Dallas Museum of Art Uncrated

Archive Page 160

C3’s Interactive Space Takes Center Stage

Published April 2, 2011 Center for Creative Connections 1 Comment
Tags: Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Texas, interactive space, Jacques Lipchitz

Our Center for Creative Connections (C3) is an interactive space and innovative learning environment at the heart of the Museum’s galleries where museum-goers can explore their own creativity and discover new ways of experiencing and connecting with art from the Museum’s collections. C3 especially encourages active learning for people of all ages and learning styles through exhibitions and programs. You may have left (literally) your mark on C3 by measuring your height against Jacques Lipchitz’s 6 and ½ foot tall bronze sculpture of The Bather or by submitting your photos of varied spaces to our monitor wall. The theme for it changes every 6 months so you can continue to contribute to it throughout the run of our current exhibition Encountering Space.

C3 is easy to find: centrally located on the Museum’s first level it includes an exhibition gallery and several distinct learning areas, including an Art Studio, an interactive learning space for children under the age of four called Arturo’s Nest, a Young Learners Gallery for children 5–8 and their families, a theater, and a digital studio called the Tech Lab. There are always activities happening in one or more area of C3 for all of the Museum’s visitors, and hands-on experiences at the Museum aren’t just for kids.

Museum visitors can literally grow-up with C3 by participating in exploratory programs as early as 2 years old in Arturo’s Nest during Toddler Art through an Artist Encounter for grown-ups to celebrate creativity and the artistic process.

Here is what some of you, our visitors, have said about your experiences in C3:

“A visit to the Center for Creative Connections is like visiting Alice in Wonderland because magic happens here.” – Kelaine, 50

“[C3 is] a fun place with a lot of imagination, where the imagination flies.” – Victor, 17

“[C3 is] a place where art actually comes alive, where it’s more than just something pretty to look at but never touch.” – Caitlin, 18

“A visit to the Center for Creative Connections is like going back to preschool because you are looking at things through new eyes.” – Rob, 38

“I don’t want to leave. Can I live here?” – C3 visitor, 4

All the Single Ladies

Published April 1, 2011 Collections Closed
Tags: Auguste Rodin, Beyonce, Dallas Museum of Art, Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)

Did you know that the Dallas Museum of Art’s sculpture The Shade by Auguste Rodin served as inspiration for Beyonce’s famous “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)” dance?

April Fools!

Friday Photos: April Fool's Day!

Published April 1, 2011 Friday Photos 1 Comment
Tags: April Fool's Day, Art, exhibition, Martin Creed, Nasher Sculpture Center, works of art

We decided to have a little fun on April Fool’s Day, so a few of us took a field trip over to the Nasher Sculpture Center’s new exhibition, Sightings: Martin Creed. Getting lost in the balloons was fun and scary at the same time. Can you find the Museum educators?

The artist filled the downstairs gallery with gold balloons.

Shannon entering Sightings: Martin Creed

Museum staff help visitors enter and exit the installation. There goes Shannon…

Amy and Karen emerge

Shannon appears

I enter the installation and am instantly surrounded by gold balloons!

The static electricity is very strong.

Melissa Nelson
Manager of Teaching in the Community

Growing Pains

Published March 31, 2011 Behind-the-Scenes 1 Comment
Tags: Dallas Museum of Art, National Endowment for the Humanities, Solomon & Bauer, Works on Paper

Since our art storage area is not available to the general public, we thought we’d give you a behind-the-sceneslook at our new and improved space.

In 2008, the Museum was awarded an important grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Through the grant, the DMA has increased the square footage of several art storage spaces, expanded storage capacity, and modernized the spaces with new lighting, HVAC, and furniture fixtures. Each storage space was renovated to the highest preservation and green-building standards in coordination with the architecture firm Solomon & Bauer of Watertown, Ma., the City of Dallas, and contractors.

The building of the new Works on Paper (WOP) facilities was the final building stage of this multi-year project. Three new rooms were constructed within the museum’s existing storage space to specifically hold the museum’s roughly 6,000 works. With the construction complete and the new cabinets installed, we have started the process of moving art from our old storage to the new.

Space was one of the biggest concerns in our previous WOP storage. This was especially true for our storage of framed works, where our cabinets were full the point of overflow. We often needed to remove five or six pieces in order to access the one object we needed. Since the goal is to move the work as little as possible, the “overflow” constituted a threat to the care of our objects.

Speaking in strictly numbers, we previously had 18 cabinets with a total of 126 bins, each bin being 10 inches wide and 42 inches deep. As you can see in the picture below, the height of each bin was set. While this created an aesthetically pleasing consistency, it left significant gaps and wasted precious space.

In our new space, conversely, we have 142 bins, each 11 inch wide by 42 inches deep. Not only do we have a greater number of overall bins, our new cabinets are completely modular. Depending upon the need of the collection, we can add or subtract shelves. The photo below shows the new cabinets in process of being loaded with objects. Already you can see the increased functionality of this style unit.

The new framed work storage units are attached to rolling racks, which allows us to maximize our space by removing the need for aisles. While the use of rolling racks has been relatively common in library stacks for years, it is only now becoming the standard in collections care. With the addition of the rolling racks in the area, we have now updated all of our storage spaces to these compacting racks. The photo below shows the new flat storage units on a rolling rack.

Always a problem in our old space, we specifically designed an area of the new storage space to view works on paper. Shelves built in to the slanted wooden backing fold out to support objects without having to bother with hanging. The shelves are large enough to support almost any framed work in the collection, but are also designed in such a way where many smaller pieces could also be shown all at once. The flexibility of the unit is vital to curators as they arrange and rearrange objects in preparation for gallery installations. The overall size of the viewing space is an extra plus as we can now accommodate more students or scholars visiting on research trips.

The changes in how we store our works on paper will greatly improve the overall level of care we are able to maintain. Thanks to the NEH and the Hoblitzelle Foundation, these improvements, along with the updates to our library and archives, the collections file storage space, and small objects—shown in last fall’s Small Objects Collection is Movin’ on Up!—have made a profound impact on the way the collections staff cares for our museum’s collection.

Anne Lenhart is an Assistant Registrar at the Dallas Museum of Art

Form/Unformed: Goldilocks and the Chairs

Published March 31, 2011 works of art 2 Comments
Tags: campbell, chairs, Decorative Arts, Design, exhibitions, form, gehry, judd, panton, unformed

This past December, the Tower Gallery on the fourth floor of the Museum became home to Form/Unformed: Design from 1960 to the Present. This exhibition showcases over thirty works drawn largely from the Museum’s collections and reveals the ever-evolving formal aesthetics and ideas that have influenced design of the last fifty years. Featuring everything from room dividers to candlesticks, the space pays homage to design powerhouses such as Verner Panton, Frank Gehry, Donald Judd, and Louise Campbell. Though a broad array of objects appear in the exhibition, one cannot help but notice an overwhelming number of chairs!

“First” chair, designed 1983, Michele De Lucchi, Memphis Milano, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Kenn Darity and Ed Murchison

Stacking Chair, designed 1960, Herman Miller, Inc., Verner Panton, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Herman Miller, Inc.

“Easy Edges” chair, 1971, Frank O. Gehry, Dallas Museum of Art, 20th-Century Design Fund

“Hat Trick” side chair, designed 1992, Frank O. Gehry, Knoll International, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of The Knoll Group

Plywood Chair, designed 1991, Donald Judd, Dallas Museum of Art, 20th-Century Design Fund

Bull chair, designed 1961, Johannes Hansen Mobelsnedkeri, Hans J. Wegner, Dallas Museum of Art, bequest of Stephen S. Kahn

“Catenary Group” chair, designed 1963, George Nelson, Herman Miller, Inc., Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Herman Miller, Inc.

Banquete chair with pandas, designed 2006, Fernando Campana and Humberto Campana, Dallas Museum of Art, DMA/amfAR Benefit Auction Fund

Like Goldilocks entering the three bears’ home, we are presented with a selection of chairs ranging across all shapes and sizes. As our exhibitions currently have a heavy empahsis on design, with Gustav Stickley and the American Arts & Crafts Movement and Line and Form: Frank Lloyd Wright and the Wasmuth Portfolio, the Education staff began brainstorming how our society describes furniture and what appeals to us about various pieces. In an effort to find the chair that is JUST RIGHT for you, here are some of the descriptors that may appear on any one of our wish lists for the perfect chair: organic, innovative, angular, minimal, sturdy, plush, colorful, weird, comfy, casual, simple, unique, futuristic, traditional, embellished, symmetrical, asymmetrical, functional, imaginative, elegant, versatile, compact, playful, practical, nostalgic, modern….As you can see, there are as many different ways to describe a chair as opinions on what qualities make the perfect chair!

What words describe your ideal chair? Share with us in the comments section!

Form/Unformed: Design from 1960 to the Present will run through January of 2012 and is free with general admission to the Museum.

Ashley Bruckbauer
McDermott Intern for Programs and Resources for Teachers

Two Debuts

Published March 29, 2011 Behind-the-Scenes , Contemporary Art , Curatorial , Exhibitions 1 Comment
Tags: Berlin, Concentrations, Contemporary Art, Dallas Museum of Art, Fergus Feehily, Irish, Matt Connors, mixed media, New York, painting

Our exhibition, Concentrations 54: Matt Connors and Fergus Feehily, opens soon (Sunday, April 3 to be exact). I’ve been lucky enough to work on this show from start to finish with Jeffrey Grove, The Hoffman Family Senior Curator of Contemporary Art. Each artist has their own dedicated space in the Marguerite and Robert Hoffman Galleries. The first museum exhibition for both artists, we worked closely with them to decide the works presented as well as the logistics of each installation. Berlin-based Irish artist Fergus Feehily is integrating three objects from the DMA’s collection into his installation: a bead, a dressing cabinet, and an Indian miniature. New York artist Matt Connors, on the other hand, is installing 10 completely new paintings (finished very recently, as a matter of fact) and also a work of his that we acquired in last year Soul Error (Vertical), 2010.

We’re really excited to have both artists in town for the installation and opening events. See for yourself…

On March 31, 2011 at 7:30 pm, Jeffrey will join both artists for a discussion of their work. Hope to see you there!

Erin Murphy is the Curatorial Administrative Assistant for Contemporary Art at the Dallas Museum of Art

Educator Resources: Sneak a Peek at New Online Teaching Materials

Published March 29, 2011 Resources 4 Comments
Tags: Dallas Museum of Art, IMLS, online teaching materials, resources, teachers, Technology, works of art

Egungun costume; 1920 - 1950; Yoruba peoples, Nigeria; cotton, silk, and wool fabric, metal, leather, mirrors, cotton, and wood; Dallas Museum of Art, Textile Purchase Fund, 1995.35.

This Egungun costume from Nigeria is one of sixty-five artworks in the Dallas Museum of Art’s collection that will be part of new online teaching materials to be launched in Fall 2011. Education staff, working in close collaboration with curators, designers, and web developers, have been hard at work for over one year designing a new model for creating online resources for teachers that are easy-to-access and provide the following:

more and better-organized information
video and audio clips related to the artworks and cultures
contextual images and multiple views of the artworks
teaching ideas that could be customized by classroom educators

The project is officially called Connect: Teachers, Technology, and Art, and it is supported through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. When we started our project work in November 2009, we went straight to the audience we serve: TEACHERS. The dialogue and partnership that developed with ten teachers who were selected to represent the minds, wishes, and needs of classroom educators everywhere has been crucial, as it led to a pivotal decision about the presentation of information and ideas about the sixty-five works of art.

These teachers helped us test current teaching materials to identify their strengths and weaknesses, and they showed us how they might use objects like the Egungun costume in a classroom experience with their students. Together, we analyzed and re-imagined what great teaching materials for DMA artworks could be and we are excited to reveal this sneak peek.

I reveal to you the new template for online teaching materials and the future of online resources for teachers and students at the Dallas Museum of Art. Each work of art will have its own set of information, clearly organized according to tabs. The “First Glance” tab provides introductory information about the object, similar to the information found on a label in the galleries. It may serve as the hook to pull you further into an exploration of the artwork. The “Extended Information” tab provides paragraphs of topical information that reveal more about the object. For example, the Egungun costume information includes paragraphs about Death and Religion, Materials, and African Masquerades. This text has been culled from new curatorial scholarship and existing interpretive resources. A teacher will also find contextual images in this section.

The third tab, “Teaching Ideas,” is a section presenting questions, comparisons, and activities that any teacher could use to get started teaching a lesson using this artwork. These ideas are a mix of resources generated by DMA education staff and K-12 teachers. Finally, the “Media/Resources” tab provides extra resources in the form of books, audio and video clips, and additional web sites. We are also working to provide as many pronunciations as possible for less familiar words, easy print capabilities, opportunities to view the images in larger sizes, and access to detail images of the art.

In April, we will begin testing this new model with a new group of ten teachers. Will they agree with the first ten in terms of needs and wishes? That is exactly what we hope to find out. Each of the new teachers will design and implement a lesson using the teaching material template above, and we will ask them to tell us what works and what needs to be changed or added. We look forward to this second round of crucial work because it will only make the online resources stronger. What are your initial thoughts about this new look and presentation?

At the completion of the Connect project, we plan to have a wonderful new model, but we will only have converted sixty-five objects to the new teaching materials. We have hundreds to convert! A redesigned home page and teacher resources site will help us streamline the presentation of resources as we remain in transition mode and continue converting the existing resources to the new format. I will be anxious to share the new site with you later this year and welcome your comments.

Nicole Stutzman
Director of Teaching Programs and Partnerships

Seldom Scene: A Pocket Full of Posies

Published March 28, 2011 Behind-the-Scenes , Fundraising , Members Closed
Tags: Art, art in bloom, bloom, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Museum of Art League, fashion, floral endowment, spring

Even though our galleries had “the day off,” today the Museum hosted Art in Bloom, the Dallas Museum of Art League’s annual symposium and luncheon. The springtime event provides generous support for the League’s Floral Endowment and the Museum’s exhibitions and educational programs.

Photography by Adam Gingrich, Marketing Assistant at the Dallas Museum of Art

Friday Photos: NAEA in Seattle

Published March 25, 2011 Friday Photos Closed
Tags: convention, NAEA, Seattle

Last week, Nicole, Jenny, Melissa, and I spent Spring Break attending the National Art Education Association convention in Seattle. This was my first time attending NAEA, and I returned to Dallas energized, excited, and filled with new ideas for the teaching we do in our galleries.

Although we all attended a lot of sessions at the convention, we also found time to get out and explore Seattle. I especially enjoyed Pike Place Market and the Seattle Art Museum (their African galleries are amazing). Below are just a few of the photos from my week at NAEA!

With the Space Needle in the distance

A little art history fun at NAEA

At dinner with our friends from the Nasher Sculpture Center

We all loved this sign on the door of a store

Pike Place Market

Shannon and Melissa at Pike Place Market

Exploring the Market in the rain at lunchtime

Melissa chats with teachers at the DMA table during the Museum Exchange

Seattle Art Museum–we all thought the Hammering Man out front looked familiar…

Ibeji at SAM, complete with offerings for the twins

The Egungun at the Seattle Art Museum

SAM’s current special exhibition is amazing!

I rode “The Ducks” in Seattle with my aunt and cousin

On the Duck Boat with my cousin Jack

The Seattle skyline as seen from the Duck Boat on Lake Union

The Seattle Space Needle

Shannon Karol
Manager of Docent Programs and Gallery Teaching

Community Connection: Dallas and Beyond

Published March 24, 2011 Art & Teaching , People , works of art 1 Comment
Tags: afterschool program, Art, Community, Community Connection, Contemporary Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art

I look forward to spring for several reasons: warmer weather, hints of green and color coming out on trees and plants, and the National Art Educators Association Convention. Held in a different city each year, the Convention provides opportunities for us to meet museum and classroom educators from all over the United States, as well as other countries, and to learn what our colleagues are doing and thinking about in their respective cities. On the flip-side, DMA educators often lead conference sessions and share about the new and exciting programs that consume our daily lives.

The most recent Convention took place in Seattle during Spring Break. I took part in a session with Elizabeth Gerber and Sofia Gutierrez, educators from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. We all work closely with afterschool programs, and evaluation and reflective practice are essential to the development and refinement of our programs. We led a session that not only described our programs but also encouraged our audience to share their practices. Meet our most distant Community Connections to date below:

Briefly describe your position at LACMA.

Elizabeth: In a nutshell, I aim to connect the art at LACMA with the lives of students and teachers throughout Los Angeles County. This includes working with multi-visit school programs where kindergarteners through high school students visit the museum multiple times; programs that take place in schools, libraries, and community centers; and professional development opportunities for classroom teachers. These programs occur during school, after school, in the evenings, and on the weekends. LACMA even creates an exhibition at a local elementary school each year!

Elizabeth Gerber

Sofia: I coordinate the out-of-school afterschool component for the Art Programs with the Community: LACMA On-Site program. We have a partnership with the Los Angeles Public Library, the YMCA, and the Los Angeles Unified School District. The majority of the workshops happen at the seventeen partner libraries, where we hold weekly sixty- to ninety-minute hands-on art programs focused on developing critical thinking skills, creativity, and personal connections. I work closely with our teaching artists by mentoring, looking over lesson plans, collaborating on professional development, team teaching, and further developing best strategies for equal voicing opportunities for our participants, many who are English Language Learners. Each workshop has learning and social goals that were developed from our two-year participatory evaluation modeled after the Theory of Change. I also work closely with the librarians and other community partners and coordinators in our programs to ensure we are meeting the educational and life-long learning needs of their community, and to extend the hospitality of LACMA as part of their community.

Sofia Gutierrez

What was your favorite part of your Seattle NAEA experience?

Elizabeth: This year I really enjoyed the opportunity to think “big” about museums and the ways they connect with audiences and communities. This work encompasses everything from collaborating with living artists, to evaluating the work of museums, to articulating the ways museums have an impact on their visitors and program participants.

Sofia: I especially enjoyed hearing about all the inspiring work that is being done in the field of Museum Education and the nation’s libraries, and the call to action from our profession to ensure that the nation is aware of the crucial role and value of these public institutions, and that museums along with libraries, not just the sciences, are leading the way in developing 21st Century Skills.

If you could take any work of art from the LACMA collection home with you, what would you choose? (I know I ask this question of all our museum colleagues, but this is a great way to learn about the treasures of their collections!)

Elizabeth: It is tough to pick just one! Although my background is in contemporary art, I’d love to live with Copenhagen: Roofs Under the Snow by Peter-Severin Krøyer.

Sofia: I would choose Veiled Christ, a small 18^th century Italian terracotta sculpture of Christ entombed with a shroud covering his body. And if that wasn’t available, I would take The Magdalen with the Smoking Flame, c. 1638-1640, by Georges de La Tour.

Melissa Nelson
Manager of Teaching in the Community

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