Campfire Stories with George Catlin:
An Encounter of Two Cultures

After putting together an exhibition centered around George Catlin, an influential 19th century painter who devoted his career to painting Indians in their native land and championing their cause, the Smithsonian American Art Museum commissioned the development of an interactive digital narrative to accompany the physical collection. Initially intended for production to the Web, the project was later included as a kiosque component of the physical exhibition. bluecadet’s founding principal and lead designer Josh Goldblum worked on this project just prior to founding bluecadet interactive.

Josh collaborated with a committee of teachers tasked with spearheading this project for the museum at the start of the project and immediately made an impact by suggesting the 'campfire' analogy as a way to tie all parts of the site to a unifying theme. Josh then helped to gather supporting materials for the site, interviewing authors, historians, ethnologists, and native Americans. With all materials on hand together with the materials and information on hand from the physical exhibition, Josh produced an interactive and visually stunning Flash site inline that stayed true to the Smithsonian’s original vision. Each story in the piece includes multimedia interviews, a gallery of artworks with exhibition labels, a timeline, and maps. Included is a searchable database containing Catlin’s writings and hundreds of his artworks.


Honors and Awards

• 2003 Gold Medal Winner, MUSE Awards,The American Association of Museums
• Awarded Best Educational Web Site, 2003 Museums and the Web
• Finalist at the 2003 South by Southwest Interactive Festival