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Mesquite Week Visits

Published May 13, 2010 Art & Teaching , Museum Insight 2 Comments
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For the past two weeks, we have been welcoming 5th graders from Mesquite ISD for docent-guided visits.  This isn’t a new program, though.  For the past twenty-five years, students from Mesquite ISD have been coming to the DMA for docent-guided visits of our collection.  When this partnership began in 1985, each 5th and 6th grade student received a tour that aligned with their classroom curriculum.  Over 2,100 Mesquite students toured the DMA that first year.  Since then, this partnership (and the district) have continued to grow.

Today, we see every 5th and 6th grade student, as well as every 7th and 8th grade art student, for a docent-guided visit that aligns with their curriculum.  For the 2009-2010 school year, that totals almost 6,800 students!  This partnership is affectionately known as Mesquite Week because in 1985 the visits did only last for one week.  It now takes five weeks for the Museum to be able to tour that many students. 

DMA Docent Susan Cuellar talks about The Icebergs with 5th graders from J.H. Florence Elementary

Mesquite ISD has a wonderful Fine Arts Coordinator, Debi Waltz, who makes these visits a success year after year.  Debi schedules each school’s visit, orders the buses, and works with us to decide which works of art students will see while they’re at the Museum.  She’s one of the most organized people I have ever met, and I don’t think Mesquite Week could happen without her. 

I recently learned that it was one of our docents, Susan Cuellar, who took on the task of coordinating Mesquite Week visits in 1985.  The district wanted students to have the same types of experiences with art that they were having with music, and they decided that they wanted their students to visit the DMA each year.  Susan wrote the tour outlines for that first year, and she continues to give Mesquite Week tours today.  She says that starting the Mesquite Week program is “one of the most exciting things I have ever done.”  We’re excited that this program is still going strong twenty-five years later.

Shannon Karol
Tour Coordinator

Looking Closely with Friday Photos

Published May 7, 2010 Friday Photos , Museum Insight Closed

Working in a museum with an encyclopedic collection has provided opportunities for me to learn about many works of art. I am always amazed at the variety of materials that can be found in the galleries. Here are some images of works of art that are made from various materials. Enjoy looking closely at them!

Amy Wolf
Teaching Programs Coordinator

Upcoming Arts and Letters Live…

Published May 4, 2010 Art & Teaching , Community Connection , Museum Insight , works of art Closed
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Arts & Letters Live has a slew of exciting authors slated to visit the DMA in the coming months, coinciding with the recent opening of the DMA’s new special exhibition Coastlines: Images of Land and Sea.  Author Robert Kurson will be at the DMA on Thursday, May 6th to talk about his book Shadow Divers, which tells the story of two weekend scuba divers who risk everything to solve one of the last mysteries of World War II (get tickets).  If you haven’t visited Coastlines already (or even if you have), there is a great opportunity to learn about the exhibition before the lecture; Heather MacDonald, The Lillian and James H. Clark Associate Curator of European Art, will lead a tour of Coastlines at 6:30, with Kurson’s lecture to follow at 7:30.  Then join Isabel Allende at First United Methodist on Thursday, May 13th to hear about her new book Island Beneath the Sea, which tells the story of the intertwined lives of Tete, a Haitian slave, and Toulouse Valmorain, a plantation owner’s son.  Click here for tickets. 

Justin Greenlee                                                                                                                               McDermott Intern, Teaching Programs and Partnerships

Coastlines: Images of Land and Sea

Published April 27, 2010 Museum Insight , works of art Closed
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Berthe Morisot, The Port of Nice, 1881-82, 1985.R.40

This past Sunday, Coastlines: Images of Land and Sea opened at the Museum.  I came to see the opening with only an hour to spare, but will definitely be spending more time in the galleries; it’s an incredible exhibition.  Actually, Coastlines is an incredible experience. 

The show is curated by Heather MacDonald, The Lillian and James H. Clark Associate Curator of European Art, and is comprised of some fifty works from the DMA and local collections.  The artworks are as diverse as the coastlines that inspired them. There are vibrant Impressionist paintings; spare, modern photographs; energetic gestural drawings; and more.

What is more exciting than the impact of any one artwork is the experience of being in the exhibition itself.  Artwork labels have sea-inspired passages from literature.  There are also sound installations throughout the galleries created through a partnership with the University of Texas at Dallas Arts and Technology program (ATEC).  Graduate students and faculty in the ATEC program composed these soundscapes, some in response to specific artworks, some in response to the exhibition’s themes.  Hyper-directional speakers hang above the twelve selected artworks, directing the sound right to you.  Standing under the speakers is like putting a seashell to your ear and hearing the ocean. 

Bottom line:  Come see it!  You’ll be very glad you did.

Amy Copeland
Coordinator of Go van Gogh Outreach

Interview with Stacey Lizotte, Head of Adult Programming and Multimedia Services

Published April 13, 2010 Museum Insight , People 3 Comments
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I recently had an opportunity to interview one of my Education staff colleagues. Stacey Lizotte. She answered questions related to her job and shares information about upcoming public programs.

Name and Title: Stacey Lizotte, Head of Adult Programming and Multimedia Services

Years Employed at the Dallas Museum of Art: 5

Describe your job here at the Museum: I oversee and help create the adult programming offered at the Museum including Late Nights, Thursday Night Live, lectures, gallery programs, concerts, and programs for adults offered in partnership with other community organizations. I also work with our Multimedia staff to make sure any programs requiring technical support go off without a hitch.

What is your favorite part of your job? Watching visitors of all ages on Late Nights, when Museums are normally not open, talking with each other, exploring the galleries, watching a performance in front of a work of art, and overall having FUN in a museum. Another part of my job I enjoy is stepping away from my desk, leaving the office areas behind, to stroll through the galleries. You can’t beat taking a break with works of art for company.

What is a challenge you face in your job? Continually making our reoccurring programs fresh and new for our visitors. For instance there are eleven Late Nights a year, and we see a lot of repeat visitors. We want to make sure that each time our visitors are here they have a new and exciting experience.

How did you decide you wanted to work in a Museum? When I was in high school my art teacher, Mrs. Dunn, took us on a field trip to an art museum. As we were talking about a work of art, she started to tap dance and proclaimed that art was so wonderful it made her want to dance. I realized then that museums were magic places. It was not until I was looking into graduate schools and talking with a professor at UNT about their Museum Certificate program within their Art Education program that I realized I could actually have a job at a museum.

If you weren’t working here at the Dallas Museum of Art, what is something else you would be doing? I would be working with animals. Growing up on the East Coast, there was a time I seriously thought of becoming a marine biologist. I also have a degree in photography, so if I were staying within the art field I would be photographer. Or maybe some combination of the two. Here are two photos I took at the Mystic Marinelife Aquarium:  

What are some highlights for Public Programs this spring? This spring we are offering a lot of interesting programs celebrating our new exhibition The Lens of Impressionism. There are several lectures exploring photography including a lecture with Dr. Terry Barrett on April 24. On selected Thursday evenings you can take a tour of the exhibition and then have drinks in our outdoor courtyard while listening to local musicians perform French music. Visit the web site to see the complete program guide.    

We are also very excited about our April 16 Late Night. We are celebrating our visitors with a true iMuseum experience. It will be a night where you can interact with performers, create your own videos, respond to works of art in video confessionals, go on Twitter treasure hunts, share your own photos of the Museum, and more. Check out our web site for a full schedule of events.  

Amy Wolf
Teaching Programs Coordinator

Found It!

Published March 26, 2010 Art & Teaching , Friday Photos , Museum Insight , People , works of art 1 Comment
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Back in November, I shared some photos from a project inspired by Dorothea Tanning’s Pincushion to Serve as Fetish.  This project is part of a new afterschool program we are developing in partnership with Thriving Minds at Dallas ISD schools.  At the time, I was testing the program with 4th-5th graders at Conner Elementary School.  I am currently working with Shawna Bateman at Twain Elementary School and Daniel Hall at Long Middle School, who are leading the program with their students.  In the process, I have learned a great deal from their experiences, insights, and feedback regarding the program.
Below are images of projects inspired by Mark Handforth’s Dallas Snake.  Through these projects, students learn about artists who use found objects as materials for their art.  Found objects are natural or man-made objects found (or sometimes bought) by an artist that are treated as a work of art just the way they are, used for inspiration, and/or used as materials for works of art.
First, the students chose several items from the collection of found objects provided by the instructor.

An array of found objects to choose from

 
Next, students selected materials that helped them connect their objects.
 

Materials for connecting found objects

 
One student created a time machine with cardboard, plastic beads, an old tv antenna, and other assorted items.
 

Time Machine

 Another student created a sculpture park with a lint roller handle, cell phone, bubble wrap, and paper towel roll.

The Sculpture Park

Saline solution bottles, foam tubing, a belt, and a pipe cleaner were combined to make binoculars.

Binoculars

 Students will see Mark Handforth’s Dallas Snake firsthand when they visit the DMA at the end of their program.

Dallas Snake by Mark Handforth

Schedule Soon for the Spring

Published March 25, 2010 Museum Insight Closed
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It’s hard to believe that there are only a few months of school left.  The spring is always a very busy time for us, and this year is no exception.  This is a good opportunity to let you know what types of programs for students and teachers are still available for the 2009-2010 school year.

Go van Gogh
All Go van Gogh programs have been booked for the spring. 

Museum Visits
There are a limited number of times still available for docent-guided Museum visits.  Many of these slots are during the month of April, so this is the best time to bring your students to visit The Lens of Impressionism.  We have a very limited number of docent-guided openings in the month of May, and most of them are during the 1:00 p.m. time slot. 

If you are unable to schedule a docent-guided visit to the Museum, schedule a self-guided visit.  We have a self-guided tour resource available online that you can use to guide your students through the DMA.

To request a docent-guided or self-guided visit for your students, you will need to submit an Online Visit Request Form as soon as possible.  Remaining spaces will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

Programs for Teachers
We will have two additional Thursday evening programs for teachers.  Visit our Web site to learn more.

We also have one more Teacher Workshop scheduled for this year.  Exploring Photography: The Lens of Impressionism is a two-part workshop offered on April 24th and May 1st.  Teachers will spend time in The Lens of Impressionism with Dr. Terry Barrett.  Photographer and educator Frank Lopez will also demonstrate the ambrotype process.  Reserve your spot now before remaining spaces fill.

We hope to see you and your students at the DMA this spring!

Shannon Karol
Tour Coordinator

From Student to Staff

Published March 16, 2010 Art & Teaching , Community Connection , Museum Insight , People Closed
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I began my relationship with the Dallas Museum of Art when I was an AP art student at Frisco High School and visited the Museum with my class.  Although I spent at least three hours a day in art classes during my senior year, the Museum felt like it was a world apart from my own, much further than the half hour drive from my school. After graduating from Frisco High, I earned a scholarship to the University of Texas at Dallas where I was accepted into Collegium V, the honors program there. In addition to the courses available on campus, each spring UT Dallas and the Dallas Museum of Art collaborate to offer an innovative honors seminar that takes place at the Museum.

Me in 1717 during the honors seminar exploring the senses

I signed up for the partnership class in the spring of my freshman year,  a course devoted to the Maya, and I fell in love with the Museum. I took the class again the following year, studying modernism, then once more the next spring, studying the process of creativity. Although I had graduated with my Bachelor´s degree in Art & Performance by the time my fourth year arrived, I was able to participate as a graduate student auditing the course, this time about the senses in art and literature. As my scholarship program drew to a close, I learned that the Museum offers eight McDermott internships: four in the Curatorial Department and four in Education. I knew I loved art, I knew I loved sharing the things I was passionate about with others, so I applied to work at the Museum doing just that. Not long after, I found myself walking through the Museum’s doors as the McDermott Teaching Programs Intern.

Me leading discussion during a teacher workshop about contemporary art

Not only have I been afforded the great opportunity to participate in teacher workshops and docent training as well as leading tour groups of all ages, but I have found myself on the other side of the table in the spring honors seminar. My experiences as a high school, undergraduate, and graduate student have shaped the way I see the Museum and the educational opportunities it provides, especially the way we interact with visitors. As someone who has witnessed it firsthand, I know that transformative experiences with art in the Museum are possible. My goal as a museum educator is not to impart a specific set of facts to a group of students, but rather to spark each student’s sense of wonder and provide them a starting point for whatever journey their imagination takes.

Looking Sharp in Those Navy Blazers!

Published March 12, 2010 Friday Photos , Museum Insight , People Closed
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Gallery attendants are some of my favorite people!  They work hard and long, and are always excited to see me and any visitors that I might be bringing through the galleries.  Let’s honor them and the work they do!  I wish I could post pictures of them all.  Here are just a few to get to know.


Clockwise from upper left:  Muli has worked at the DMA for 14 years!  She likes to cook when she has some free time.  Always smiling, Jacque, has graced the galleries for 9+ years and puts together 1000-piece jigsaw puzzles.  Mr. Ronald counts this year as his lucky thirteenth at the DMA and plays a mean Scrabble game.  Eugene has worked at the DMA for 7 months.  He’s a guitar player in a band and paints too!  Ornery Ethel, or “Dean” as everybody calls her, has been a part of the DMA family for 2 years.  She loves church and shopping.

Nicole Stutzman
Director of Teaching Programs and Partnerships

Spring Break at the Museum

Published March 11, 2010 Museum Insight , works of art Closed
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We’re gearing up for a week of extraordinary programming at the Museum, so come spend a day (or the whole week!) with us.  Below are just a few of the many great experiences you can have at the Museum next week.

  • Take a new smARTphone tour
    Bring your own web-enabled device (such as an iPhone or Blackberry) to the Museum to access new and interactive content related to The Lens of Impressionism and The Wendy and Emery Reves Collection.  If you do not have your own device, a limited number of iPod Touches can be checked out free of charge at the Visitor Services Desks.
  • Spend an evening in Wonderland
    Learn to be a hatter in the Art Studio and watch three film adaptations of Alice in Wonderland at the Museum’s Alice in Wonderland-themed Late Night on March 19th.. 
  • Feed your appetite for knowledge
    Gallery Talks happen every Wednesday at 12:00 p.m. They are free 45-minute discussions led by various Museum speakers. Logan Acton, McDermott Education Intern for Teaching Programs, will be leading the discussion next Wednesday, March 17th, entitled Enlightening Connections: Science and Contemporary Art.
  • Go on a scavenger hunt
    Explore the Museum’s collections and search for hats using a gallery scavenger hunt.
  • Discover local Young Masters
    View selected artwork created by Advanced Placement Studio Art students participating in the O’Donnell Foundation’s AP Arts Incentive Program™.  On view in the Concourse through April 18th.
  • Enjoy a light spring meal
    Head to the Museum’s Atrium Cafe and celebrate spring with tasty seasonal dishes like Quiche and Salad, Chicken Broccoli Crepe Provencal, and Turkey and Brie Crossiant.
  • Help your kids walk into and away with some art
    Use green screen technology to create your own vacation-themed postcards that will be available on the Museum’s Flickr website.  Tuesday, March 16–Friday, March 19th, 1:30-4:00 p.m in the Center for Creative Connections. 
  • Stop and enjoy the flowers
    The springtime wisteria blooms in the Museum’s Sculpture Garden near the Ross Avenue entrance are breathtakingly beautiful. After admiring their splendor, go find Water Lilies by Claude Monet in the European Painting and Sculpture galleries on Level Two.

Have a great break!

Amy Copeland
Coordinator of Learning Partnerships with Schools and the Community

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