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Have Fun While Staying Put

Published July 22, 2013 Arts District , Dallas , DFW Closed
Tags: Crow Collection of Asian Art, Dallas Museum of Art, DMA, Klyde Warren Park, Nasher Sculpture Center, staycation, Summer

Staying in town for vacation? Spend a day or two in the Dallas Arts District experiencing the rich cultures of the world and have lots of fun while doing it! Here’s our lowdown for how to have a great “staycation” in the Arts District.

At the Crow Collection of Asian Art
Visit the Far East and the cultures of China, Japan, India, and Southeast Asia. The display of paper cranes is rotated annually and incorporates over three thousand hand-crafted cranes. Admission is free and the Museum opens at 10:00 a.m. on weekdays (closed on Mondays).

At the Nasher Sculpture Center
Check out Berlin-based artist Katharina Grosse’s exhibition, including the interactive piece in the Lower Gallery. Katharina painted walls and mounds of dirt that visitors are able to enter and walk through. While carefully stepping through her work, one gets the feeling that they are out of this world–now talk about a vacation!

At Klyde Warren Park
Stretch your legs and grab some lunch at the food trucks. There is something for everyone at the Park: ping pong, chess, jungle gyms, fountains, and an outdoor library. Located in the heart of Dallas and the Dallas Arts District, it’s just a short walk from the museums.

Finally, walk over to the Dallas Museum of Art!
In addition to free general admission offered every day during Museum hours, the DMA is currently hosting two free exhibitions about art in North Texas. DallasSITES: Charting Contemporary Art, 1963 to Present is an exhibition celebrating the history of North Texas’s bold and distinctive art scene. Looking back over fifty years, DallasSITES examines the moments, people, and organizations that helped shape our area’s incredibly vital relationship with contemporary art. Be sure to check out the timeline wall (pictured) and the collage of posters at the opening of the exhibition! Did you know we have so many artists living and working in Dallas!
Hotel Texas: An Art Exhibition for the President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy is another show you won’t want to miss. This exhibition brings together the works of art installed in the president’s suite at the Hotel Texas during his fateful trip in 1963. The original installation, orchestrated by a small group of Fort Worth art collectors, was created especially for President Kennedy and the First Lady in celebration of their overnight visit to the city and included paintings by Vincent van Gogh, Thomas Eakins, Lyonel Feininger, Franz Kline, and Marsden Hartley, and sculptures by Pablo Picasso and Henry Moore, among others.

From all of us at the DMA, we hope that you are having a wonderful summer, and we look forward to seeing you in the Arts District soon!

Hayley Dyer is the Audience Relations Coordinator for Programming at the DMA.

Making Use of Available Space

Published July 17, 2013 Behind-the-Scenes , Dallas , DFW , Exhibitions 2 Comments
Tags: Dallas Museum of Art, DallasSITES: Available Space, DMA

This Friday, July 19, we are opening the experimental project DallasSITES: Available Space to the public. The monthlong exhibition is intended to give local emerging artists, curators, collectives, and art educators a platform to connect with the DMA’s general audience. In doing so, it also establishes a dialogue between the local arts community and the Museum by opening the DMA’s galleries to exciting new art installations and programming. Below is a quick update on what’s been going on behind the scenes as we get ready for Friday’s unveiling.

On Monday, The Art Foundation wheeled a pristine 1973 Jaguar XJ6 into the galleries for the artist Brandon Kennedy’s work titled NFS. (2013). In order for the car to be gallery-approved, it was first drained of all fluids and the battery was disconnected. Since the car was too wide to be brought in through any of our public entrances, we had to bring it in through a side door accessible only through the DMA’s Sculpture Garden. Below is a short snippet showing the artist, curators, and registrar maneuvering the car through the Sculpture Garden:

Brandon Kennedy’s work titled NFS. in the DMA’s Barrel Vault.

This work is one of eighteen artworks by Dalllas-based artists included in The Art Foundation’s curated group show, Boom Town. The exhibition addresses the long-standing gap between the artist and patron classes of our city and explores how artists who live and work in Dallas negotiate this complicated terrain. In addition to Kennedy’s car installation, the group show will feature a wide range of works including painting, sculpture, digital prints, works on paper, and an audio installation all located throughout the Barrel Vault.

The Art Foundation

Another participant in Available Space is the Fort Worth-based collective HOMECOMING! Committee. For their installation, titled Post Communiqué, the group has taken over the entire Hanley Gallery, transforming it into the collective’s new headquarters. The headquarters comes complete with its own interrogation room, workout room, library, storage, breakroom, and sleeping quarters. Members of HOMECOMING! will be activating the space throughout the run of the exhibition, so be prepared for the unexpected. Audience members are invited to interact with the first floor of the two-story installation, and the TV wall in the “Deprogramming Room” is not to be missed. Below are some pictures of the space during construction, along with a trailer the artists have put together to promote the project:

HOMECOMING! Committee, Post Communiqué

Post Communiqué 2013 from HOMECOMING! on Vimeo

This blog post just scratches the surface of what you can look forward to experiencing in Available Space, which also includes contributions by Dallas VideoFest, Brookhaven College, Oil and Cotton, and PerformanceSW. All of these projects will continue to evolve over the course of the month, and visitors are encouraged to check back for new ways to engage and interact with the space. For a complete list of programs and events during the run of Available Space, visit the DMA’s website.

Gabriel Ritter is The Nancy and Tim Hanley Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art at the DMA.

Creating an Available Space

Published July 11, 2013 Behind-the-Scenes , Center for Creative Connections , Dallas , DFW , Education , Exhibitions Closed
Tags: Dallas Museum of Art, DallasSITES: Available Space, DallasSITES: Charting Contemporary Art, DMA

The Barrel Vault and Quadrant Galleries have a very different look. We’re preparing them for the DMA’s first experimental project space featuring Dallas-area artists, collectives, and art educators. Want to find out more about what’s to come? Join us next Friday, July 19, for a Late Night celebrating the opening of DallasSITES: Available Space and read a bit more about the creative space here.

Listening Hard: Remembering JFK on Record

Published June 26, 2013 Behind-the-Scenes , Center for Creative Connections , Dallas , DFW , Education , Exhibitions , Guest Blog Post Closed
Tags: Alan Govenar, Dallas Museum of Art, Hotel Texas: An Art Exhibition for the President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy, Music

The tragedy surrounding President John F. Kennedy’s 1963 trip to Texas inspired many songwriters to remember and honor JFK through song. Listening Hard: Remembering JFK on Record is an audio-video installation produced by Alan Govenar featuring songs of a variety of genres produced in the months after Kennedy’s assassination. Swing by the C3 Theater during the run of Hotel Texas: An Art Exhibition for the President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy to experience these songs.*

Listening Hard: Remembering JFK on Record, Alan Govenar, © Alan Govenar

Uncrated chatted with Alan, founder and president of Documentary Arts and the installation’s producer, to pick his brain about his creative process and vision for this work. Join us at the DMA during our July Late Night on Friday, July 19, at 7:00 p.m. to hear Alan discuss his installation.

When did you begin researching JFK memorial songs?
It was 1975, so nearly forty years ago. I had heard about the Mexican-American corridos and started gathering the records when I could find them. I had written a lot about blues and jazz, and this was part of it.

What was the impetus for this project?
The piece was originally commissioned by the International Center of Photography. Brian Wallis, Chief Curator at the ICP, has organized a show of photographs, JFK November 22, 1963: A Bystander’s View of History, that look at the assassination from the viewpoint of bystanders.

All of the singers are in a way personalizing their relationship with President Kennedy, either as friend or savior, champion of the downtrodden, the advocate for the forgotten or the disenfranchised. The songs juxtapose that sense of feeling a personal relationship with the president and the great sense of loss, the tragedy of his killing.

You’ve referred to this installation as an “experience.” How do you envision DMA visitors experiencing this installation?
All of the songs are topical. All were released on record. Most were written within days of the assassination. The installation is an audio loop, and the anchor, or punctuation point, is an eyewitness account released on an LP within days of the assassination. A man just saw the assassination, and someone put a microphone in his face and asked him what he saw. He was panicked, on the verge of crying. He had his five year old standing next to him. He was ready to pounce on top of him to protect him because he thought there was a maniac on the loose. That sets a certain stage for the rest of the piece, which is startling and haunting. But, there’s an aspect of the songs that has you smiling. It throws you back in time and place. Much of what the piece is about is perception and memory.

What was your creative process behind the image of JFK that continuously dissolves into images of record labels?
It has a meditative kind of effect, seeing that image reappearing. In some senses, I intended it to be reassuring, comforting, but also, it’s a memorial. It’s like looking at a tombstone. Those slow dissolves into the record labels that go in and out of JFK’s face are haunting, I think because of the idea that he was shot. It’s a complex, emotive kind of experience.

What was the most surprising thing you discovered?
The most surprising part of my research was the sheer vastness of songs written about John F. Kennedy in so many musical genres. People felt compelled to write them. People felt like their feelings needed to be expressed. A song in the installation called The Tragedy of Kennedy, by the Southern Belle singers recorded in December 1963, ends with:

Let me tell you people what we better do,
Keep our minds on Jesus for he’s a President, too.

It identifies Kennedy in that role, as a great savior who was martyred.

Why do you think Kennedy was memorialized through such diverse musical genres?
Corridos extol the virtues of the president who excited our passion to bring equality to all. The blues singers could identify with the sadness everyone was feeling. Country songs are often about mortality. It fit neatly into traditional music forms, where the way people were feeling could be expressed.

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* “Listening Hard” runs in the C3 Theater at designated times during Museum hours and is included in free general admission.

Andrea Vargas Severin is the Interpretation Specialist at the DMA.

DallasSITES from a Dallas Transplant

Published May 22, 2013 Archive , Arts District , Behind-the-Scenes , Collections , Dallas , DFW , Exhibitions 1 Comment
Tags: 1963 to Present, Claes Oldenburg, Dallas, Dallas Arts District, Dallas Museum of Art, DallasSITES: Charting Contemporary Art, Deep Ellum, DMA, Fair Park, Oliver Herring, Uptown

How do you navigate your way in a new city’s art community? That became my challenge when I moved from Philadelphia to Dallas in September 2012 to become the new McDermott Curatorial Intern for Contemporary Art. Of course, I did my research: numerous Google searches helped me make a page-long list of contemporary art venues I wanted to visit during my internship. But assisting on the DMA’s newest exhibition, DallasSITES: Charting Contemporary Art, 1963 to Present, was what really taught me about Dallas’s artistic legacy.

Two members the Dallas art scenes who have been influential for decades: Janet Kutner and Paul Rogers Harris c.1960s, Courtesy of Paul Rogers Harris, Dallas, TX

Two members of the Dallas art scene who have been influential for decades: Janet Kutner and Paul Rogers Harris, c.1960s, Courtesy of Paul Rogers Harris, Dallas, TX

I’ve spent the past nine months combing through archives, researching galleries, and learning about the evolution of the Dallas art scene. The exhibition, consisting mainly of ephemera from the past fifty years, will illustrate how dynamic the art community of North Texas has been. As a recent transplant, this project became my personal crash course. This history lesson served me well.

Map of Dallas, Courtesy of Swoon the Studio, Dallas, TX

Dallas itself is a large city, and over the years the art scene has concentrated in different neighborhoods. Artists were extremely active in Fair Park and Uptown during the 1960s and 70s. With the establishment of the Arts District in the 80s, many art-related activities migrated to downtown. Deep Ellum became a serious locus for the arts in the 80s as well. Today, many galleries and institutions have relocated to the Design District. Interestingly, artist activity continued in all of these neighborhoods even when the larger cultural trends shifted. Meanwhile, universities produce interesting programs and bring important artists to visit and work in North Texas. The ephemera on view in DallasSITES reflect these events.

A visitor at the 1989 Dallas VideoFest, Courtesy of the DMA Archives

Some fun facts learned from this project:
Q: What is the oldest continuously running gallery in Dallas? A: Valley House Gallery & Sculpture Garden, established in 1955. Q: What is the oldest and largest video festival in the United States? A: Dallas’s own VideoFest! First held in 1986 at the Dallas Museum of Art, it provides a platform for experimental video art and Texas artists.

Claes Oldenburg, poster for Injun happening at the Dallas Museum for Contemporary Arts, April 6-7, 1962

Claes Oldenburg is an iconic artist of the pop art movement, but did you know that in 1962 he staged one of his famous “happenings” in Dallas? Injun became a two-day collaboration with local artists at the Dallas Museum for Contemporary Arts (which merged with the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts in 1963 to form the Dallas Museum of Art). That was a fun discovery! Oldenburg’s relationship with Dallas has continued for several decades. Further, I discovered that one of my favorite artists, Oliver Herring, participated in a 1997 group show called Termite Terrace at Angstrom Gallery in Dallas’s Fair Park neighborhood. When DallasSITES opens, visitors will truly see how active this community has been. One of the best parts of contemporary art is the opportunity to meet artists and other art lovers at openings and talks. Each month, there are dozens of exhibition openings, artist talks, and panels that keep Dallas exciting. There are established museums, commercial galleries, and temporary spaces ranging from empty storefronts to an artist’s living room. Artists from across the United States and even internationally are showing in nearby spaces, while the roster of local talent continues to grow.

Dallas’ art scene in action: A packed house at CentralTrak for its NEXT TOPIC series panel, “Creating an Art Community/Scene” on May 2, 2013, Courtesy of Sally Glass and CentralTrak, Dallas, TX

Dallas’s art scene in action: A packed house at CentralTrak for its NEXT TOPIC series panel “Creating an Art Community/Scene” on May 2, 2013, Courtesy of Sally Glass and CentralTrak, Dallas, TX

When you see all the ephemera in DallasSITES presented in one room, the cultural wealth of this city becomes readily apparent. On May 26, you, too, can experience a crash course of your own for free!

Alexander Unkovic is the McDermott Curatorial Intern for Contemporary Art at the DMA.

Seldom Scene: Re-Installing 50 Years Later an Art Exhibition for President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy

Published May 20, 2013 Behind-the-Scenes , Dallas , DFW , Exhibitions 1 Comment
Tags: Dallas Museum of Art, DMA, Hotel Texas: An Art Exhibition for the President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy, John F. Kennedy

This weekend, the DMA-organized exhibition Hotel Texas: An Art Exhibition for the President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy opens. It brings together works of art that were on view in President Kennedy’s Fort Worth hotel suite in 1963. This is the first time the works have been reunited in fifty years. We’ve been installing in the galleries this past week, prior to the Sunday opening of this free exhibition.

Untitled – Creating Art Ball 2013

Published April 30, 2013 Behind-the-Scenes , Dallas , DFW , Fundraising , Special Events Closed
Tags: Art Ball, Dallas Museum of Art, DMA, Downton Abbey, Downtown Artsy, fundraising, tent, untitled

Held every spring, the DMA Art Ball is one of the Museum’s largest fundraising events, and this year it exceeded all expectations! The reviews are raves for the entertainment, live and silent auctions, seated dinner in an expansive tent on the Museum’s Ross Avenue Plaza, and high-energy After Party in another tent at the Flora Street Entrance. Under the leadership of co-chairs Jennifer Karol and Catherine Rose, Untitled: Art Ball 2013 raised an impressive $2,250,000 to help the Museum in many areas, including conservation, technology, and the recent return to free general admission for all. How did we transform Ross Avenue Plaza into an elaborate venue? Watch the video below to see how the massive tent was constructed:

A highlight of the evening was the video Downtown Artsy, created as a thank you to the evening’s very generous sponsors. It featured DMA Director Maxwell Anderson as “Lord Grantham” and Mayor Rawlings as his valet, along with other local celebrities.

Debbie Stack is Director of Special Events and Volunteer Relations at the DMA.

The Arc of Dallas at the DMA

Published April 3, 2013 Behind-the-Scenes , DFW , Education 1 Comment
Tags: Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden, Dallas Museum of Art, DMA, The Arc of Dallas

Visitors may be unaware of a special program the Dallas Museum of Art provides for adults with developmental disabilities. For the past five years, the Museum has offered a private program for The Arc of Dallas. Clients visit the Museum monthly and participate in a gallery tour and studio art-making activity. Some clients have participated for all five years, and we have a group of regular attendees. Because of their ongoing attendance, many participants feel comfortable with the Museum’s staff and in the galleries.

The Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup, Japan, c. 1600, ink and pigment on gold, Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc.

This past month we were joined by Susan Morgan, Senior Manager of Therapeutic Horticulture at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden. We discussed the importance of how nature is depicted in Japanese art, particularly the lotus flower. Clients enjoyed learning the symbolism of different plants from Sharon. Later, they walked around the Asian galleries looking for lotus flowers in the art. Back in the studio, clients created their own Zen rock gardens.

According to their website, The Arc of Dallas “promotes and protects the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and actively supports their full inclusion and participation in the community throughout their lifetimes.” The DMA is proud to include this audience in our programming. Sherry Wacasey, Executive Director for The Arc of Dallas, believes disability does not always affect creativity, and the DMA program meets the goals to empower this population. She argues that art is another form of communication and it can touch people who in other ways cannot communicate—art can close the gap.

I worked with this program in the fall of 2012 for my master’s thesis from the University of North Texas. One of my favorite aspects of working with The Arc of Dallas clients is observing the personal connections they make to the artworks. For example, when we toured the exhibition The Legacy of the Plumed Serpent in Ancient Mexico, during the sketching portion one client identified with a ceramic figure because one arm was longer than the other, a trait that mirrored her own proportions.

Our staff enjoys The Arc of Dallas’s monthly visits and always appreciates their many hugs at the program’s conclusion. We visit different galleries every month, and next month’s visit to the exhibition Chagall: Beyond Color is certain to be a good one.

Holly York is the McDermott Education Intern for Family Programs at the DMA.

Deep in the Heart of Texas

Published February 25, 2013 American Art , Collections , Curatorial , Dallas , DFW Closed
Tags: Alexandre Hogue, American art, Charles T. Bowling, Dallas Museum of Art, DMA, Florence E. McClung, Jerry Bywaters, Merritt Mauzey, Otis Dozier, Texas, Texas Independence Day

Saturday is the 177th anniversary of the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence on March 2, 1836. Celebrate Texas Independence Day this year by viewing newly installed works by Texas artists in the American Art Galleries on Level 4 or visiting the new exhibition Loren Mozley: Structural Integrity.

Otis Dozier, Cotton Boll, 1936, oil on Masonite, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Eleanor and C. Thomas May, Jr.

Alexandre Hogue, Drouth Stricken Area, 1934, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Art Association Purchase

Florence E. McClung, Squaw Creek Valley, 1937, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Florence E. McClung

Charles T. Bowling, Mason County Landscape, 1938, egg tempera on composition board, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Eleanor and C. Thomas May, Jr.

Jerry Bywaters, Share Cropper, 1937, oil on Masonite, Dallas Museum of Art, Allied Arts Civic Prize, Eighth Annual Dallas Allied Arts Exhibition, 1937

Merritt Mauzey, Neighbors, 1938, oil on Masonite, Dallas Museum of Art, Arthur Kramer and Fred Florence Purchase Prize, Ninth Annual Dallas Allied Arts Exhibition, 1938 1938

Kimberly Daniell is the Public Relations Manager at the Dallas Museum of Art and Elizabeth Donnelly is the Exhibitions Assistant at the Dallas Museum of Art.

DMA and DTC: Collaboration Inspired by Mark Rothko

Published February 6, 2013 Arts & Letters Live , Collections , Dallas , DFW , Education , Modern Art , Special Events Closed
Tags: Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Theater Center, DMA, John Logan, Mark Rothko, Red, Tony Award

The Dallas Museum of Art and its Arts District neighbor, Dallas Theater Center, are collaborating in an unprecedented way on the upcoming production of John Logan’s Tony Award-winning play Red, a bio-drama about iconic 20th-century artist Mark Rothko. Rothko once said, “I think of my pictures as dramas; the shapes in the pictures are the performers.”

Months ago, Joel Ferrell (DTC’s Associate Artistic Director and Director of Red) and Bob Lavallee (set designer) came to the DMA for a sneak peek at our Rothko painting currently in art storage so that they could examine the stretcher and the back of the canvas.

Joel Ferrell, Bob LaVallee, and Mark Leonard looking at the back of our Rothko painting currently in art storage.

Bob LaVvallee and Mark Leonard in art storage

Bob discussed his preliminary plans to turn the 9th floor of the Wyly Theatre into Rothko’s Bowery Studio. Joel mentioned that the actors portraying Rothko (Kieran Connolly) and his assistant Ken (Jordan Brodess) in Red will be priming and painting a canvas on stage to music in a “muscular dance,” and that “they wanted to get it right.” Joel and Bob peppered Mark Leonard (the DMA’s Chief Conservator) and Gabriel Ritter (the DMA’s Nancy and Tim Hanley Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art) with questions about Rothko’s use of materials, and great dialogue followed about the seriousness with which Rothko approached his art and creative process. On another visit, I helped production staff browse through books in the DMA’s Mayer Library to find the best photos of Rothko inside his studio in an effort to re-create it faithfully.

On January 16, the entire DTC staff, ranging from actors to production staff and administrators, joined DMA staff in an afternoon-long workshop. We immersed ourselves in the art of Mark Rothko through lively conversations with Carol Mancusi-Ungaro, who has written on Rothko’s techniques and directed the conservation of his Rothko Chapel paintings; by exploring works of art in the galleries with DMA staff by artists who came before and after Rothko; and through a sustained look and written reflection on Rothko’s painting Orange, Red and Red, which currently hangs in the South Concourse. We finished the afternoon by sharing our responses with each other, seeking to make meaning of what can seem to be an enigmatic painting.

Carol Mancusi-Ungaro discusses Rothko’s painting technique with DTC and DMA staff.

Many staff agreed that the longer you looked closely at Orange, Red and Red, the more it reveals to you and rewards you. DTC Brierley Resident Acting Company member and Master Teacher Christina Vela said, “The great masters don’t offer answers, they keep asking you questions; you’re forced to continue to struggle with them.” Bob Lavallee remarked that you have to be physically in the room with the work of art in order to really understand it (as opposed to looking at an image on a screen)–much like theater. Antay Bilgutay, Interim Director of Development, said, “Having the space and opportunity to take my time with a Rothko painting changed my perception of his work.”

Joel Ferrell shares his reactions with a DTC colleague.

We invite you to get your tickets soon to see Red, and then come to the DMA to spend time in front of this mesmerizing work of art. Imagine you are inside the world of this painting. You might ask yourself these questions:

What do you see around you?

What do you smell, hear, and taste?

What do you feel?

How might you describe this place to someone who isn’t here?

One opportunity to do just that is to attend Red In-Depth on Saturday, February 23, a program that includes a matinee performance of Red, followed by time with staff in the galleries exploring the art of Rothko and his contemporaries. Two similar in-depth experiences will take place on February 19 and 27 with middle school and high school students.

Carolyn Bess is Director of Programming and Arts & Letters Live at the Dallas Museum of Art.

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Dallas Museum of Art Uncrated

Archive for the 'DFW' Category

Have Fun While Staying Put

Making Use of Available Space

Creating an Available Space

Listening Hard: Remembering JFK on Record

DallasSITES from a Dallas Transplant

Seldom Scene: Re-Installing 50 Years Later an Art Exhibition for President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy

Untitled – Creating Art Ball 2013

The Arc of Dallas at the DMA

Deep in the Heart of Texas

DMA and DTC: Collaboration Inspired by Mark Rothko

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