SCMAinsider

SCMAinsider offers dynamic perspectives on the diverse collections and visions that shape the
Smith College Museum of Art.

We welcome contributions from all members of our community and seek to cultivate a range of
voices and experiences. If you want to contribute to the blog, please contact us at scmacuratorial@smith.edu.

January at SCMA: Museums and Meditation at MacLeish

April 17, 2025

Anna Ziegler is a senior Art History major and works at the Cunningham Center at SCMA.

Dislocation/Urban Experience

"Dislocation/Urban Experience: Contemporary Photographs from East Asia" is the first exhibition in SCMA’s new Carol T. Christ Gallery for Asian Art which opened Friday, October 9.

photographs of traditional Asian architecture against modern apartment buildings

Announcing the Student Picks 2015-16 Winners!

The Student Picks Sweepstakes ended last Friday, and we have our six winners!

woman with dark hair and glasses picks an orange slip of paper out of a red bucket that contains many orange slips of paper

Student Picks: SHE

How did women evaluate themselves? How did the photographer define the women through the lens? What kind of role was expected to be played by women? And how did women respond to the social expectations that already existed?

bust portrait of woman in fencing uniform, holding sword vertical over right eye and mask beside that

Books of Hours

The Book of Hours was a type of Christian prayer text that was extremely common in the Middle Ages.

woman in blue dress seated on right with baby; man kneeling on left; text below

Martha Wilson: A Portfolio of Models

Martha Wilson is regarded as one of the pioneering feminist artists of her time, and rightly so.

white piece of paper, with black typewriter text that reads: "A PORTFOLIO OF MODELS. These are the models society holds out to me: Goddess, Housewife, Working Girl, Professional, Earth Mother, Lesbian. At one time or another, I have tried them all on for size, and none has fit. All that's left to do is be an artist and point the finger at my own predicament. The artist operates out of the vacuum left when all other values are rejected. 8/74"

Internal/External

Henry Spencer Moore is best known for his monumental sculpture, but his two-dimensional work is likewise compelling.

page of sculpture designs of abstracted figure-like shapes inside larger amorphous shapes

Your claim to frame.

It's time for the Student Picks Sweepstakes again! Every year, six Smith students get the chance to curate a one-day show at the Museum, using works from our very own Works on Paper collection.

woman in white holds gold picture frame up to two women in crowd

“Art Defeats Oven”

When Ganso was unable to take on any full-time employment, he began taking on shifts in bakeries to make ends meet.

Two nude women recline on a beach. On is partially shielded by an umbrella. There is a rowboat in the water.

“It was the Best of Times”: American Prints of the Great Depression

The decade of the Great Depression was seen not only as a time of immense strife and hardship, but also as a time for people to come together.

A woman playing a harp for a group of men

The Iconography of Constance Pott

The writer expressed what was abundantly clear: Constance Pott was a true master. But today, she is largely forgotten.

An old dock. Sailboats line the shore in the background. There is a barrel in the water, at left. Seagulls fly overhead.

Collecting the Past: Kenojuak Ashevak

This pencil drawing on wove paper by Kenojuak Ashevak, one of the most well-known modern Inuit artists, represents two human figures encircled by animals and sea deities against a blank background.

man and boy in snow suits between two mermaid-like creatures, with animal and two birds

Collecting the Past: Kannibalen Bioethicists

Enrique Chagoya is currently a professor of Art and Art History at Stanford University, but was born and raised in Mexico City, Mexico. It was here that he became more aware of ancient indigenous beliefs, imagination, and history.

image of a man in the center, with various drawings above his head and text below that reads, "Abenteuer Der Kannibalen Bioethicists"