| Smith College Museum of Art

Taj Diffenbaugh Worley ’69 and the Hopi prophecies

Guest blogger Sandy Lillydahl '69 was Taj Diffenbaugh Worley's senior year roommate and fellow religion major at Smith. She retired from curating the Map Collection in the library of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in 2016.

Taj Diffenbaugh Worley, class of 1969. Monmouth, Illinois, 1947 – Seattle, Washington, 1987. Augury. 1975.

The 2018-2019 Student Picks Lottery Is Now Open!

Enter by September 21st for a chance to curate your own pop-up art show in the Cunningham Center for Prints, Drawings and Photographs. Student Picks exhibitions take place on the last Thursday of every month from 4-8pm as part of SCMA's Thursday evening student programming.

Colorful swirling sky with Saint Nicholas, cats, faces and swimming fish, quarter moon face on either side. At the bottom is a sepia toned table and people seated around it.

Hijacked Art, Continued.

Anyone can parody a work; these artists truly transform their inspirations, often turning them into activist symbols.

Four images of Campbell’s soup which appears at first glance like a copy of Warhol’s print. However, the kinds of soup are “Artist’s Brains Soup,” “Model’s Meat Soup,” “Critic’s Tongue Soup,” and “Museum Director’s Tripe Soup.” The seal on the cans is of a small skull, and the print is streaked with blood.

Transforming Dish Towels: Anne Ryan's Collages

Anne Ryan didn’t start making collages until she was 58, but once she found the medium, she embraced it eagerly.

Cropped image of Ryan's 'Collage' (n.d.): overlapping rectangles of vibrant shades of red, pink, orange, salmon, white.

A History of Handwork | Giant Woman (Empire State)

Gripping a paintbrush in one hand and the Empire State in the other, the woman dominates a space synonymous with male-centric corporations and class inequality.

In a photographic gray landscape of Manhattan, a female figure, nude, straddles the Empire State building with an arm outstretched and holding a paintbrush.

STUDENT PICKS | Whole Encounters: Partial Impressions

In application, what an artist chooses to depict in an encounter with their sitter is only an impression, not representative of the whole person being captured.

Close-up, pixelated portrait of African-American man with head turned slightly to the left.

Reunion Class Gifts

Welcome back, reunion classes!

Central circle with figures moving counter-clockwise inside; image of a map inside circle under figures. Brushy marks above and below circle.

New York's Most Famous Unknown Artist

Two collages by “New York’s most famous unknown artist,” Ray Johnson, have recently arrived at SCMA as part of a promised gift. These are the first works by Johnson in the Five Colleges.

Circular shape of white dogs, some of which are partially outlined or completely eclipsed by black, on an off-white background.

STUDENT PICKS: Let Them In

We see Asia being represented by the West. But how do contemporary Asian artists depict themselves and their community?

Widely grinning figure in bathing trunks sitting wide-legged on a grassy mound, low hills in background at mid-right, grey sky.

STUDENT PICKS: The Candid Effect

How are women photographed in public spaces? These photographs cause us to question whether the subjects knew their photograph was being taken and whether they wanted it to be taken and displayed.

A black and white photo of an older woman in formal dress including a short net veil.

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