“Although the result is obtained by chemical means, the little work it entails will greatly please ladies.” So wrote one of photography’s inventors, Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre (1787–1851), about his eponymous daguerreotype in 1839. Daguerre’s words, which associate women with idleness, are clearly misogynistic. Yet in a backhanded way, Daguerre predicted the pivotal role women would play in photography since its invention in the 1830s. Undaunted by photographic chemistry—and often neglected or derided ...

This exhibition presents over 100 spoons from across the globe, each a reflection of a specific cultural context–between intimate traditions of home and family, celebratory preparations of food and drink, and the spiritual gestures of giving thanks for sustenance. Around the world, spoons are essential implements that help us scoop, stir, mash, skim, cook, and ...