In My Image, an installation by C3 Visiting Artist Spencer Evans in the DMA’s Center for Creative Connections, explores notions of image and identity. For this project, Evans drew inspiration from Jacques Lacan’s “Mirror Stage” theory, which suggests that children base their identity on their environment before becoming aware of their own reflection. The final product is a collaborative installation of self-portraits started by Museum visitors and completed by the artist by referencing conversations and reflections shared about each participant’s unique identity.
We sat down with Evans to learn more about what inspires him, how he describes his art, and what his experience has been like as a C3 Visiting Artist. Check it out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohSzR59tnJ0
Drop by the DMA through August 2019 to see In My Image. Visitors also have the opportunity to meet Spencer Evans and learn more about his installation at the closing reception on Thursday, August 1.
Interested in making your mark on the DMA and becoming a C3 Visiting Artist for 2020? Applications are still open through August 2! Learn more about the C3 Visiting Artist Project and apply here.
Surrealism has had a major impact on both the art world and popular visual culture. Its influences are evident in Pop art, Abstract Expressionism, and time-based media installations, and in contemporary film, music, and advertising. In Dior: From Paris to the World, you can see Surrealism’s influence as a continuing inspiration in haute couture fashion.
Maria Grazia Chiuri explored Surrealist symbolism in her Spring–Summer 2018 show, where monochromatic black and white dresses were offset by a black-and-white chessboard runway “in a not-so-subtle nod to the world of games,” according to Dior, “conjuring an otherworldliness and constant optical illusion.”
Chiuri explored Surrealism in her collection with a focus on American photographer Man Ray and female Surrealists Leonora Carrington and Leonor Fini. It’s no coincidence that she found inspiration in Fini, as Christian Dior, an art gallerist turned couturier, organized Fini’s first solo exhibition in November 1932.
Fini, a young and audacious artist, was a celebrity in her time, in part thanks to Dior. She often wore his designs—although in a memorable 1936 episode she attended a party wearing only “knee-length white leatherette boots and a cape of white feathers.”
Look 19. Christian Dior by Maria Grazia Chiuri. Haute Couture Spring–Summer 2018. Courtesy of Dior.
Alchimiste, a checkerboard ensemble that includes a long dress made of organza inserts with a feather-embroidered short cape (Look 5, Maria Grazia Chiuri: The New Feminity), reimagines a representation of Fini’s famous party ensemble against the Surrealist chessboard.
Look 48. Christian Dior by Maria Grazia Chiuri. Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2018. Courtesy of Dior.
More literally, Chiuri’s dress Nude (Look 8, Maria Grazia Chiuri: The New Feminity), with its trompe l’oeil dress embroidered with metallic sequins, is a literal interpretation of Man Ray’s 1929 Nude. A copy of Man Ray’s work can be found on Chiuri’s mood board.
In a way, the dress also pays homage to René Magritte’s The Light of Coincidences, on view in the DMA’s European Galleries on Level 2. In creating Chiuri’s Nude, hand-embroidered silver metal sequins were specially placed so the results mimicked light reflecting on the body, similar to the candlelight against Magritte’s sculptural torso.
Dior also debuted Salvador Dalí’s masterpiece The Persistence of Memory as part of a larger solo exhibition in 1931. The painting famously depicts Dalí’s melting clocks, which Dior presented when he worked at the Galérie Bonjean. Chiuri also displays Dalí’s 1944 Vogue cover on her mood board in the exhibition.
The Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony” played over the last looks in the runway show—New York’s Newsday described the band as having “blurring effects [that] stretch and contract the music into the liquid surrealism of a Salvador Dalí painting.” Their 1992 Gravity Grave EP cover nods to The Persistence of Memory.
The Verve’s Gravity Grave EP cover
However, it was most likely Fini that Chiuri was channeling when she chose The Verve, using graphic masks to note literally Fini’s passion for grand balls, which allowed her to impersonate different characters. An extraordinary ball held at Venice’s Palazzo Labia on September 3, 1951, organized by Charles de Beistegui, would go down in posterity as “The Ball of the Century” and an unforgettable fusion of the arts. Dior, Fini, and Dalí were among the 1,500 guests.
Andre Ostier, Leonor Fini, 1951, gelatin silver print, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum purchase funded by Mr. and Mrs. Harry B. Gordon, 80.22
And what is a ball without a mask? Is fashion not a daily mask we can use like a Surrealist to explore playing with reality?
As The Verve sang over Chiuri’s runway: “I’m a million different people from one day to the next, I can’t change my mold no, no, no, no.”
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Explore these Surrealist connections and more in Dior: From Paris to the World through September 1. Visitors must purchase timed tickets in advance at DMA.org/Dior.
Clara Cobb is the Senior Marketing Manager at the DMA.
I think we can all agree—Texas summers are one of a kind. Growing up, my family frequently piled into a car and braved the murky water of Galveston beach to escape from the heat. Little did I know, someday I would spend my summers in a temperature-controlled paradise called the Dallas Museum of Art. If you are looking for a way to make it a cool summer break, head to the DMA for some free family fun!
Whether you are in the mood for a group activity or craving some quiet time, we have a program for you! Starting on June 11 and running through August 9, our Summer Family Fun programs give you the chance to enjoy a new experience every day. Participate in story time, interactive tours, or visit the Pop-Up Art Spot to engage with the Museum’s collection through fun activities.
Leading the way for the majority of our summer family programs is a group of art-loving teenagers called the DMA Teen Ambassadors. The Teen Ambassadors dedicate part of their summer to learning AND leading at the Museum. These enthusiastic teens learn the ins and outs of museum teaching and then spend the rest of the summer putting their skills to work through engaging story times, interactive tours and more. Keep an eye out for this enthusiastic and talented group of teens!
I know crowds aren’t for everyone—if you’re looking for some quiet time and want help exploring the galleries at your own pace, Family Gallery Guides are available anytime the Museum is open. These paper guides are designed to send you on your own adventure through the galleries! If you’re looking for another way to explore on your own, make your way to the Center for Creative Connections (C3), a space designed for visitors of all ages to wander and interact with art in new and innovative ways.
Denise Gonzalez is the Manager of Family and Early Learning Programs at the DMA.
For 40 years, Go van Gogh® programs have traveled to kindergarten through 6th grade classrooms throughout Dallas, bringing the DMA to students through art-making activities and interactive presentations of works from the Museum’s collection. Building on the program’s mission of expanding our outreach, and as a follow up to our recent Go van Gogh post, we are excited to preview our newest Go van Gogh offering—a program designed for bilingual classrooms!
Estampas de la Memoria is a one-hour outreach experience for Spanish-speaking elementary students. The program, which I developed with C3 Visiting Artist Karla Garcia, is facilitated in Spanish and is designed to activate students’ voices and experiences.
Students gathered during a small group discussion.
Students begin their journey with image theater activities that involve them as co-creators of content. These activities are designed to increase students’ comfort level in interpreting body language and facial expressions and preface a discussion of three retablos—artworks that serve as offerings of gratitude—from the Museum’s Latin American art collection. During the discussion, students also participate in a collaborative story-writing activity that allows them to develop their own interpretations in their language(s) of choice.
Students participating in a collaborative story-writing activity.
The final portion of the program consists of a printmaking activity designed to foster connections to students’ daily lives. The blocks student use to make their prints were created by Karla Garcia, whose own work explores concepts of memory and home as someone raised along the US-Mexico border.
Students participating in a printmaking activity designed by Karla Garcia.
Estampas de la Memoria was piloted with kindergarten through 5th grade classrooms this spring and will be offered as part of our suite of Go van Gogh programs during the 2019–2020 school year. Visit our website in August for booking information!
Si le interesa enseñar nuestro programa bilingüe, ¡considere ser un voluntario para Go van Gogh!
Bernardo Velez Rico is the Teaching Specialist for School Programs at the DMA.
If you’ve ever attended one of our free summer programs for families, you’ve probably met a Teen Ambassador. The Teen Ambassador Program has been around in some shape or form since 2001, providing fun and interactive experiences to thousands of visitors each summer.
Teen Ambassadors volunteer at the Museum for a short period of time, but they’re at the Museum a lot between June and August. Our 2018 class volunteered over 560 hours in 2018! In just two and a half months, participating teens get comfortable with their voice, learn how to be a good team member, and become experts in the DMA galleries. They truly embody what it means to be a leader—but what does leadership mean to a Teen Ambassador?
For participating teens, leadership is more than just having confidence. “A leader is not about someone in charge that you have to listen to,” one Teen Ambassador said. “It is about someone who takes initiative. If they find a problem they work with it. [They are] not afraid to make mistakes [and] learn from them.” Another Teen Ambassador described a leader as someone “who can take control of the situation and lead others onto a good path. A leader is always kind and has good integrity.”
Many Teen Ambassadors feel that a real leader is someone who listens to and respects others. While a Teen Ambassador can confidently stand up and give a tour to a large group without breaking a sweat, most find themselves learning how to communicate with others and be themselves. “I’ve learned how to make others feel welcome,” one Teen Ambassador reported at the end of last summer. “I was able to break out of my shell to connect with more people.”
Inspired by these teens’ experiences? Applications for the 2019 Teen Ambassador Program are now open! If you’re a teen who is at least 14 years old and interested in getting involved at the Museum, find out more by clicking here. Applications are due on Sunday, April 28.
Jessica Thompson-Castillo is the Manager of Teen Programs at the DMA.
Pancakes, music, Lego towers, clothing, art . . . what do
all these things have in common? They are things you can MAKE! Whether you sew, bake, build, invent, tinker, or play, it’s
hard to deny the thrill that comes when you can exclaim, “I made that!” Here at
the DMA, we whole-heartedly believe in the beauty of creativity, from the
visions of the artists whose works fill our galleries to the imagination of the
visitors who make the museum come to life. So why not throw a party to make merry over the joy of creativity?
On Sunday, April 7th, we’ll be celebrating the power and delight of making in all its many forms at our FREE Family Festival: MAKE! with an exciting lineup of activities for the entire family. Drop in throughout the day to:
When the DMA Teen Advisory Council (TAC) re-convened for this year’s session, we started our first brainstorming exercise with the question we ask ourselves every year: what do we want the Dallas Museum of Art to be for teens? While the answer we ultimately arrive at takes a different form, the teens always think of inventive new ways to create a space for their peers.
A Teen Advisory Council meeting in session
This year, the conversation revolved around teen artists. Council members know that young people in DFW have a lot to say, and use their talents to express their ideas. To give these talented artists a space to be heard and recognized, TAC decided to launch Teen Renaissance, a new student art exhibition inspired by the innovation and unique perspectives of their generation.
In developing the open call, TAC settled on the theme of “Your Personal Lens,” inviting teens to submit artworks that shared their interpretations of the world. A whopping 195 students submitted their artwork for consideration, representing more than 15 different schools around the Metroplex.
TAC members making curatorial decisions for the Teen Renaissance art installation
While narrowing down so many submissions was difficult, TAC specifically looked for artworks that could speak to each other. We looked at all the submissions together, finding common themes and works that would be cohesive when viewed together. The council went through three rounds of elimination before deciding on the final 15 works on view at the Museum.
TAC members discussing and planning for Teen Renaissance
So how do teens see the world? This year’s Teen Renaissance shows us that being a teen is a lot about what’s happening on the inside as young people start creating a place for themselves in the world. For many teens, their personal lens is their cultural heritage, and how multiple identities merge and balance to create a unique individual. For others, their personal lens is the complicated journey of growing up, finding a world view that’s authentic to them, and creating meaningful relationships with others.
Join the Teen Advisory Council on Saturday, March 16 for Your Personal Lens, an all-day celebration of the exhibition and teen talent throughout Dallas!
Teen Renaissance is now on view through March 28, 2019, on Mezzanine 2, next to the Mayer Library.
Jessica Thompson-Castillo is the Manager of Teen Programs at the DMA.
One hour into David Byrne’s 1986 movie True Stories, John Goodman’s character, Louis Fyne, parks his car in front of the eccentric house of a voodoo practitioner. A sign reading “Invisible Hospital of Saint John the Baptist” is barely visible in the nighttime. That sign was hiding another sign that read “The Texas Kid.” The actual owner of the house with a fantastically decorated yard was Willard “The Texas Kid” Watson.
Willard Watson, a.k.a. The Texas Kid, was a folk artist born in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, and raised in Dallas, Texas. He was a local celebrity, recognized for his customized cars, flashy outfits that he sewed himself, and the sculpture garden outside his home near Love Field Airport. Fourteen of his drawings are in the DMA’s collection. The first drawings were acquired just three months after the movie was filmed.
As Watson recalled in his autobiography, “That year, 1985, David Byrne, who had a famous band called Talking Heads, came by the house and asked if he could film part of his movie TRUE STORIES at my house.”
Christina Patoski, a journalist and photographer from Fort Worth, served as a special consultant for the movie. David Byrne called her in 1984, after a mutual friend recommended Patoski to be a point of contact in Texas, and said he was working on a film. In the summer of 1984, Byrne, Patoski, and some friends drove around for three days scouting locations in Dallas and surrounding counties that Byrne imagined as settings for the fictional town of Virgil, Texas. Patoski took photographs during the initial trip and throughout the filming of the movie.
Patoski suggested that Byrne come back in the fall during the State Fair. He returned in October and brought Jonathan Demme, the director of Stop Making Sense. At that time, Patoski was directing a music video for Joe “King” Carrasco staged in the The Kid’s yard. They visited her there and met Watson and saw his incredible yard and home. Byrne decided to use it as a location in True Stories. Demme purchased some of Watson’s drawings and later cast him in his feature film Something Wild.
Byrne and crew came back in August of 1985 and started filming in early September. Patoski says it was an intense six-week shoot. Watson recalled:
“Elnora and I said yes, but we had to give up the use of our home for almost two weeks. They would work all day and often until two or three in the morning. The crew was all over the place. . . . At night, the cast and crew liked to party at nightclubs, particularly Shannon’s club, Tango. . . . I even went to their wrap party at Sons of Herman[n Hall.]”
While Watson himself doesn’t appear in the movie, his wife, Elnora, and one of their grandsons had roles as the wife and son of the shaman, played by Pops Staples. Patoski says they built the “voodoo room” for the movie, but the rest of the house, filled inside and out with Watson’s art, hardly had to be changed.
While True Stories was filming, a solo exhibition of Watson’s art was on view at the Bath House Cultural Center at White Rock Lake. It was there that a curator from the DMA saw his Life Cycle drawings, and after showing them to the director of the DMA plans were made to acquire them. “I was really really proud for my work to be acquired by the Dallas Museum of Art,” wrote Watson.
You are cordially invited to our Spring Break Garden Party – just be sure to bring the whole family! Free family fun at the DMA will be in full bloom from March 12 to 15. Join the floral festivities during this week of garden-inspired story times, interactive tours, art making, and more! Our Museum mascot, Arturo, was eager to venture outside of his nest to test out some of our activities.
“Meet me in the courtyard!” Arturo couldn’t wait to try sketching outside.
It’s been a chilly winter and we’re crossing our fingers for great weather during Spring Break! Drop by the Fleischner Courtyard for a chance to sketch like never before. French Impressionist artists sketched outside, or, as they would say, en plein air, to accurately capture natural light in their works. Grab some paper and a pencil to find out if the elements are your friend or foe.
The competition heats up as Arturo plays wildflower bingo!
In the studio, create your own floral collage using paper, glue, and markers, and then stick around to add your own touch to the growing garden on the studio’s back wall. Already a garden guru? Drop by the Tech Lab to test your nose at our scent matching station or challenge your family to a game of wildflower bingo. Need some help navigating four floors of art? Be sure to catch our Girl Power (Half) Hour tour celebrating women in the art world.
“She loves me, she loves me not.” Arturo does some flower dissection of his own!
Wait—there’s more! On Friday, special guests from the Dallas Arboretum will be in the Fleischner Courtyard with a flower dissection activity. There is plenty to see and do this Spring Break at the Dallas Museum of Art. Stay for a little while or plant yourself down all day! Either way, we’re all excited to see(d) you here.
Denise Gonzalez is the Manager of Family and Early Learning Programs at the DMA.
This week the DMA’s beloved Late Night program turns sixteen! In celebration of each year the program has been around, let’s take a look at artworks that were added to the permanent collection during those years—they are also currently on display, so be sure to keep a lookout for them when you’re here for Late Night!
2004
Olowe of Ise, Kneeling female figure with bowl (olumeye), Nigeria, c. 1910-c. 1938, wood, pigment, and paint, Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., 2004.16.McD
2005
Sugar bowl, Lebolt & Co., Chicago, Illinois, c. 1915, silver, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Marguerite and Robert K. Hoffman in honor of Nancy Hamon, 2005.51.5.a-b
2006
Buddha Sakyamuni, Thailand, Khmer, c. 13th century, gilded bronze, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of David T. Owsley via the Alvin and Lucy Owsley Foundation, the Cecil and Ida Green Acquisition Fund, and Bromberg Family Wendover Fund, 2006.21
2007
Mark Handforth, Dallas Snake, 2007, steel, aluminum, and glass lamp head, Dallas Museum of Art, TWO x TWO for AIDS and Art Fund and Lay Family Acquisition Fund, 2007.39
2008
Window with Sea Anemone (“Summer”), Louis Comfort Tiffany (designer), Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company (manufacturer), New York, New York, c. 1885-95, glass, lead, iron, and wooden frame (original), Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., 2008.21.1.McD
2009
Box, John Nicholas Otar (designer), c. 1933, copper and brass, Dallas Museum of Art, Discretionary Decorative Arts Fund, 2009.7.a-b
2010
Nandi, 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, 2010.6
2011
François-Auguste Biard, Seasickness on an English Corvette, 1857, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of J. E. R. Chilton, 2011.27
2012
Marriage necklace, India, Tamil Nadu, late 19th century, gold, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of David T. Owsley honoring Dr. Anne Bromberg via the Alvin and Lucy Owsley Foundation and the Cecil and Ida Green Acquisition Fund, 2012.46
2013
Guillaume Lethière, Erminia and the Shepherds, 1795, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, Mrs. John B. O’Hara Fund, 2013.1.FA
2014
Antoine-Augustin Préault, Silence, c. 1842, patinated plaster, Dallas Museum of Art, The Mr. and Mrs. George A. Shutt Fund and General Acquisitions Fund, 2014.10
2015
Bust of Herakles, Roman, Lambert Sigisbert Adam (restorer), 1st century-2nd century CE, marble, Dallas Museum of Art, the Cecil and Ida Green Acquisition Fund, gift of David T. Owsley via the Alvin and Lucy Owsley Foundation, and Bromberg Family Wendover Fund, 2015.31
2016
Tomb plaque marker on a tortoise base, China, c. 219-c. 316 CE, limestone, Dallas Museum of Art, the Cecil and Ida Green Acquisition Fund, 2016.33.a-b
Pair of six-panel folding screens depicting “The Tale of Genji,” Japan, Kano School, 16th-17th century, ink and color on paper, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of David T. Owsley via the Alvin and Lucy Owsley Foundation, Bromberg Family Wendover Fund, and the Cecil and Ida Green Acquisition Fund, 2018.21.1-2
Valerie Chang is the McDermott Intern for Adult Programming at the DMA.
