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Museum Murder Solved!

Published July 17, 2015 Behind-the-Scenes , Late Nights Closed
Tags: Clue, Dallas Museum of Art, DMA, Late Nights, museum murder mystery

Tonight we completed our fourth annual Museum Murder Mystery Game. This year, Victory was found dead just before Late Night began. Visitors searched the galleries for the body and integrated the suspects to determine who did it, with what object, and in which gallery. Below is the news report from their findings.

Museum Murder Solved!
Isabelle Lemonnier Confesses

Edouard Manet, Portrait of Isabelle Lemonnier with a Muff, c. 1879, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Algur H. Meadows and the Meadows Foundation, Incorporated, 1978.1

17 JULY – Chaos has reigned for the past few hours here at the Dallas Museum of Art. Following the violent death of Victory, a prominent (and notoriously annoying) member of the collection, staff and visitors conducted an intensive inquiry. Lily Davenport, summer intern and chief investigator, explained that “we interviewed every artwork under suspicion for Victory’s murder, and checked on almost all of the potential weapons on display in the Museum.” In the end, one of those suspects broke down and confessed, under close questioning regarding the timing of her walk home.

Isabelle Lemonnier admitted to strangling Victory with an Etruscan composite necklace in the Indonesian Art Gallery. An unrepentant Isabelle reportedly remarked during her interrogation, “It was easy. I let everyone think I had taken Lady in a Red Hat up to her portrait, when really I just circled around to the third floor, by way of the Barrel Vault. The necklace looked as though it would fit in my muff, so I took it out of its case in the Ancient Mediterranean Gallery and went up to the Indonesian section to wait for Victory. I got her from behind as she came through the door—I doubt she ever even saw me.”

When this reporter asked about her motive, Isabelle cited Victory’s “disruptive and obnoxious” behavior and her own longstanding envy of the other artwork’s vocal self-confidence. Said the killer, “She always acted like she was so much better than me, than all of us. And the self-promotion never really let up. So it was just the icing on the cake when she interrupted Buddha’s meditation session to ask about dealing with envious friends. I knew she was talking about me, and it made me so angry!”

Museum staff did not comment on Isabelle’s eventual fate, as artwork-on-artwork violence is comparatively rare, and little judicial precedent exists. “It’s much more common for human visitors to pose a threat to the art,” said an investigator from the curatorial department who wishes to remain nameless. “I don’t even know where to begin writing this incident report.”

Lily Davenport is the Summer Intern for Adult Programming at the DMA

An Unlucky Month

Published July 13, 2015 Collections , DFW , Late Nights , Special Events Closed
Tags: Dallas Museum of Art, DMA, Late Night, museum murder mystery

For the fourth year in a row, we have heard rumors that at our next Late Night on Friday, July 18, another mysterious murder will take place at the DMA! It seems like July is an unlucky month for works of art in our collection.

Last year, over two thousand visitors participated in our Museum Murder Mystery Game during Late Night! If you were one of those super sleuths, you found out that it was Emma in a Purple Dress who killed Queen Semiramis in the Chinese galleries with the Bird macaroni knife from the American galleries.

And while Emma in a Purple Dress was brought to justice, we will need your help to once again uncover the dastardly goings on at the DMA.

It will be up to our visitors to solve this fourth Museum Murder Mystery by figuring out who the murderer is, the weapon he or she used, and the room where the murder took place.

For one night only, the seven works suspected of the murder will come to life and answer your questions. Without revealing who the suspects are, as they are innocent until proven guilty, these photos will give you a clue to their identities.

In addition to the Museum Murder Mystery Game, there will be a lot more mysterious and fun things to do during the Late Night; be sure to check out the full schedule of events.

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

DMAxTAC = Super Late Night

Published June 17, 2015 Late Nights , Teens Closed
Tags: Block Party, Dallas Museum of Art, DMA, Late Nights, superheroes, teens

The Teen Advisory Council

If your tour guide looks a tad younger than expected during this month’s Late Night on Friday, June 19, chances are you’re meeting one of the amazing members of the Teen Advisory Council (TAC). You’ll see others as well—decked out in black and festooned with capes—leading art activities and scavenger hunts, helping with haiku slams and performances, and having a great time with visitors throughout the night.

The masterminds behind the evening’s activities, the TAC has spent the past three months working on the first-ever teen-planned Late Night in DMA history. Their vision for the event not only reflects their ideas for what the Museum can offer but is a collaboration that I hope will only continue to grow.

I caught up with some of the council members to ask them about what this opportunity has meant to them and what they hope visitors will experience on Friday:

Q: What activity has been the most fun or the most challenging to plan?

“The most difficult activity to plan was probably the scavenger hunt because if one detail is off then it can throw off the entire scavenger hunt. At the same time, planning this was a lot of fun because we got to choose the different works of art ourselves and make up the clues. We really got to take charge of this activity, and I think it’s cool that a group of teens was able to pull off such a task.” —Maddi

Teen Council members collaborate with Eliel Jones on his Alternative Signage event during the March Late Night.

Q: What do you hope visitors take away from this evening?

“I hope that visitors will gain a greater appreciation of the Museum as a whole, in particular through the DMAzing Race, as it offers a wonderful opportunity to explore the Museum. I also hope people meet others with the same interests as them and gain new friends in the process, especially teens who will have a separate lounge area for themselves.” —Cristina

“I hope the new visitors to the Museum see how the Museum is actually very different from the normal museum experience and how they can interact and be a part of the Museum just as any artist can.” —Maddi

“I want the visitors to leave saying ‘I’m glad I came to this’ and learning something. They could learn about anything at the Museum, even about themselves. So, I want the visitors to learn, about anything they want.” —Nadir

The Teen Council experiments with a Creativity Challenge idea.

For me, it’s been a blast to watch the TAC execute their ideas and see how much fun they’ve had in the process. I’m amazed at how undaunted they’ve been throughout the process given the magnitude of this project (maybe it just hasn’t sunk in yet?) and how many moving pieces there are. You can check out the full schedule of events for Friday’s Late Night here.

I couldn’t be more proud of all the hard work they’ve put in, and I can’t wait to see how visitors respond. Super!

JC Bigornia is the C3 Program Manager at the DMA.

Stir Your Senses

Published May 13, 2015 Center for Creative Connections , Contemporary Art , Dallas , Family Programs , Late Nights , Special Events , Uncategorized 2 Comments
Tags: Dallas Museum of Art, DMA, Kevin Beasley, Late Nights, Soluna

For Friday’s Late Night, we wanted to make sure we engaged all of the senses, giving visitors an immersive experience at the DMA. There will be many programs to stir your senses of sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch.

To tempt you to stay out late, I have highlighted one program for each of the five senses.

SIGHT

Visit our Flora Street Entrance and our Sculpture Garden to see vivid outdoor installations representing color, pattern, and movement created by The Color Condition.

SOUND

Experience the physicality of sound with a newly commissioned performance by New York artist Kevin Beasley. BLACK ROCKER will premiere at the DMA as part of the inaugural SOLUNA festival.

TASTE

Our Lounge @ Founders will tempt all of your taste senses with something salty, sour, sweet, and bitter.

SMELL

Families can stop by the exhibition Between Action and the Unknown: The Art of Kazuo Shiraga and Sadamasa Motonaga and check out a Sensory Art-to-Go Family Tote Bag. The tote bags are filled with a variety of activities, such as imagining how a work of art would smell and then writing a poem about it.

TOUCH

While you can’t touch the art, you can stop by the Art Spot in the Center for Creative Connections and make your own work of art using a variety of materials.

We hope you’ll join us on Friday to see what else is in store!

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

Sound Waves

Published May 11, 2015 Behind-the-Scenes , DMA Friends , European Art , Late Nights Closed
Tags: Dallas Museum of Art, DMA, DMA Friends, European Art, François Auguste Biard, Late Nights, Silent Soundtracks

We have plenty in store to stimulate your senses during this Friday’s Late Night, and one program in particular is sure to hit the right note. As part of a special DMA Friends reward, DMA Friend Kyle West has created a soundtrack for our European collection on Level 2 that you’ll be able to enjoy that night. To whet your appetite, listen to this lively jig he paired with Seasickness on an English Corvette. We hope to see you Friday to hear the rest!

François Auguste Biard, Seasickness on an English Corvette (Le mal de mer, au bal, abord d'une corvette Anglaise), 1857, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of J.E.R. Chilton 2011.27

François Auguste Biard, Seasickness on an English Corvette, 1857, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of J. E. R. Chilton, 2011.27

Sarah Coffey is the Education Coordinator at the DMA.

Austen Abounds

Published March 18, 2015 Arts District , Dallas , European Art , Film , Late Nights , Lecture , Special Events , Uncategorized 1 Comment
Tags: Arts & Letters Live, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Theater Center, DMA, Jane Austen, Late Night

It all started last year when a colleague sent me a link to a portrait we have in our collection of Jane Austen, done by Austen’s sister Cassandra. This colleague knew I was an Austen fan and wanted to see if I was aware that we had this in our collection. I had no idea!

After Cassandra Austen, Jane Austen, n.d., engraving, Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts, The Alfred and Juanita Bromberg Collection, bequest of Juanita K. Bromberg

I shared this awesome news with other Austen fans on staff, which led us to think about how great it would be do a Jane Austen-themed Late Night. Around that time, we also heard that the Dallas Theater Center would be doing a spring production of Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. Voilà, an Austen Late Night was born.

We brainstormed a lot of ideas, researched speakers who had talked at local and national meetings of The Jane Austen Society of North America, and met with staff from the Dallas Theater Center to talk about connections to their production.

After months of planning, we are excited to see the event take shape, and we invite you to join us for our Jane Austen Late Night on Friday, March 20, from 6:00 p.m. to midnight. You can hear music from the Romantic era, learn about the fashion world of Jane Austen, watch a Victorian fencing demonstration, listen to a dramatic reading by Dallas Theater Center actors, take quizzes to test your knowledge of all things Austen, watch films, including the 1940 version of Pride and Prejudice staring Laurence Olivier, and learn how Kate Rorick helped modernize Austen for the digital age.

For those of you who like to bring the world of Austen to life, we invite you to come dressed as your favorite Jane Austen character or in a costume inspired by England’s Regency era for a chance to win great Austen-themed prizes, including a pair of tickets to the Dallas Theater Center’s production of Sense and Sensibility. Baronda Bradley, a specialist in Regency fashion, will judge the contest, starting at 8:30 p.m.

Our March Late Night is also our annual Spring Block Party in the Arts District. There will be a lot to do that evening with the Nasher Sculpture Center and Crow Collection of Asian Art also staying open until midnight.

And, for anyone needing an Austen appetizer, there are still tickets available to see Jo Baker, author of Longbourn, at tomorrow night’s DMA Arts & Letters Live event.

I hope to see all my fellow Austenites on Friday!

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

A Barrel of Art

Published February 16, 2015 Behind-the-Scenes , Collections , Exhibitions , Late Nights Closed
Tags: Bold Abstractions: Selections from the DMA Collection 1966–1976, Concentrations 58: Chosil Kil, Dallas Museum of Art, DMA, Frank Bowling: Map Paintings, Installation, Late Nights

Next Friday, February 20 the DMA is opening three exhibitions (Frank Bowling: Map Paintings, Bold Abstractions: Selections from the DMA Collection 1966–1976, and Concentrations 58: Chosil Kil) in time for our February Late Night. Installation for these three exhibitions began last week, get a sneak peek at the works of art below and start planning your artful Late Night now.

Cocktail Creations: A Toast to the DMA

Published January 14, 2015 Ancient Art , Arts & Letters Live , Collections , Dallas , Decorative Art and Design , Late Nights , Special Events , Uncategorized Closed
Tags: cocktails, Creative Cocktails, Dallas Museum of Art, DMA, Tim Federle, Twisted Serpent

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!

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!

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

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

Toasting the New Year

Published December 31, 2014 Curatorial , Decorative Art and Design , Late Nights 1 Comment
Tags: Cocktail, Dallas Museum of Art, DMA, DMA Late Night, New Year's Eve

As New Year’s Eve is upon us, we thought it only appropriate to pop, fizz, and clink our way through the collection with some objects created for cocktails. We hope they inspire you to raise a glass and ring in an artful 2015. To get you off to the right start, we’ve got plenty of lively libations in store during our first Late Night of 2015 on January 16. Enjoy the winning cocktail from our Creative Cocktail Contest and then take a tour of more objects perfect for cocktail hour. Cheers and Happy New Year!

Cocktail cup and cocktail shaker, c. 1928, Weidlich Brothers Manufacturing Company, silverplate and glass, Dallas Museum of Art, the Patsy Lacy Griffith Collection, bequest of Patsy Lacy Griffith

Cocktail glass with “Walpole” pattern and “straw” shaped stem, patented 1933, Morgantown Glass Works, glass, blown, cased filament, Dallas Museum of Art, 20th-Century Design Fund

“Bacardi” cocktail plate, c. 1930, Crown Ducal Ware, earthenware, transfer-printed, Dallas Museum of Art, the Patsy Lacy Griffith Collection, bequest of Patsy Lacy Griffith

Cocktail shaker, 1928, Charter Company, International Silver Company, enameled silver, Dallas Museum of Art, The Jewel Stern American Silver Collection, acquired through the Patsy Lacy Griffith Collection, gift of Patsy Lacy Griffith by exchange

“Milk Can” cocktail shaker, designed c. 1935; this example c. 1935-1983, Reed & Barton, silverplate, Dallas Museum of Art, The Jewel Stern American Silver Collection, acquired through the Patsy Lacy Griffith Collection, gift of Patsy Lacy Griffith by exchange

“Penguin” cocktail shaker, 1936, Emile A. Schuelke, Napier Company, gilded silverplate, Dallas Museum of Art, The Jewel Stern American Silver Collection, gift of Jewel Stern

Sarah Coffey is the Education Coordinator at the DMA.

Of Jewelry and Jazz

Published August 18, 2014 Dallas , DFW , Exhibitions , Late Nights Closed
Tags: Dallas Museum of Art, DMA, Late Night

On Friday night we celebrated the exhibition From the Village to Vogue: The Modernist Jewelry of Art Smith with a night of performances, talks, art making, and more inspired by Art Smith during the busiest August Late Night we’ve ever had, with more than 5,500 visitors! The Dallas Black Dance Theatre, along with the Stockton Helbing Trio, performed a premiere of a new work to a full house in a piece inspired by the jewelry of Art Smith. Visitors lined up throughout the evening to create their own jewelry in the Center for Creative Connections, there were plenty of human pretzels in Yoga for Kids, and the Atrium was alive all night with music from Mahogany the Artist, Rebel Alliance Jazz Ensemble, and The Funky Knuckles.

If you missed Friday night’s fun, you can still celebrate Art Smith throughout August (all for free!); check out the events online, including Thursday’s Jazz in the Atrium with Mahogany the Artist.