The DC Traveler

This week in Washington, DC, the Smithsonian turned 162 years old.
The Smithsonian Institution was based on a gift of James Smithson, a British scientist, who left his entire estate to the United States of America in 1827.  His gift of over 100,000 gold sovereigns, or $500,000, (just under $9.5 million in today’s dollars) required the government to establish the Smithsonian Institution, to “increase and diffusion of knowledge."

An act of Congress in 1846 expanded the growth of collection into the world’s largest museum complex (16 museums) with over 140 million objects and the National Zoo in Washington, DC. …read more

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One of the current exhibits at the The Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC, The Cinema Effect: Illusion, Reality, and the Moving Image – Part I: Dreams, is a very unique collection of moving-image and cinematic artworks.
Ranging from somewhat predictable Andy Warhol-like black & white still-life movies with not much happening, to some very entertaining and provocative clips reflecting the transition from consciousness to the dream state.
The exhibit is mostly showcased in a series of dark galleries (so dark, at times it’s almost impossible to see your way around).  At times, I had to stop in my tracks …read more

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