SMITHSONIAN HIGH ART

"…...the art offers artistic visions as a way to inspire us and stretch our imagination."
~ Dr. Thomas D. Crouch, Sr. Curator, Smithsonian NASM, Smithsonian Air & Space Magazine

The Smithsonian honored Aviation Art in its High Art Exhibition at the "World's Most Visited Museum" which welcomes 9,000,000 visitors a year.

Amid rockets and spaceships, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum presented its High Art Exhibition.

Out of roughly 7,000 works of art collected by the museum, 50 works were selected for display at the National Air & Space Museum in Washington DC. Artwork by ASAA members featured prominently in the exhibition. Eye-level with the tops of rockets, a large banner proclaimed the opening of the highly anticipated High Art Exhibition at the Flight & the Arts Gallery.

Here, the museum hosted a press preview to announce the show's opening. Public Affairs Specialist Alison Mitchell and Public Affairs Director Claire Brown escorted the media to their seats in the Faces of Flight section of the gallery. From the podium, Head Curator Dr. Peter Jakab described the legacy of the Smithsonian Institution to a packed room.

Senior Curator Tom Crouch introduced each artist in attendance, describing their artwork with enthusiasm: "These pieces bring the static collection of airplanes and spacecraft in the museum to vibrant new life."

Tom Crouch writes in the Smithsonian Air & Space magazine, "Mimi Stuart's painting captures Eugene Cernan's own memory of his walk on the moon." Her EOS-style "Walking on Diamonds" was originally created for Gene Cernan's appearance aboard USS Hornet Aircraft Carrier Museum, then displayed at Wright Brothers Awards banquet and the Collier Trophy Awards at the Smithsonian NASM.

"We are excited to have her work in the show," describes Museum Specialist Carolyn Russo. The title "Walking on Diamonds" refers to the moment Last Man on the Moon Gene Cernan first laid eyes on a part of the moon that had never been visited before. He was so struck by the beauty of the "millions of tiny diamonds" beneath his feet, that for a moment he didn't realize he was sinking into quicksand. Fortunately, he was able to pull his boot free and step on solid land; but the overwhelming sense of lunar beauty stayed with him forever.

For more about the Smithsonian High Art exhibit, visit www.airandspace.si.edu <http://www.airandspace.si.edu/> or www.airspacemag.com/flight-today/The-Beauty-of-Space-Times-3-215582611.html <http://www.airspacemag.com/flight-today/The-Beauty-of-Space-Times-3-215582611.html> .

~Team Aero

Aero Brush Magazine
Vol. 27, No. 1
Winter Edition