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Pause and Remember

Published May 28, 2012 American Art , Curatorial Closed
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Just in time for Memorial Day, the Dallas Museum of Art has added to its collection David Johnson’s 1870 painting View from Garrison, West Point, New York. This landscape is a fantastic panoramic view of the Hudson River Valley with the United States Military Academy at West Point front and center. As we take time off to celebrate the many sacrifices our veterans have made for our country, consider stopping by the Museum to see this painting, now on view in the American galleries.

David Johnson, "View from Garrison, West Point, New York," 1870, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, The Patsy Lacy Griffith Collection, gift of Patsy Lacy Griffith by exchange, and General Acquisitions Fund, 2012.6

David Johnson, “View from Garrison, West Point, New York,” 1870, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, The Patsy Lacy Griffith Collection, gift of Patsy Lacy Griffith by exchange, and General Acquisitions Fund, 2012.6

David Johnson, "View from Garrison, West Point, New York" (detail of United States Military Academy), 1870, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, The Patsy Lacy Griffith Collection, gift of Patsy Lacy Griffith by exchange, and General Acquisitions Fund, 2012.6

David Johnson, “View from Garrison, West Point, New York” (detail of United States Military Academy), 1870, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, The Patsy Lacy Griffith Collection, gift of Patsy Lacy Griffith by exchange, and General Acquisitions Fund, 2012.6

Martha MacLeod is the Curatorial Administrative Assistant in the European and American Art Department at the Dallas Museum of Art.

Picture This – Part Deux

Published May 25, 2012 Behind-the-Scenes , Collections , Curatorial , European Art 3 Comments
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Over a year ago, the Dallas Museum of Art sent  College of Animals by Cornelis Saftleven (1607-1681) to a conservator for cleaning and minor repair. With the grime removed from the Dutch artist’s enigmatic composition, it was the perfect time to do a bit more. So we replaced the thin, unadorned gilt frame that formerly surrounded the canvas with one more in keeping with the sort preferred by Dutch artists working during Saftleven’s time. Seventeenth-century Netherlandish artists typically favored a waffle or ripple style molding frame. These darkly painted wooden frames that simulated ebony are decorated with several rows carved in a zigzag design, and often have a reverse ogee profile.  A few months ago, the DMA purchased a period Dutch frame that has all of these design elements from a Parisian dealer. Now that Saftleven’s College of Animals is back from the conservator and has an appropriate frame, it is once again on view in the European galleries for everyone to enjoy!

The simple gilt frame that formerly surrounded Cornelis Saftleven’s “College of Animals,” n.d., oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, The Karl and Esther Hoblitzelle Collection, gift of the Hoblitzelle Foundation, 1987.32

Cornelis Saftleven, College of Animals with its period seventeenth-century waffle-style Dutch frame.

Detail of College of Animals’ new frame

Martha MacLeod is the Curatorial Administrative Assistant to the European and American Art departments.

Friday Photos: Peaceful Space

Published May 25, 2012 Art & Teaching , Community Connection , Friday Photos , Museum Insight , Technology 1 Comment
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Imagine you are in a peaceful place.  What does that place look like?  Is it a serene hillside, a secluded beach, or even just the comfort of your home?  Images on the Center for Creative Connection’s Monitor Wall explore the idea of peacefulness through photos in the latest installation: Peaceful Space.  To find out more about the Monitor Wall in the Center for Creative Connections or C3, I’ve asked C3 Specialist Jessica Nelson about the project.

The Monitor Wall in the Center for Creative Connections

Who are the artists behind the artwork?

The images on the Monitor Wall fall into three different categories.  We have images submitted by our visitors, images from the DMA’s collection, and images from around the DMA.  Knowing the “artists behind the artwork” can be a little tricky because our visitors submit their entries on our Flickr page.  However, I do know that we have some DMA employees who contribute regularly such as Amanda Blake, Jonathan Toles, and myself.

What was the inspiration for the C3 Monitor Wall?

So, in relation to those three different categories of images, there were a few different things that inspired the creation of the Monitor Wall.  First, we wanted to have the ability to show more works of art from the DMA’s collection, and in doing so create a connection between the C3 theme Encountering Space and the rest of the collection.  Also, we wanted to provide an opportunity for visitors to participate in the content of the exhibition.  We see the Monitor Wall as an opportunity to take the idea of “programming” and move it beyond the museum walls, in the sense that our visitors are participating in the exhibition by contributing their photographs, and this participation happens after they have left the physical space of the museum.

How often do you change the images?

The theme for the Monitor Wall changes every six months.  Previous themes include: Texas Space, Filled Space, and Designed Space.  Throughout those six months, we add images that our visitors submit every month.

Capture your peaceful place and submit your photograph to the Dallas Museum of Art’s Flickr page! 

Wishing you all a peaceful weekend,

Loryn Leonard
Coordinator of Museum Visits

Graduation Day

Published May 24, 2012 Behind-the-Scenes , Staff 1 Comment
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The 2011-2012 McDermott Interns are finishing their final days at the DMA. The year has flown by and we want to thank each intern for their dedication and enthusiasm over the past eight months. Below is a look at what their next steps will be. Congratulations to you all.

  • Andrew Sears will pursue his Ph.D. in medieval art history at UC Berkeley.
  • Vivian Barclay has accepted an adjunct teaching position at Brookhaven College.
  • Hannah Burney will stay at the DMA over the summer to assist with Go van Gogh programs.
  • Mary Jordan will be at the DMA over the summer to assist with summer camps and family programs.
  • Lexie Ettinger plans to return to Houston and use her art history degree and museum background there.
  • Melissa Barry will stay in Dallas and be involved with the arts and contemporary collections.
  • Jessica Kennedy has accepted the position of Public Programs Manager at the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth.
  • Wendy Earle has accepted the position of Curator of Collections and Exhibitions at the Museum of the Southwest in Midland.

Sarah Vitek Coffey is the Assistant to the Chair of Learning Initiatives at the Dallas Museum of Art.

Presenting…CONNECT! A New Teacher Resource

Published May 24, 2012 Art & Teaching , Resources 4 Comments
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Since 2009, DMA educators and area K-12 teachers have collaborated and developed CONNECT Teaching Materials, accessible at dmaconnect.org, the DMA’s new and improved online teaching materials. Funded by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, this new resource builds bridges between your students and cultures around the world through an exploration of works of art in the DMA’s collection and special exhibitions. The ultimate goal of these resources is facilitating a relevant, meaningful, and culturally literate understanding of those works for students and teachers.

CONNECT is designed to be accessible via a variety of learning styles. The ideas and information about each work of art are organized into various levels. Levels of access include First Glance material, which provides a brief but thorough introduction to the work of art. Extended Information is an in-depth exploration of an artwork’s content and information related to its visual, artistic, cultural, and historical contexts. Teaching Ideas are also included with each work, encouraging close looking, meaningful dialogue, and offering multidisciplinary ways to connect with a work of art, such as exercises in art making, writing, and research. Additionally, contextual images, audio and video clips featuring curators, artists, and other content experts, links to relevant websites, and a bibliography of reference books are offered for each work.

In short, CONNECT Teaching Materials provide teachers:

  • Accurate information about works of art in the Dallas Museum of Art’s collection and select temporary exhibitions.
  • Choices and levels of information for accessing and experiencing works of art.
  • Multiple perspectives on works of art through audio and video clips featuring curators, artists, and other content experts.
  • Teaching ideas that encourage close looking, dialogue among students, and personal connections with works of art.
  • Teaching ideas that emphasize multiple learning styles and connections across disciplines.
  • Support for teaching cultural literacy.
  • Extensions for learning through bibliography and website links.

Consider this neat interdisciplinary scenario: Ms. Lammers’ fifth-grade math classroom at Nathan Adams Elementary School in Dallas uses CONNECT to explore an Egungun costume made by the Yoruba people in Nigeria. They investigate the patterns and symmetry of the costume as a tool to refine their measurement skills and learn divisibility rules. Before delving into the math, however, the students explore the ritual context of the costume and consider rituals in their own families, and they begin to make meaning of this costume to the Yoruba.

We hope that you check out this new resource, and we would love to hear your thoughts about how you could connect with CONNECT in your classroom!

Andrea V. Severin
Coordinator of Teaching Programs

BooksmART Festival – My Favorite Things

Published May 23, 2012 Arts & Letters Live , Dallas , Special Events Closed
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Well, it’s that time again! The second annual FREE BooksmART Festival at the Dallas Museum of Art is right around the corner. Mark your calendars now: Saturday, June 9, 2012, 11:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Spend the entire day with authors, illustrators, musicians, and actors! Every member of the family is guaranteed to find something to enjoy–there is really something for everyone. The full lineup can be found on our website, but I thought I would go ahead and give you my “Top Ten” list of things you need to do at the festival.

My Top Ten List of Things To Do (And See) at the BooksmART Festival 

1. Get here early! The first events start at 11:00 a.m. and you won’t want to miss them. You know what they say,  “To be early is to be on time. To be on time is to be late. To be late is unacceptable!”

2. Make sure you go to an author or illustrator presentation. Whether you read picture books, chapter books, young adult books, or comic books, we have an event for you.

3. Get as many autographs as humanly possible. If, by chance, you miss an author at their booksigning, you can politely ask them to sign a book for you if you attend their workshop.

4. Eat something from the food trucks! I pinky promise that you’ll be glad you did. We’ve invited all kinds of trucks to come to the festival, but I know you’ll be especially excited for snow cones and ice cream sandwiches as the hot Texas sun threatens to swallow you up. You are welcome.

5. Head over to the Crow Collection of Asian Art for paper and pop-up fun! I am dying to learn how to re-create the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry using only paper, scissors, and my own two hands. I tried, and Wingardium Leviosa doesn’t really work in the Muggle world.

6. Stop in for a workshop or performance by the Dallas Theater Center. I’m so curious–just what is an Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat? They don’t exactly sell them at the Gap.

7. Get your eyes checked! The Essilor Vision Foundation will be at the festival all day providing FREE vision screenings and glasses to kids ages 5-16. After you get your glasses, go meet Taye Diggs. I’m 99.9% positive he’ll be wearing his glasses too.

8. Grab a snack and re-hydrate in the Atrium while you listen to music. Food, water, and music–life’s essentials!

9. Drop in on the Center for Creative Connections (a.k.a. C3). Check out the Art Studio, where several illustrators will be giving workshops; stop by the Tech Lab and create a digital short film; or just hang out at the space bar and let your imagination run wild!

10. Buy your favorite author’s books in the Museum Store, and visit Half Price Books’ table in the Concourse. Sign up for their summer reading program so you can keep the BooksmART fun going all summer long.

And now, since your appetite has been whetted, I’m going to leave you with a little song I’ve written for the BooksmART Festival. Sing it over and over with your family and friends in anticipation. If, by chance, you happen to memorize it, come find me; I’ll have a special prize for the choristers who serenade me. I will be at Horchow Auditorium all day, so look for me.

My Favorite Things (BooksmART Remix)

To the tune of Rogers and Hammerstein’s “My Favorite Things”

Readings and writings and workshops and classes
Joe wears a dreamcoat and new stylish glasses
Pablo Picasso and yum, Chocolate Me!
These are a few of my favorite things
Cartoons and funnies and writers of stories

Mice and amoebas and full Scrabble glory
Dramas and comedies and mysteries
These are a few of my favorite things

Papers that morph into pop-up creations
Aliens that go on extended vacations
Monkeys that bounce on a bed full of springs
These are a few of my favorite things

When I’m grounded
When the ship sinks
When I’m feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don’t feel so bad

For more information about the 2nd annual BooksmART Festival, visit our website or call 214-922-1818.

Hayley Dyer is the Audience Relations Coordinator for Programming at the Dallas Museum of Art. Growing up, her favorite picture book was “A Bargain For Frances.”

Second Annual BooksmART Festival

Published May 22, 2012 Museum Insight 1 Comment
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Last year’s BooksmART Festival was such a success that we’ve been counting down the days until June 9th.  That’s when the second annual BooksmART Festival will be held at the DMA.  Festivities will include readings and presentations by authors, demonstrations led by illustrators, Scrabble games in the galleries, creature animations in the Tech Lab, and of course, tours of the collection.

The BooksmART Festival line-up was announced last week, and includes authors Jack Gantos, Eileen Christelow, Meg Wolitzer, and Daniel Kirk.  Personally, I’m most excited to see Taye Diggs, who will be here to talk about his book Chocolate Me.  I’m also looking forward to hearing from Bruce Foster, who has created a pop-up book inspired by Harry Potter.

The BooksmART Festival will kick off at 11:00 a.m. on June 9th, and admission to the DMA and the Festival will be free for everyone.  I hope you’ll join in the celebration!

Shannon Karol
Manager of Docent Programs and Gallery Teaching

Seldom Scene: Installing 1950s Dallas

Published May 21, 2012 Behind-the-Scenes , Curatorial , Dallas , DFW , Exhibitions 1 Comment
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Did you get a chance to travel to 1950s Dallas this weekend? Flower of the Prairie: George Grosz in Dallas opened on Sunday and will be on view through August 19. Below are a few images from the installation of the exhibition.

Photography by Adam Gingrich, DMA Marketing Assistant.

Friday Photos: Thank you, Go van Gogh Volunteers!

Published May 18, 2012 Friday Photos , People 2 Comments
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As the school year draws to a close, it is important for us to recognize the commitment and devotion of our wonderful Go van Gogh volunteers.  Every spring, we organize a special field trip or party to celebrate our volunteers.  Last Friday, we were fortunate to have a behind-the-scenes tour of the Wyly Theatre, led by Dallas Theater Center Director of Education and Community Enrichment Rachel Hull.  Rachel fascinated us with interesting facts about the Theatre and its innovative engineering and productions. Afterward, we walked over for a delicious lunch at The Commissary in One Arts Plaza.  We are lucky to have such delightful neighbors in the Arts District!

Standing in the wings onstage

In the costume room

THANK YOU, Go van Gogh volunteers, for another successful school year!

Melissa Nelson
Manager of Teaching in the Community

Teaching for Creativity: Inspiration from a Still Life

Published May 17, 2012 Teaching for Creativity 1 Comment
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Recently, my colleague Amanda Batson and I spent some time in the DMA galleries and in the studio with a group of high school visual art students from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.  This group visits the DMA often as part of a class that Charlotte Chambliss, BTW faculty, and I co-teach every other day during fourth period.  Often, I have heard this group of students remark on still life exercises and observational drawing in less than enthusiastic ways.  So, Amanda and I planned their museum visit with the following goals in mind:

  • Stir up an engaging conversation around a 17th-century Dutch still life painting, encouraging students to go beyond a descriptive and literal interpretation
  • Sketch an original still life inspired by metaphor and personification

The visit began with a trip into the galleries.  For about fifteen minutes (which could have gone longer), we viewed and discussed Still Life with Landscape using a conversational approach created by educator Dr. Terry Barrett.  First, we considered the following: “I see _____________.”  We went around the group once with each of the twenty participants stating something they saw, while being sure not to repeat something previously mentioned.  The majority of responses were purely descriptive and inventorial.  Because this painting is so rich with things to see, we went around the group again without any difficulty in seeing something new together.

Abraham Hendricksz van Beyeren, Still Life with Landscape, c. 1620-1690, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, The Karl and Esther Hoblitzelle Collection, gift of the Hoblitzelle Foundation, 1987.3

Second, we considered: “I see ______________ and it makes me think _______________.”  Each student in turn responded to these prompts, and this is where a conversation about the artwork began to unfold.  Our experience began to get a little more lively.  Students responded with observations that focused on the relationship between objects on the table and in the room.  Several crafted imaginative stories about a raucous party occurring in this scene and evidence of a quick departure among revelers. Ideas contentious to the storytelling threads emerged as well – something along these lines, “maybe this painter was really just painting a still life to show us how good he could paint this stuff.”  The looking and talking portion of the visit served as a great warm-up connection to an artwork, after which we traveled to the studio for a sketching exercise.

Two random objects were placed at each table seat, so that each student had his or her own still life. The pairs included items such as a glass jar and a washer, a piece of wood and a clothespin, a shell and a sponge, and so on.  We invited students to take a seat and add one item from their person to the compilation of objects.  They added cell phones, a wallet, glasses (not needed for seeing), hair barrettes, and a variety of pocket treasures.  For a short bit, we reflected upon and summarized together our experience looking at the Dutch still life painting.

Next step was to sketch the three objects in front of them using pencil, colored pencil, or pen. Additionally, Amanda passed to each student a prompt that added a twist to their composition.  This portion of the activity was borrowed from a previous C3 Artistic Encounter program with Magdalena Grohman and Thomas Feulmer. Prompts invited students to arrange and think about the objects in human-like ways:

  • These three objects are siblings.
  • Two of these objects are conspiring against the other.
  • Two of these objects are in a new relationship and one of them is introducing the other to the third object for the first time.

After 20-25 minutes of sketching, we concluded with an opportunity for each student to share his or her sketch and thoughts about the how they applied the metaphorical prompts to the  still life objects.  The elaboration of compositions and their associated stories ranged far and wide, and often resulted in humor.

What ways have you made still-life assignments and observational drawing come to life?  Share your ideas with us and readers!

Nicole Stutzman
Director of Teaching Programs and Partnerships

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