Pictures For the American People

Photo of family taking part in this year's U.S. Naturalization
Ceremony, held at Norman Rockwell Museum. Photo by Jeremy Clowe
for Norman Rockwell Museum. All rights reserved.

So we continue into our next busy season at Norman Rockwell Museum. I have to say, the Fall is really a glorious time to visit the Berkshires— the colorful foliage is an artistic display in itself.

This past weekend I helped out with another U.S. citizenship naturalization ceremony at the Museum. This was our second time hosting (in partnership with the Berkshire Immigrant Center), and I'm really proud that we have gotten involved with such a significant event. It's hard to beat Norman Rockwell's artwork (in this case, The Four Freedoms) as an appropriate backdrop to welcome new American citizens; it's also inspiring to meet these individuals who have traveled so far (Pakistan, Ghana, Colombia, etc.) and worked so hard to become part of our country. With all the recent uncertainty about the U.S. economy and foreign relations (i.e. Syria), it is a reminder of how much the world still admires our country. And what joy on these new citizens' faces... I filmed and took photos of the event— you can view some of the latter on the Museum's Facebook page.

Visitors interact with the exhibition, "Norman Rockwell: Happily
Ever After." Photo by Jeremy Clowe for Norman Rockwell
Museum. All rights reserved.

This morning I'm helping to run our first live Google Art Talk. The online chat, which begins at 11 a.m. ET, will focus on Norman Rockwell's artistic influences— two of our curators will lead the discussion and I will be running their visuals for them. It looks really interesting, and I urge you to sit in or catch the recorded lecture, which will be archived on YouTube. I have spent the past couple months coordinating our involvement in this event; I learned about these new online art talks being held in Google Plus' Hangouts, and had approached the company about taking part. It's a live event, so hopefully it will go off without a hitch... similar to our involvement in the Google Art Project— read more about that initiative, which I also helped coordinate, here.

And speaking of technology, we had another nice article about our current initiatives, including today's Art Talk and our recent foray into QR code-enhanced exhibitions; I am quoted in this Berkshire Eagle article written by my friend/journalist Jenn Smith— I appreciated the mention of my video interviews, which are included in the exhibit.

Photo by Ben Garver for "The Berkshire Eagle."
All rights reserved.

Looking ahead, I'm getting ready to tackle my next exhibition video (Wendell Minor's America) and expand on some of our video production capabilities. In the meantime, I continue to play the part of spokesman— this week I conducted a tour and some interviews with travel writers visiting from Austria, and I have a short, live interview about the Museum scheduled for WSBS Radio this Friday, September 13, at 8:15 a.m. 

As if that wasn't enough, here is a link to a recent interview I gave to O Globo, a popular newspaper in Brazil. The article looks at the increasing popularity of Norman Rockwell, and the Museum's efforts to continue to spread the word about his art with an international audience. It's fun to see my words translated into Portuguese... heck, I'd be happy to travel to South America to take this global outreach one step further!...

Related Links:

Google Art Talk

2013 U.S.Citizenship Naturalization Ceremony (photos by JC), Norman Rockwell Museum Facebook page

"Culture a Click Away," Berkshire Eagle, September 6, 2013

"Retrato Do Século XX," Globo a Mais, August 16, 2013


"Pintura de ilustrador de revistas é a mais cara do acervo da Amazon Art," O Globo, August 18, 2013

American Greetings

Dalton Color Guard welcome one of our newest U.S. citizens.
Photos ©Jeremy Clowe for Norman Rockwell Museum. All rights reserved.

In yesterday's blog I briefly mentioned the naturalization ceremony that I helped out with yesterday at Norman Rockwell Museum. Working at the Museum as long I have, I sometimes forget how effective those paintings, in this case The Four Freedoms, can be... yesterday I was reminded. 23 Berkshire County residents were sworn-in as United States citizens in front of Rockwell's iconic series of paintings illustrating President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's 1941 speech to Congress--in that speech he described four essential human freedoms necessary in today's world: freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.

I enjoyed meeting this family from El Salvador...
wish I had written down some of the recipes
they described.

The new citizens originated from 16 different countries, including Benin, Canada, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Germany, Ghana, India, the Ivory Coast, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Peru, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Some attended the ceremony in different styles of dress from those countries. Many brought their families, and it was touching to learn that these children automatically became U.S. citizens as well.

I have never attended a ceremony like this and I have to say I was moved by the significance of the event. I talked with representatives from the Berkshire Immigrant Center that co-sponsored the event, and they informed me of how difficult it can be to become a citizen of the U.S. Some of the people I met waited 20 years to have the honor... it made me think about how desirable it is to be an American... to this day. In fact, after learning of the very demanding tests that are part of the naturalization process, these new citizens may know more about the U.S. than those of us who were born here... I was moved witnessing a much older man from India, as he walked up to receive his certificate.

Judge Rutberg and Governor Patrick
welcome one of the new citizens (originally from
the African continent).

Several Massachusetts state dignitaries were on hand to welcome the new citizens, including Governor Deval Patrick. Just days earlier I had watched him live on TV as he spoke at the Democratic National Convention, so it was great that he was able to join us--seems like a nice guy. Judge Frederic Rutberg, a Stockbridge resident, administered the oath of allegiance, which was quite special in itself, since he had originally been sworn-in as a judge in front of the same paintings back in the early 90s. 

We had several members of the press stop by to the cover the event, which was good... and I was busy taking my own photographs and filming the ceremony... a little hectic at times (Governor Patrick called me a "one-man band"), but I was glad to be there and proud of the Museum for hosting such an event. 

Immediately following the ceremony there was a reception, and I had a chance to talk with several of the new citizens. It was a pleasure to welcome them to the United States, offering them copies of the photos and my own hospitality; in the words of Governor Patrick:  “The diverse backgrounds, shared experiences, enthusiasm and ambition among these new citizens will make the Commonwealth and country stronger for generations to come.”

Photos ©Jeremy Clowe for Norman Rockwell Museum. All rights reserved.

*View more photos I took at the event on Norman Rockwell Museum's Facebook page (captions courtesy of the Museum's Director)

*Read press releases I created for the event:

-Norman Rockwell Museum To Hold Naturalization Ceremony 

-NRM Welcomes 23 New United States Citizens During Naturalization Ceremony 

*Berkshire Eagle article, September 9, 2012