Archive for October, 2013

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Public Art in Dallas

Published October 15, 2013 Community Connection , works of art 2 Comments
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I have always been drawn to public works of art. Not only is public art accessible to all, but it also adds color, encourages discussion and reflection, and creates a unique voice for a city.

Being new to Dallas, I have enjoyed exploring the city and discovering its public art along the way. Not only do we have several examples here in the Dallas Arts District, there will also be a plethora of new works to view beginning this weekend! It would be impossible to include every example in a single blog post, but here are a few of my favorites so far:

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Leni Schwendinger, SpectraScape, 2009

Created by Leni Schwendinger in 2009, SpectraScape is an interactive work of art located in Main Street Garden. Spectrascape is composed of bands of light that respond to human activity and movement. The artwork welcomes visitors into the park and encourages play and curiosity.

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Deep Ellum Art Park

The Deep Ellum Art Park is filled with outdoor murals and sculptures that were created by dozens of local artists, including Frank Campagna, Tyson Summers, and Dan Colcer. The vibrant works of art add life to the gray, concrete pillars that make up Highway 75.

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Marta Pan, Floating Sculpture, 1973, City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs Public Art Collection.

Found in the reflecting pool outside of City Hall, Floating Sculpture is composed of two bright red spheres that spin and glide along the surface of the water. Created by sculptor Marta Pan in 1973, Floating Sculpture was originally displayed in New York’s Central Park before finding its home here in Dallas.

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Shepard Fairey, 331 Singleton Blvd, 2012

In 2012, muralist Shepard Fairey was invited by the Dallas Contemporary to create several murals in the West Dallas area. I love the bold design of Fairey’s murals and admire his vision of creating works of art that convey messages of peace and harmony.

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

One of my favorite works of public art in Dallas is right here at the DMA! Every time I drive past the museum’s entrance, Genesis, the Gift of Life immediately catches my eye. The mosaic mural was created by artist Miguel Covarrubias and although it was originally commissioned for the city’s Stewart Building, it moved to its current location in 1990s.

Do you have a favorite work of public art here in Dallas? Go on your own art adventure and see what new works of public art you can find!

Amy Elms
McDermott Intern for Visitor Engagement

The Sculpture Garden – Thirty and Fabulous

Published October 14, 2013 Archive 5 Comments
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Last Thursday marked thirty years since the Sculpture Garden opened, so I thought it would be fitting to dig up a photo from thirty years ago and compare. I am amazed by how much the trees have grown, almost completely blocking out downtown and shading visitors from the Texas sun.

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Sculpture Garden with its first visitors on opening day, October 10, 1983. The garden opened a few months before the Museum.

Sculpture Garden on October 10, 2013

Sculpture Garden on October 10, 2013

Hillary Bober is the digital archivist at the Dallas Museum of Art.

Friday Photos: Go van Goulash and Other Recipes for Great Outreach

Published October 11, 2013 Art & Teaching , Creativity , Friday Photos , Just for Fun 1 Comment
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Just this morning, Go van Gogh staff wrapped up the last of our Welcome Back training sessions for volunteers—school outreach is officially in full swing!  To get everyone back in a Go van Gogh mindset, we asked our returning volunteers to reflect on classroom teaching experiences by writing a “recipe” for what they think makes a great Go van Gogh program.

We asked to volunteers to:

  • think about the ingredients they’d need for a program to go smoothly,
  • consider the techniques they’d use to combine these ingredients,
  • and articulate what they hoped their efforts would yield.

Fifteen minutes and several cleverly-titled recipes later, we had a great mix of creative, thoughtful, and inspiring methods for teaching to send us off into the classrooms this fall.  See the photos below for tips on how we create the perfect Go van Gyro/Goulash/Stew!

Amy Copeland
Manager of Go van Gogh and Community Teaching Programs

Sensing Sight

Published October 9, 2013 Art Beyond Sight , Education , Guest Blog Post Closed
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It’s Art Beyond Sight Awareness Month, and we have lots of great programs happening at the DMA throughout October that focus on visual awareness, including a number of opportunities to meet and work with artist John Bramblitt. John is a visual artist who lost his vision in 2001. Check out the month’s activities here, and meet John in the video below.

Kimberly Daniell is the PR manager and Adam Gingrich is the marketing administrative assistant at the DMA

DIY Treasure Jars

Published October 9, 2013 Creativity , DIY Tutorial Closed
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I love collecting treasures–sparkly buttons, keys, postcards, rocks, shells, ticket stubs…and the list goes on! However, at a certain point, I run out of room for these special mementos and they end up scattered about my living space. I discovered that treasure jars help to both organize and beautifully display my favorite objects. These adorable jars can be used to decorate your home or office and they make excellent gifts as well. It’s a fast, easy, and fun project, perfect for kids too!

What You Need:

  • Mason jars (or any glass jars with lids)
  • Found objects able to fit inside the jar
  • Modeling clay
  • Floral wire
  • Scissors
  • Clear tape

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Step 1

Choose your special treasures and divide them up into small groups. You can divide them by theme, by color, by the time or place you received them–whatever you like.

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Step 2

Adhere paper and other delicate treasures to a piece of floral wire with clear tape. You can also wrap them if the object allows (children may need help with this).

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Step 3

Gather as many mason jars as you would like to use, making sure they are clean and dry. Remove the lid and press modeling clay firmly into the center, making sure to leave a little bit of space on the outer edge so that the lid is able to be screwed on.

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Step 4

Press your items on floral wire into the clay.

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Step 5

Press any other objects you would like to use into the clay, again making sure not to block the outer edge of the lid.

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Step 6

This part is a bit tricky! Turn your jar upside down and guide your items inside. Slowly screw on the lid.

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Step 7

Decorate the outside of the jar with stickers, ribbons, or other materials. Voila! You’ve just made your very own treasure jar!

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Use your treasure jars however you like! I used mine to decorate my desk at the DMA–they bring a pop of color and remind me of the magic behind each object.

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Amelia Wood
McDermott Intern for Family and Access Teaching

Open Office: Center for Creative Connections

Published October 7, 2013 Acess Programs , Behind-the-Scenes , Center for Creative Connections , Education , Go van Gogh Closed
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Most people don’t realize how fun having an office on the first floor of the museum can be! The ten of us (plus one intern) in the Center for Creative Connections (C3) office space are especially close, quite literally. We all sit within earshot of each other and are very close to the visitors in C3, which makes it a very lively workplace! Those who live here during the day (and often get locked in because they have stayed too late) are a fabulous group from the DMA’s C3 team; the wonderful ladies from the Family, Access, and School Experiences squad; and the Head of Community Engagement. You can visit Susan, Amanda, Amanda, Leah, Maria Teresa, JC, Danielle, Melissa, Jessica, Amy, and Tyler anytime you want! Just don’t forget which Amanda is which.

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Amanda Batson is the C3 program coordinator at the DMA.

Friday Photos: Insta Interns

Published October 4, 2013 Friday Photos , Museum Insight , People Closed
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This week marks the completion of the first month of the McDermott Internship Program–and quite an exciting month it has been! For most of us, this month has involved moving, exploring a new city, meeting new friends and, most importantly, starting a new job. With the first month drawing to a close, I thought it was only appropriate to look back at this amazing, whirlwind month and share some of our fun “behind-the-scenes” photos. So, let’s begin the Insta Intern Tour: Our First 30 days as McDermott Interns as seen via Instagram.

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Our first day at the DMA was September 3, which primarily served as an orientation day. We enjoyed coffee and bagels as we filled out our employment paperwork, took photographs for our employee badges and learned the basics of navigating our way around the building. The highlight of the day, however, was the trip to the so-called Intern Pit. Most of the interns have a desk in this office area and we were excited to discover that our official plaques had already found their home!

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Later that week, we took the DMA’s Artist Personality Quiz to discover our DMA Art Doppelganger. The quiz provided a fun introduction to the DMA’s collection and we all found that it was extremely accurate in it’s suggestions! Personally, I was very happy to identify myself as a Claude Monet 🙂

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As McDermott Interns, we have had the privilege of touring the collections with our wonderful curators. These tours have helped us learn more about the different collection areas, the history of collecting at the DMA, and the curator’s considerations when they are designing the layouts for the galleries. Nature or Abundance by Leon Frederic immediately caught my eye during our tour of the European Galleries on Level 2.

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On September 10th, we took our first off-site intern tour to the Sixth Floor Museum. The collection was very informative and engaging and helped to provide contextual information for Hotel Texas: An Art Exhibition for the President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy. As many of us are from out-of-state, it was interesting to learn about this piece of Dallas’ history and the continuing impact of President John F. Kennedy’s legacy today.

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One of our favorite lunch spots is the DMA’s Sculpture Garden. Its light shade, beautiful sculptures and soothing waterfalls provide the perfect break from the office.

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A few weeks in, my desk was finally beginning to look lived-in! It is now decorated with exhibition catalogues, postcards from my travels, an homage to my alma mater, plenty of coffee mugs, and a welcome poster from the FAST Education Team.

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Recently, we received a behind-the-scenes tour of the DMA’s enormous art storage. Registrar Anne Lenhart guided us through the various spaces and pulled out a few of our favorite pieces so we could take a closer look! Here we are viewing Arkadia’s Last Resort by Jess.

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Many of the interns have been very active in the DMA Friends program, earning credit for attending Gallery Talks, Lectures, Late Nights, and other events around the Museum. We recently traded-in our Friends points for DMA catalogues!

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As the McDermott Intern for Gallery and Community teaching, I am responsible for driving the swanky Go Van Gogh van to participant elementary schools throughout Northwest Texas. The Go Van Gogh program brings the DMA collections out into the community and allows children to learn about and create their own art! See you on the road!

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The three photographs above document our off-site field trip to The Warehouse. This amazing gallery space houses a stunning collection of contemporary art, approximately 1/3 of which is co-owned by the DMA! The current exhibition is titled Parallel View: Italian and Japanese Art from the 1950s, 60s, and 70s.

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And this is what happens when interns receive baked treats. Thank you to all DMA employees for making us feel welcome!

Artworks Shown:

  • Léon Frédéric, Nature or Abundance (detail), 1897, Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, Mrs. John B. O’Hara Fund
  • Jess, Arkadia’s Last Resort; or, Fête Champêtre Up Mnemosyne Creek (detail), 1976, Dallas Museum of Art, General Acquisitions Fund

Hayley Prihoda
McDermott Intern for Gallery and Community Teaching

Community Exchange

Published October 3, 2013 Community Connection , Creativity 1 Comment
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From October 5, 2013 through January 12, 2014, C3 will be hosting a community exchange project in conjunction with our new exhibition, Jim Hodges: Give More Than You Take. The exhibition subtitle is a reflection of Hodges’ thoughts about what it means to be an artist and to have a voice in our community. Inspired by this idea of the power of our individual voices, we wanted to offer a chance for DMA visitors to consider how they might use their voice in creative and positive ways.

After visiting the exhibition in the Barrel Vault, walk down to C3 to participate. Express your voice by creating a button with a personal motto that you’d like to share. Exchange your button for one left by another visitor and wear it out into the community. Then, make a positive gesture in your community by giving that button to somebody else.

Check out some of the responses we received when we asked visitors about their personal mottoes.

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What will you say with your voice?

Jessica Fuentes
C3 Gallery Coordinator

Artist Talk: Jim Hodges

Published October 2, 2013 Behind-the-Scenes , Contemporary Art , Dallas , DFW , Exhibitions Closed
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With quiet determination, artist Jim Hodges has, over the past twenty-five years, produced one of the most affective bodies of sculpture, drawing, and installation of any artist of his generation. Jim Hodges: Give More Than You Take brings together works in all media–from modest objects to room-sized installations that engage the viewer in sensory experiences–to fully reveal the breadth and complexity of Hodges’ inventive vision.

Comprising over eighty objects produced from 1987 through the present, the exhibition also includes works never before seen in the United States, along with a major new piece, Untitled (one day it all comes true), created especially for this exhibition.

I’m proud to have worked so closely with Jim Hodges and Olga Viso, executive director of the Walker Art Center, to bring this remarkable exhibition to fruition, and I invite you to be among the first to see it at its US premiere in Dallas, before it travels to Minneapolis, Boston, and Los Angeles. Please join me in the Horchow Auditorium for a conversation with Jim Hodges tomorrow evening, October 3, at 7:30 p.m., and join us for a sneak peek on Saturday, October 5, a day before the exhibition opening.

Jeffrey Grove is the senior curator of special projects & research at the DMA.

Get Schooled at the DMA

Published October 1, 2013 Art & Teaching , Resources Closed
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Want to explore the DMA’s collection or special exhibitions before the Museum is open to the public all while earning CPE hours? Our Teacher Workshops give you an opportunity to do just that. Held on select Saturdays from 9:00 am—12:30 pm, K-12 teachers of all disciplines are invited to join us for conversations and interactive gallery experiences. We are hosting three workshops this fall, and the links below take you directly to registration information.

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Provocative Comparisons: A New Approach to Teaching with Artworks
Saturday, October 12

Discover new and unexpected connections across the Museum. Teachers will contemplate thought-provoking cross-cultural comparisons in the DMA’s encyclopedic collection. This workshop presents a new way to frame conversations about artworks, and teachers will gain access to resources and tools they can use in their classroom.

Jim Hodges, Untitled (Gate), 1991, copyright Jim Hodges

Jim Hodges, Untitled (Gate), 1991, © Jim Hodges

Jim Hodges: Give More Than You Take
Saturday, November 2

Contemporary artist Jim Hodges excels at poetic gestures of conceptual art using materials that range from the everyday to the precious. Teachers will have the unique opportunity to explore the ephemeral nature of Hodges’ work. We will also investigate themes of relationships, beauty, and transformation throughout Hodges’ career.

Edward Hopper, Study for Nighthawks, 1942, Whitney Museum of American Art, copyright Heirs of Josephine N. Hopper, licensed by the Whitney Museum of American Art. Digital Image, copyright Whitney Museum of American Art, NY

Edward Hopper, Study for Nighthawks, 1942, Whitney Museum of American Art, © Heirs of Josephine N. Hopper, licensed by the Whitney Museum of American Art. Digital Image, © Whitney Museum of American Art, NY

Hopper Drawing: A Painter’s Process
Saturday, December 7

Discover the creative process of American artist Edward Hopper. Teachers will participate in gallery dialogues and hands-on art experiences as we explore drawings, watercolors, prints, and paintings from across Hopper’s career. We will also trace the evolution from sketch to finished painting.

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The DMA is also participating in a brand new Educator Block Party, being held in the West End this Thursday, October 3rd, from 4:00-8:00 p.m. Teachers of all disciplines are invited to stop by The Sixth Floor Museum, The Old Red Museum, the Dallas Holocaust Museum, and the Perot Museum of Nature and Science to learn more about the different cultural organizations in Dallas county. Each organization will have a booth where you can learn about field trips, outreach programs, and even more teacher workshops. Admission to enter the Educator Block party is FREE, but you must bring a school ID with you to be able to participate. We hope you’ll stop by and say hello!

Shannon Karol
Manager of Docent and Teacher Programs

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