Archive Page 46

Meet the McDermott Interns

 

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September is already upon us, which means it’s once again time to meet our new McDermott Interns. Each year we offer nine internship positions—four in the Museum’s Education Department and five in the Curatorial Department—to talented individuals who are interested in exploring museum careers. Established in 1974, the McDermott Internship Program allows interns to work closely with staff throughout the Museum and provides opportunities for individual contributions. Below you’ll find some brief background information on our brilliant new bunch, along with their official positions.

Grace Diepenbrock
McDermott Intern for Family and Access Teaching
Grace completed her BA in Studio Art at Mars Hill University in North Carolina. She most recently served as the Family Programs Assistant at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, where she led programs for families and early learners. Grace has also held positions with the EdVenture Children’s Museum and the Madison County Arts Council, where she developed the curriculum for an art-based afterschool program.

Kelly Filreis
McDermott Graduate Intern for Contemporary Art
Kelly received her BFA in Print/Paper/Book from Minneapolis College of Art and Design and recently completed her MA in Art History from the University of California, Riverside. While at UCR, Kelly served as the Art History Graduate Student Association Vice President and coordinated the 2016 Art History Graduate Student Conference. She has also worked with multiple galleries in Minneapolis to coordinate exhibitions and special artist projects.

Sara Greenberg
McDermott Graduate Intern for Adult Programming and Arts & Letters Live
Sara completed her BA in Art History at the University of Denver and recently earned her MA in Art History from the University of California, Riverside. As a collections intern at the California Museum of Photography, she initiated a print viewing program to provide increased accessibility to the collection. While in Denver, Sara held internships at the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Denver Art Museum, where she helped organize their monthly late night program, Untitled Final Friday.

Angela Medrano
McDermott Intern for Gallery and Community Teaching
Angela recently earned her BA from Dickinson College in Pennsylvania, where she majored in American Studies. During her time at Dickinson, Angela founded a program for university student volunteers to learn and teach American Sign Language to early learners at the Dickinson College Children’s Center. Angela also worked with the university’s Trout Gallery to facilitate art-based wellness programs and programs for K–12 visitors.

Dana Olesch
McDermott Intern for Ancient American Art
Dana recently earned her BA in Anthropology and History from Beloit College in Wisconsin. During her time at Beloit, Dana served as a teaching assistant for multiple courses and worked with the college’s Logan Museum of Anthropology to create teaching materials for high school and college students based on the museum’s Andean and North American collections. She has also participated in archaeological excavations of domestic sites in Virginia and Peru.

Francesca Soriano
McDermott Intern for American Art
Francesca recently earned her BA in Art History from Colby College in Maine. While completing her degree, Francesca worked with the Colby College Museum of Art in various roles, including that of curatorial intern, student docent, and co-chair of the Student Advisory Board. She has also held internships with galleries in New York, Paris, and Berlin, during which she gained experience in development, communications, and exhibitions.

Marta Torres
McDermott Graduate Intern for Visitor Engagement
Marta earned her BA in Arts and Humanities from the University of Puerto Rico at Cayey and her Masters in Art Education with an emphasis on Museology from Caribbean University. Marta has worked with multiple departments at the Dr. Pio Lopez Martinez Museum of Art in Cayey, gaining experience in education, collections, and curatorial research. She also held a position researching and organizing the archives of artist Antonio Martorell.

Amy Wojciechowski
Dedo and Barron Kidd McDermott Graduate Intern for European Art
Amy received her BA in History from Oberlin College and holds her MA in the History of Art from Bryn Mawr College, where she is in the process of completing her PhD. Amy curated an exhibition of special collections at Bryn Mawr’s Carpenter Library and has also held a curatorial internship with the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where she contributed to an exhibition on Fernand Léger. She has also served as a student docent and education intern at Oberlin’s Allen Memorial Art Museum.

Megan Zembower
McDermott Intern for African Art
Megan recently completed her BA in Art History and French at Denison University in Ohio. While at Denison, Megan held positions as a teaching assistant and as a research assistant, working with her professor to organize an exhibition of contemporary art at Kenyon College’s Gund Gallery. Megan has also conducted architectural research on the Simon Jude Chancognie House, a historic 19th-century home located in Charleston.

Sarah Coffey is the Education Coordinator at the DMA. 

Meet Our Director

This month marks the arrival of the DMA’s new Eugene McDermott Director, Agustín Arteaga. Uncrated sat down with him in the Museum galleries to get to know him a bit better:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWaVGJksSdk]

All in a Day’s Work – 1940s

It’s Labor Day and while it is time to say an unofficial goodbye to summer, it is also the perfect time to recognize some of the staff that worked hard to make the Museum what it is today.

The Museum staff in the 1940s was small. Counting the names on the rosters in bulletins and annual reports, there were fewer than 20 people, including the teaching staff, which is about 10% of the people currently employed by the DMA. Some did multiple jobs covering both administrative and teaching duties, for example, or managing both the library and education programs.

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This is Building Superintendent Jimmie Garrett in 1940. He joined the staff after working on the construction crew that built the Museum in 1936. Unfortunately, I can’t quite figure out what he is doing in the photo, maybe guarding an installation in progress, or maybe just pondering the small figures on the shelves.

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Ed Bearden, in the coat and tie, was both the Museum’s Assistant Director and a member of the teaching staff. Here, he instructs a sculpture class with a live model in 1946.

The 1947 State Fair was an exciting time as the Museum secured a loan of Rosa Bonheur’s famous painting The Horse Fair from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and staff worked hard to promote the event.

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Mary Bywaters (left) and Fran Bearden (right) use The Horse Fair to promote Dallas Art Association membership. The man in the center is unidentified, but it would be great to learn his name if you recognize him.

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In addition to administrative and art class teaching duties, Ed Bearden also gave public lectures. Here he is speaking about The Horse Fair in 1947.

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Standing left to right: Herb and Jett Rogalla, Ed and Fran Bearden, Mellville Mercer, Jeanette Bickel, Rusty Grimes, Barbara Mercer, Margaret Milam; seated left to right: Jerry Smith, Mary Bywaters, Tom Grimes.

Thankfully it wasn’t all work for our 1940s staff. Here are some DMFA staff and friends in what I like to imagine was a staff picnic-type outing, but maybe I am reading too much into the grass and trees in the picture. It would be quite a happy coincidence if the photo happened to be taken on Labor Day 1948.

Stay tuned next Labor Day to see Museum staff of the 1950s doing interesting things . . .

Hillary Bober is the Archivist at the Dallas Museum of Art.

 

Friday Photos: C3 Volunteer Spotlight

The Center for Creative Connections (C3) is fortunate to have a number of amazing volunteers. From engaging visitors in conversations about art to maintaining supplies, volunteers play a key role in the C3 experience. Today we’d like to recognize four dedicated C3 volunteers: Mary Burkhead, Ryan Heerwagen, Briana Segarra, and Deborah Herring.

Mary Burkhead has been volunteering at the DMA for more than three years. She loves visiting museums and believes that being a volunteer has made her a more engaged and appreciative patron. When she is not volunteering, you can find Mary reading and attending theater, opera, and music performances.

Ryan Heerwagen has been a C3 volunteer for over two years. He enjoys having access to works of art and doing something that helps the community. When he is not at the DMA, Ryan can be found reading, playing video games, running a religious studies group, and consuming all of the knowledge the world has to offer.

Briana Segarra has been volunteering since December 2015. Volunteering in the C3 gallery satisfies her love for art and education. She also finds it nearly impossible to leave without a sense of fulfillment. In her free time, Briana can be found helping out at two local galleries, traveling, and educating future artists.

Deborah Herring began volunteering more than four years ago after retiring as an educator. She volunteers in order to stay connected to the creative world and to encourage visitors to have a worthwhile experience. In her spare time, Deborah loves knitting, playing Pokemon GO, and exploring places that encourage walking.

We are so thankful to have such a wonderful group of volunteers! If you are interested in becoming a Museum volunteer, please email volunteers@DMA.org for additional information.

Andi Orkin
Volunteer Coordinator for Programming

Party in the DMA

Nicolas Party Pathway_artist Nicolas Party_August 2016_Courtesy of Dallas Museum of Art

On August 1, Nicolas Party hopped off the plane at DFW and ever since it has been a Party in the DMA. It only took the Swiss artist two weeks to transform the Museum’s Concourse into an enchantingly surreal landscape. Unconfined to a static sketch, each day the former graffiti artist added richly hued flora that simultaneously recalls forest floors and ocean depths. Visitors were entranced as he worked to bring his imaginative vision of a sanctuary for the people of Dallas to life. Check out the progression of the site-specific mural below.

And tomorrow, let the long weekend begin. Come experience the wonder of Nicolas Party: Pathway on Thursday evening and throw your hands up because we’ll be playing your song when DJ Wild in the Streets takes over the DMA patio. You’ll be nodding your head like yeah as we start the weekend early with 20% off crepes from Socca, fresh retro pop, funk, soul, and great company. See you there!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8nUu7NnnIM]

 

Julie Henley is the Communications and Marketing Coordinator at the DMA.

 

 

 

 

How to Own Your Face

This year is the 25th anniversary of the DMA’s literary and performing arts series Arts & Letters Live! We celebrated this great achievement with a fantastic lineup of award-winning authors and performers earlier this spring, and then decided to extend the celebrating this fall. We’ve scheduled six programs that strongly connect to the DMA’s collection, and one of them is a wonderful book about celebrating our differences.

Robert Hoge

The Australian author Robert Hoge was born with a tumor the size of a tennis ball in the middle of his face and short, twisted legs. The surgeons were able to remove the tumor and built a new nose using one of his toes! He survived, but his face would never be the same.

This didn’t stop Robert, though. He played pranks, got into trouble, had adventures with his big family, and finally found a sport that was perfect for him to play. Then he had to come face to face with the biggest decision of his life: undergo a dangerous surgical procedure that might make him look less different but potentially make him blind, or live with his “ugly” face forever.

His memoir Ugly, designed for middle grade readers and older, offers a powerful message about being yourself, shaking off bullying, and accepting your appearance–themes we can all embrace!

“We all have scars only we can own.” —Robert Hoge

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Robert Hoge: Own Your Face

Sunday, September 11, 3:00 p.m.
Promotional Partner: TEDxSMU

Buy Tickets

 
 
 
At 2:00 p.m.: Join us for a pre-event tour of art that explores self-image and ideas of beauty, including Frida Kahlo’s Self-Portrait Very Ugly. Tour sign-up will begin 30 minutes prior to the start time. Tour space is limited and is first-come, first-served.

Madeleine Fitzgerald
Audience Relations Coordinator

Back to School: 2016 Fall Teacher Programs

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Arthur John Elsley, Hard Pressed (Any Port in a Storm/Late for School), 1898, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Kim Jordan.

Calling all teachers! We hope your back to school experience bears no resemblance to Arthur John Elsley’s Hard Pressed (Any Port in a Storm/Late for School), so we’d like to help you start the year off on the right note! Check out our Teacher page to discover upcoming opportunities and helpful tips for incorporating the DMA into your lesson plan this year.

We offer a wide variety of resources for educators including information on K-12 Student Visits, Gallery-Guides, Teacher Resources, and more. Be sure to peruse the Types of Student Tours we offer, to get a better idea of the opportunities available to you and your students here at the Museum. As you’ll notice, we’re offering a new STEAM tour this year! You can also schedule a Docent-Guided Tour or a Self-Guided Visit of upcoming special exhibitions, Divine Felines: Cats of Ancient Egypt and Art and Nature in the Middle Ages. Helpful tip: be sure to submit your request at least three weeks in advance of your visit to see a paid exhibition for free!

Interested in visiting the Museum with your fellow teachers? You can schedule a Teacher In-Service here at the Museum, or register for an upcoming Teacher Workshop (more on that below!) We’re always looking for new ways to support and celebrate educators, so please be sure to sign up to receive our emails and check the box for Information for Teachers to stay connected.

Here at the DMA, we’re looking forward to the opening of the claw-some new exhibition Divine Felines: Cats of Ancient Egypt on Sunday, October 9, and we want educators to take part in the fun with a Teacher Workshop. The exhibition explores the role of cats and lions in ancient Egyptian mythology, kingship, and everyday life, featuring material from the Brooklyn Museum’s world-famous Egyptian collection. Our workshop on Saturday, October 22, will provide educators with the opportunity to enjoy the exhibition before public hours while learning strategies to teach, interpret, and use works of art in the classroom and Museum galleries. Register here–What more purr-suasion do you need? Space is limited, so sign-up right meow!

We look forward to seeing you and your students at the DMA this fall, and we wish you a smooth start to the new school year!

Lindsay O’Connor
Manager of Docent and Teacher Programs

The Canines Behind the Canvas

Dogs are said to be man’s best friend, but can they also be his muse? The following artists sure thought so! These four-legged friends were never far from their master’s side, eager to give a bark of approval for work well done or a shake of the muzzle to try again, and, in dire circumstances, to lend their tail as an extra paint brush. These furry entourages inspired, encouraged, and lent a paw whenever they could to their famous owners. Happy National Dog Day to the creative canines behind the canvas!

David Hockney with his models, Stanley and Boogie


Georgia O’Keeffe getting some air with her fluffy chow companions


Jackson Pollock taking a breather with Gyp and Ahab


Pablo Picasso adventuring with his beloved dachshund Lump


Andy Warhol with his favorite army candy . . . his dachshund Archie


Frida Kahlo with her hairless, but not heartless, Xoloitzacuintli dogs


Julie Henley is the Communications and Marketing Coordinator at the DMA.

Appily Ever After

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Once upon a time, in a kingdom called the Dallas Museum of Art, a group of talented young wizards from the nearby land of Pariveda decided to create an enchanted portal. Far better than your run of the mill magic mirror, the portal gave all, far and wide, a glimpse into 5,000 years of the realm’s riches. Royalty and peasants alike could go behind castle lines with specially curated content like audio tours and insider guides, all without fear of being thrown into the dungeon. Word of mouth and carrier pigeons became practically obsolete with the portal’s interactive map, filterable calendar, favorites queue, and instant social media sharing. If that weren’t enough,  with a mere shake of their scrolls a random treasure would pop up to explore!

The wizards saw how much joy the portal brought the kingdom and decided to share it with all. They named their creation the DMA app and made it available on iOS devices!

And they all lived APPily ever after . . . Download today to experience the wonder.

Meet the Wizards:

Reed Correa
Texas A&M University, Management Information Systems
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Hey there! In building the DMA app, I worked to pull back artwork in the permanent collection, displaying details about that artwork, and displaying tour media information. My favorite work in the Museum is probably the Sporting Cup designed by Ashbee. I came across it while testing the search function. There are a number of cups and they became my favorite search. I love the turquoise color on it!

Philip Gai
Baylor University, Computer Science
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Hi! My central tasks in building the DMA app were developing the home page, the exploration guide pages, and the shake for a random art piece feature. After working with so much art information for the guides, I definitely came to appreciate art in a new way. The Wittgenstein Vitrine is definitely my favorite artwork at the DMA!

Nick Graham
University of Oklahoma, Computer Science
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Hi! I created the “At the Museum” page, which gives an overview of events on the DMA calendar. Additionally, I worked to make audio-video tour content accessible from the app. I enjoyed the opportunity to work in this unique environment with so many beautiful works of art. During this summer, I have grown to especially like the Wittgenstein Vitrine and Piet Mondrian’s Windmill.

Derik Hasvold
Brigham Young University, Provo, Information Systems
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Hi! Helping build the DMA’s mobile app was fantastic. One thing I worked on is the ability to filter through the Museum’s art collection to find artwork you are interested in. This feature helped me realize one thing: I love sculptures! There are some sweet sculptures in the Sculpture Garden; some of my favorites are Willy and Dallas Snake. If it weren’t for this amazing app, this is something I might never have discovered.

Mary Kate Nawalaniec
University of Notre Dame, Electrical Engineering
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Hey! I primarily worked on the Map features for the app. During our time at the DMA, Samantha Robinson was gracious enough to give us the history behind the Wittgenstein Vitrine. She provided interesting insight into the process of acquiring and restoring art pieces. I have a greater appreciation for the work curators do to track down pieces like the vitrine. It’ll be hard to top having the DMA as office space!

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Julie Henley is the Communications and Marketing Coordinator at the DMA. 

Collection Connection: Then and Now

Just last week the Museum released the DMA app, allowing visitors to engage with the collection, but the Museum has a long history of using technology to enhance the learning experience.

Students working with "Artifacts," the Museum's interactive computer video program during "The Shogun Age" in 1984.

Students working with Artifacts, the Museum’s interactive computer video program during The Shogun Age in 1984.

The first efforts began in 1984 when the DMA launched Artifacts (not to be confused with the 21st century version of Artifacts – the DMA Member magazine), a suite of interactive video computer programs that provided visitors a one-on-one learning experience for the Museum’s permanent collection and special exhibitions. “Combining visual images, through the use of video, with the stored information and access capability of a computer, a simple user-friendly system has been developed. Artifacts enable to the user to become involved with the program content rather than the mechanical operation of the machine, by the use of a light pen placed directly on a video monitor screen.”(DMA Bulletin, Summer 1984, page 27) Through Artifacts visitors were able to access information not available on text labels in the galleries providing context and greater appreciation of the artworks.

Today, a team of staff and intern programmers from Pariveda Solutions created the interactive app over the summer. Mary Mills, Administrator of Visual Resources, created Artifacts after two years of research and development, and had to learn both video production and computer programming, since Artifacts was the first system of its kind to be developed for an art museum.

The tools have vastly evolved over time but the idea of using technology to give visitors a more engaging experience at the DMA has stayed the same.

Hillary Bober is the Archivist at the Dallas Museum of Art.


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