Art captivates at Renwick Gallery
STORIES BY ELIZABETH KESSEL
The silence stood out to me when I entered the Renwick
Gallery, one of the Sm ithsonian museums. Then, the
large staircase leading to the upper level caught m y eye
and curiosity.
The gallery was showcasing four artists on the first
floor. The upper level was the permanent artwork.
On the le ft, observers could view Jennifer. Trask’ s
m aterials com bined beautifully. Her work appeared
simple, until I read the description cards.
One of her pieces, “ Landscape,” included various bone
fragm ents, spliced antler vines, cast resin mixed with
bone, calcium carbonate and bone char underpainting.
As I continued, Trask’s artwork eventually blended
into Steven Young Lee’ s exh ib it.X ee’ s w oik included
porcelains dealing w ith b oth W estern and Eastern
traditions. My favorite pieces from his exhibit were the
“ Cloisonne Pattern Vase” and “ Peonies V ase?’
Continuing to the back was a larger room shared by
the artists Norwood Viviano and Kristen Morgin.
Viviano’s artwork consisted of glass and m etal that
shows the rise and fall of American cities. Hanging from
phötö by Elizabeth Kessel
the ceiling were blown glass hovering over maps of cities
like Los Angeles and Chicago. On the wall behind the
maps were dates to represent a timeline.
Next to Viviano’ s exhibit was Morgin’ s. Her approach
to ceramics was unconventional, and she used unfired
clay w ith large objects such as pianos and tiny little
trinkets she owns.
My favorite piece from her section was the ha.untingly
beautiful “ Piano Forte” made o f unfired clay, wood,
wire, salt, cement and glue to create a life-sized piano.
In this piece, a large portion of the piano was missing
and the remainder is broken and fragile.
Upstairs, four rooms were filled with all kinds of pieces
from different artists. The one I enjoyed the most was
“ The Greek Slave,” a statue in the middle of the room
showing a naked woman bearing her breasts and butt.
' A t the Renwick Gallery, it was a treat to see such
amazing artwork from so many artists. Each artist had
a different style that could provoke awe and questions.
W ithin the silence of the gallery, nothing was short of
being loud and elegant.
Ehren Tool’s cups communicate his time spent in war,
showcased at the Renwick Gallery.
Newseum speaks to journalists
Welcome^ please walk through the doors into a news
world. Recently, members of the Clackamas Print had
the chance to go to W ashington, D .C. for the National
College Media Convention.
W hile in -D .C ., I was able to explore the Newseum.
Yes, you read that right, it is a museum for news! It’s
most journalists’ perfect place to hang out for the day.
The Newseum is six stories tall, with the first level
starting at a portion of the Berlin W all. The excitement
continued with the glass elevator that takes groups of
people to the.sixth story. This leads to the roof of the
building with a beautiful view of the Capitol and the
surrounding area.
From the sixth floor, guests can make their way down,
each level including multiple interactive exhibits. In
total, i5 exhibits and movie theaters are for people to
enjoy.
As I,walked through, I came across the front pages of
newspapers from the past. This included a front page
o f the D aily News from 1937 w hen the H indenburg
exploded. Another was a cover of the Pittsburgh Courier
from 1963 about Martin Luther King, Jr „ with a headline
that read, “ I Have A Dream...Today!”
As I continued down, I cam e to another am azing
Visitors at the Newseum look at the remains of the
antenna from the World Trade Center’s North Tower.
exhibit: the “Journalists Mem orial,” which was a wall
of fallen journalists. I was equally saddened and inspired
to look at ail the lives taken. There were also blank spaces
for future journalists.
One of the larger exhibits was in honor of 9/11 and
displayed the needle from the W orld Trade Center.
Surrounding the needle, and serving as a barricade from
touching it, was a timeline of what occurred on that day.
On a w all above the needle were com m ents from
people about where they were that day and what they
remembered. One o f the comments read, “ To my sister
and unborn nephew and niece I will always love you and
never forget you.”
W alkin g down another lev el, the CN N p olitical
campaign allowed.visitors to voice their opinions and
concerns about the current candidates. This section
also taught about the candidates’ stances on important
issues.
A t the end are two gift shops to choose from and take
some history home. I bought m yself a fun T-shirt that
says, “ Trust m e ...I’m a reporter.” But the gifts are not
the only thing to take back hom e. The Newseum was
full of rich history, fun exhibits, lessons and story ideas.
Clackamas Print NOVEMBER 2,2016 thedackamasprintiorn 5