On December 12, Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum reopened to the public after a lengthy renovation. One of their opening exhibitions, Tools: Extending Our Reach, features 175 objects that have shaped human life. Creating mounts for the ancient artifacts featured in Tools posed some unique challenges. The mounts needed to display the object without obscuring it. Due …
The Art of Building for Artists
One of the stars of the Hirshhorn’s new exhibition, Days of Endless Time, is the American debut of German artist Clemens von Wedemeyer’s Afterimage (2013). OEC fabricators Adam Bradshaw and Enrique Dominguez, along with intern Colby Styskal and volunteers Juan Lucas and Neal Falanga, built the semicircular screen used to show this work from nine separate curved panels. …
A Tombstone Reborn and Replicated
Thomas Jefferson’s tombstone has led an interesting life. In 1833, 7 years after his death, the tombstone was made to his exact specifications and placed in the graveyard of his home, Monticello. The years, the weather, and even vandals took a toll on the tombstone. Within 50 years, it was in terrible condition. A copy …
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s OEC’s first comic book!
Meet Captain Capture, the hero of the Smithsonian’s Digitization Program Office! Like all great superheroes, he has an origin story. He was born in the wilds of Landover, Maryland, in a secret lab owned by the Smithsonian. Well, maybe not… but he was created and drawn by Evan Keeling, an OEC graphics specialist and comic …
Welcome to OEC, MAAM
The Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums (MAAM) is in Washington October 22-24, bringing together museum professionals from across the region. On October 22, OEC welcomed a group of conference attendees for a behind the scenes tour. OEC Director Susan Ades led participants from museums, firms, and universities through our facilities. The first stop was the Design/Editing …
What You Make Of It
In September, OEC joined in on the fun with over 800 other exhibitors at the New York Maker Faire, the “World’s Greatest Show (and Tell).” The two day festival, held in Queens, NY, brought together all manner of ‘makers’ – scientists, tech aficionados, crafters, educators, and so on – to show what they have made …
Bigger is Better: Mathias Lab Graphic Panels
Just how big of a graphic can we make? You’d think that the answer would be simple: as big as our biggest printer is wide. But it turns out that the sky’s the limit. Instead of making artwork fit the panels, the panels can be made to fit the artwork. The OEC designed five large-scale …
Frankly Impressive
OEC acquires the Frank Acrylic Component System profiler In May the Office of Exhibits Central joined an exclusive club, when it became home to one of three Frank ACS profilers in the world. The machine will allow OEC to produce Frank ACS display cases for use across the Smithsonian (and its partners). The beautifully clean, …
Artists and Their Models
Have you ever wondered about the subject of a painting? Why is the Mona Lisa smiling, or what accounts for the uncertain expression on the face of the Girl with a Pearl Earring? Curator Elizabeth Botten was inspired to uncover the “names and stories” of models by a photograph in the Archives of American Art. …
Abe Lincoln’s Hat
The hat worn by Abraham Lincoln on the night he died found its way to the OEC Model Shop. Given to the Smithsonian in 1867, just two years after Lincoln’s death, the hat was not exhibited until 1893. The hat was scanned and 3D-printed in nylon. Next, the printed hat was handed over to the Model Shop for …