing are allowing us to combine different substrates with more resistant graphic applications."

Liza Kirwin, curator for our popular More Than Words: Illustrated Letters from the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art exhibition, reminds us that "light causes fading of certain media, especially watercolor and many inks. It can also darken paper and make it brittle. Because light damage is cumulative and irreversible, low light levels are the best conditions for works of art and photographs."

SITES Walks It Off

We were ready! Yesterday was the Smithsonian's annual SHAPE Walk (Smithsonian Healthy and Active Program for Employees). About 500 SI walkers, clad in an array of costumes, converged on the plaza outside of the Hirshhorn to register and get a little encouragement from Acting Secretary of the Smithsonian Cristián Samper, himself an avid walker.

Made up of Denise Schelin, Michelle Brown, Robin Mays, Heather Shelton, Steve Arnold, Shermane Boudreaux, and Aoife Toomey, SITES' team was appropriately called the "Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibitionists." Odd name you say? The name reflected the stunning and ultra-classy t-shirts we sported. You've probably seen them before in such beach boutiques as Wings and Sunsensations--the eye-catching shirts with the shapely bikini babes or six-pack muscle men, hence the "Exhibitionists." Don't worry, we were all covered, thank goodness.

"The Mighty Winds" of Smithsonian Folkways took home the coveted first prize in the costume contest, and we came in a close second. (Folkways' presentation was a multi-media event, complete with a little jig about computer gov-trip training, and this IS very funny to federal employees, believe you me. Who can compete with that?).

The real event was the walk itself, two laps around the lovely leaf-swept National Mall on a 70-degree day. And our team made good time (I won't mention names, but we lapped several other SI units. Sorry, red team.) In the end, we had a great time and even had a chance to have our picture taken with the Secretary before he jetted off to lap the red team.

-Heather Shelton, SITES writer/editor

First Ladies in First Ladies

It’s always a challenge working on an exhibition that features living individuals. Life doesn’t stop. First Ladies: Political Role & Public Image is a perfect example. We launched the national tour just weeks after the 2004 election. In order to make sure that our timeline of first ladies was accurate, we had two designs—a second term with first lady Laura Bush or a new first lady in Teresa Heinz Kerry—waiting to go to production as the votes were counted. We also made special arrangements with the White House to ensure that we had a current object added to the exhibition—the winter white Oscar de la Renta Day Suit and Coat Mrs. Bush wore for the 2004 inauguration.

It’s hard to believe that the exhibition has just opened at its final location—the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.Over the course of the past four years, we’ve been honored with visits from four former-first ladies as the exhibition has traveled the country: Barbara Bush in Omaha, Neb.; Hillary Clinton in New York; Rosalynn Carter in Atlanta; and, most recently, Laura Bush in Philadelphia.

"I want to encourage people to visit the National Constitution Center and see this exhibit,” said Mrs. Bush. “First Ladies throughout our entire history have been very influential both to their husbands, but also to our country.  And I think we see that in this show.”

-Jennifer Schommer, Assistant Director of Public Relations