Memory, Myth & Miniatures

Sidedoor

Smithsonian Institution

Sidedoor, National Zoo, Exhibits, National Museum, Zoo, Washington, African American History And Culture, Postal Museum, Exhibit, Society & Culture, American History, Pop Culture, History, Art19, Air And Space, Science, The Smithsonian, Tony Cohn, Museum, Smithsonian, History Of The World, Natural History, Dc

4.6 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 21 August 2019

⏱️ 24 minutes

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Summary

David Levinthal is a New York-based artist whose photography depicts “the America that never was but always will be.” He uses toys to recreate iconic moments in American history and pop culture, encouraging his audience to question America’s collective memory. Sidedoor visits Levinthal in his studio, and an exhibition of his work at the Smithsonian American Art Museum titled “American Myth & Memory: David Levinthal Photographs” to explore the distinction between fact and fable.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Side Door, a podcast from the Smithsonian with support from PRX.
0:13.6	I'm Lizzy Peabody. One recent morning I popped into the Smithsonian American Art Museum before it opened
0:28.0	to see a photography exhibition titled American Myth and Memory.
0:32.3	We were walking up the sidewalk. called American Myth and Memory.
0:33.2	We are walking up the sidewalk,
0:35.1	approaching a sculpture of a cowboy on a bucking bronco.
0:40.7	Somehow that must be some foreshadowing of some kind.
0:43.0	We were guided by curator Joanna Marsh.
0:45.0	Joanna.
0:46.0	Joanna, nice to meet you.
0:47.0	Hi, I'm Lizzie.
0:48.0	Good to meet you.
0:50.0	The expansive exhibition features 74 photographs from contemporary artist David Leventhal's career.
0:57.0	The collected photos show exactly what the exhibition's title promises.
1:01.0	Iconic images like Jackie Robinson stealing home plate in baseball's 1955 World Series.
1:07.6	And here comes Robinson trying to steal home.
1:10.8	He's safe, says the up.
1:12.2	He's out, says Yogi Berra, and brother is Yogi Hopin.
1:15.4	Battle scenes from the Vietnam War. And 1950s pin-up models posing on the beach.
1:21.6	And when I first entered the exhibition, one models posing on the beach.
1:22.7	And when I first entered the exhibition,
1:24.8	one photo in particular caught my eye.
	...

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