February | 2013 | Dallas Museum of Art Uncrated

Archive for February, 2013

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Happy Chinese New Year! Gung hay fat choy means “Wishing you a prosperous year” in Cantonese. Sunday, February 10, marked the beginning of a new year according to the lunar calendar. Chinese New Year is also known as Lunar New Year and is celebrated in many other Asian countries. It falls in the month of January or February on the first day of the first moon. In China, each year is represented by one of the twelve animals of the Zodiac. 2013 is the year of the Snake. If you were born in 2001, 1989, 1977, 1965, 1953, or 1941, then you were born in the year of the Snake (but those of you with January and February birthdays should double check!).

Celebrations range from one day to fifteen days, and traditions vary from region to region and family to family. My family celebrated by giving each other red envelopes filled with small gifts of money. These were given out by the adults to the children as a symbol of luck and good fortune. Houses are often decorated with red and gold lanterns and banners, and festivities typically include a special family meal. Noodles represent long life, while fruits, such as tangerines and kumquats, symbolize wealth. My family bought peaches, a traditional Chinese symbol of longevity.

On the inner wall are six panels containing stylized peach branches. The peach is believed to ward off evil and represents springtime, marriage, and immortality.

Celebrate the Lunar New Year with friends and family at some of these DFW area events, including a free Year of the Snake Celebration with our neighbor, The Crow Collection of Asian Art, on Late Night. Wishing you a happy and healthy new year from all of us at the DMA!

Fu is the Chinese word for good luck. Typically, it is hung upside down. The Chinese word for “upside-down” sounds like the Chinese word for “arrive.” So when the sign is hung upside-down, it wishes for good fortune to arrive soon.

Works shown:

Roman, Single Snake Armlet, 2^nd century BC, Dallas Museum of Art, Museum League Purchase Funds, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., and Cecil H. and Ida M. Green in honor of Virginia Lucas Nick.
China, Jingdezhen, Bowl, c. 1640-1650, Dallas Museum of Art, The Wendy and Emery Reves Collection.

Alex Vargo
McDermott Intern for Gallery Teaching

Installing Chagall

Published February 11, 2013 Behind-the-Scenes , Exhibitions , Installation 1 Comment
Tags: Chagall: Beyon Color, Dallas Museum of Art, DMA, Marc Chagall, U.S. exclusive

We have less than a week until the opening of Chagall: Beyond Color here at the Dallas Museum of Art. The DMA is the only U.S. venue for this exhibition, which features Marc Chagall’s sculptures, ceramics, collages, paintings, and costumes. To tide you over until the opening on Sunday, February 17, below are a few installation shots from the past week.

Friday Photos: Art Making, Anytime for Anyone

Published February 8, 2013 Friday Photos 1 Comment
Tags: art cart, Center for Creative Connections

On January 21st the Dallas Museum of Art introduced Free General Admission and our Free Membership Program. That same day we also rolled out our new art cart, which allows for artistic activities in our permanent collection galleries. Each week the cart will be in a different location, stocked with a variety of activities to choose from. For the rest of this week you can find us in the 2nd Floor European Gallery. Come by, say hi, and make some art!

Dali, China, Chongsheng Temple, 2010

Plans like this one were taped on walls around the space.

Walls come down during the de-installation of Materials & Meanings.

Fox in the Snow, Gustave Courbet, 1860 (1979.7.FA)

Jessica Fuentes
C3 Gallery Coordinator

Reading the Cards: Part 5

Published February 7, 2013 works of art 2 Comments
Tags: Air, Astrology, Book of Revelation, Earth, Fire, Genesis, Hindu, Shiva, Temperance, Tower, Tower of Babel, Vernet, water, Wheel of Fortune, World

This is the fifth and final post in a larger series finding connections between the ever-mystical tarot cards and the extraordinary collection of the Dallas Museum of Art. Head over to the first, second, third, and fourth posts for an introduction and earlier connections.

Temperance is the fourteenth trump card in a traditional Tarot desk. Representing the cardinal virtue of temperance, the winged figure pours water from one chalice to another diluting the unseen wine. This, as well as the stance of one foot on land and one in water, symbolizes balance and moderation in one’s life.

Mark Manders, Composition with Three New Piles of Sand, 2010, Dallas Museum of Art, DMA/amfAR Benefit Auction Fund

Leaning backwards, the one-limbed figure in this piece remains perfectly balanced with the assistance of taut ropes. While the figure does not express general comfort, its expression is distinctly calm. As the figure is in control of its balanced stance, it accurately represents the equilibrium of temperance.

Tower

The Tower is the sixteenth of the Major Arcana cards. Considered an ill omen, the image shows two people falling or fleeing from a burning building. Thought to refer to the biblical story of the Tower of Babel, the Tower symbolizes looming failure, ruin and catastrophe.

Claude-Joseph Vernet, A Mountain Landscape with an Approaching Storm, 1775, Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, Mrs. John B. O’Hara Fund

Claude-Joseph Vernet’s monumental landscape captures the terror associated with the destructive power of natural disasters. Amidst the ominous clouds, craggy coast, and wind-whipped trees, anxious workers struggle to find sanctuary far from the violent storm’s path.

Wheel of Fortune

The Wheel of Fortune is the tenth trump card. Depicting a six- or eight-spoked wheel crested by a sphinx, the Wheel of Fortune card is inscribed with the symbols for the four elements: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. Also visible are the letters T-A-R-O with reference to the card deck or R-O-T-A, the Latin word for wheel. The Wheel of Fortune signifies a turning point in one’s life and often represents destiny and the cycles of life.

Shiva Nataraja, 11th century, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Mrs. Eugene McDermott, the Hamon Charitable Foundation, and an annonymous donor in honor of David T. Owsley, with additional funding from The Cecil and Ida Green Foundation and the Cecil and Ida Green Acquisition Fund

Deity of creation, destruction, and rebirth, the Hindu god Shiva is shown as Shiva Nataraja, the Divine Dancer. In this form, Shiva embodies the energy of the entire cosmos and, surrounded by flames, dances the rhythm of the universe. The precise positioning of his hands promise release from the endless wheel of rebirth.

World

The World is the final card in the major arcana. Surrounding an untarnished nude woman, figures referenced in the Book of Revelation are depicted in each corner, including a lion, a calf, a beast with the face of a man, and an eagle. These figures also signify the classic four elements in astrology: Leo, Taurus, Aquarius, and Scorpio. The World represents completeness, accomplishment, and wholeness.

Miguel Covarrubias, Genesis, the Gift of Life, 1954, City of Dallas, Gift of Peter and Waldo Stewart and Stewart Company, 1992

Inspired by a budding acorn, Miguel Covarrubias created the 12-foot tall and 60-foot long mural Genesis, the Gift of Life. Saturated with creation stories, the mural explores the beauty of the earth and the life it sustains.

I have greatly enjoyed researching for and writing my Reading the Cards series. I have learned a great deal and hope you have as well!

Pilar Wong
McDermott Intern for Community Teaching

DMA and DTC: Collaboration Inspired by Mark Rothko

Published February 6, 2013 Arts & Letters Live , Collections , Dallas , DFW , Education , Modern Art , Special Events Closed
Tags: Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Theater Center, DMA, John Logan, Mark Rothko, Red, Tony Award

The Dallas Museum of Art and its Arts District neighbor, Dallas Theater Center, are collaborating in an unprecedented way on the upcoming production of John Logan’s Tony Award-winning play Red, a bio-drama about iconic 20th-century artist Mark Rothko. Rothko once said, “I think of my pictures as dramas; the shapes in the pictures are the performers.”

Months ago, Joel Ferrell (DTC’s Associate Artistic Director and Director of Red) and Bob Lavallee (set designer) came to the DMA for a sneak peek at our Rothko painting currently in art storage so that they could examine the stretcher and the back of the canvas.

Joel Ferrell, Bob LaVallee, and Mark Leonard looking at the back of our Rothko painting currently in art storage.

Bob LaVvallee and Mark Leonard in art storage

Bob discussed his preliminary plans to turn the 9th floor of the Wyly Theatre into Rothko’s Bowery Studio. Joel mentioned that the actors portraying Rothko (Kieran Connolly) and his assistant Ken (Jordan Brodess) in Red will be priming and painting a canvas on stage to music in a “muscular dance,” and that “they wanted to get it right.” Joel and Bob peppered Mark Leonard (the DMA’s Chief Conservator) and Gabriel Ritter (the DMA’s Nancy and Tim Hanley Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art) with questions about Rothko’s use of materials, and great dialogue followed about the seriousness with which Rothko approached his art and creative process. On another visit, I helped production staff browse through books in the DMA’s Mayer Library to find the best photos of Rothko inside his studio in an effort to re-create it faithfully.

On January 16, the entire DTC staff, ranging from actors to production staff and administrators, joined DMA staff in an afternoon-long workshop. We immersed ourselves in the art of Mark Rothko through lively conversations with Carol Mancusi-Ungaro, who has written on Rothko’s techniques and directed the conservation of his Rothko Chapel paintings; by exploring works of art in the galleries with DMA staff by artists who came before and after Rothko; and through a sustained look and written reflection on Rothko’s painting Orange, Red and Red, which currently hangs in the South Concourse. We finished the afternoon by sharing our responses with each other, seeking to make meaning of what can seem to be an enigmatic painting.

Carol Mancusi-Ungaro discusses Rothko’s painting technique with DTC and DMA staff.

Many staff agreed that the longer you looked closely at Orange, Red and Red, the more it reveals to you and rewards you. DTC Brierley Resident Acting Company member and Master Teacher Christina Vela said, “The great masters don’t offer answers, they keep asking you questions; you’re forced to continue to struggle with them.” Bob Lavallee remarked that you have to be physically in the room with the work of art in order to really understand it (as opposed to looking at an image on a screen)–much like theater. Antay Bilgutay, Interim Director of Development, said, “Having the space and opportunity to take my time with a Rothko painting changed my perception of his work.”

Joel Ferrell shares his reactions with a DTC colleague.

We invite you to get your tickets soon to see Red, and then come to the DMA to spend time in front of this mesmerizing work of art. Imagine you are inside the world of this painting. You might ask yourself these questions:

What do you see around you?

What do you smell, hear, and taste?

What do you feel?

How might you describe this place to someone who isn’t here?

One opportunity to do just that is to attend Red In-Depth on Saturday, February 23, a program that includes a matinee performance of Red, followed by time with staff in the galleries exploring the art of Rothko and his contemporaries. Two similar in-depth experiences will take place on February 19 and 27 with middle school and high school students.

Carolyn Bess is Director of Programming and Arts & Letters Live at the Dallas Museum of Art.

Young Masters at the DMA

Published February 5, 2013 Art & Teaching Closed
Tags: Community Connection, student artwork, Young Masters

MT Young Masters If you haven’t had the chance to view the fantastic artworks in the Young Masters exhibition, be sure to stop by before the exhibition closes on February 17, 2013. This annual exhibition is organized in partnership with the O’Donnell Foundation’s incentive program, Create Schools of Excellence in Fine Arts Education, and recognizes the artistic achievements of students and teachers in Dallas area schools. This year, 56 works of art were selected for the exhibition out of 620 works submitted for consideration.

I had the chance to interview Maria Teresa G. Pedroche, Head of Community Engagement here at the DMA, about her role in co-curating the studio art selections and organizing the overall exhibition.

What is the history of the O’Donnell Foundation Advanced Placement Arts Incentive Program with the DMA?

Since 1995, the O’Donnell Foundation and the Dallas Museum of Art have generously sponsored Young Masters. Young Masters celebrates the creativity and skill of each grant program: AP Art History, AP Music Theory and AP Studio Art. Integrating all three disciplines at this prestigious event highlights and reinforces the interconnectedness of the arts.

How are student artworks chosen to be featured in the exhibition?

Participating AP Fine Arts students are invited to submit the following works:

AP Art History – an original essay in response to a work in the DMA’s permanent collection
AP Music Theory – an original four minute composition
AP Studio Art – an original two-dimensional or three-dimensional art work

The final works and award winners for each program are selected by a panel of artists, art historians, and musicians.

What is your favorite part about working on this exhibition?

For the past 13 years I have seen students exhibit strength and diversity within a broad range of styles and expressions; their autobiographical statements express their thoughts with clarity and elegance. During the Late Night in January, students were interviewed by Nancy Churnin of the Dallas Morning News before visitors voted for their favorite works in the exhibition. It was enriching for visitors to have the opportunity to talk with students in the gallery. The Young Masters exhibition inspires both children and adults!

Who picks the first, second, and third prize artworks? When will we know which works are chosen?

The final works and award winners for each program were selected by a panel of artists, art historians, and musicians. They included:

Dr. Susan Bakewell, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Art History at University College, University of Southern Maine, and former College Board AP Ar History Chief Reader
Erin Cluley, Exhibitions and Public Relations Manager at the Dallas Contemporary
Dr. Blaise Ferrandino, Associate Professor of Music Theory and Composition at Texas Christian University and College Board AP Music Theory Consultant and Reader
Dr. Robert Frank, Associate Professor of Composition and Theory at Southern Methodist University
Erin Hannigan, Principal Oboe of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Adjunct Associate Professor of Oboe at Southern Methodist University
Paul Jeanes, Foundation Faculty at Maryland Institute College of Art and College Board AP Studio Art Exam Table Leader
Martha MacLeod, Curatorial Administrative Assistant for European and American Art at the Dallas Museum of Art
Maria Teresa G. Pedroche, Head of Community Engagement at the Dallas Museum of Art
Charissa N. Terranova, Assistant Professor of Aesthetic Studies at The University of Texas at Dallas

Young Masters and their teachers were honored tonight at an awards ceremony held at the Dallas Museum of Art. Here are the winners:

AP Art History

1^st Place: Benjamin Lee from Plano Senior High School
2^nd Place: Stephanie Chen from Plano Senior High School
3^rd Place: Conner Frew from McKinney Boyd High School
Honorable Mention: Macy Huang from Plano Senior High School

Visit the Young Masters AP Art History Gallery

AP Music Theory
1^st Place: Trey Strickland from Plano East High School
2^nd Place: Joshua Choe from Creekview High School
3^rd Place: Dylan Hunn from Plano West Senior High School
Honorable Mention: Josh Sniderman from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts
Honorable Mention: Chase Dobson from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts

Visit the Young Masters AP Music Theory Gallery

AP Studio Art

1st Place: Samuel Hersh from Plano Senior High School
2nd Place: Mackenzie Miller from Lovejoy High School
3rd Place: Sungkeun Kim from Creekview High School
Honorable Mention: Audrey Allen from McKinney Boyd High School
Honorable Mention: Anna Fields from Richland High School
Honorable Mention: Larissa Logelfo from McKinney Boyd High School
Honorable Mention: Lea Menaul from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts
Honorable Mention: Hayley Parsa from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts
Honorable Mention: Lauren Ussery from Coppell High School

Visit the Young Masters AP Studio Art Gallery

What is the People’s Choice Award?

The Young Masters Exhibition Awards Ceremony reminds me of the Academy Awards. Three years ago I suggested we add the People’s Choice Award and invited visitors to vote for their favorite work in the exhibition. The response has been rewarding–visitor’s voices count and students appreciate the feedback.

The upcoming Late Night on February 15–our first with free admission–will showcase students in the exhibition from 7-9pm. You can vote for your favorite work of art during Late Night from 6-9pm and check apstrategiesarts.org after February 18 to see which work earned the People’s Choice Award.

How has the inclusion of works by AP Music Theory and AP Art History in the exhibition changed the overall exhibition experience?

Visitors experience Young Masters in a whole new way through our smARTphone tour at www.DMA.mobi. Everyone enjoys hearing original music compositions and essay readings by students featured in Young Masters. Including Art History essays and Music Theory compositions strengthens the exhibition.

For more information on Young Masters, check out Guide Live and the Arts Blog of the Dallas Morning News.

Thanks to the O’Donnell Foundation! We congratulate the artists on their accomplishments and acknowledge their dedicated teachers for motivating students to reach their full potential. The arts are the soul of the community helping to reflect and promote the city’s history and the community’s cultural diversity: past, present, and evolving. It is an honor to work with the O’Donnell Foundation. We are grateful to Edith and Peter O’Donnell for their generous support, along with their dedicated staff, especially AP Arts Director Deborah Moore for her creative leadership on this program that builds confidence and self-esteem and inspires students and teachers to reach to the highest level in the arts.

Amanda Blake
Head of Family, Access, and School Experiences

Loren Mozley: Structural Integrity

Published February 4, 2013 Behind-the-Scenes , Collections , Exhibitions Closed
Tags: Arthur Dove, Dallas Museum of Art, DMA, Everett Spruce, Georgia O’Keefe, Loren Mozley, Paul Cézanne

On February 17, the DMA will present for the first time the works of Loren Mozley (1905-1989), a Texas-based artist known for his integration of two dominant influences: Cézanne and the Taos Art Colony. Raised in New Mexico, the young Mozley worked in Taos for a few years before continuing his studies in Paris. His landscapes and still lifes represent the integration of cubist philosophies with the modernist practices of the American Southwest.

Paul Cezanne, Abandoned House near Aix-en-Provence, 1885-1887, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, The Wendy and Emery Reves Collection

Paul Cézanne, Abandoned House near Aix-en-Provence, 1885-87, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, The Wendy and Emery Reves Collection

Loren Mozley, View of Ronda, c. 1969, oil on panel, Private Collection

Loren Mozley: Structural Integrity brings together eighteen works spanning the period of 1937-1976. The exhibition offers a fine representation of the artist’s concerns with geometric forms, decorative patterns, and gradations of color to emphasize contrast, depth, and weight.

Loren Mozley, Snowy Range, 1948, oil on canvas, Collection of Judge and Mrs. B. Michael Chitty

Ernest Blumenschein, Mountains Near Taos, 1926-1934, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Helen Blumenschein

Ernest Blumenschein, Mountains Near Taos, 1926-34, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Helen Blumenschein

Works by many of the artists who influenced Loren Mozley are on display at the DMA. Look for works by Paul Cézanne, Arthur Dove, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Everett Spruce throughout the American and European galleries on Levels 2 and 3. What other works at the DMA relate to Loren Mozley? Post your comments here.

Everett Spruce, Tree and Rocks, 1932, oil on Masonite, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Maggie Joe and Alexandre Hogue

Loren Mozley, Driftwood, Birdsnests, and Milkweed Pods, 1943–44, oil on canvas, Private Collection, Dallas

Elizabeth Donnelly is the Exhibitions Assistant at the Dallas Museum of Art.

Friday Photos: On a Smaller Scale

Published February 1, 2013 Friday Photos Closed
Tags: Collections Connections, Dallas Museum of Art

Not everything is bigger in Texas! The DMA’s collection contains works that range in size from the miniscule, such as the gold Veraguas Armadillo Ornament that takes up approximately .5 square inches, to the very large, like Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen’s Stake Hitch which stands at over 53 feet. This Friday Photos post is meant to draw attention to works in the collection that are often overlooked because of their size. I’d venture a guess that the smallest work in the DMA is somewhere in the collection of African beads, Mesoamerican gold ornaments, or Greek jewelry.

Click on the images below to find out their exact dimensions. You might be surprised…

Can you find these tiny pieces in the Museum? Or better yet, can you find something even smaller?

Artworks shown:

Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Pende Peoples, Pendant Mask (Gikhokho), late-19^th or early-20^th century, Dallas Museum of Art, The Clark and Frances Stillman Collection of Congo Sculpture, gift of Eugene and Margaret McDermott.
Mixtec, Bell in Form of Human Head, AD 1100-1500, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene McDermott, the McDermott Foundation, and Mr. and Mrs. Algur H. Meadows and the Meadows Foundation, Incorporated.
Khmer Empire, Buddhist Trinity, 12^th-13^th century, Intended bequest of David T. Owsley.
Dorothea Margaret Tanning, Jeux d’Enfants, 1942, Lent by private collection.
Veraguas Culture, Pendant: Jaguar, AD 800-1200, Dallas Museum of Art, The Nora and John Wise Collection, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Jake L. Hamon, the Eugene McDermott Family, Mr. and Mrs. Algur H. Meadows and the Meadows Foundation, and Mr. and Mrs. John D. Murchison.
Giovanni Corvaja (designer), “The Golden Fleece” ring, 2008, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Deedie Rose.
Greek, Pair of Earrings with Female Figure, late-4^th century BC, Dallas Museum of Art, Museum League Purchase Funds, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., and Cecil H. and Ida M. Green in honor of Virginia Lucas Nick.
Malia Jensen, Unmade Bed (Duvet with Squares), 2006, Collection of Marguerite Steed Hoffman.
Henry Moore, Small Animal, 1980, Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, bequest of Margaret Ann Bolinger.
Africa, Kongo Peoples, Standing Figure (Nkisi), 19^th-20^th century, Dallas Museum of Art, The Clark and Frances Stillman Collection of Congo Sculpture, gift of Eugene and Margaret McDermott.
Greek, Attic, Standing Figure, mid-5^th century BC, Dallas Museum of Art, on loan from the Ola Brockles Estate.
Japan, Meiji Period, Vase, 1890-1910, The John R. Young Collection, lent by John R. Young.

Alex Vargo
McDermott Intern for Gallery Teaching

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Dallas Museum of Art Uncrated

Archive for February, 2013

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Installing Chagall

Friday Photos: Art Making, Anytime for Anyone

Reading the Cards: Part 5

DMA and DTC: Collaboration Inspired by Mark Rothko

Young Masters at the DMA

Loren Mozley: Structural Integrity

Friday Photos: On a Smaller Scale

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