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Annals of the Smithsonian Institution 1999 



Across the Institution, there are many more examples of 

 an outwatd focus. The Smithsonian Affiliations Program has 

 initiated innovative collaborations with museums in com- 

 munities around the country, sharing both objects and 

 expertise. Through a variety of activities, we are dedicated to 

 making the art, history, and culture of Latino, Asian Pacific 

 American, and African American communities an integral 

 part of the Institution. And the Smithsonian Institution 

 Traveling Exhibition Service continues its 47-year tradition 

 of taking the Smithsonian on the road to every state. 



If the reports on the following pages leave a collecrive im- 

 pression, it is that the boundaries that once defined the 

 Institution are disappearing. Americans who once knew us 

 best as buildings on the National Mall can now add another 

 dimension to their direct experience with museum objects 

 and exhibitions. They can see Smithsonian artifacts in theit 

 hometown museums, browse our Web site for virtual exhibi- 

 tions and nuggets of information, or take electronic field 

 trips without leaving their classrooms. Research by Smith- 

 sonian scientists contributes to major advances in nearly 

 every discipline, including medicine, marine biology, and 

 the conservation of endangered species. With fewer limita- 

 tions of place and time, we have extraordinary potential to 

 extend the boundaries of knowledge, while at the same time 

 reaching out to engage more and more people in what the 

 Smithsonian offers. 



An Anniversary Acquisition for the Hirshhorn 



Acquired and installed in summer 1999, Are Years What? 

 (j c or Marianne Moore) , 1967, a monumental steel sculpture 

 by American artist Mark di Suvero (b. 1933), rises dramati- 

 cally some 40 feet from a street-level section of the 

 Hirshhorn Museum's Sculpture Garden. This 10-ton compo- 

 sition of industrial I-beams — with a suspended, moving 

 V element — epitomizes di Suvero 's gift for communicating 

 human fragility in intractable, industrial materials. The title 

 refers to a short poem celebrating life, by the American 

 writer Marianne Moore (1887— 1972). 



Are Years What? (for Marianne Moore), considered one of 

 the artist's greatest works, strengthens the Hirshhorn's im- 

 pressive collection of monumental sculptures and was a 

 fitting addition to the collection as the museum celebrated 

 its 25th anniversary in 1999. Consistently included in retro- 

 spectives of di Suvero 's work, it was most recently seen in a 

 citywide installation in Paris in 1997. 



The sculpture was acquired in part through the Joseph H. 

 Hirshhorn Purchase Fund and in part as a gift of the Insti- 

 tute of Scrap Recycling Industries, by exchange. 



Visibility for American Art 



The National Museum of American Arr may be closed offi- 

 cially for a three-year renovation beginning in January 2000, 

 but a program of major national touring exhibitions will 

 keep the museum, and American art, very much in the pub- 

 lic eye. This year, the museum concluded an arrangement 

 with The Principal Financial Group for a markering spon- 



sorship worth $3.75 million. The campaign is timed to coin- 

 cide with "Treasures to Go," eight thematic exhibitions of 

 masterworks from the museum's collections that will tour 

 the country during the renovation of the Old Patent Office 

 Building. Public relations and marketing initiatives will in- 

 clude advettising, media appearances, cable television 

 programs, special events, and travel to the cities hosting the 

 exhibitions. 



The paintings and sculptutes in "Treasures to Go" cover 

 eight themes from the eighteenth century through the 

 present: Young America, Lure of the West, American Im- 

 pressionism, The Gilded Age, Scenes of American Life, 

 Modernism and Abstraction, Contemporary Folk Art, and 

 Arte Latino. The exhibitions are traveling to more than 70 

 museums. 



The Principal Financial Group began supporting the arts 

 in the 1930s to promote cultural awareness, reach diverse 

 audiences, and foster creative thinking among employees 

 through participation in the atts. 



Preservation on Display 



In a custom-designed laboratory at the National Museum of 

 American History, a team of conservators is engaged in the 

 painstaking process of saving the Star-Spangled Banner. But 

 this is no ordinary object and no ordinary museum preserva- 

 tion project. While conservators work from a mobile 

 platform six inches above the flag, visitors watch intently 

 through a floor-to-ceiling glass wall. An interactive exhibi- 

 tion, "Preserving the Star-Spangled Banner: The Flag that 

 Inspired the National Anthem," explains the flag's history 

 and describes the treatment process. As the museum stabi- 

 lizes the condition of this national icon — damaged by time 

 and exposure to the elements — visitors are learning about a 

 fascinating process that usually goes on behind the scenes. 



Designing a conservation facility suitable for the 1,020- 

 square-foot banner presented unusual challenges. The flag 

 rests on a large table, with the work platform spanning its 

 width. Low-level ambient lighting and a specially designed 

 heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system protect the 

 flag from harmful ulrraviolet light, contaminants, and tem- 

 perature and humidity fluctuations. 



During the treatment phase of the project, conservators 

 will carefully vacuum the flag and then clean it using chemi- 

 cal solvents and detergents. Stitch by stitch, they will 

 remove a linen lining added in 19 14. A new support will 

 stabilize the flag when it is returned to exhibition in 2002. 



The Star-Spangled Banner Preservarion Project is made 

 possible with major support of $10 million from Polo Ralph 

 Lauren. Generous support and significant leadership are also 

 provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts, the U.S. Congress, 

 the White House Millennium Council, the John S. and 

 James L. Knight Foundation, and Save America's Treasures 

 at the National Trust for Historic Preservation. 



At the end of the fiscal year, the museum was preparing to 

 launch a special feature on its Web site devoted to the Star- 

 Spangled Banner and the preservation project 

 (http://americanhistory.si.edu/ssb/). A book by museum his- 



