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Tell Us About Your Visit
July 10, 2006
Visitors to the Reynolds Center
Thousands of you have streamed through our doors since we opened on July 1st, and Eye Level wants to hear from you. We told you our impressions —what are yours?
Please leave a comment.
Posted by Joanna on July 10, 2006 in Museum Opening
Comments
Very impressive - I thought the layout of the artwork and the color schemes inside the building were very elegant. The new interactive computers are a great addition. There is so much on display and yet it does not feel cluttered; an impressive accomplishment.
I've visited the museum several times now and plan on returning. Each time I discover something new, most recently it was James Baldwin peering out through a hallway door.
Posted by: mike | Jul 10, 2006
Comments posted on the Luce Foundation Center for American Art Kiosks at the Smithsonian American Art Museum :
This place is really cool! I really liked the pictures and paintings of the peoples' heads.
Posted by jj from nyc,ny July 3, 2006
Your system for viewing your collection electronically and in detail is exceptional. congratulations
Posted by michael nickitas from old greenwich, ct July 3, 2006
I thought the muesum was really cool. thats hot.
Posted by Chris Rodriguez from Colorado Springs,CO July 2, 2006
This opening exhibit is outstanding!
Posted by carla from Cleveland July 1, 2006
what a success! a museum like no other--thank you!
Posted by feodora from dc July 1, 2006
You have done a marvelous job on this massive project. Everyone deerves a standing ovation.Thank you
Posted by althea hayden from washington,dc July 1, 2006
this place is sooooooooo cool
Posted by arissa and lisa from dc July 1, 2006
i'm coming back
Posted by camy from hyattsville July 1, 2006
very helpful
way cool
Posted by bob from chesapeake beach, md June 29, 2006
i lovvvvve art things!
Posted by nathan from arlington, va June 28, 2006
i like this place.
Posted by kathryn from washington, dc June 19, 2006
Posted by: Joanna | Jul 11, 2006
I came to see the building renovation – which is well worth the visit. I was surprised at how much I liked the art collection, thanks partly to great presentation.
Posted by: Larry | Jul 11, 2006
The small room on the third floor entitled "Color Field Painting" that has Anne Truitt's sculpture 17th Summer installed in it. Its nice seeing her work in a museum.
The installation is bad. For one thing it is placed in front of a window and as come into the room rather than see the verticality of the sculpture your eye wavers with the edges of the window. The lighting is terrible. Her sculptures are not easy to light by any means but as you can see below they hardly tried: washed it on two sides, done!
I suppose that is to be expected but what was shocking is that the sculpture has been placed on a white steel serving platter extending about two inches around the edge of the base of the sculpture. There is no way to know that this serving platter is not part of the sculpture. In fact, it is part of it.
If the sculpture is considered unstable (they are weighted) perhaps a less visible solution could be arrived at? Two eye-hooks and some steel wire under the base and in the center (where there usually is a weep hole anyway) away from the stepped rim would certainly stabilize the sculpture without adding to it. The current solution only diminishes the work.
Posted by: xenicon | Jul 12, 2006
I loved the digital displays around the museum, it broght to life much of the areas that I had interest, keep up the good work
Posted by: jim | Jul 13, 2006
First of all, this museum is wonderful! Our entire family has really enjoyed it, and can't wait to return. I'd also like to put a special thank-you out to the volunteers at the various information desks. They were all very helpful and friendly.
On another note, while visiting the new Reynolds Center, I noticed what seemed to be a couple "mistakes" of certain commentary on the artwork. In the exhibit American ABC, the photographs titled "Three Pueblo Students" by John Choate, I noticed a mistake in the commentary of the art written alongside the photographs. The discriptions of the photos seem to be mixed up. The description for the photo on the left is marked as the description for the photo on the right, and vice versa. Just thought someone might want to check this out.
I believe there is also an error in the description for the piece of artwork titled "Calendar," by William Christenburry (I'm not sure which exhibit this was in. There is a very nice quote from the artist, describing the history of the calendars. The quote claims that the earliest date marked on the calendar was from 1866, however I was able to find the date of 1862 (labeled as someone's birth), marked in the square which was Tuesday, December 2, 1947. I really don't mean to be critical, and if for any reason I might be wrong, please ignore my comments. Again, thank you very much for doing such an amazing job. The center is well done and full of great artwork. We can't wait to return.
Posted by: Eleanor | Jul 18, 2006
I'm always delighted when our visitors take the time to really think about what we put on view, and whether we get things right. In this case, I'm also happy to report that we have corrected the labeling error on the two Pueblo photographs.
As for Bill Christenberry's family calendar, I'm betting this was a typographical error, and can be fixed by printing a new label. Thanks for letting us know about these! Enjoy your visits, and come often.
Posted by: Eleanor Harvey, Chief Curator | Jul 19, 2006
xenicon, thanks for your comment. I passed on your comment to one of our curators, George Gurney. He will be posting a comment about the Truitt installation shortly.
Posted by: Jeff Gates | Jul 19, 2006
xenicon, your comments are well taken.
Let me just say first that the design of the gallery was done within a scale model over a year ago. In order that the installation of all the art works in the museum would be finished before the opening, we had to stick to the preset plan rather than try to make changes at the last minute.
The placement of the Truitt in front of the window in the model was a logical one from a design point of view. People could move around it and no one would accidently back up into it when viewing a painting. Plus it fills a space that can not be used for a painting as well as allowing it to be shown. The model, of course, did not have the detailing of the window frame, but simple straight edges. Yes, the busy details do distract from the sculpture and this was not someting anticipated; if the window surrounds had been simple flat edges, I think the Truitt would hold its own just fine.
As to the lighting, it does lack subtlety presently as has been pointed out. The piece is lit from three sides and the bottom portion does seem overly "bright." Natural light on the fourth side was supposed to come from the window, but because of the canope construction in the courtyard, this source has been eliminated. We can play with lighting.
The white plate (or "serving platter") on which the sculpture sits is obviously a problem aesthetically and detracts from the sculpture. Ideally it would be sitting directly on the floor. But we have found that this is dangerous to the sculpture because of the stability factor. In fact in the mid-80's it was knocked over and needed conservation. Of course the safety of the object is our primary concern and we have talked with Truitt about the installation.
In the mid-90's it was installed on a white platform and the white "plater" was attached to piece in order that it could be screwed to the platform for safety. So when we closed six years ago the sculpture was packed up with the attached white plate and stored. No one saw it again until it was unpacked for placement in the gallery on a wood floor (on which the plate does give extra necessary stability). Time did not allow for last minute adjustments. So we need to rethink how we can show the sculpture to best advantage now that we are open within the gallery setting.
Posted by: George Gurney, Deputy Chief Curator | Jul 19, 2006
I am also thrilled to see one of Anne Truitt's work at the Smithsonian - how many pieces of her work are in the collection?
I visited this weekend and it is so wonderful to see the museum and the neighborhood completely revitalized. I spent many hours at SAAM in the early 90s as an art history major. Congratulations on all your hard work!
Posted by: christina | Jul 20, 2006
The Smithsonian American Art Museum owns 2 works by Anne Truitt. You have seen 17th Summer installed in the gallery. The other work entitled Keep is not on display in the museum right now. You can find both works on our Web site.
Posted by: Mary Ellen Guerra | Jul 24, 2006
Seems to me that Brenda Richardson ( when she was at Baltimore Museum of Art) arrived at several solutions presenting Anne Truitt's sculpture. All art needs room around it (ask Steve Wynn.) Her solution was to place the work on a 4" riser that extended the length of the room. The riser was a sufficient visual cue and obstacle. Costly probably but less then conservation of a knocked over piece especially as Truitt is no longer alive to do the work herself.
Mr Gates and Gurney, your responses show a fine regard for the work, indeed, for your charge at the museum. I hope you find a solution for those difficult installations as the dust settles.
Posted by: xenicon | Dec 1, 2006
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