Archive for 2013

Next Entries »

Theater, Play, and Creativity

Published January 15, 2013 Creativity Closed
Tags: , , , , , , ,

Thursday evening the Center for Creative Connections was filled with thirty playful, divergent thinkers who were asked to have fun and break rules. These adults were attending a once a month program called Think Creatively taught by Dr. Magdalena Grohman and guest performer Harold Steward from the South Dallas Cultural Center.  During one portion of the evening, visitors engaged in playful theatrical activities that were developed from Steward’s theatrical background and knowledge of the practice known as Theater of the Oppressed.

During the 1970’s, Brazilian activist and actor Augusto Boal was the driving force for the creation of this theatrical practice. The goal of Boal was to use theater as a way to promote social change. Boal took inspiration from educator and theorist Paulo Freire, who is well known for his work Pedagogy of the Oppressed. In this revolutionary text, Freire argues that education should allow those who are oppressed to recapture their sense of humanity and overcome their sense of oppression. However, that oppressed person must play an active role in their own freedom. Inspired by the critical pedagogy of Freire, Boal believed that through the dialogue and interaction between actor and audience, people could free themselves; the actors and audience become active explorers and transformers of their own realities with the help of a facilitator. Theater of the Oppressed is about dialogue, playing and learning with one another to create change.

Image

As I watched Steward act as the facilitator, I was encouraged by the freedom that the participants seemed to gain with each passing moment. He had the visitors stand back to back; he then called out directions for each of them to follow. Placing one’s head to another’s hip, or positioning a knee to an elbow was really a sight to see.

After this warm-up, Steward and I demonstrated an activity together. I was directed to make a movement and was not allowed to stop moving until Harold said, “What are you doing, Amanda?” I was not allowed to respond with what my action was, but instead I had to say what I wanted him to act out. I called out the action, “Running a marathon,” and he pretended he was running the race of a lifetime. After, the visitors were roaring in laughter and running around the room, engaging in this activity. Steward had them stop and then broke all the rules that he just taught them. The pairs had to create their own guidelines and interpretations to the last activity. One pair decided that they were only allowed to sing to each other, another group determined that all of their activities to act out had to be represented in mime.

The visitors responded to the process and indicated that participating in these Theater of the Oppressed exercises was difficult for them at first because they had to overcome their initial hesitations to move, play, and be free without fear—but once they let go of all that was holding them back (or oppressing them), they were able to experience liberation and freedom from restraint.

Image

Here is another Theater of the Oppressed activity created by Augusto Boal that you can try with your friends!

The Name and Gesture Game:
The group will stand in a circle. The facilitator introduces themselves and creates a physical gesture. The whole group repeats the name and gesture. The process occurs until everyone has said their own name and preformed a gesture. Then, this process is repeated but without the name. Anyone who wishes takes a step forward and the rest of the group must say the name and preform the gesture.

I hope you’ll join us in C3 soon!

Amanda Batson
C3 Program Coordinator

Five, Six, Seven, Eight

Published January 14, 2013 Behind-the-Scenes , Exhibitions Closed
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Chagall: Beyond Color opens on Sunday, February 17, and the highlight of the exhibition is sure to be the costumes designed by Chagall in 1942 for the production of the ballet Aleko. The ballet’s première took place in September 1942 in Mexico City, followed by the Ballet Theatre of New York production, and the costumes have not been seen in the U.S. since. Recently, DMA staff whipped out their jazz hands and did their best mannequin impersonations to assist in the installation of the Aleko costumes.

IMG_1541 IMG_1540

Studio Art, Art History, and Music Theory! Oh My!–2013 Young Masters

Published January 11, 2013 Dallas , DFW , Education , Exhibitions Closed
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The 2013 Young Masters exhibition opened at the end of December and will be on view through February 17 in the DMA’s Concourse. The exhibition features work created by Advanced Placement Studio Art, Art History, and Music Theory students from area high schools. Stop by the DMA’s Concourse and visit Young Masters for free. You can access works by the Music Theory and Art History students on your smartphone.

This year’s exhibition features the work of students from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Coppell High School, Creekview High School, J. J. Pearce High School, Lake Highlands High School, Lovejoy High School, McKinney Boyd High School, Newman Smith High School, Plano East Senior High School, Plano Senior High School, Plano West Senior High School, and Richardson High School.

IMG_2690_b

IMG_2698_b

IMG_2687_b

IMG_2696_b

IMG_2700_b

Friday Photos: Leading Ladies

Published January 11, 2013 Friday Photos 1 Comment
Tags: , , , , , , ,

On this day in 1935, Amelia Earhart left Honolulu for a 2,400 mile trans-Pacific flight to Oakland, CA. She was the first person to complete that flight solo. To celebrate the anniversary of this flight, I wanted to highlight some female ground-breakers in our collection:

  • Georgia O’Keeffe’s artistic career began with a series of abstract charcoal drawings, which were some of the most radical artworks of their time.
  • Lee Krasner is one of the only female artists associated with Abstract Expressionism, despite constant overshadow by her fellow artist husband Jackson Pollock.
  • Berthe Morisot was the first woman to exhibit with the Impressionists.
  • The innovative photography of Cindy Sherman, who serves as both the photographer and model, challenges and questions the role of women in society and art.
  • The first work by a 20th century Mexican artist to be purchased by the Louvre Museum in Paris was a self-portrait painted by Frida Kahlo.

Artworks shown:

  • Georgia O’Keeffe, Bare Tree Trunks with Snow, 1946, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Art Association Purchase
  • Lee Krasner, Pollination, 1968, Dallas Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Algur H. Meadows and the Meadows Foundation, Incorporated
  • Berthe Morisot, Winter (Woman with a Muff), 1880, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of the Meadows Foundation Incorporated
  • Cindy Sherman, Untitled, 1981, Dallas Museum of Art, General Acquisitions Fund
  • Frida Kahlo, Itzicuintli Dog with Me, c. 1938, Lent by private collection

Andrea V. Severin
Interpretation Specialist

New on the Bookshelves

Published January 10, 2013 Art & Teaching Closed
Tags: , , , , ,

This week’s rainy weather is the “perfect storm” to send me to my sofa snuggled up with a stack of good books. I’m a self-proclaimed bookworm, and have blogged before {here and here} about how learning to read is similar to learning to look at art. Both involve making meaning through understanding context as well as visual cues, and the desire to communicate ideas. For many young children, picture books are their first introduction to art and illustration, and thus one of my favorite teaching tools. Here is my latest round-up of books to tuck in your bag on your next visit to the Museum. Or, simply enjoy them at home!

  green

Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

Green is exactly what the title proclaims it to be—a beautiful, engaging concept book about the color green. Each two-page spread features a different type of green with a clever cut-out that reveals a peek into the next page. There’s “lime green,” “forest green,” “jungle green,” and “glow green,” to name a few. I used this book with preschoolers to talk about how there’s not just one green, but many, and the illustrations and simple text offered a concrete way for the kids to think of how to describe different shades of a single color by connecting to real-world objects.

  • Gallery connection: Read Green in the American painting and sculpture galleries on Level 4 and go on a scavenger hunt to see how many different types of green you can discover in the art.

dreaming up

Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building by Christy Hale

For every young block-loving builder out there, this book is a dream come true! Illustrations of busy children building structures out of blocks, constructing houses out of playing cards, and finagling a fort out of blankets and pillows are paired with photographs of actual buildings that closely resemble the children’s creations. Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim Museum, Tokyo’s Yoyogi National Stadium, and Frank Gehry’s Bilbao Guggenheim are just a few of the architectural marvels highlighted. Concrete poems for each structure mimic the shapes of the buildings and show-off the beauty language can create.

  • Gallery connection: Bring Dreaming Up and a sketch pad along for a visit to the Formed/Unformed exhibit. Read the book, look at the wonderful variety of chairs on display, and then draw your own design for a new chair!

mice

Mice by Rose Fyleman, illustrated by Lois Ehlert

Two sneaky mice are out in the night getting into all kinds of things! But these “mice are nice,” and their adventures nibbling on treats, climbing into things, and even making art are sure to delight. Ehlert’s signature collage illustration style is built around the use of several simple shapes—triangles, circles, and rectangles and begs to be imitated by young artists.

  • Gallery connection: Use Mice as your artistic inspiration and make your own collage characters at the art-making space in the Center for Creative Connections. We provide the paper, tape, and pencils—you provide the imagination!

chuckclose_facebook_zoom

Chuck Close: Face Book by Chuck Close

What if you could sit down one afternoon with artist Chuck Close and just ask him anything you wanted to? That scenario actually happened for a group of fifth graders in Brooklyn. Armed with questions like “What made you start to draw?” and “Why are your paintings so big?,” these children helped start the conversation that became the basis for this autobiography. A flip-book feature allows readers to mix and match foreheads, eyes/nose, and chins from several of Close’s own self-portraits and offers an up-close look at the small squares that compose each work of art—squares of paint, fingerprints, and leftover bits of paper.

  • Gallery connection: The DMA’s piece by Chuck Close isn’t currently on view, but you can discover another artist’s fingerprints hiding in the art by exploring the installations by Karla Black. Or, spend some time in our European galleries sketching the faces you find in the portraits on display.

Happy reading!

Leah Hanson
Manager of Early Learning Programs

Exciting Things in Store for 2013!

Published January 8, 2013 Art & Teaching Closed
Tags: , , , , , , ,

2013 is only two weeks old, but it is already looking to be a fantastic year!  This is a groundbreaking year for the Museum, and as always our goal is to invite everyone to have an unforgettable experience with the DMA.  This is just a sneak peak into the many exciting activities and engaging programs that will take place at the DMA this coming year.

dma_friends_partners[1]Free General Admission!! Perhaps the most exciting news of the year: the DMA will offer free general admission to everyone beginning January 21st.  We are in the midst of planning some fun opening-day activities, including tours of the collection, performances in the galleries, art-making activities and much more!  In addition to free general admission the Museum is also offering free membership which we are calling DMA Friends.  Everyone who comes to the Museum can join the DMA Friends program free of charge.  This unique approach to membership values participation and engagement, and DMA Friends will gain expanded access to Museum programming and will be rewarded for their activity within the Museum and in the local cultural community.  Stay tuned for more information about this exciting program or learn more from our Director, Maxwell L. Anderson.

Events and Programs

  • Late Nights at the DMA Every third Friday of the month the Museum stays open until midnight and offers a multitude of experiences for visitors of all ages. Join us Friday, January 18th as we celebrate the DMA’s 110th birthday! Dance the night away to the music of Brave Combo, join in on a special workshop with guest artist John Hernandez, whose work Hi-C Avenger is currently on view in the Center for Creative Connections (C3), explore our special exhibitions, compete against other teams in a Creativity Challenge, go on personal tours, and more! Check our Late Night page for a complete schedule of upcoming events.
  • Autism Awareness Family Celebration February 2nd The DMA is a leader in providing inclusive experiences for a diverse set of audiences. The Autism Awareness Family Celebration provides a safe, comfortable way to introduce the Museum to families of children with autism and show them how they can have a successful visit to the DMA with their child on the Autism Spectrum.  The Center for Creative Connections will be open and available before the Museum opens, from 9am – 11am, for parents and children to play and enjoy art together in a fun environment. Participate in staff-led gallery experiences, enjoy an interactive musical performance, and create a work of art in the studio. Pre-registration is required as space is limited.
  • First Tuesdays at the DMA The Museum arranges special, thematic programming on the first Tuesday of every month that is specifically designed for children ages five and under, but of course all ages are welcome! We invite families to enjoy thematic art-making activities, story times, performances, and gallery activities. Activities are focused on a different theme each month. February 5th: Materials Mania; March 5th: Over the Rainbow. Check our family page regularly for event updates and a complete list of activities.

Upcoming Exhibitions

9307-1[1]

Marc Chagall, Entre Chien et Loup (Between Darkness and Night), 1943, oil on canvas, private collection

Chagall: Beyond Color February 17 – May 26, 2013 This beautiful exhibition places the prolific artist’s beloved paintings alongside his works in sculpture, ceramics, and collage to explore his relationship with space and volume. The centerpiece of the exhibition will be a display of costumes made by Marc Chagall in 1942 for the production of the ballet Aleko, choreographed by Léonide Massine with music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The ballet’s première took place in September 1942 in Mexico City, followed by the Ballet Theatre of New York production, and the costumes have not been seen in the U.S. since. Dallas is the only US city to secure access to this exhibition, what a treat!

9440-1[1]

Loren Mozley, Winter Fields, 1948, oil on canvas, collection of Susan and Claude Albritton III

Loren Mozley: Structural Integrity February 17 – June 30, 2013 Within the realm of Texas art, Mozley played a key role in shaping generations of young artists who received instruction from him during his tenure of thirty-seven years (1938-1975) in the art department at the University of Texas, Austin. The exhibition is the first retrospective of the artist’s work since 1978 and will bring together choice works by Mozley (1905-1989) dating from the late 1930s through the 1970s with the aim of re-visiting Loren Mozley’s bodu of work and revealing his debt to forerunners such as Cézanne, and his responses to modernist trends.

Cindy Sherman, Untitled, 1981, Type C print, Dallas Museum of Art

Cindy Sherman, Untitled, 1981, Type C print, Dallas Museum of Art

Cindy Sherman March 17 – June 9, 2013 Cindy Sherman is widely recognized as one of the most important contemporary artists of the last forty years, and is arguably the most influential artist working exclusively with photography. This traveling retrospective exhibition traces the groundbreaking artist’s career from the mid-1970s to the present and brings together more than 170 key photographs from a variety of the artist’s acclaimed bodies of work, for which she created numerous constructed characters and tableaus. This is the first comprehensive museum survey of Sherman’s career in the United States since 1997, the exhibition draws widely from public and private collections, including the DMA.

10157-1[1]

Marble statue of a discus thrower (diskobolos), Roman period, second century A.D., © The Trustees of the British Museum (2012).

The Body Beautiful in Ancient Greece May 5 – October 6, 2013 This internationally touring exhibition of more than 120 objects explores the human form through exquisite artworks exclusively from the British Museum’s famed collection of Greek and Roman sculpture. Iconic marble and bronze sculptures, vessels, funerary objects, and jewelry are among the treasures that explore the human form, some dating back to the second millennium B.C.

9583-1[1]

Gene Gordon , John F. Kennedy reaching out to crowd in Fort Worth, November 22, 1963, 1963, gelatin silver print, Amon Carter Museum of American Art

Hotel Texas: An Art Exhibition for the President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy May 26 – September 15, 2013 In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the DMA will bring together the works of art installed in the president’s suite at the Hotel Texas during his fateful trip in 1963. The original installation, orchestrated by a small group of Fort Worth art collectors, was created especially for the president and first lady in celebration of their overnight visit to the city and included paintings by Vincent van Gogh, Thomas Eakins, Lyonel Feininger, Franz Kline, and Marsden Hartley, and sculptures by Pablo Picasso and Henry Moore, among others.

9777-1[1]

Jim Hodges, With the Wind, 1997, Scarves and thread, Fuhrman, Amanda and Glenn, photo by Alan Zindman

Jim Hodges: sometimes beauty October 6, 2013 – January 12, 2014 This October, Dallas will premiere a major traveling exhibition and the first comprehensive survey to be organized in the United States on the work of contemporary American artist Jim Hodges. Co-organized by the Dallas Museum of Art and the Walker Art Center, this exhibition explores the trajectory of the artist’s twenty-five-year career, highlighting the major themes that unify his multilayered and varied practice. Comprising approximately seventy-five works produced from 1987 through the present, this exhibition examines how Hodges transforms both everyday and precious materials into poignant meditations on themes including time, loss, identity, and love.

We hope to see you soon!

Danielle Schulz
McDermott Intern for Family Experiences

Bid Adieu to Posters of Paris

Published January 7, 2013 DFW , Exhibitions Closed
Tags: , , , , ,

There are less than two weeks left to visit Posters of Paris: Toulouse-Lautrec and His Contemporaries. The exhibition’s last day at the DMA is on Sunday, January 20. Join Dr. Amy Freund, Assistant Professor of Art History at Texas Christian University, on Wednesday, January 9, for our 12:15 p.m. lunchtime gallery talk and learn about the posters on display. You can also find out more about the works on your smartphone during your next visit to Posters of Paris.

Jules Chéret, Pastilles Géraudel, 1890, color lithograph, overall: 48 13/16 x 34 5/8 in. (124 x 88 cm), Private Collection, photo: John Glembin

Jules Chéret, Pastilles Géraudel, 1890, color lithograph, Private Collection

Friday Photos: Go van Gogh creations

Published January 4, 2013 Art & Teaching 2 Comments
Tags: ,

Today’s Friday photos are a few of the collages, mosaics, prints, drawings, and more that students can create during Go van Gogh outreach programs.  Our spring Go van Gogh schedule still has openings, so schedule your art-making fun today.

We hope to visit your classrooms this New Year!

Amy Copeland
Manager of Go van Gogh and Community Teaching

Reading the Cards: Part 4

Published January 3, 2013 works of art 3 Comments
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This post is the fourth 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, and third posts for an introduction and earlier connections.

The Magician is the first trump card in a tarot deck.  Shown as a youthful figure, the Magician is often thought to represent Apollo, the Greek sun god.  This association speaks to bringing light to the darkness and addressing avoided issues.

Benjamin West, Apollo's Enchantment, 1807, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Mrs. Robert A. Beyers

Benjamin West, Apollo’s Enchantment, 1807, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Mrs. Robert A. Beyers

Surrounded by the pantheon of Greek gods and muses, Benjamin West’s Apollo is bathed in the light of the sun.  Apollo enchants his audience with his skill at the lyre, as he is the god of music as well as the sun.

The Moon is the eighteenth major arcana card.  With the face of the subconscious mind gazing calmly upon the scene, the Moon depicts a dog, wolf, and water creature of sorts (in this case a lobster).  The card often represents sleep patterns, dreams, and nightmares- with the animals shown symbolizing the fears of man.

Rufino Tamayo, El Hombre (Man), 1953, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Art Association commission, Neiman-Marcus Company Exposition Funds

Rufino Tamayo, El Hombre (Man), 1953, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Art Association commission, Neiman-Marcus Company Exposition Funds

Surrounding the theme of “man excelling himself,” Rufino Tamayo created the mural El Hombre as a commision for the Dallas Art Association.  Tamayo’s painted figure points into the starry sky in search of our place in the cosmos.  The dog in the lower-left corner blends into the dark ground as it gnaws on a bone- representing man’s baser instincts.

The Star is the seventeenth trump card.  Contributing liquid to both the pool of subconsciousness and the material world, a naked woman kneels directly beneath an exaggerated star.  In a tarot spread, the Star represents renewed hope, inspiration, and discovery.

Simon Starling, Venus Mirror (8/6/08, Copenhagen), 2011, Dallas Museum of Art, DMA/amfAR Benefit Auction Fund

Simon Starling, Venus Mirror (8/6/08, Copenhagen), 2011, Dallas Museum of Art, DMA/amfAR Benefit Auction Fund

Simon Starling’s mirror alludes to the original documentation of the planet Venus’ path accross the sky by Pierre César Jules Janssen.  Undertaken in 1974, the French astronomer developed a special daguerreotype camera to document Venus’ movement.  The telescope-camera hybrid recorded the multiple exposures on a single circular daguerreotype plate.

Strength is numbered as eleven or eight depending on the deck.  Historically titled Fortitude, the design has consistenly portrayed a lion submitting to the gentle touch of a woman.  When selected for a tarot reading, the card implies one’s control of the primal qualities of man.

Edward Hicks, The Peaceable Kingdom, 1846-1847, Dallas Museum of Art, The Art Museum League Fund

Edward Hicks, The Peaceable Kingdom, 1846-1847, Dallas Museum of Art, The Art Museum League Fund

Based on Christian scripture, Edward Hicks created a scene of spiritual and earthly harmony amongst men and animals.  At the left side of the painting, William Penn signs a peace treaty with the Native American peoples of the Delaware Valley- a historic model for peaceful coexistence.

The Sun is the nineteenth of the major arcana cards.  Riding beneath the anthropomorphized sun, a small child sits astride a white horse- both symbols of innocence and purity.  With the red flag representing renewal, this card points to personal power, optimism, and enlightenment.

Constantin Brancusi, Beginning of the World, c.1920, Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, gift of Mr. and Mrs. James H. Clark

Constantin Brancusi, Beginning of the World, c.1920, Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, gift of Mr. and Mrs. James H. Clark

Provocative in nature, the sculpture’s title, Beginning of the World, is full of potential associations.  When paired with the simple geometric and natural shapes, the title hints to new beginnings, concepts, and discoveries.

My next and final Reading the Cards post will look at Temperance, the Tower, the Wheel of Fortune, and the World.

Pilar Wong

McDermott Intern for Community Teaching

Happy New Year!

Published January 1, 2013 Art & Teaching Closed
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Happy New Year and welcome to 2013! With a fresh year comes new resolutions for many people, and whether you are the type to keep your goals for just a week or to strictly adhere to them for an entire year, why not let the DMA help out?

Be healthy! A popular resolution is to be healthy, which may include getting fit by visiting the gym more often or even taking the stairs instead of the elevator. The DMA is agreat place to master stairs. Did you know that the Museum has over 120 stairs?  Or, bring the family to bend and twist during our Yoga for Kids during Late Night at the DMA.

Climb up and down the stiarcase near the Atrium Cafe a few times - there are 62 stairs here!

Climb up and down the staircase near the Atrium Cafe a few times – there are 62 stairs here!

Families enjoy yoga in the galleries

Families enjoy yoga in the galleries

Save money Budgeting and spending less is often a top resolution – especially after the spending frenzy that usually takes place around the holidays. A visit to downtown Dallas might make you think of reaching for your wallet, but in a few short weeks, both general admission and membership will be FREE at the DMA!

Sketching in the Galleries - one of the many things you can enjoy for free after January 21!

Sketching in the Galleries – one of the many things you can enjoy for free after January 21!

Learn something new Expand your horizons and learn all kinds of cool things at the Museum. Learning a foreign language? Visit Posters of Paris: Toulouse-Lautrec and His Contemporaries to discover how many new French words you can pick up. Attend an Arts and Letters Live event and hear an award-winning author to expand your literary expertise. Pick up an artistic skill in the Studio with a hands-on experience during a C3 Artistic Encounter. You can even meet and interact with artists in a variety of DMA programs!

Visitors exploring art materials in the Studio

Visitors exploring art materials in the Studio.

Artist John Bramblitt talks about his artwork during an Art Beyond Sight access program.

Artist John Bramblitt talks about his artwork during an Art Beyond Sight access program.

Spend more time with family and friends Spend time with family and friends while learning about works of art in the galleries and you might even learn some new about one another! Have a date night at the Museum during Jazz in the Atrium on a Thursday evening or bring the whole family and enjoy a wide variety of experiences during a Late Night at the Dallas Museum of Art.

Fun times during Late Night Studio Creations!

Fun times during Late Night Studio Creations!

Whatever your resolutions might be, having fun is one resolution that should be on everyone’s New Year list. Take time to enjoy life and appreciate the beauty around you! Happy New Year!

Amanda Blake

Head of Family, Access, and School Experiences

Archives

Flickr Photo Stream

O'Keeffe may be her name, but this artist's work has been long eclipsed by that of her famous sister. Now #IdaOKeeffe's distinct creative identity is getting the spotlight it deserves in "Ida O'Keeffe: Escaping Georgia's Shadow". Opening TODAY, discover uA remarkable performance by @dallasblackdance in our American Art Gallery with choreography inspired by artist Dorothy Austin’s “Slow Shuffle”. See more #DMANights highlights in our story! . . #MyDMA #DallasMuseumofArt #AmericanArt #Dance #DancePerformanc
More Photos

Categories