Art Smith, “Cluster Knuckles” Ring, circa 1968, New York, silver alloy, rhodochrosite, jade (?), turquoise (?), zoisite (?), Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Charles L. Russell, 2007.61.17
Art Smith, “Ellington” Necklace, circa 1962, silver, turquoise, amethyst, chrysoprase, rhodonite, Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Charles L. Russell, 2007.61.4
Art Smith, “Modern Cuff” Bracelet, designed circa 1948, silver, Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Charles L. Russell, 2007.61.15
To celebrate this show, we are making August the month of all things Art Smith. You can explore the show with a metalsmith during a Gallery Talk; stop by the Center for Creative Connections to look at Smith’s tools; listen to the jazz that inspired Smith, every Thursday evening during Jazz in the Atrium; or, if you’re a teen, sign up for the Urban Armor Maker Club to create a programmable piece of jewelry. Be sure to check out the full schedule of events for more information.
In addition to being one of the leading modernist jewelers of the mid-20th century, Smith was an avid jazz enthusiast and a supporter of early black modern dance groups. This inspired us to commission a new dance from our Arts District Neighbors, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, accompanied by a new jazz suite composed by jazz drummer Stockton Helbing.
First, we met with Nycole Ray, Artistic Director for Dallas Black Dance Theatre II, and Stockton to discuss the format of the piece—how long would the entire piece be, how many dances would comprise the whole performance, does there need to be transition music between the dances, what tempo would be best for each dance, what style of jazz would fit the feel of the piece, and more. We also agreed that a jazz trio would be best so the band and the dancers could all fit on stage together during the live performance.
Once those questions were answered, Stockton began composing an original piece of music he titled On 4th Street, after the location of Art Smith’s studio in New York. Stockton created MIDI demos of his music for Nycole to review before he went into the studio to make the final recording with other musicians.
We now have the final masters of the music, and Nycole has begun choreographing the dances and working with the dancers on the piece she titled Art on 4th Street.
This dance will have its world premiere during the Friday, August 15 Late Night. In addition to Art on 4th Street, this evening will feature live jazz, jewelry making, a film screening of Paris Blues, tours, and more—all inspired by Art Smith!
Stacey Lizotte is Head of Adult Programming and Multimedia Services at the DMA.
The chance to intern at the Dallas Museum of Art this summer has been incredible, and the work done in the Center for Creative Connections creates the perfect opportunity to apply my specific research interests. I’ve been studying what’s typically called “cultural capital” for several years now, and it refers to individuals’ accumulation of literacies, skills, and privileges that result from economic status, education levels, or race. This concept is thought to permeate all aspects of society, particularly in institutions as established as the museum, and holds implications for the equitable treatment of visitors and the validation of their experiences. A guiding question for my own work is: How can all visitors overcome the expectations created by cultural capital and bring their own experiences to the interpretation of works at the museum?
In recent years, many websites and software applications (apps) have been created to allow for unhindered cultural production by users from all walks of life. Often these programs also allow for social media interactions, creating unique communities bound by technology. If this user-friendly type of creativity could be adapted to gallery activities, it may spark the interest of underserved visitors. As part of my summer project, we held a trial run of these activities as part of a “Pop-Up Tech Spot” for 2 hours during July’s recent Late Night Art Bytes program.
Snapchat
To capitalize on smartphone technologies and trends in social media, we created a Snapchat activity that allows visitors to recontextualize the works on display at their own pace.
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Visitors were invited to take photos with their smartphones using the app, and then to draw or type atop the images to make it their own. By setting up an account for the museum (add DallasMuseumArt as your friend), we were able to receive and save visitors’ submissions. The evening yielded 28 different photos created by 10 visitors, many of which were entertaining interpretations of the permanent collections.
DoodleBuddy
For those who were uninterested in maintaining a Snapchat account, there was an alternate option for editing photos of works on display. The DoodleBuddy app in place on the iPads was available for visitors to borrow from the activity cart, and had similar creative capabilities. Users could snap a picture and then add their own touches to a work.
This activity was the most popular that evening, as some 22 visitors worked individually or in pairs to create and save 14 new images. When finished, masterpieces could be saved to the museum’s iPad (to be later uploaded to Flickr) or emailed to the visitor for their own use.
Map the Collection
The least popular activity for the night was a mapping activity that utilized other capabilities of the DoodleBuddy app on the iPads. Visitors could borrow the iPads with the program, this time drawing and/or typing atop a preloaded map, to chart the works within a particular gallery. Because of its proximity to the cart’s location near the entrance to the American gallery, the trial program utilized the works from a gallery of Colonial Art of the Americas, allowing visitors to find the origins of works from Central and South America. One enthusiastic visitor was able to use the map to teach a friend about her home in Paraguay, and pointed out political and economic tensions that continue to this day.
Spotify
The use of music in the galleries is nothing new, but allowing visitors to create playlists that is accessible both within and outside of the galleries was a novel opportunity for most. Familiarity with the app was likely a hindrance for many who stopped by the activity cart, but 5 visitors decided to opt for the musical program on their smartphones or the provided iPads. When creating the playlist, users simply included “DMA Late Night” in the title to allow other Spotify members the chance to search, play, or follow playlists created in the museum. Gallery experiences translated through song can be accessed from anywhere, or even played back in the galleries to create a community of listening visitors.
Overall, the evening was a bustling hit. The activities piqued the interest of several disengaged visitors, and allowed them their own space to create something new. Passersby received handouts about the Snapchat submissions to allow their continued access to the activity, and the iPads were put to excellent use by up to 5 visitors at once. Difficulties encountered included the length of explanation required for several of the apps (many visitors were unfamiliar with Spotify), and some troubles using the DoodleBuddy camera feature. Better instructions or fewer choices should help minimize these issues.
Testing these activities also allows us to consider how–or if–these programs could be utilized in conjunction with the Pop-up Art Spots already in place in the galleries. For example, the mapping activity could easily be translated into an activity for the Indonesian galleries, while the Spotify app may be put to better use in the contemporary collection. Snapchat and DoodleBuddy image editing activities may also benefit from utilizing more focused prompts, inviting visitors to submit photos for a single object or particular theme.
I’ve had a blast adapting apps for gallery activities. Hopefully this is just the beginning of “share-able” cultural production used in the galleries, and I’d like to extend a huge wave of gratitude to all those who helped me get things in motion!
Concentrations 57: Slavs and Tatarsopened two weeks ago at the DMA. Part of the DMA’s ongoing Concentrations series, which began more than 30 years ago, the exhibition features new work from the art collective Slavs and Tatars, including the first-ever full presentation of their Love Letters carpet series. See how the installation came together below, and then visit the free exhibition in person through December 14.
It has been my great pleasure to work in the education department at the Dallas Museum of Art for the past three years. My position as the Program Coordinator for the Center for Creative Connections (C3) has been such a huge opportunity to expand my K-12 art education and museum studies masters degree. I have had the great challenge to expand my knowledge in the classroom by leading the hands-on adult workshops in C3, working with local artists on the development of programs, leading programming for hundreds of people, mentoring young artists, and working with amazing people who have helped me grow as an educator. And now, I am thankful for a new opportunity to teach K-6 art for Richardson Independent School District and will forever be grateful to the DMA for my experience.
C3 Adults
To close, I would like to say goodbye by remembering some of my favorite times at the museum. There are far more experiences to remember, but thought I would count just thirty-six–one experience per month of working at the DMA.
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My top thirty-six (my three years x twelve months) memories from the DMA:
Meeting many artists and working with them to create dynamic workshops in C3.
Co-teaching a creativity program for adults.
Becoming friends with Meaningful Moments attendees John and Sue, and receiving my very own squirrel foot necklace!
Coming up with crazy Creativity Challenges for Late Night.
Working with studio art students from the University of North Texas to train them how to expand their practice by teaching workshops for adults.
Being the loudest one in the Center for Creative Connections office.
I loved being part of the Urban Armor graffiti camp with our teen specialist JC Bigornia and guest artist IZK Davies.
Doing yoga after hours in the Cindy Sherman exhibition with Melissa Gonzales!
Meeting so many talented adult visitors who have helped mold me into a better educator.
$1 coffee
Leading Creativity Challenges for J.P. Morgan; making them create a love story between two works of art and crafting what the baby would look like!
My incredible work-pal who brightened my day by leaving notes, gifts, and encouraging words on my desk weekly.
Giving impromptu tours to visitors of works of art in our collection.
Hosting Wayang Kulit artists in C3.
Holding Life Drawing classes in the DMA galleries.
Meeting Taye Diggs and helping Shane Evans lead a drawing workshop in C3 during the BooksmART festival to promote their children’s book Chocolate Me!
Hosting a poetry showcase with The Spiderweb Salon of Denton, Texas. I was able to hear many musicians and writers (many of whom were C3 visitors) respond through words and songs to an exhibition at the DMA.
Taking creativity breaks in the Crossroads Gallery.
Working with C3 Volunteer Robert Opel to create the vision for the C3 Adult Programs promotional flyer.
Receiving a phone call that Think Creatively changed one of my visitor’s lives and he will never be the same.
Having an incredible boss who took many chances by letting me run with my ideas!
Making new friends and being challenged by my colleagues.
Having access to see the Jean Paul Gultier exhibition anytime I wanted to.
Meeting many new people every day.
Working with Maria Teresa and experiencing how important art is to the community.
Working with Lesli Robertson and Natalie Macellaio on TheMotherload installation (opening September 2014) and the launch of parent and child summer camp called Side by Side.
Each summer, the DMA is lucky enough to have a group of wonderful interns to help coordinate the Museum’s numerous Summer Art Camps. This summer is no different; we have a fantastic group of ladies that have worked extremely hard the past thirteen weeks! The summer can be a bit crazy at times, but our wonderful interns always seem to keep their heads on straight. I invited them to be guest bloggers this week, and to share their summer camp experiences so far as well as some other interesting tidbits. Enjoy!
Wilhelmina Watts
Wilhelmina in the Terrific Textiles camp.
Interning at the DMA art camps this summer has been one of the best experiences I could have asked for. As an aspiring art historian, working in the same building where so many masterpieces are housed is already a dream come true; but even better than looking at the artwork is helping the kids interact with it. I believe that a passion for anything starts from a place of having fun, so my number one goal is always to make learning about art and creating works of art as fun as possible. Working with one of the classes in the contemporary gallery pushed me to find fun and interesting things about artworks that I had never had an interest in before. I know it may sound cliché, but the kids are the ones teaching me, and getting to know each new group of campers is always the best part of camp.
Denise in the Saturated: Dye-decorated cloths from North and West Africa exhibit.
Denise Sandoval
These past weeks at the DMA have been fantastic. I have enjoyed assisting the children and teachers during each camp. I find that helping one another is great and brings happiness to all, and that is what makes each week of camp a success. At times the work may be tiring, but it is so much fun to create works of art. I love that each week of camp is a different topic, because it gives me and the campers a chance to create difference types of art, which is really exciting. Personally, it’s a pleasure to not only see the children grow, but also the adults. The teachers and interns are experiencing success for their future by being involved in these summer camps.
Laila Jiwani
Laila working with a camper.
It is amazing to see these campers unleashing their artistic potential and showcasing their personalities. As part of the New World Kids 2 summer camp, we had guest speakers come into the studio and talk about their jobs. By the end of the week, one kid decided she wanted to become a director when she grows up, another created his own stop-motion film, and another made a two-story model dollhouse inspired by a visit from our exhibit designer. One of the the greatest perks of this internship is that, in a way, we get to attend the camps with the kids. We are learning about instructional strategies while we experience them ourselves as we help with daily activities. I am also learning so much more about art and its history than I had expected! It seems like an adventure every time we explore the galleries with the kids for inspiration, especially in the early mornings when we have the museum all to ourselves.
Ashley Ham
Ashley in The Museum is History exhibit.
Living out of a suitcase and couch-hopping around Dallas is an adventure of the best kind. Normally, you will find me in a land of weird people in burnt orange (hook ‘em horns), but for this summer, I find myself learning from the best at the DMA! As an aspiring art educator, assisting with summer camps has been a recent check off my bucket list. Every week a new teacher steps in, bringing interesting projects and showcasing different techniques in classroom management, and I feel like a sponge soaking up as many great teaching tips as I can! While I am a proponent of any and all fine art summer camps, one thing that I have enjoyed immensely (and something that I believe sets these DMA camps apart) is the ability to take campers through the wonderful art galleries right outside our camp studios. The opportunity to stroll down a corridor and show campers the artists that inspire their projects is matchless. The drive up I-35 from Austin to Dallas isn’t always my favorite way to spend 3… or 4… or 5 hours, but for the DMA I’ll make it any time.
Miyoko Pettinger
Miyoko in the Never Enough exhibit.
During my time at the DMA, my awareness of art history has increased along with my understanding of children with various interests, backgrounds, and personalities. One of my favorite experiences has been accompanying teachers throughout tours in the galleries, which provided the children with historic context and inspiration from pieces held in the DMA’s collection. In addition to expanding my scope of art history, I also observed the children directly applying the artistic styles and techniques they learned. Whether dancing to music while creating quick-gestured, improvisational Jackson Pollock-style pieces or implementing Paul Signac’s meticulous method of Pointillism, the children brought an impassioned joy, focus, and energy to the studio. Additionally, I have enjoyed building relationships with the children, interns, and teachers, all of whom have been exceedingly kind, encouraging, and hardworking. Each week, the classmates quickly bonded with each other over various projects and group activities. The teachers and interns have shown to be some of the most supportive people with whom I have ever worked. They possess selfless, uplifting attitudes and created a warm and safe environment. Children were always encouraged and never told they were doing art “the wrong way.” Instead, they were given a success-rendering balance of structure and creative liberty. I have gained an indispensible understanding of art and children along with treasured experiences that will prove invaluable in my future career as an art therapist.
Many thanks to Ashley, Denise, Laila, Miyoko and Wilhelmina for acting as guest bloggers and being a part of the DMA Family Programs team this summer!
Earlier this month, the large photograph Vacation by Nic Nicosia was installed in the Center for Creative Connections (C3). Vacation is one of seven photographs that comprise Nic Nicosia’s Life As We Know It series. In this series depicting contemporary American life, Nicosia plays with everyday topics such as fashion, youth, and violence. Through his use of fabricated environments and staged scenes, Nicosia blurs the line between illusion and reality. This surreal atmosphere is enhanced by the ironic twists, such as the burning plane in the background, on what would otherwise be ordinary situations.
Inspired by this work of art, the C3 team created a photo station where visitors can pose for their own staged picnic-themed photograph. Some have embraced the surreal nature of Nicosia’s work more than others. Check out our visitors’ photographs and stop by C3 to snap a photo of your DMA vacation.
Happy, sad, angry, or excited – we all have feelings and emotions. During our July Autism Awareness Family Celebration, families explored moods and expression at the DMA before public hours.
Hands-on art making in the Center for Creative Connections
Relaxing in the sensory room with occupational therapy students from Texas Women’s University
Play time with hula hoops, streamers, and parachutes in the courtyard
Acting out different emotions with an actor from the Dallas Children’s Theater
Today we at the DMA are excited to welcome home after a “sabbatical” in Paris one of our masterpieces, van Gogh’s work on paper Café Terrace on the Place du Forum. On tour at the Musée d’Orsay, this magnificent work of art was one of only seven drawings featured in Van Gogh/Artaud: The Man Suicided by Society. This exhibition was seen by nearly 655,000 visitors over the course of four months, making it the highest-attended exhibition in Musée d’Orsay history. Now prominently and proudly on view in our special exhibition Mind’s Eye: Masterworks on Paper from David to Cézanne, Café Terrace on the Place du Forum joins other masterworks by van Gogh’s peer artists including Manet, Degas, Cézanne, and Renoir. Say “bonjour” and see it now through October 26 on a visit to Mind’s Eye.
This month’s Late Night on July 18 marks the beginning of our very first t-shirt design contest for ages thirteen to nineteen! Participants have two months to submit a design inspired by a work of art in the DMA’s collection, with a chance to have their design reproduced and sold in the DMA store. More information, including submission guidelines, will be provided on the teen workshops section of the DMA website in the coming weeks; you can also send an e-mail to JBigornia@DMA.org.
Drop by the Tech Lab in the Center for Creative Connections this Friday between 9:00 and 11:00 p.m. to hang out, hear more about the contest from DMA staff, brainstorm ideas, and sketch from works of art in the galleries.
Here are some works of art from the Ancient American collection that may inspire you…what work of art will you choose for your design?
Eccentric flint depicting a crocodile canoe with passengers, Guatamala, Maya culture, A.D. 600-900, Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., in honor of Mrs. Alex Spence
Mask, possibly of Tlaloc, Mexico, Mixtec-Aztec culture, c. 1350-1521, Dallas Museum of Art, The Roberta Coke Camp Fund
Many people may not think that of an art museum as the ideal field trip location for a group of children with visual impairment, but when the Dallas Independent School District (DISD) contacted the DMA earlier this summer with such a tour request, we were eager to provide the best experience possible. When discussing the visit with vision teachers at DISD, they felt it was important to expose their students to art and wanted an experience that would illustrate to the students that they too have the ability to create and appreciate art just as well as any other student.
DISD students with vision impairments visiting the DMA.
The Planning Process
The Dallas Museum of Art has never before offered guided touch tours to visitors with visual impairment, but after speaking with our Director of Exhibition Design, we learned that she fully supports inclusive gallery teaching, and thus was open to supporting the Museum’s first ever touch tour. We talked with our colleagues in the exhibitions and conservation departments and found that they too were fully supportive of trying out a touch tour with the DISD students. The DMA Sculpture Garden was identified as the best place for our inaugural touch tour, since the objects in the garden are designed for an outdoor space and are thus subject to (and able to withstand) a variety of natural elements. We also felt that it was essential for the students to have the galleries to themselves during the tour, so as not to confuse other visitors about the acceptability of touching works of art, as well as for the overall comfort of the students with vision impairment. We therefore decided to schedule the touch tour for a Monday, when the Museum is closed to the public.
Our next step in the planning process was to walk through the space as a group, making note of areas that may be problematic for someone with vision impairment to navigate. The team was comprised of education, conservation, and exhibitions staff, and everyone on the team raised thoughtful questions and contributed wonderful ideas! We discussed which works of art may be the best for a tactile experience, and our conservators suggested that the kids have the chance to touch the works of art without gloves (which is usually unheard of in other touch tours!). Our exhibitions team offered to wash and hand-clean the works we selected so that they would be nice and clean for the experience. And one conservator suggested we select works of art that were large enough to be touched by more than one student at a time, so that the students could talk to one another about what they felt as they each touched the artwork.
After squaring things away with the exhibitions and conservation teams, the education team began planning the educational experiences of the tour. We prepared for twenty-five students, ranging in age from six to thirteen years, all with a range of visual impairment. The majority of students in the group had some residual vision, while two students were very photophobic, and two were blind from birth. Due to the range of abilities of our tour group, our education team knew it was important to include a variety of artworks in the tour (in addition to those on the touch tour), integrate many descriptive explanations of works of art and hands-on activities, and to have numerous tactile objects available.
In the Galleries
When designing the overall tour, we selected a variety of objects that spanned time periods, artistic techniques, and geographic locations. We visited two contemporary art sculptures in the Sculpture Garden for the touch portion, two Abstract Expressionist works in the contemporary gallery, and a mask in the African gallery. Our aim was to engage all of the senses throughout our tour, as we believe that presenting multiple representations of content would effectively cater to the different learning styles of the group. We created a multi-modal experience by collecting auditory clips for sound stimulation, tactile materials and replica objects for touch, Jelly Belly jelly beans for taste sensations, and essential oils and scented colored pencils for olfactory information.
Touch tour with Ellsworth Kelly sculpture
Touch tour with Barbara Hepworth sculpture
Feeling textures in a Barbara Hepworth sculpture.
Touch tour with Ellsworth Kelly sculpture
Each stop on the tour had a visual description of the gallery space and of the works of art we focused on, because it was important for us to situate ourselves, the children, and the art in space, as the sense of bodily awareness in space is something that many people without vision impairment may take for granted. Much of our time in the galleries was spent guiding students in tactile looking activities connected to specific works of art and facilitating conversations about texture and form. For instance, we created a reproduction of Jasper John’s Device so that the students could not only touch canvas and feel layers of paint, but they could also replicate moving the wooden stretchers back and forth across the canvas, while imagining the technique in which Johns spread the paint back and forth.
Recreating the movement in Jasper Johns “Device”
Feeling the texture of canvas and paint
Jasper Johns, Device, 1961-1962, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of The Art Museum League, Margaret J. and George V. Charlton, Mr. and Mrs. James B. Francis, Dr. and Mrs. Ralph Greenlee, Jr., Mr. and Mrs. James H. W. Jacks, Mr. and Mrs. Irvin L. Levy, Mrs. John W. O’Boyle, and Dr. Joanne Stroud in honor of Mrs. Eugene McDermott
In the African galleries, we focused on a helmet mask made by the Kuba people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and passed around raffia, cowrie shells, feathers and other materials found in the mask. Additionally, we played sound clips of the various animals that related to the mask.
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kuba peoples, Helmet mask (mukenga), mid-20th century, Dallas Museum of Art, gift in honor of Peter Hanszen Lynch and Cristina Martha Frances Lynch
Relating to Richard Diebenkorn’s Ocean Park No. 29, we discussed how an artist could depict a place using sounds, smells, and taste. The students each ate a jelly bean and imagined the color they believed the flavor might represent. Next, they used a scented colored pencil to illustrate a place based on that smell. We also played sound clips of ocean waves and boat horns to recreate the Santa Monica locale that inspired Diebenkorn’s Ocean Park series.
Richard Diebenkorn, Ocean Park 29, 1970, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of the Meadows Foundation, Incorporated
Our tour concluded with a sensory drawing activity that took place at the large fountain outside the Museum’s Flora Street entrance. The students listened to the sounds created by the water in the fountain, and considered how the water (and space around it) might appear, what color the water would be, even how the smell would be rendered. We gave each student a piece of thin Styrofoam and a pencil to create their drawing of the fountain; the students were able to feel the indented lines they drew onto the Styrofoam and took turns sharing their creations with one another.
Until Next Time
This was an exceptional experience for DISD students, teachers, and DMA staff alike. One teacher who helped to organize this visit said that this experience “might be the only time this whole summer [the students] get this opportunity to learn tactually, through their auditory channels and their residual vision, which sighted people take so much for granted.” It was a transformative experience as well for our Museum. We are honored to have been a part of this experience, and cannot celebrate enough the fantastic support and collaboration exhibited by DMA staff from many different departments. A huge thank you to DISD for bringing their students, and a thousand thank you’s to the DMA’s conservation, exhibitions, visitor services, and security teams. This was a team effort and we appreciate the unified support and assistance—let’s hope this is the first of many touch tours to come!
Amanda Blake
Head of Family, Access, and School Experiences
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