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What does the Facebook-using writer want to project? Photo by Molly Roberts

I had to update my Facebook profile picture today. My hair no longer falls past my nose and I’ve got a new vest from Target. Plus, the last one was taken over two weeks ago. So much has changed in my life since then. As I look at the previous photograph, I don’t recognize myself. I’ve lost a bit of the cockiness I had felt at that moment.

Why do Facebook users choose to represent themselves the way they do? On good days, we post pictures of ourselves smiling, arms around the shoulders of our best friends or partners. On bad days, that smile is updated to become a vacant look, a simple acknowledgment that the camera is capturing our image.

Click!, an innovative new Website by the Smithsonian Photography Initiative, might answer that question. Photographs are powerful objects for change. They change who we are, what we remember, what we see, where we go, what we want and what we do, oftentimes in subtle ways.

Our Facebook portraits are like three-dimensional mirrors. Our image doesn’t just stare back at us—we now have the power to manipulate it. How many times have you struck a pose intended for your Facebook page? The photograph that the social media user posts is essentially an act of reflection. It says, “This is who I see myself to be.”

As that picture becomes public, that self-definition then becomes a shared conversation. The images are given additional meanings as our friends (and frenemies) inquire, “Are you ok…?”, compliment, “You look beautiful ”, or criticize, “You are ridiculous!” Our photos become items of analysis, further shaping our online identities.

Click! by the Smithsonian Photography Initiative is an innovative way for the public to give photography (especially their own) a social context.

Click! invites the public to consider and share how photographs have changed their lives. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and this experiment will prove it. To contribute to Click! submit an image, along with a short essay on how that photo changed you, influenced you, inspired you, or reflects a broader social-historical trend. Whether that image is a Facebook profile picture, on old birthday snapshot, a portrait from the 1800s, proof that you didn’t deserve that parking ticket, or a close-up on the stars or a snowflake, it has significance. Click! leaves it up to contributors to find it.

Now, this isn’t LOLcats. It’s a Web 2.0 project with slightly higher standards, but the Click! staff will help shape your entry, sending back suggestions, and the best will be published on the site. The current content is already insightful and interesting, and is a great way to start thinking of ideas. To guide contributers, Click! also features themed submissions, such as March’s focus on Women’s History Month and an upcoming Astronomy theme.

The site had me thinking metaphysically about how I’ve come to regard the question: “Who am I?” Once a difficult subject, I can now just send people a link to my Facebook profile. The picture and information may be ever-changing, but at least it’s accurate moment to moment. It’s not much different from the yearly school or family portrait of decades past. What’s changed with the Web and digital technology is the frequency we can create and share these representations.

Wow, all this critiquing has me worn out. Guess it’s time to change my profile picture. I’ll try to smile this time.

To join the photo-analytical fun or get inspired, sign up for the Click! e-newsletter or follow “The Bigger Picture” blog.

"The Scientist is In" takes place Wednesday afternoons at the Sant Ocean Hall.

“It’s Dory from Finding Nemo!” squeaks the middle-school girl as she passes the coral reef exhibit in the Natural History Museum’s Sant Ocean Hall.

Ahead of her, in a convex glass bubble, dozens of small tropical fish peek out through the rocks, entertaining visitors with their colors and curiosity.

Also enjoying the spectacle is Ian Macintyre, the museum’s curator of carbonate sedimentology, and a leading researcher of how coral reefs form. He’s in the Ocean Hall on a Wednesday afternoon to chat with visitors about his work, part of the weekly “The Scientist is In” program.

“It’s about the only opportunity I get to speak to the public,” says Macintyre, who has participated three times since the Ocean Hall opened last September. “Most of my conversations are with scientists.”

Ian Macintyre, Curator of Carbonate Sedimentology at the Natural History Museum, chatted with guests as part of "The Scientist is In" program.

As he stands next to his kiosk, the museum visitors are not shy. They approach, ask Macintyre who he is, and listen as he explains the human impact on reefs. A few feet away from the showy fish in a healthy coral ecosystem is an example of a decaying Costa Rican reef, overtaken by algae and sediment. The most common question Macintyre receives is “How can it be fixed?”

Unfortunately, there are no easy answers, but Macintyre does his best to explain. Some visitors never knew there was a problem. Others are curious to learn more about Macintyre’s research, and he shows off the first submersible hydraulic drill bit he developed to study reef history. “It’s quite rewarding,” Macintyre says, “They’re very positive.”

There are some surprises as well—like the 5-year-old who was interested in cyanobacteria, (meaning blue-green alga). There was also a little boy who wanted to be a botanist. To these kids and other visitors, Macintyre was the first scientist they’d ever met.

“The Scientist is In” program features a weekly rotation of scientists from coral reef researchers to marine mammal experts. The program is unique to the Ocean Hall. It is loosely based on the Lucy character from Charlie Brown and her “The Doctor is In” booth, where she offered psychiatric help for five cents—luckily, scientific knowledge is free. Because of the enthusiasm from both scientists and guests, the museum’s education department is now experimenting with the idea in the Dinosaur Hall and African Voices Hall.

Macintyre is all for guests getting behind-the-scenes experiences. He even gave his business card to two teachers who wanted to come back with their children and learn more about his research. “You never know how you might influence people,” he says.

“The Scientist is In” takes place Wednesdays from 1 to 3 p.m. at the National Museum of Natural History. To plan your visit, check out GoSmithsonian.com.

Concept design submitted by Diller Scofidio + Renfro in association with Kling Stubbins.

The Smithsonian Institution has revealed the six architectural designs vying to become the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The concepts—from boxy to spiral-shaped (like the inside of a conch shell, really), geometric to organic—certainly run the gamut. And there’s no shortage of special features, like outdoor amphitheaters, panoramic windows showcasing views of other monuments and roof gardens. (See photo gallery) The designs, photographs and models are on display at the Smithsonian Castle until April 16.

A jury, headed by the museum’s director Lonnie Bunch, will be selecting the winning design in mid-April. Construction of the museum, which will be located on a five-acre plot near the National Museum of American History and the Washington Monument, is scheduled to begin in 2012 and be completed by 2015.

In the meantime, we want to hear what you think. View the designs and let us know your favorite in the poll below.

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Dumbo (1975) by Merry Moor Winnett. When Walt Disney and physicist Werner Von Braun collaborated in the 1950s to promote space exploration, I wonder if they ever considered doing it by way of flying elephant. Image courtesy of the American Art Museum.

Monday, March 30: 2009 National Sciences Bowl Competition

Come see high school students show off their oceanographic know how in this Jeopardy-style trivia challenge. Free. National Museum of Natural History, 10:45 AM

Tuesday, March 31: Spartacus: The True Story

Yeah, we all know of Spartacus. At some point or another I’m sure you or someone you know have rattled off “I am Spartacus” (or some deviation thereon). But how much do you know about the historical character, the slave-turned gladiator who sparked a massive revolt against the Roman Empire? Historial Barry Strauss, professor of history and classics at Cornell University, uses recent archaeological discoveries and his own on-site investigations to explore this timeless folk hero. Tickets are required. Rates are: $25 general admission; $15 members. Call 202-633-3030 to reserve your ticket today. S. Dillon Ripley Center, 6:45 PM

Wednesday, April 1: Selling Space in the 1950s: The Disney/Von Braun Space Station Model

In the late 1950s, physicist Werner Von Braun wanted to pique the American public’s interest in space exploration. So, he wished upon a star and teamed up with Walt Disney and their collaboration resulted in products like the “Man in Space” episode of the “Disneyland” television series as well as a model for a space station. This latter artifact will be discussed by Michael Neufeld of the Space History Division in a lunchtime lecture. Free. National Air and Space Museum, 12:00 PM

Thursday, April 2: Anatomy of a Murder: An Ellington Classic Reconsidered

April is Jazz Appreciation Month and Archives Center curator Reuben Jackson discusses Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s Academy Award-winning score to Otto Preminger’s Anatomy of a Murder. Free. American History Museum, 12:00 PM

Friday, April 3: Jazz Appreciation Month Special Tour

A docent will lead you around the American Art Museum on a tour that highlights the jazz-related works in the collection. Free. American Art Museum, 2:00 PM

Boy with Kite II (1962) by Jacob Kainen. Image courtesy of the American Art Museum.

Saturday, March 28: 43rd Annual Kite Festival

Oh, let’s go fly a kite, up to the highest heights! And how could you pass up an afternoon enjoying this perfect springtime hobby? This year’s Smithsonian Kite Festival will be focusing on going green and the importance of natural resources. Come out and create a kite of your own and send it soaring—and compete against your fellow kite enthusiasts! This event is contingent on fair weather, so, in the event of rain, the kite festival will be held on March 29. If you wish to fly your kite competitively, please arrive on the mall with your kite and register between 10 AM and 12:30 PM. For more detailed information, go to the Smithsonian Kite Festival website. Free. National Mall by the Washington Monument, 10 AM

Sunday, March 29: Anime Artist Workshop

So, did you enjoy Spirited Away and are you a Pokémon fanatic? Come out to the Sackler gallery and learn how modern anime artists draw on age-old Japanese aesthetic sensibilities to create pieces of animated eye candy. Event is for persons ages 8-14. Event is first come, first served. Free. Sackler Gallery, 2:00 PM

Above left: "Rrose Sélavy," by Man Ray, 1921; Private Collection; © Man Ray Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY / ADAGP, Paris; Above right: "1919-1990 (Portrait of Duchamp)," by Carlo Maria Mariani, 1990; Courtesy of Carlo Maria Mariani & Carol Lane; Art copyright Carlo Maria Mariani/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY

In the five years that Anne Collins Goodyear, assistant curator of prints and drawings at the National Portrait Gallery, and James McManus, professor emeritus of art history at California State University, Chico, prepared the Portrait Gallery’s new exhibit “Inventing Marcel Duchamp: The Dynamics of Portraiture,” they had a few key revelations.

First off, says Goodyear, “Although Duchamp is a giant, one of the most influential figures in modern art, he is still not terribly well known to the American public.” When most people think of Duchamp, usually what comes to mind is either the urinal, named Fountain, and signed with the pseudonym “R. Mutt,” or his parody of Mona Lisa with a mustache and a goatee. But there is much more to his body of work. His Nude Descending a Staircase No. 2 ruffled feathers for being scandalous at his American debut at the 1913 Armory Show in New York City. His The Bride Stripped Bare By Her Bachelors, Even, also known as The Large Glass is one of his masterpieces. He was a leading Dadaist and Surrealist who flipped the traditional notion of art, portraiture in particular, on its head.

What also doesn’t often come to mind is the artist, the face, behind the work, which leads to one of McManus’s revelations. “No one has seriously looked at Duchamp [himself] as a subject,” he says. But he and Goodyear are trying to fill that gap. The exhibition features 100 portraits and self-portraits of Duchamp, pared down from about 800 that they found, by close to 60 artists. The vintage photographs, prints, drawings, paintings, sculpture and film date from 1887 to the present.

Yes, the present. Many of the portraits in the exhibition were made after Duchamp’s death in 1968 but are heavily influenced by his revolutionary ideas about constructing multiple and elastic identities. He played around with profile, creating mug shots and silhouettes of himself, and aliases, even posing a few times in drag as his alter ego, a woman by the name of Rrose Sélavy (Get it? Eros, se la vie). And later artists would do the same, which leads to the third thematic-rendering revelation that guided the co-curators’ conception of the exhibition. “He’s an artist that reaches beyond the grave,” says Goodyear. After all, as the exhibition notes, in his last years of life, the artist carried in his pocket a piece of paper that read, in French, “Besides, it is always the others who die”—and the words became his epitaph.

“Inventing Marcel Duchamp: The Dynamics of Portraiture” opens today, March 27, and runs until August 2.

The late Blues legend John Cephas, seated, will be honored at a ceremony on Sunday.

Born in 1930, John Cephas grew up with the blues. At age 9, his aunt sat him down and taught him how to play the guitar. And before Cephas was a teenager, he had his own guitar, which he used to entertain weekend guests at his family’s home in the Foggy Bottom area of Washington, D.C. The tradition that Cephas settled on in adulthood was the Piedmont blues, a style of “house party” music with alternating thumb-and-finger picking that originated in the foothills of the Appalachians running from Richmond, Virginia, to Atlanta, Georgia.

To honor the musician, who died March 4 at age 78, a memorial gathering will take place from 1-3 p.m. in the Smithsonian’s Baird Auditorium at the National Museum of Natural History on Sunday, March 29. Attendees will share remembrances and participate in a musical tribute.

One of the last bluesmen practicing the Piedmont style, Cephas became a familiar face at folk music festivals in the 1960s. While at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 1976, he met harmonica player Phil Wiggins. The two would eventually form the duo Cephas & Wiggins. (Smithsonian Folkways released a collection of their music, “Richmond Blues” in 2008.)

Beginning in the 1980s, the duo toured through Europe, Africa, and South and North America. Of the experience, Cephas said, “I guess you could say we’ve been all over the world playing. I’ll go anywhere to play the blues and to teach people about Piedmont blues.”

In June 2007, Smithsonian reporter David Zax asked Cephas what the blues meant to him. Cephas responded, “It’s stories of life. All you got to do is listen to the lyrics, and you’ll see that they are related to some true-to-life experience.”

Louise Bourgeois' "Crouching Spider," photo by Lee Stalsworth, courtesy of Hirshhorn Museum

Our ears perked here at ATM when we heard that Jonathan Coddington, senior curator of entomology at the National Museum of Natural History, is giving a gallery talk tomorrow on Louise Bourgeois’ spider sculptures at the Hirshhorn. It’s not everyday that insect folks provide commentary on art.

I checked in with Coddington, whose research focuses on spiders, for a “sneak sound bite” of his lecture. We got caught up in a conversation about how Bourgeois considers spiders to be motherly protectresses. And light bulb turned on and Coddington offered this insight into why spiders are a symbol of femininity and why it is that they are feared:

“The hate part is actually unequally distributed around the world. It’s mostly in patriarchal cultures. For example, all of North America and Japan as well, which is also pretty patriarchal, have their myths about spiders, and the general motif for spiders is negative—that they bite and they lurk. But in other cultures, not necessarily matriarchal but more tied to the land, which would be in South America, Africa, Thailand and India, spiders are seen as being positive. The Navajo actually have a spider deity that taught them to weave, so they’re seen as positive, which is what Bourgeois seems to be cluing into. [Bourgeois' mother was a master tapestry weaver.]

“Marta Weigle [author of Spiders and Spinsters] argues that spiders sort of carry the burden of a point of view that we’re not very comfortable with in this culture, and that’s why they have these sort of negative connotations. Whereas other cultures, which more easily connect to a feminine source of power, feminine psyche, feminine psychic energy, see them in a much more positive light.

“Femininity has been attached to spiders for a long, long time because the original myth of Arachne. Many cultures independently have chosen spiders as a symbol of that, whether it’s because they make webs, I don’t know. The mystery remains to me, why spiders? Why not termites?”

To hear more of what Coddington has to say, stop over to the Hirshhorn on your lunch hour tomorrow. His talk is from 12:30pm to 1pm.

And for more Bourgeois, check out the trailer for a documentary being produced about the artist’s work.