The DMA’s galleries house art from around the world, and each work has a story. Olivier Meslay, the Associate Director of Curatorial Affairs and Barbara Thomas Lemmon Curator of European Art at the Dallas Museum of Art, shares insight about the recent acquisition Erminia and the Shepherds, by Guillaume Guillon Lethière. After you learn about the artist and the history of the painting, visit the work on Level 2 for free!
Archive for June, 2013
Off the Walls: Erminia and the Shepherds
Published June 17, 2013 Behind-the-Scenes , Collections , Curatorial , European Art ClosedTags: Dallas Museum of Art, DMA, Erminia and the Shepherds, Free, Guillaume Guillon Lethière, New acquisition, Olivier Meslay, painting
Friday Photos: Summer Art Camp Kick-Off
Published June 14, 2013 Friday Photos ClosedTags: Action Painting, Cubism, Jackson Pollock, Summer, Summer camp
Summer fun continues at the DMA with our Summer Art Camps for kids. All camps offer unique experiences for campers by visiting Museum galleries, participating in activities, and creating art! This week, some of our campers learned about artist Jackson Pollock and then created their own action paintings in the studio. Other campers created Cubist still lifes. And our Art to Go campers used their “telescopes” to find nature in different artworks.
If your child is interested in art and would like to join us for a week of fun, we still have a few spaces available in the following camps. Visit our Summer Art Camp page to find out more and register online.
June 17-21, 1:00-4:00 pm
MasterPeace (ages 9-12)
Lights, Camera, Action (ages 9-12)
July 22-26, 1:00-4:00 pm
Around the World: Music and Art with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra (ages 9-12)
August 5-9 and August 12-16, 9:00 am-12:00 pm (2 week camp)
New World Kids (ages 5-6)
Holly York
McDermott Intern for Family Experiences
C3 Artistic Encounter Field Trip!
Published June 13, 2013 Art & Teaching , Community Connection , Creativity 1 CommentTags: Adults, C3 Artistic Encounters, gallery, portrait
This past Sunday, we took a field trip to The Fairmont Dallas to visit artist Riley Holloway in his studio. The Artist-in-Residence program initiated by The Gallery at The Fairmont hosts artists from all over the nation for three months. During their residency, the artist works in an on-site studio on level zero of the hotel on a body of work that will then be shown in the gallery upstairs. Guests of the hotel and anyone walking through downtown are invited to stop by and visit the studio. The program was established in 2010 with the goal to support the arts community and has hosted twelve artists to date.
The current artist-in-residence is L.A. born and Texas raised artist Riley Holloway. Holloway developed a passion and hunger for the arts from his artist mother, who gave him magazines and tracing paper at a young age to teach him proportions. His parents believed in his dreams of becoming an artist and encouraged him to study portraiture at the Florence Academy of Art in Florence, Italy in 2011. His passion and dedication to his craft is evident in his work. Often, he can be seen exploring the collection at the DMA to inform his work.
I brought a group of twenty adults from the Center for Creative Connections adult audience to Holloway’s studio to meet him, ask questions, and look at his artwork, his studies, and his incredible sketch books. They were amazed at his talent, his humility, and his ability to explain his artistic philosophy and influences. We were also very captivated by his poetry, which is written all over the studio walls and even in his latest work. Holloway will have his first-ever solo show at The Gallery at the Fairmont on June 28. To hear more about Holloway, check out this video or visit him in the studio before he leaves on the 28th.
We are excited to announce that Riley Holloway will be leading a C3 Artistic Encounter life drawing workshop on July 21st from 1:30-3:30 p.m. here at the DMA as part of our DallasSITES: Available Space programming. Click here to register for the class.
And I hope to see you at our next C3 Artistic Encounter on June 27 for lively conversation and an interesting hands-on project with guest artist Brittany Ransom.
Amanda Batson
C3 Program Coordinator
Swelling Seas
Published June 12, 2013 Arts & Letters Live , Collections 1 CommentTags: Adolf Hiremy-Hirschl, Arts & Letters Live, Dallas Museum of Art, DMA, Gerhard Richter, Gustave Courbet, Kunstverein, Margreff, Neil Gaiman, Richard Bacht, The Ocean at the End of the Lane
Not for the faint of heart, Neil Gaiman’s forthcoming novel, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, is wondrous, imaginative, and, at times, deeply scary. We found some frightening and powerful images of the sea in our collection that we thought were appropriate for Gaiman’s upcoming DMA Arts & Letters Live event on June 24, 2013, at the Majestic Theatre. Gaiman has announced that this will be his final U.S. tour, and as of today there are fewer than 100 tickets left to his talk and book signing! Visit the DMA’s website for more information and to buy tickets.
Adolf Hiremy-Hirschl, Seaside Cemetery, 1897, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of J.E.R. Chilton
Gerhard Richter, Kunstverein, Richard Bacht, Margreff, Sea, 1972, yellow, red, blue, and black offset print on white lightweight cardboard, cellophaned and fixed on white lightweight cardboard, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Museum of Art League Fund, Roberta Coke Camp Fund, General Acquisitions Fund, DMA/amfAR Benefit Auction Fund, and the Contemporary Art Fund: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Vernon E. Faulconer, Mr. and Mrs. Bryant M. Hanley, Jr., Marguerite and Robert K. Hoffman, Howard E. Rachofsky, Deedie and Rusty Rose, Gayle and Paul Stoffel, and two anonymous donors
Gustave Courbet, The Wave, c. 1869-70, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of H.J. Rudick in memory of Arthur L. Kramer
Hayley Dyer is the Audience Relations Coordinator for Programming and Education at the DMA.
Arturo’s Adventures in Peru
Published June 11, 2013 Just for Fun 1 CommentTags: Arturo, Inca, Inca Trail, Machu Picchu, Peru, travel
Where in the world can you see a llama wandering around ancient ruins, take a boat across the largest lake in South America, and eat cuy (guinea pig) for dinner? Peru!
Waiting at DFW airport, ready to start the adventure!
I recently took a trip to Peru to hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. It was my first visit to South America, and since the Museum’s family mascot Arturo is from Peru, I thought it might be nice to take him along with me so that he could visit his homeland. He wasn’t very good at giving me directions, but we still had a good time.
View of Lake Titicaca with the mountains of Bolivia in the background
Our first stop was Lake Titicaca—the largest lake in South America and the highest navigable lake in the world. Arturo didn’t have any troubles at all, but when I first arrived, Peru literally took my breath away. Lake Titicaca is 12,507 feet above sea level, while Dallas is only 430 feet above sea level—that’s a big difference! Hiking around the island of Taquile, we could see all the way to the mountains of Bolivia.
Cusco
Next stop: Cusco and the Sacred Valley. The Inca people built Cusco as the capital of their empire and created the city in the shape of a puma. Today Cusco is a mix of Inca ruins wedged between Spanish Colonial churches, cobblestoned streets, trendy restaurants, and llamas, llamas everywhere! My favorite part of Cusco was the food. We went to the market and discovered a fruit call lucuma. It tastes like butterscotch and caramel!
There are many archeological sites around Cusco, and one of Arturo’s favorites was Moray. There we discovered these huge circles dug into the ground. We aren’t sure what these were made for, but scholars guess that they might have been used for experimenting with growing different crops. Can you find Arturo?
On Day 3 of the Inca Trail
Finally, it was time to hike the Inca Trail—which was definitely the highlight of the trip. We hiked a total of 38 kilometers (about 23 miles) over the course of four days to reach the ancient city of Machu Picchu. On day two, we went over the highest point of the trek—a mountain pass called Dead Woman’s pass at an elevation of 13,829 feet. Arturo got a free ride in my backpack, so it was no trouble for him, but I was definitely sore after going up and down more than 5,000 Inca steps. On day three, we had incredible views of the mountains and started hiking through the cloud forest.
First view of Machu Picchu
We finally reached Machu Picchu on the last day just as the sun came over the mountains, and it was breathtaking. These ruins were discovered by the outside world in 1911 when Hiram Bingham, a professor from Yale University, was guided to the site by local farmers. Most scholars believe that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for the Incan emperor, but our trail guide thinks that perhaps it served as a university of sorts.
Regardless of its ancient use, we were very excited to get there and were in awe of what the Inca people built. I think everyone should jump at the chance to visit Peru, but if a visit there is not in your near future, come to the DMA and take a look at our collection of Ancient American art–You’ll just have to imagine the mountains and llamas!
Sican culture, Ceremonial mask, A.D. 900-1100, Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc.
Leah Hanson
Manager of Early Learning Programs
Open Office: Decorative Arts and Design
Published June 10, 2013 Behind-the-Scenes , Decorative Art and Design , Staff 1 CommentTags: Dallas Museum of Art, Decorative Arts, DMA
Kevin W. Tucker is the Museum’s Margot B. Perot Curator of Decorative Arts and Design. He joined the Museum in the summer of 2003 and has curated acclaimed exhibitions such as Gustav Stickley and the American Arts & Crafts Movement and The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk. Take a peek inside Kevin’s DMA office:
Friday Photos: Summer Programs
Published June 7, 2013 Art & Teaching ClosedTags: DMA Friends, Family, Friday Photos, Summer
Summer is finally here! And there is no better way to spend that free time than to visit the DMA and take advantage of our engaging summer programs. Throughout June and July, visitors can explore works of art in the Museum’s galleries through sketching, family tours, story times, interactive games and more! There is no need to pre-register for these activities–just show up and enjoy them for free!
And if you participate in our free DMA Friends program, you can earn the new Summer Family Fun Badge when you attend one tour, one story time, one sketching in the galleries, and one family game. We’ll see you soon for some summer family fun!
Danielle Schulz
Teaching Specialist
Just One (Last) Look
Published June 5, 2013 Exhibitions 1 CommentTags: Art in America, Cindy Sherman, Dallas Museum of Art, DMA, Final days
Cindy Sherman’s works are not self-portraits. Despite the fact that all her images feature one model, one photographer, and one make-up artist—all of whom are the artist herself—Sherman’s work constantly denies us access to the “real” Cindy Sherman. According to Gabriel Ritter, the DMA’s Nancy and Tim Hanley Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art, “for the most part, Sherman’s works are not introspective images that yield insight into the artist’s psyche. Instead, they are carefully constructed portraits that foreground the plasticity of identity and photography itself.”
Cindy Sherman is the artist who hides in plain sight.
Following is an excerpt from “Cindy Sherman” by Andy Grundberg in Art in America, July 18, 2012:
Of course, Sherman is in her photographs, literally, or at least in the vast majority of them, but the theme of her work is often said to be one of absence: what we see is not Sherman but a repertoire of roles, each reflecting a culturally determined possibility of female identity. This is essentially what has made her a poster child for a coterie of postmodernism’s theory-driven critics.
Yet the emptying out of Sherman as an individual within her work strikes me as misguided and, given the development charted in this emotionally powerful exhibition, just plain wrong…. It has long been apparent…that Sherman’s impetus in making new pictures stems in large part from her reaction to the critical reception of the last batch, her urge to avoid being typecast both as an artist and as a woman.
The acclaimed nationally touring exhibition closes this weekend at the DMA. See the many guises of Cindy Sherman through Sunday, June 9. Below are a few images from the exhibition, from installation through today.
Jeffrey Grove is the Senior Curator of Special Projects and Research at the DMA.
The Kennedys in Texas
Published June 4, 2013 Art & Teaching 1 CommentTags: docents, Hotel Texas, Kennedy, teacher workshop, The Sixth Floor Museum
When I visited Dallas for the first time, my number one must-see destination was The Sixth Floor Museum. I have been fascinated by the Kennedy family since I was nine years old, and I felt compelled to make a pilgrimage to Dealey Plaza and the former Texas School Book Depository. What I didn’t realize is that many Texans, including a large number of the DMA’s docents, have never been to The Sixth Floor Museum. That changed last week, when a group of docents and I ventured down to the West End to explore The Sixth Floor Museum as a group.
The original sign from the Texas School Book Depository on display at The Sixth Floor Museum
The timing for our field trip couldn’t have been better. Just last week, Hotel Texas: An Art Exhibition for the President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy opened at the DMA. This exhibition brings together thirteen of the sixteen artworks that were placed in Suite 850 at the Hotel Texas in Fort Worth. The President and Mrs. Kennedy slept in Suite 850 on November 21, 1963–the night before his fateful trip to Dallas. The original installation was created over the course of five days by a small group of art collectors in Fort Worth. Works by Picasso, van Gogh, Marsden Hartley, and Thomas Eakins decorated the suite’s living room and two bedrooms. The DMA is marking the anniversary of President Kennedy’s assassination by bringing these works back together for the first time in 50 years.
Docent Judy Butts examines Charles Marion Russell’s Lost in a Snowstorm
The docents and I explored Hotel Texas together before traveling down to The Sixth Floor Museum. Once we were there, we were greeted by the museum’s chief curator, Gary Mack. Gary spoke with us about his time at The Sixth Floor Museum, including his role in curating the museum’s main exhibition: John F. Kennedy and the Memory of a Nation. After speaking with Gary, we were free to explore the museum at our own pace. This was my fifth visit to The Sixth Floor Museum, and every visit is powerful and moving. This visit was even more special, though, as I listened to the docents share their memories of where they were on November 22, 1963.
Sharron Conrad and Gary Mack speak with the DMA’s docents at The Sixth Floor Museum
For those of you who participate in DMA Friends, we have launched a new JFK Badge in conjunction with the Hotel Texas exhibition. To receive this badge, you only need to visit The Sixth Floor Museum and the Hotel Texas exhibit at the DMA. Show your ticket stub from The Sixth Floor Museum to our Visitor Services Staff to receive the code. We hope to encourage our Friends and visitors to take this unique opportunity to gain a better understanding of history through these exhibitions.
The DMA and The Sixth Floor Museum have also teamed up to offer a special experience just for teachers during a full-day Teacher Workshop on Thursday, June 27th. The Kennedys in Texas: The Art and History of November 22, 1963 will begin at the DMA in the Hotel Texas exhibition. After breaking for lunch, we’ll spend the afternoon at The Sixth Floor Museum. Registration is now available online–just select “Teacher Programs” to sign up. We hope to see you there!
Shannon Karol
Manager of Docent and Teacher Programs
Two Nights in Greece
Published June 3, 2013 DMA Friends , Exhibitions , Special Events , Staff ClosedTags: Ancient Greece, Course, Dallas Museum of Art, DMA, The Body Beautiful in Ancient Greece: Masterworks from the British Museum
On June 26 and 27, I will offer a two-session course on the themes raised by our current exhibition The Body Beautiful in Ancient Greece: Masterworks from the British Museum.
Bronze statuette of Zeus
Roman period, first–second century AD, said to be from Hungary,
© The Trustees of the British Museum (2013). All rights reserved.
Objects from Greek and Roman antiquity can be challenging to decipher. What the classical world took for granted is no longer part of our language, either spoken or visual. The polytheistic religious framework that defined daily existence seems alien to a modern Western observer, for whom the myths of ancient Greece are complex, overlapping, and in many cases hard to understand.
Over the course of two evenings, I hope to make these artworks of some two millennia ago feel as accessible as possible to a modern viewer, and to share observations from a lifetime of handling and studying classical antiquities.
Black-figure neck amphora, Greek, 520–510 BC, from Vulci, Italy, © The Trustees of the British Museum (2013). All rights reserved.
We’ll tackle the objects in the exhibition by medium, to give insight into the creative choices made by artisans working in gold, silver, bronze, marble, and terracotta, and make our way through the stylistic transitions of the Geometric through the Hellenistic periods.
By the end of these two nights, I hope to have given you what you need to take in not only the antiquities in the DMA’s galleries but also any others you may encounter in the future.
Visit the DMA’s website for additional information on An Illustrated Course: The Body Beautiful in Ancient Greece and to register for the two-night event. DMA Friends have the opportunity to attend the course for free; earn 6,500 points and redeem that credit for the Illustrated Course reward.
Maxwell L. Anderson is The Eugene McDermott Director at the DMA.
