The exhibition Jean Shin: Common Threads is on view at the American Art Museum in Washington, DC through July 26th, 2009.

Shin's most recent project, Everyday Monuments, debuts in the exhibition. Shin transformed each figurine to represent these tasks, venerating the accomplishments of ordinary Americans; stay-at-home moms, waitresses, janitors, postal carriers; whose everyday labors go unrecognized. The trophies are arranged according to a scale plan of the National Mall, symbolically filling the expanse of Washington's signature public space.

from the NY Times MODELED on the protests and celebrations that erupt on the National Mall, Jean Shin’s latest installation — a roiling, shoulder-to-shoulder crowd in miniature — will carpet a 45-foot-long rectangular space at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC [...]

The National Mall is significant as the central axis of the District's monumental core as designed by L'Enfant in 1791. The Mall was to be the foremost avenue of the city, the so-called "Grand Avenue." It was to run west from the Capitol to a point directly south of the President's House where its terminus would be crowned by an equestrian statue of George Washington. According to L'Enfant's plan, the Mall was to be "four hundred feet in breadth, and about a mile in length, bordered by gardens, ending in a slope from the houses on each side."

The martial arts expert at the pinnacle of the 1996 trophy is now shown vacuuming. I asked Nancy how she felt about that. "One of my memories of him is vacuuming and bumping into our daughter's crib. Annie slept right through it. I think what Shin has done is appropriate and a great way to memorialize him."

Morning Edition May 1, 2009 A pill bottle, a losing lottery ticket, a broken umbrella, a long-forgotten trophy: Mostly, we consider these items detritus awaiting garbage collection. Artist Jean Shin collects them and finds artistic meaning and symbolism in these castoffs. Her creations go on display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., on Friday. [...]

See still images taken during the installation of Jean Shin: Common Threads through the American Art Museum's Flickr group. These images were taken and posted regularly over the two week installation period.

Unraveling, a dense, brightly colored web of woolen threads that visualizes the network of relationships within the Asian American arts community. Read more about Unraveling and the other installations in Jean Shin: Common Threads here in the exhibition brochure.

A team of museum staff members and artist assistants install Unraveling in the exhibition Jean Shin: Common Threads at the American Art Museum.

Invisible Cities (Italian: Le città invisibili) is a novel by Italian writer Italo Calvino. It was published in Italy in 1972 by Giulio Einaudi Editore.

One influence on the Asian American art community is the diversity of Asia itself. Explore the rich history and broad range of materials, subjects, and people that constitute this community through video right here on Art Babble.