April 30, 2009
Smithsonian Magazine As Art
Randall Rosenthall's wood sculpture of the February 2009 issue of Smithsonian magazine. (Courtesy of the artist.)
What stood out most to artist Randall Rosenthal about the February 2009 Smithsonian magazine cover was that behind the side-by-side portraits of Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln were two different shades of black.
Paying attention to such subtle details is what’s helped make Rosenthal, a trained painter, architect and carpenter, a success in both the craft and fine arts world.
From his Long Island home, Rosenthal creates wooden replicas of newspapers, baseball cards, and stacks of hundred dollar bills out of solid blocks of wood. He then hand-paints the sculptures to resemble, say, a post-election day Washington Post, or a legal pad complete with scribbles.
“From 6-feet away, they look dead-on real,” Rosenthal says. “And when you get close you have to convince yourself that they’re not.”
After reading and enjoying the Smithsonian article about what unites Darwin and Lincoln, Rosenthal took out a block of solid wood and whittled it to look like the February 2009 issue stacked on top of two old magazines, mailing address and subtitles included.
It took Rosenthal two weeks to complete the sculpture–a week to carve and a week to paint. Getting Lincoln right was a challenge, though Darwin was easy, Rosenthal says, “all you need is the white beard.”
He brought the work to the Smithsonian Craft Show held last weekend, where it was popular with attendees. It was not the first time Rosenthal flattered us. The long-time subscriber won “Best in Show” with a similar piece at the 2006 Craft Show.
And as the quality content of Smithsonian magazine expands to the Web, we at Around the Mall can’t help but wonder whether Rosenthal will consider a woodblock replica of Smithsonian.com for 2010.
Smile! Elusive Jaguar Caught on Camera in Panama
A lone jaguar captured by a camera on Barro Colorado Island, Panama, home to the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. (Courtesy of Jackie Willis.)
The size of a human at the same location offers a relative comparison to the jaguar (not shown). (Courtesy of Jackie Willis.)
Dry season on Barro Colorodo Island brings sun and low humidity to the plants, animals and researchers that dwell on this scientific nature reserve in the middle of the Panama Canal.
Just the right conditions for scientists Jackie and Greg Willis to take their their annual 62-mile walk to count the island’s mammal populations.
For 27 years, the Willises have made this trek, observing dozens of exotic mammals, including pumas, ocelots, and margays. But only once, in 1983, have they seen a jaguar.
That 1983 sighting was the first time a jaguar had been spotted on Barro Colorodo Island since the Smithsonian took over its administration in 1946. Only two to three more have been seen since.
“It’s pretty amazing that in such a highly-studied little place [the island is just nine square miles and three miles across] that there’s only been a limited number of jaguar sightings,” says Beth King, science interpreter for the Smithsonian’s Tropical Research Institute.
So when a jaguar was photographed walking by a tree last week around 11 p.m., Smithsonian researchers were thrilled. The pictures were taken by a surveillance camera installed in 1994 that is wired to go off in reaction to a warm body. The photos are the first visual evidence that jaguars come to the island.
According to King, jaguar populations are shrinking and have been hunted to extinction in some places in South America. “The photo of a jaguar on Barro Colorado is a sign of hope that jaguars are still present in the area,” she says.
There isn’t an established population on the island, however. Jaguars are known to swim, and the one spotted last week is just passing by. Because of the island’s size and the presence of other predatory wildcats, an adult jaguar wouldn’t have enough to eat even if it stayed. Though it must make a nice vacation spot.
April 29, 2009
Tony Bennett and Duke, Together at the Portrait Gallery
Duke Ellington, by Tony Bennett, courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery
Today is the 110th anniversary of Duke Ellington’s birth here in Washington, D.C., and to commemorate it, Tony Bennett presented the National Portrait Gallery this morning with his painting of the jazz great. Ellington, who Bennett says was “so gregarious” when they first met at the Rainbow Room in Rockefeller Center, was a mentor to him.
Bennett recalled how the Duke once advised him to, “Do two things. Don’t do one.” For Bennett, the one thing, which the vast majority of people know him for, is his singing; the second, which may come as a surprise, is painting.
“I describe myself as a perpetual student of learning how to paint,” said Bennett. Once he started doing it on a daily basis, it changed his whole life for the better. When he was burnt out from singing, he would start to paint. “It would be a big lift,” he said. And when he was tired of painting, he’d sing. “It created a state of perpetual creativity,” said Bennett. “There is no need for vacation or to retire.”
He’s quite an accomplished painter too. This will be his third painting accepted by the Smithsonian. The first, a portrait of Ella Fitzgerald, is in the National Museum of American History collections, though not currently on display. The second, a landscape of Central Park, is on view in the Smithsonian American Art Museum. And, as of today, Duke Ellington is hanging in the New Arrivals hall of the National Portrait Gallery.
The watercolor portrays Ellington with what Bennett has described as a “look of divine serenity on his face.” In the background is a bunch of pink roses. “Every time he wrote a song that he thought I might like to record, he sent a dozen roses,” said Bennett.
“I Do Solemnly Swear” Celebrates Obama’s First Hundred Days
Barack and Michelle Obama at the inaugural parade
Today marks President Barack Obama’s first 100 days in office. To celebrate the occasion, the American History Museum presents its new exhibition, “I Do Solemnly Swear: Photographs of the 2009 Presidential Inauguration.” This collection of more than 30 images—snapped by both professional and amateur photographers—documents the week leading up to Obama’s historic inauguration, which thanks to the proliferation of digital cameras, is most likely the most-photographed inauguration ever. You can get a sneak peek at the exhibition by way of our photo gallery—but, if you’re able, be sure to check out the entire show, which goes on display beginning this morning at the American History Museum through July 12.
April 28, 2009
When To Call The Mitten Crab Hotline
Chinese mitten crab
The Chinese mitten crab is one of the ocean’s more fashionable invertebrates. With a sleek four-inch wide shell, a light brown-olive green color, and thick mats of hair on its pair of white-tipped claws, it seems odd that a looker like that would have environmental scientists so concerned.
But the mitten crab, native to East Asia, is slowly invading East Coast waters. It doesn’t pose a physical threat, however, its squarely an ecological matter. Once established, the crab quickly reproduces and soon hundreds are clogging fishing equipment and power plant cooling systems. They can also out-compete local species, like the Maryland blue crab.
Fortunately, we haven’t reached a high-level crab threat yet. Forty-four mitten crabs have been formally identified in the eastern United States since 2006. They were found primarily in the Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay, and more recently the Hudson River and New Jersey.
Scientists at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center are asking sharp-eyed beachgoers, fishermen and crabbers for help to capture and collect information about the invasive mitten crabs. “At this point we’re trying to understand if they’re here and what that might mean ecologically,” scientist Gregory Ruiz recently told HometownAnnapolis.com.
Though, they’re not the easiest crabs to locate. Mitten crabs live in both freshwater and saltwater,
can burrow underground and are able to leave the water and walk around obstacles while migrating.
If you catch a mitten crab, do not throw it back alive. Note the precise location and date where the animal was found. Take a close-up photo of the crab and send it to SERCMittenCrab@si.edu. If possible, freeze the animal on ice, or preserve it in rubbing alcohol, and call The Mitten Crab Hotline at 443-482-2222.
