Smithsonian Secretary speaks at Frost Art Museum
On November 19, 2010, Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough participated in the The Steven & Dorothea Green Critics’ Lecture Series at the Frost Art Museum at Florida International University, a Smithsonian Affiliate in Miami, Florida.
“As an Affiliate, he was my first choice since he became Secretary. I thought it was important for people in Miami to know how the Smithsonian works, and how Affiliates benefit from the relationship,” said Carol Damian, Frost Art Museum Director.
He shared the past, present and future of the Smithsonian to those in the audience and focused on discussing how he was trying to implement his future vision for the Institution.
Of great importance to this plan is safe-guarding the environment and using new technologies to reach wider audiences.
Here are a few fun photos from the night’s event:
Photos courtesy Frost Art Museum, ©2010 Gary Mercer.
Carol Damian and fellow Affiliate Miami Science Museum Director, Gillian Thomas. Photos courtesy Frost Art Museum, ©2010 Gary Mercer.
Photos courtesy Frost Art Museum, ©2010 Gary Mercer.
Secretary Clough and Virginia Clark, Director, Smithsonian Office of Advancement. Photos courtesy Frost Art Museum, ©2010 Gary Mercer.
Secretary Clough with Carol Damian, Director of the Frost Art Museum. Photos courtesy Frost Art Museum, ©2010 Gary Mercer.
The piece is called “Penetrable for Ballet Génesis” and was originally created by Jesús Rafael Soto in 1978 in Havana, Cuba. The piece filled the entire space of the stage, and dancers performed inside it, thereby integrating the human body into a work of art. The artist created other ‘Penetrables’ but this one is unique in that it combines plastic hanging elements with a grouping of hollow metal tubes that add sound to the piece.
The piece is included in the Frost Art Museum’s current exhibition, Embracing Modernity. You can read more about this piece and others in the online catalog – https://issuu.com/frostart/docs/embracingmodernity/1?viewMode=magazine.
Thanks for your question!
Could you explain the hanging sculpture in the photographs at the Frost Art Museum? I’m curious.