James Volkert Re: Imagining American Art

Drawing upon his extensive knowledge of American Art History, as well as his long tenure as a museum professional (19 years at the Smithsonian), Volkert disassembles the history of American Painting and lays the parts out for us, activating them with machines and showing us details we may otherwise have missed

"I have drawn, painted, tinkered and built things all my life. I’m interested in structures, tangible or intellectual, and find satisfaction in understanding the components that create them. My interest in structures extends from the original usefulness or significance of an object, an idea or a place or moment in time, to exploring ways to replicate its elegance or potency in an original work of art. The objects, ideas and moments in this exhibit were explored in relation to works by American artists, primarily from the mid-18th to the mid-19th Centuries because of their inherent narrative qualities." -  James Volkert

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.