NEW PROGRAMS FROM THE SMITHSONIAN
Extra!
Extra! Read all about it: Insect invaders...trailblazing women
journalists...lost treasures rediscovered...and a symphony of sleeping
animals. This week’s edition has plenty of headline-worthy items. They’re
among the offerings designed to make sure you continue to enjoy what you’ve
come to value from Smithsonian Associates: programs and experiences that
are entertaining, informative, eclectic, and insightful.
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China's
Insect Muse
Though “Brood X” sounds
like the perfect title for a horror film, it’s the name of some real-life
invaders from below the earth: 2021’s global army of cicadas, one of the
geographically largest of the dozen broods of 17-year cicadas that
emerge in various years. NPR’s All Things Considered recently offered
a report that placed the insect often seen as a dreaded pest in a very
different context: as the source of inspiration for 4,000 years of exquisite
Chinese art. Curator Jan Stuart of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of
Asian Art commented to NPR that “they’re beautiful” in these depictions, with
large eyes that symbolize visionary leadership and a life cycle that speaks to
the power of transformation, making these spring visitors intermediaries
between earth and heaven. She takes a closer look at the cicada’s role in
Chinese culture in a beautifully illustrated blog post for the museum. (Image: China,
modern period, 1919; fan mounted as album leaf; ink on gold-flecked paper. Gift
of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth in honor of the 75th anniversary of the Freer
Gallery of Art, F1998.222.2)
Precious
Fragments
In March, Israeli archeologists discovered a new fragment of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The scrap of
parchment found in the “Cave of Horror” is believed to be about 2,000 years
old, and its Greek biblical verse matches a scroll called the Book of the 12
Minor Prophets that came to light 60 years ago.
The discovery of the Dead
Sea Scrolls in the late 1940s and early 1950s forever changed the study of
ancient Judaism and early Christianity. As additional documents surfaced and
archaeological fieldwork continued, the understanding of these two religious traditions
came into greater focus. The result is a radically new understanding of both
Judaism and Christianity—and of the nexus between the two.
In a Wednesday,
June 9, Smithsonian Associates Streaming program Dead Sea Scrolls scholar Gary Rendsburg
describes the discovery of these precious fragments, what we know about their
origins, the controversies surrounding them, and their influence on the
development of both ancient Judaism and early Christianity. (Image: Temple
Scroll, column 23, one of the longest of the Dead Sea Scrolls, 2nd century
B.C.; The Israel Museum)
Front-page
Stories
Nora Ephron once remarked that Katherine Graham’s “journey
from daughter to wife to widow to woman parallels to a surprising degree the
history of women in this century.” For the woman who held roles as the
president, publisher, and CEO of the Washington Post across the span of
28 years, that journey encompassed a political and social history whose
landmarks included the Vietnam War, the Pentagon Papers, Watergate, and Truman
Capote’s Black and White Ball. The New York Historical Society’s exhibit
Cover Story: Katharine Graham, CEO—opening
this week and running through October 3—examines a transformative period in
Graham’s life, as her devotion to the Post helped her grow from a
self-effacing widow into an authoritative, decisive media executive.
A century before Graham, women struggled to enter the burgeoning
news business, but some intrepid young women across the United States found a
way to call attention to their reporting—and themselves. “Girl stunt reporters”
risked reputation and their own safety to expose the hazardous conditions under
which many Americans lived and worked. In various disguises, they stole into
sewing factories to report on child labor, fainted in the streets to test
public hospital treatment, and posed as lobbyists to reveal corrupt
politicians. Inventive writers whose in-depth narratives made headlines for
weeks at a stretch, these women changed laws, helped launch a labor movement,
championed women’s rights, and redefined journalism for the modern age.
Drawing from her new book Sensational
(Harper), Kim Todd returns their names to the front page in a
Thursday, July 15 Smithsonian Associates Streaming program. She looks at the
vivid history of the undercover reporters who exposed corruption and abuse in
America—and in the process redefined what it means to be a woman and a
journalist. Katherine Graham would have been proud.
Medici
Splendors
It wasn’t quite the spot that a Medici noble would covet, but an
overlooked storeroom at the Uffizi Gallery turned out to be the location
of a full-length fresco portrait of Cosimo II de’ Medici, Grand Duke of
Tuscany. Discovered under a layer of plaster during a recent renovation, the
fresco has been attributed to the circle of Mannerist painter Bernardino
Poccetti and depicts the ruler towering over two female figures who act as
allegories for the cities of Siena and Florence. The storeroom had another
hidden treasure: a portrait of Cosimo’s father, Fernando I. Smithsonian magazine uncovers the
details of the finds.
From relatively modest
beginnings, the Medici became bankers to the pope and to many rich and powerful
European families. But perhaps their most enduring legacy—for which the world
owes them a debt of gratitude—is their patronage of the arts. Brunelleschi,
Donatello, Fra Angelico, Botticelli, and Michelangelo all thrived under Medici
patronage. In a Smithsonian Associates Streaming program on Friday, July 23
Renaissance art historian Elaine Ruffolo traces the family’s influence
on the political, economic, and cultural history of Florence from the early
1430s with the rise of the dynasty under the near-legendary Cosimo de’ Medici,
to the golden era under Lorenzo il Magnifico and the family’s ultimate goal:
the papal tiara.
Dreaming
of Animals
The lion is just one of the creatures sleeping tonight in the
delightful new children’s book Jungle Night by popular author and
illustrator Sandra Boynton. He’s joined by a snoozing chorus that
includes a cheetah, crocodile, monkeys, frogs, birds, and other jungle
residents whose nocturnal sounds create a distinctive soundtrack for dreaming.
Boynton also has a human collaborator in the project: king of the classical
cello jungle Yo-Yo Ma. They recently talked about their work together in
a lighthearted Weekend Edition Sunday conversation
with NPR’s Scott Simon. You can preview the book (which includes two audio
downloads) and hear Ma perform Boynton’s “Jungle Gymnopedie No. 1” lullaby in a
YouTube video.
If animals inspire the
artist in you as well, explore the possibilities of collage, a highly versatile
and accessible technique that results in the playful combination of various and
sometimes-unlikely materials. A Smithsonian Associates Streaming studio
arts course in creating collage and mixed-media works focused on animals
and nature begins its six sessions on Wednesday, July 7. And if you dream about
illustrating a children’s book, learn the basics from an illustrator and
author who guides you in the process of interpreting a story through pictures
in a two-session workshop that begins on Tuesday, July 13.
Browse our
Digital Program Guide
Take a look at
upcoming and just-announced programs in the digital version of the
Smithsonian Associates program guide.
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Associates
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