Archive for January, 2015

Friday Photos: Blast from the Past!

We have had a fun month full of memories this January. During our Meaningful Moments program for memory care groups, we have focused on objects in the DMA’s Decorative Arts gallery. From the Silver Streak iron (model no. 1038) to the Nocturne radio (Model 1186), objects in this gallery have sparked memories from several participants. Close looking, conversations, laughing, and even some toe-tapping while singing along to Bing Crosby filled the Decorative Arts gallery. Following our time looking at art, participants created their own decorative work of art – a colorful wreath to take back and hang on their doors.

 

Vacuum cleaner (model 30), Lurelle Guild, 1937

Vacuum cleaner (model 30), Lurelle Guild, Electrolux Corporation, 1937, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of John T. Howell and Thomas J. Howell in memory of their father John P. Howell

One object in particular, the Electrolux vacuum cleaner, inspired the most sharing. We got a kick out of one participant who shared a story about her mother’s Electrolux vacuum cleaner. We were lucky to snag a quick video.

Participant: “Father traveled a lot for business. He brought mother home an Electrolux, and he had her name printed on it.”
Danielle: “Was your mother very happy when she received that as a present, to see her name on the vacuum cleaner?”
Participant: “Well, her comment was, ‘You brought me something to work with!’”

What a fun story! And just the kind of memories we hope are shared during Meaningful Moments.

For more information, or to register a memory care facility group, call 214-922-1251 or e-mail access@DMA.org.

Amanda Blake
Head of Family, Access, and School Experiences

Picture *Book* Perfect

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In just a few more days, the Caldecott Medal will be awarded “to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.” (American Library Association website). For those of us who love children’s literature, this announcement is like the Oscars! Unfortunately, unlike the Oscars, the nominees aren’t narrowed down in advance, so it’s anyone’s guess as to which books are the strongest contenders.

During my undergrad studies, I worked in the children’s section of the university library, and one particular year my supervisor was on the Caldecott committee. I remember every week felt like Christmas as boxes and boxes of books arrived for her to review. Among other things, the committee members consider the artist’s technique, the way the story is visually interpreted, and the excellence of the work in light of the audience—children! Considering there are thousands of books published for children each year, I can’t even begin to imagine reading all the books, much less the pressure of choosing just ONE.

If I had to cast my vote for favorite picture book of 2014 though, these are my top contenders:

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Telephone by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jen Corace
It’s time for Peter the pigeon to come home for dinner, but as the message gets passed down the line of birds sitting on the telephone wires, it turns into something else entirely different. I love the use of line in Corace’s pictures. The telephone wires stretch across the pages in unending straight lines, providing a visual contrast to the tangled, garbled message being passed along. Each bird has so much character and is painted so that readers can see how the bird’s own interests and activities play into the confusion. For instance, when the message gets to the blue jay with his electric guitar, it’s not too surprising that he interprets it as “Rock stars are admired.” Luckily a wise old owl saves the day, and this visual game of telephone has a happy ending.

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Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen
I’ll admit right up front that in my eyes, Jon Klassen can do no wrong. He already has stacks of awards, but why not win another?! Sam and Dave decide to dig a hole, and they aren’t going to stop until they find something spectacular. Unfortunately, every time they get close to something wonderful, they change direction and miss the treasure with no idea how close they were. Readers are in on the irony, and even their dog seems to sense their near misses. Something spectacular finally does happen, but even Sam and Dave don’t realize just how spectacular it is. I really love this one because Klassen gives children insider information through his illustrations, and the story wouldn’t be nearly as fun if readers didn’t get to be in on the joke. And man, does he know how to convey humor, exasperation and surprise with just the eyes of his characters!

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The Adventures of Beekle the Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat
This is a story of being brave, following your dreams, and trusting yourself to do hard things. Beekle lives on the island where imaginary friends are created, and he waits and waits for his child to imagine him. But when his turn never comes, Beekle takes matters into his own hands and sets off on a journey to the real world to find his friend. The contrast between the imaginary island and the real world is stark—one is colorful, whimsical, and bright. The other is drab, dreary, and lonely. But when Beekle and his friend finally find each other, the world explodes in kaleidoscope color. I love the message that a little imagination can transform your world, and that it just takes finding your person or your passion or your favorite artwork at the DMA to pull you out of a bout of the un-imaginary blues!

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Hooray for Hat by Brian Won
Elephant woke up grumpy, and seems pretty determined to stay that way. Until . . . a present arrives on his doorstep! Inside the box is a marvelous hat, and Elephant can’t wait to show Zebra. But Zebra is feeling grumpy too. Until . . . Elephant shares a hat and cheers Zebra right up. The power of sharing and caring is passed along as the friends visit Turtle, Owl, Lion, and Giraffe and realize that although they shout “hooray for hat!,” it’s their friends that really make the difference. My favorite illustrations show the animals marching along, hats perched on their heads, and good cheer jumping off the page. Won manages to perfectly capture the transformation of terrible tantrum to sunshine-y good mood, and the pictures will resonate with young children and parents alike. I can’t wait to use this one with my toddler crowd!

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Gaston by Kelly Dipucchio, illustrated by Christian Robinson
Gaston doesn’t quite look like his perfectly polished poodle sisters. And when he tries to yip (not yap) and walk with grace (not race), he doesn’t quite pull it off. When the Poodle family runs into the Bulldog family at the park one day, it seems quite obvious that there’s been a mistake. Is Gaston in the wrong family? Mrs. Poodle and Mrs. Bulldog have their puppies switch places. Now the families look right, but they don’t feel right. Where does Gaston belong? This is a perfectly charming story about being true to yourself. Robinson’s paintings are drawn with a childlike exuberance—the picture plane is flat with washes of color and the stylized puppies seem to jump off the page. And the message that you need to look deeper to really understand someone is just as true for looking at art.

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The Iridescence of Birds: A Book About Henri Matisse by Patricia MacLachlan, illustrated by Hadley Hooper
Matisse is one of my favorite artists, and Hooper’s interpretation of both the story and Matisse’s style is phenomenal. The story imagines Matisse as a child and how his early life influenced the artist he became—from the rugs his mother hung in the house to the birds he saw out his window. Hooper hand cut the basic shapes for the pictures out of foam, inked them and made prints, which were then scanned into Photoshop. The lines, colors and patterns scream “Matisse” and the texture created by the printmaking gives the illustrations an added warmth and depth. This would be a great book to tuck in your bag and bring to the Museum for a visit with our Matisse!

I used lists from Calling Caldecott and Huffington Post to help me narrow down which books were my favorites of the year. A few not pictured here (because they weren’t available at my library) that I would add are Marla Frazee’s The Farmer and The Clown and The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Melissa Sweet. I heard Marla speak in November and when she “read” the book to us (The Farmer and The Clown is a wordless book), I choked up and got all teary. The story is so tender and the illustrations are gorgeous. Sweet’s collages for The Right Word mix imagery from Roget’s first edition of his thesaurus, vintage papers, and watercolors to create intricate layered pictures that you’ll want to pour over.

Have I picked a winner? We won’t know until Monday, February 2, at 8 am when the ALA makes its announcement. So stay tuned!

Leah Hanson
Manager of Early Learning Programs

ThisClose: A Rare Look at Reves Treasures

This year, the Dallas Museum of Art celebrates the 30th anniversary of the opening of the Wendy and Emery Reves Galleries, which house a varied and celebrated collection of paintings, sculptures, furnishings, and decorative arts. The Reves Galleries were designed as a replica, on a slightly reduced scale, of the principle rooms in the couple’s villa on the French Riviera. The unusual domestic character of these galleries has made them both loved and loathed over the years. They offer an opportunity to step into the past and discover the history of art collecting and display in the mid-20th century. But, the barriers that separate visitors from the displays have been a perennial frustration. As curators, we are often as frustrated as our audiences with the limitations of the display in the Reves Galleries. Yes, we feel your pain.

The Grand Salon in The Wendy and Emery Reves Collection at the Dallas Museum of Art

The Grand Salon in the Wendy and Emery Reves Collection at the Dallas Museum of Art

This spring, we are making some modest refurbishments to two of the rooms in the Reves Galleries that will require them to be closed for some months (the rest of the Reves wing will remain open). We’ll take advantage of the partial closure to photograph the works of art on view in those galleries as part of the DMA’s multi-year digital cataloging project. In coming months, visitors to our online collection will discover the fruits of that labor in hundreds of new and improved images of works of art in the Reves Collection. But, there will be also be an even more immediate opportunity for visitors to take a closer look at some of the Reves treasures.

Claude Monet, The Pont Neuf, 1871, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, The Wendy and Emery Reves Collection, 1985.R.38

Claude Monet, The Pont Neuf (detail), 1871, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, The Wendy and Emery Reves Collection, 1985.R.38

On January 31, we will open an intimate exhibition, included in free general admission, in Focus Gallery II on Level 1, featuring the great impressionist paintings from the Reves Collection, including works by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, and Paul Cézanne. These works, usually on display in the Library and Grand Salon of the Reves Galleries, are among the greatest treasures of the Reves Collection . . . and among the most difficult to appreciate in their current setting, hanging on distant walls some twenty or even thirty feet from the barriers. In the exhibition Impressionist Paintings from the Reves Collection, thirteen of the greatest paintings from the Reves Collection will be brought together for a period of close study and exploration. Anyone who has longed for a closer view of these paintings will revel in this opportunity, curators included! But, this opportunity will be a limited one. Impressionist Paintings from the Reves Collection will be on view only until March 22, so be sure to plan a visit soon for an up-close and personal visit with these old friends.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Lise in a White Shawl (detail), c. 1872, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, The Wendy and Emery Reves Collection, 1985.R.58

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Lise in a White Shawl (detail), c. 1872, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, The Wendy and Emery Reves Collection, 1985.R.58

Heather MacDonald is The Lillian and James H. Clark Associate Curator of European Art at the DMA.

Get BooksmART at the DMA!

Looking to spark your young reader’s interest in fun and artsy books? Check out our Arts & Letters Live BooksmART series, which will be welcoming lots of great authors to the DMA this spring!


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Jacqueline Woodson’s Brown Girl Dreaming, a collection of beautifully wrought poems depicting her childhood in South Carolina and New York, won the 2014 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. Much of her writing in Brown Girl Dreaming explores the issues of gender, class, and race, as well as family and history, themes she addresses in groundbreaking ways.

Jacqueline Woodson
Sunday, February 22 at 3:00 p.m.

 


 

Peter Lerangis SEVEN WONDERS coverAuthor Rick Riordan has hailed author Peter Lerangis’ The Seven Wonders adventure series as a “high-octane mix of modern adventure and ancient secrets.” In it, thirteen-year-old Jack McKinley learns he has a rare genetic anomaly that gives him a unique skill, but the cure is located at each of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Peter Lerangis
Sunday, March 15 at 3:00 p.m.

2:00 p.m. Enjoy an adventure-filled tour of the DMA’s collection related to themes and cultures in the Seven Wonders series.

 


 

InsideThisBook_GrandmaBlue2Illustrator Harry Bliss asks audiences, old and young alike, the question “what is art?” in his newest collaboration, Grandma in Blue with Red Hat. In this book, a young boy offers up his grandmother for a museum exhibition. Bliss is also a cartoonist whose work appears regularly in the New Yorker.

Barney Saltzberg, author and illustrator of almost 50 books for children and a singer/songwriter, explores the creative process of writing and illustrating in his latest work Inside this Book. The story features three siblings crafting their own books and learning about their creative processes.

Harry Bliss & Barney Saltzberg
Sunday, April 26 at 3:00 p.m.

This is event is designed primarily for families with children ages 6 and younger

 1:30 p.m. Enjoy an illustration workshop with Harry Bliss – for ages 10 through adults.
 


 
Get cozy with these books while the weather is still chilly, then come see us at the DMA to make some artful literary connections!

Madeleine Fitzgerald
Audience Relations Coordinator

The Selfie Seen Around the World

Today marks the second anniversary of DMA Friends and we are so excited to have over 90,000 friends! Today also happens to be Museum Selfie Day, with people sharing selfies in museums from around the world. Celebrate two years of free general admission and the DMA Friends program by sharing your DMA selfie with the hashtag #MuseumSelfie.

Enjoy a few of our favorite Museum Selfies from our DMA Friends, visitors, and staff. If you aren’t already a DMA Friend, sign up for our free membership program on your next visit!

Cocktail Creations: A Toast to the DMA

The DMA turns 112 this month and we wanted to celebrate with a fun cocktail contest inspired by works of art in our collection, giving our visitors a chance to toast the DMA with their creativity!

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We asked visitors to choose a work of art in our collection that inspired them to create a cocktail recipe along with a fun (or even punny) name for the drink. We saw a lot of great submissions from our community of art and alcohol connoisseurs, and with the help of our Executive Chef we have picked a winner and four finalists.

Single snake armlet, 1st century A.D.Dallas Museum of Art, Museum League Purchase Funds, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., and Cecil H. and Ida M. Green in honor of Virginia Lucas Nick, 1991.75.92.1

Single snake armlet, Roman Empire, 1st century A.D., gold, Dallas Museum of Art, Museum League Purchase Funds, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., and Cecil H. and Ida M. Green in honor of Virginia Lucas Nick, 1991.75.92.1

The winning cocktail, Twisted Serpent, created by Lori Pasillas, was inspired by the single snake armlet in our ancient Mediterranean collection. This drink, made with amaretto, Chambord, club soda, Italian soda, mint leaves, and a twist of orange peel, will be available for purchase at our upcoming Late Night on Friday, January 16.

That night, we will host a Creative Cocktail Lounge in our Founders Room, where you can purchase this winning drink plus the drinks created by the four finalists. While you enjoy these libations, DJ Yeahdef will spin a set of eclectic music.

It was interesting to see that our visitors were inspired by works of art from across our global collection. We had submissions that drew inspiration from our Japanese, decorative arts, ancient American, and contemporary collections, in addition to artworks in our American and European collections.

The works chosen by the four finalists were The Fish and the Man by Charles Webster Hawthorne, Heat Wave-Texas by Coreen Mary Spellman, Still Life by Perry Nichols, and the Miss Blanche armchair by Shiro Kuramata.

 

Miss Blanche chair by Shiro Kuramata, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Caren Prothro, Vincent and Dara Prothro, and Nita and Cullum Clark, and Catherine, Alex, Charlie, Jack, and Will Rose, Lela Rose and Grey, Rosey, and Brandon Jones in honor of Deedie Rose, DMA/amfAR Benefit Auction Fund, and Discretionary Decorative Arts Fund, 2012.29.A-E

Miss Blanche chair, Shiro Kuramata, designer; Ishimaru Company Ltd., manufacturer, designed 1988, executed 1989, acrylic, artificial roses, and aluminum with Alumite (anodized) finish, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Caren Prothro, Vincent and Dara Prothro, and Nita and Cullum Clark, and Catherine, Alex, Charlie, Jack, and Will Rose, Lela Rose and Grey, Rosey, and Brandon Jones in honor of Deedie Rose, DMA/amfAR Benefit Auction Fund, and Discretionary Decorative Arts Fund, 2012.29.a-e

To find out what drink concoctions these works inspired, visit the Creative Cocktail Lounge this Friday. While you are here, don’t forget to go to Tim Federle’s talk at 7:00 p.m. Tim’s punny cocktail books Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist and Hickory Daiquiri Dock helped inspire this contest and his talk is sure to be fun!

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So come and join us in toasting the DMA this Friday!

Stacey Lizotte is Head of Adult Programming and Multimedia Services at the DMA.

So What? One Question Evaluations at the DMA

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Almost all museums have programs for the public, in one form or another. These programs may fall under the fields of education, visitor engagement or interpretation, and may take the forms of drop-in workshops, ticketed lectures, in-gallery interactives or scheduled tours. Even within a single museum, these programs are diverse in their scope, varied in the spaces they take place, and wide-ranging in their scale. Furthermore, they differ in their intended outcomes, but more on that later.

Importance has been placed on growing different types programs for the public, as these can garner more attention from the community, increase overall attendance, and develop audiences. Oftentimes, this growth is approached by expanding programmatic offerings: increasing lecture topics, presenting more classes and workshops, or providing additional interactives in galleries. In these instances, growth is measured by quantity: “Well yes we serve our community, look how many programs we offer!” But I question whether this type of growth is positive for museums. Is expansion without reflection a good idea? I am inevitably reminded of the adage, “Less is more,” and wonder how this concept can be manifested in museum education programs.

The process of reflection and evaluation is an often overlooked step in program creation. Activities are designed, implemented, and either repeated (perhaps next week, or next month) or they are archived (if they’re lucky) for posterity. But rarely does someone stop and ask, “So what?” This question, seemingly harsh and unforgiving to some, or unimportant to others, is an invaluable asset to evaluation in my mind. It is a question that harks back to my time as a graduate student at The University of Texas at Austin in the Art Education department. My thesis advisor and Assistant Chair to the department Dr. Paul E. Bolin situated this question as an integral part of all academic research. Students would approach him with research proposals and he would answer, “Well yes, that does sound like an interesting study of this-and-that at the so-and-so institution, but so what?” This simple question produced its fair share of frustration, but also some very fruitful discussion about the field of art education. It caused us to reflect on how our intended research would impact or advance the discipline. It wasn’t enough for the topic to simply garner interest, it had to have purpose and intention; it needed to be able to stand on its own and answer, “This is why I exist.” Now, I am not proposing that every public program initiated by a museum or art institution should be held to the bar of furthering the field of art education (this would be rather difficult), but I do feel that every program should be accountable in providing a significant answer to this critical question.

As a department, the DMA’s Education team has spent many hours creating a mission statement that encapsulates our departmental practice, inevitably answering the So What question for ourselves. And during this process we have hit upon some key concepts that fuel our programs, the chief one being engagement. As educators, we aim to broaden and deepen engagement, and recognize that the DMA can influence the depth of one’s engagement, not by pitching more programs at our community, but by facilitating meaningful experiences in our current educational endeavors. But how can we know that these experiences are meaningful, unless we ask?

Our Education team is undertaking the evaluation process by implementing a series of one question studies that aim to pinpoint specific queries we as educators have about our public programs. The restricted format of this evaluation exercise is key, because evaluation can be a daunting task if approached too broadly. The one question design ensures that we concentrate on a single point—one program or interactive, one outcome, one bit of information that is important for us to determine. Just as the questions vary, so too do the methods of collecting data from visitors, ranging from written surveys, a post-it note response wall, and even a voting system using colorful pony beads. Below are preliminary looks into two different one question case studies we’ve begun.

CASE STUDY #1: YOUNG LEARNERS GALLERY (contributed by Jessica Fuentes)

Young Learners Gallery

The Young Learners Gallery, within the Center for Creative Connections (C3), is a space designed for children ages 5-8 and their caregivers. Over the past three years while much of C3 has changed—with the introduction of new artworks, art-making materials and gallery interactives—the Young Learners Gallery has gone untouched, because making changes to that space requires a complete redesign. Before undertaking such a task, the C3 staff want to learn more about families’ anticipated and actual experiences at the Museum.

We started with the prompt, “I bring my child(ren) to the Dallas Museum of Art Prompt signbecause…” posted on a wall in the Young Learners Gallery near a small table equipped with post-it notes and pencils. Unlike a survey, this method allows for open-ended responses that can later be categorized and analyzed while retaining the individual visitor’s voice. This analog system has been brought into the 21st Century through the development of the Post-It Plus App. With this app, instead of sifting through responses and later transcribing them in digital form, we can simply photograph the post-it notes and organize the digitized notes on a virtual board. The board can then be exported in a variety of formats including PowerPoint, Excel, and PDF.

We posted our question for a month and received 107 responses. The responses ranged from children’s drawings to eloquent statements expressing a desire to expose children to a broader world view. Because the purpose of this question was to gauge the caregiver’s motivations, we set aside the 26 children’s responses and the 4 irrelevant responses; however, we plan to use future questions to gather children’s input as well. The top three categories for why caregivers bring their child(ren) to the DMA is to get inspiration or foster creativity, to provide exposure to different cultures or broaden their world view, and because it’s fun.

As we plan the new Young Learners Gallery, we are keeping these findings in mind. For example, we have decided to include works of art in the space which currently is an activity area. The works of art selected will have a strong emphasis on culture and creativity. We also plan to create hands-on activities that address the developmental milestones of children aged 5-8 and provide opportunities for children and their caregivers to play, draw, and talk together about the works of art in front of them.

Now that we understand why caregivers bring their children to the DMA, we are in the process of posing more questions to learn what families actually do in the Young Learners Gallery. Understanding both expectations and experiences will help us develop a space that will meet a wider spectrum of caregivers’ and children’s needs.

totes45CASE STUDY #2: ART TO GO FAMILY TOTE BAGS

The DMA first offered activity-filled tote bags to families around this time last year, premiering during our January 2013 Late Night event. Each tote bag contains a variety of activities that encourage families to write, talk, play, or make while exploring the galleries together, the idea being to have fun with the art as a family. Since their public introduction last year, our Art To Go Family tote bags have grown to include many different themes: Senses, to help explore art through the five senses; Color, to explore art while thinking about colors; Family Fun, with activities designed by a family who frequently visits the Museum; and Arturo’s Library totes, designed for children under five years of age, which focus on a single work of art with an accompanying book and hands-on activity. These tote bags are available for check-out at our Family Fun Cart, located at the main entrance to the Museum, and are free to use by families anytime the Museum is open.

Initially, the Family & Access programs staff sought feedback on tote bags through individual paper surveys, presented to families once they returned tote bags to the Family Fun Cart. We found that very few of these surveys were returned, or even taken in the first place. During busy times at the Museum, those who coordinated checking bags in and out to visitors rarely had time to focus on handing out this extra survey to families, who for their part, were usually rushing to leave the Museum, and therefore rarely could spend extra time answering a two-page questionnaire. In this case, the one question evaluation was ideal not only because of its simplicity and accessibility, but also because of its straightforwardness. Unlike the above-mentioned project with the Young Learners Gallery, for the tote bags we were not looking for open-ended answers, at least not yet. While it is absolutely valuable to know whether or not visitors feel that the tote bags encourage a playful attitude towards looking at art, or if they are able to increase visitor confidence in looking at art with children, this is information that is best obtained in a second stage of evaluation, when we look at the specific effects of each activity and deem whether things should be modified or not. At this still early stage in the life of the tote bags, our team is really interested in the simple question of whether families are indeed using the tote bags during their visit, and where in the Museum they are being used. (This is our So What question.)

We designed our one question evaluation as a multiple choice prompt, which was added to the tote bag check-out sheet. We asked, “On Which Floor Did You Use the Tote Bag?” and invited visitors to check the box next to each area in which they used the bags—Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, Level 4—or, if they didn’t in fact use the activities in the bag, to check Did Not Use. Our hope was that including our one question evaluation on the check-out sheet, something that families were already using and thus familiar with, would increase the amount of feedback we received.

The updated check-out sheet has been in rotation for two months, and we have collected data for November and December 2014. On average, 52% of people who checked-out tote bags during that time responded to our evaluation, and of that total only 6% did not use the tote bag activities at all. While in the Museum, the respondents said they preferred to use the tote bags most on Level 1 (28%) and least on Level 4 (16%). Now, is this choice based on physical access (Level 1 is the same level on which the tote bags are offered, while Level 4 is farthest away) or related to the works of art available on each level (Level 1 is Contemporary art, Level 4 is American)? Now that we are beginning to better understand how much the tote bags are being utilized by visitors, and where in the Museum galleries they are being taken, we can start to pose these types of ancillary questions, that tap into deeper inquiries about visitor engagement.

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The insight provided by these two studies hopefully demonstrates the importance of evaluation to both growing and expanding program development. These are just preliminary looks into initial studies, and we hope to have more one question studies, as well as data, on the horizon. In order to increase the effectiveness of our programs and spaces, museum educators need the input of our audience to better understand their level and scope of engagement. Reflection and evaluation, in the style of these one question studies or other formats, can facilitate this exchange of ideas in a positive and productive manner, providing a strong foundation for educators to answer the So What question for themselves, their institution, as well as their community.

Danielle Schulz
Teaching Specialist

Dressed to the Nines: Canine Couture and Fashionista Felines

Last year the DMA pets took to the catwalk for Dress Your Pet Up Day, which is held every January 14. We had such a paws-itive response that we couldn’t wait to get our fashion hounds ready for their close ups once again. DMA staff and their furry pals took inspiration from the DMA’s collection and delivered some on trend looks that will get your tails WAGging.

Sabby_Marlo Pascual
DMA Staffer: Mandy Engleman, Director of Creative Services
DMA Pet: Sabrina, Bassador (Basset Hound/Yellow Lab), age 6 1/2
Portrait Inspiration: Marlo Pascual, Untitled, 2009
I’ve always been fascinated with Sabby’s short little legs and big paws, and when I saw the Pascual photo I knew we had to re-create this artistic still life. However, due to her short/long stature, a lounging pose was required!

panda 3
DMA Staffer: Stacey Lizotte, Head of Adult Programming and Multimedia Services
DMA Pet: Parker (he belongs to my parents but I borrowed him when I was home for Christmas), English Springer Spaniel, age 1
Portrait Inspiration: Banquete chair with pandas, Fernando Campana and Humberto Campana, designed 2006
With Parker being a black-and-white Springer, my mind went immediately to the banquete chair with pandas in our collection. Since it was cost prohibitive to buy a lot of stuffed pandas to place around Parker in a chair shape, my mom made a panda bear quilt with fabric we found online, which we then draped over a chair before posing Parker in it.

John_George
DMA Staffer: Amanda Blake, Head of Family, Access, and School Experiences
DMA Pet: George Costanza, West Highland White Terrier, age 8
Portrait Inspiration: John Singleton Copley, Woodbury Langdon, 1767
Dress Your Pet Up Day provided George with the perfect excuse to invite Chloe over for a play date. Even though he is a rough and tumble type of dog, he knows when to bring on the charm and put his best paw forward like Woodbury. (While George has many talents, holding a westie stamped document isn’t one of them. Amanda created a lifelike paw for his shoot).

Chloe_Sarah
DMA Staffer: Kimberly Daniell, Manager of Communications and Public Affairs
DMA Pet: Chloe (she is actually my roommate’s dog. I dog-napped her for the photo shoot), West Highland Terrier, age 9
Portrait Inspiration: John Singleton Copley, Sarah Sherburne Langdon, 1767
Chloe and George have been discussing portrait options since last January to create a team for this year’s Dress Your Pet Up Day. The perfect pair for this westie duo were the Langdons, though George took to his sophisticated background much more easily than Chloe. She hasn’t adjusted to the nouveau riche lifestyle of the Langdons.

Captain Charles_Nandi
DMA Staffer: Fran Baas, Associate Conservator
DMA Pet: Captain Charles, Domestic Shorthair (very handsome Tuxedo with many admirers), age 4
Portrait Inspiration: Nandi, c. 13th century, South India
A cat can be a difficult model. Since I am the objects conservator here at the DMA, I wanted to choose one of the many fabulous sculptures from the collection that are currently on view. The Nandi bull, the bull that serves as mount and gatekeeper for the god Shiva, was an obvious choice by my dear Captain for several reasons: reclining, an “immature” bull, a protector, and adored by many. He didn’t really want to wear the floral garland trim and thought it was something to play with. His usual “reclining” pose went out the door.

Fidel_Georgia O'Keeffe
DMA Staffer: Jessica Fuentes, The Center for Creative Connections Gallery Coordinator
DMA Pet: Fidel, short-haired Chihuahua, age 3
Portrait Inspiration: Georgia O’Keeffe, Grey Blue & Black—Pink Circle, 1929
Georgia O’Keeffe is one of my daughter’s favorite artists and Grey Blue & Black – Pink Circle is my favorite O’Keeffe in the Museum’s collection. My original idea was to attach colored fabric to my dogs’ harnesses and capture them running in circles; however, Nene did not want to participate, so I was left with one Chihuahua who didn’t want to run around solo. So I improvised. I set the camera for a longer exposure setting, stood above Fidel, and twisted the camera as I took my photograph, blurring the colors around him.

Baxter_Pietro Bellotti
DMA Staffer: Laura Hartman, Paintings Conservator
DMA Pet: Baxter, Bulldog, age 7
Portrait Inspiration: Pietro Bellotti, Old Pilgrim, c. 1660s-1670s
Baxter has always looked like an old man, even as a puppy. He captures the feeling of this painting very well, but he would not cooperate and wear a beard.

Sampspn_Piet Mondrian
DMA Staffer: Maegan Hoffmann, Assistant Manager of DMA Partners Program
DMA Pet: Sampson, American Long Hair Kitty-Snuggle-Study-Buddy-Cat, age 6
Portrait Inspiration: Piet Mondrian, Composition with Large Blue Plane, Red, Black, Yellow, and Gray, 1921
Sampson adores boxes and loves to hang out inside them. When I saw Mondrian’s piece Composition with Large Blue Plane, Red, Black, Yellow, and Gray, I just knew Sampson would love to participate in the work by transforming the flat 2D plane of the work into a 3D box of De Stijl art! Sampson is mostly white and black and gray with pops of color, like the ginger in his fur or the green in his eyes, similar (but not exactly) to Mondrian’s pieces during the De Stijl movement that focused on the use of primary colors and cubist influence. Mondrian believed that “all things are parts of a whole,” and Sampson definitely completes my existence.

animals 2
DMA Staffer: Reagan Duplisea, Associate Registrar, Exhibitions
DMA Pet: Mosey, Florida Brown Dog, age 10
Portrait Inspiration: Cornelis Saftleven, College of Animals, 1655
Mosey was inspired by her four-legged scholar friends in the College of Animals to brush up on her humanities in order to be a well-rounded canine companion. The cat (not pictured despite many attempts) claimed that she knew all that was worth knowing in life and much preferred napping to studying, thank you very much.

danielle 2
DMA Staffer: Danielle Schulz, Teaching Specialist
DMA Pet: Bella (Lab/Collie mix), Ruby (Lab/Retriever/Pointer mix), Kitty (Bombay), ages 2, 3, and 4
Portrait Inspiration: Louise Nevelson, Diminishing Reflections VIII (Left & Right), 1964
I wanted to play upon the animals’ color, as all three are entirely, or almost entirely, black. It therefore seemed fitting to take inspiration from sculptor Louise Nevelson’s monochromatic, abstract wooden forms.

Annie_Figure of a woman
DMA Staffer: Fran Baas, Associate Conservator
DMA Pet: Annie, Domestic Shorthair (lovely gray-white with captivating golden eyes), age 4
Portrait Inspiration: Figure of a woman, Roman Empire, 2nd century A.D.
Again, a cat is a very difficult model. Annie wanted nothing to do with the soft drapery chosen to mimic the exquisitely carved marble drapery depicted in the ancient Roman figure of a woman. Like the noblewoman depicted, Annie typically radiates nobility and grace (until you try to cover her with fabric).

emma
DMA Staffer: Emma Vernon, Manager of the DMA Partners Program
DMA Pet: Semiramis (Mirie), Shih-tzu/Poodle, age 10 months
Portrait Inspiration: William Wetmore Story, Semiramis, designed 1872, carved 1873
I chose Semiramis because she is Mirie’s namesake! I’ve always loved this gorgeous statue and the thrilling story of the ambitious Assyrian queen it represents. Mirie is still very much a puppy, so she may not be as graceful, but she certainly has the moxie!

Visit the DMA’s collection galleries, included in free general admission, to find inspiration for your pet’s high fashion and share your photos: #DressYourPetUp.

Images: Marlo Pascual, Untitled, 2009, digital C-print, Dallas Museum of Art, Lay Family Acquisition Fund, © Marlo Pascual; Fernando Campana, Humberto Campana, Banquete chair with pandas, designed 2006, stuffed animals on steel base, Dallas Museum of Art, DMAamfAR Benefit Auction Fund; John Singleton Copley, Woodbury Langdon, 1767, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc.; John Singleton Copley, Sarah Sherburne Langdon, 1767, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc.; Nandi, South India, c. 13th century, granite, Dallas Museum of Art, the Cecil and Ida Green Acquisition Fund and gift of David T. Owsley via the Alvin and Lucy Owsley Foundation; Georgia O’Keeffe, Grey Blue & Black—Pink Circle, 1929, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of The Georgia O’Keeffe Foundation, © The Georgia O’Keeffe Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Pietro Bellotti, Old Pilgrim, c. 1660s-1670s, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, The Karl and Esther Hoblitzelle Collection, gift of the Hoblitzelle Foundation; Piet Mondrian, Composition with Large Blue Plane, Red, Black, Yellow, and Gray, 1921, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, gift of Mrs. James H. Clark, © 2015 Mondrian/Holtzman Trust, c/o HCR International Washington DC; Cornelis Saftleven, College of Animals, 1655, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, The Karl and Esther Hoblitzelle Collection, gift of the Hoblitzelle Foundation; Louise Nevelson, Diminishing Reflections VIII (Left & Right), 1964, painted wood, Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, anonymous gift, © Estate of Louise Nevelson/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Figure of a woman, Roman Empire, 2nd century A.D., marble, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Cecil H. Green; William Wetmore Story, Semiramis, designed 1872, carved 1873, marble, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Morynne and Robert E. Motley in memory of Robert Earl Motley, Jr., 1942-1998

Amanda Blake is Head of Family, Access, and School Experiences and Kimberly Daniell is the Manager of Communications and Public Affairs at the DMA.

Turner Time

Mr. Turner, a film about the last 25 years of the renowned artist’s life, has just opened in Dallas. Experience even more Joseph Mallord William Turner at the DMA with a visit to the Museum’s European Gallery on Level 2, included in our daily free general admission, to take in the artist’s 1803 work, Bonneville, Savoy in the DMA collection.

Joseph Mallord William Turner, Bonneville, Savoy, 1803, oil On canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, gift of Nancy Hamon in memory of Jake L. Hamon with additional donations from Mrs. Eugene D. McDermott, Mrs. James H. Clark, Mrs. Edward Marcus and the Leland Fikes Foundation, Inc.

Joseph Mallord William Turner, Bonneville, Savoy, 1803, oil On canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, gift of Nancy Hamon in memory of Jake L. Hamon with additional donations from Mrs. Eugene D. McDermott, Mrs. James H. Clark, Mrs. Edward Marcus and the Leland Fikes Foundation, Inc.

 

Friday Photos: The Mother Load Responses

In September, we did a Friday Photos post of The Mother Load Project installation in the Center for Creative Connections. Now that this interactive installation has been on view for a few months, we’d like to share some of the wonderful visitor responses. The Mother Load Project asks visitors to respond to the question:

In your life right now, what do you nurture, and why?

Visitors write their responses on small gray tiles and place their tile on one end of a balance marked for self or for others. I love coming in and seeing which way the balance is leaning on any given day and watching it change course over a matter of hours.

The Mother Load Project Installation_balance

Here are just a handful of the thousands of responses we have received so far.

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View more visitor responses on The Mother Load website and stop by the Center for Creative Connections to contribute your thoughts to this project.

Jessica Fuentes
C3 Gallery Coordinator


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