A Sound Take on Craft May 23, 2006

Norm Sartorius, Spoon from a Forgotten Ceremony, 1994, dogwood, 1 1/2 x 18 x 3 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of John and Robyn Horn, 1994.75

A few weeks ago, I wrote about a special project here at SAAM in which Advanced Placement Art History students from the Holton-Arms and Landon Schools here in Washington, D.C. visited our Renwick Gallery of American Craft. Their assignment was to research one of our artworks and produce a podcast about the piece they chose.

Hearing the students’ unique interpretations was an interesting experience for the Eye Level team. Watching them view the art with fresh eyes was one thing. Hearing what they had to say and how they developed their voice, well, we were impressed. And we have picked six podcasts we think you’ll find interesting. 

Two students created pieces on artworks from our current exhibition, Grant Wood’s Studio: Birthplace of American Gothic, (on display until July 16). Katy Waldman takes on the voice of Wood’s rigid Aunt Tilly in Victorian Survival. And Chizzy Ohanyerenwa compares Wood’s Lilies of the Alley to flowers “blooming from concrete.”

Other students were interested by objects from our permanent collection. Metty Fesseha sets a dramatic scene for William Morris’s glass sculpture Raft, while Allison Lee describes Binh Pho’s escape to America in Journey of Destiny. Lauren McGrath explains that Norm Sartorius’s Spoon From a Forgotten Ceremony is “no ordinary spoon.” Finally, Emmy Waldman entices us to closely examine Wendell Castle’s “trompe l’oeil masterpiece” Ghost Clock. Is that really wood?

Podcasts:

               

	Grant Wood’s Victorian Survival by Katy Waldman
	Grant Wood’s Lilies of the Alley by Chizzy Ohanyerenwa
	William Morris’s Raft by Metty Fesseha
	Binh Pho’s Journey of Destiny by Allison Lee
	Norm Sartorius’s Spoon From a Forgotten Ceremony by Lauren McGrath
	Wendell Castle’s Ghost Clock by Emmy Waldman

• Craft, Renwick, Podcast, Smithsonian American Art Museum