Dallas Museum of Art Uncrated

Archive Page 57

Hop on Pop!

Published October 20, 2015 Art & Teaching , Family Fun Closed
Tags: books, picture books, pop, reading, Story Time

All kinds of good things are POPping up here at the DMA with the opening of the new exhibition International Pop. The Barrel Vault is filled with bright colors, oversized paintings, familiar faces, and works of art that will make you smile. Why not hop on Pop at home too? I’ve rounded up some of my favorite children’s books to introduce our youngest visitors to the art and artists who POP!

Toddlers

Two beautiful and fun concept books perfect for the toddler crew are Pop Warhol’s Top by Julie Appel and Amy Guglielmo and Counting with Wayne Thiebaud by Susan Goldman Rubin. Pop Warhol’s Top mixes together the best of touch & feel books with works by famous Pop artists. Tots can pretend to pull the lettuce off a Claes Oldenburg soft sculpture, touch the eyelashes on one of Andy Warhol’s famous Marilyn Monroe pieces, or tap the beat for an exuberant Keith Haring painting. Rubin’s Counting with Wayne Thiebaud will have little ones asking for “more, please!” as they use Thibeaud’s luscious dessert paintings to count from one to ten.

Preschool

Pre-readers will POP till they drop as they work their way through the alphabet in Rachel Isadora’s ABC POP! Isadora takes inspiration from Pop artists to depict everyday objects in a Pop art sensibility. A is for airplane and Z is for zoom, and everything in between is illustrated with comic strip word bubbles, close-ups, boldly drawn lines, and lots of dots. Uncle Andy’s Cats by James Warhola introduces emerging readers to Andy Warhol through the eyes of his nephew James and tells the true story of the 20+ kittens Warhol had running through his New York townhouse, all with the name of Sam! Children will love trying to find all the kittens on each page, and also see glimpses of some of Warhol’s most famous works tucked away in the illustrations.

Elementary

Susan Goldman Rubin highlights some of the most famous American Pop artists–Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, and Wayne Thiebaud–in three beautifully illustrated biographies for young readers. Wham!: The Art & Life of Roy Lichtenstein introduces readers to Roy as a boy who loved to draw and invent machines who grew up to be an artist that found inspiration in comic books. Andy Warhol: Pop Art Painter traces Andy’s journey from a commercial artist to a world-wide sensation who made his name by painting one of his favorite meals as a child–soup! Delicious: The Art & Life of Wayne Thiebaud weaves together the artist’s memories from childhood and mouth-watering reproductions of Thiebaud’s dessert paintings to create a balanced view of the artist’s varied career. All three volumes give readers a peek “behind the canvas” to gain a better understanding of these men as real people.

After you’ve made your way through these POPular books, we hope you’ll POP in and see the International Pop exhibit for yourself!

Leah Hanson
Manager of Early Learning Programs

Late Night Knock Out

Published October 19, 2015 Exhibitions , Late Nights 1 Comment
Tags: Dallas Museum of Art, DMA, International Pop, Late Night, Ushio Shinohara

This past Friday, artist Ushio Shinohara entered the artistic ring to create one of his Boxing Paintings out on the Museum’s Ross Avenue Plaza as part of our Late Night celebrating the opening of International Pop. Late Night visitors were able to experience his interactive painting style in which he uses paint-soaked sponges attached to boxing gloves to create his unique brand of action painting. If you missed Friday’s artist performance, you still have a chance to view four works by Shinohara in the International Pop exhibition on view through January 17, 2016.

Kimberly Daniell is the Manager of Communications and Public Affairs at the DMA.

Friday Photos: Fair Day!

Published October 16, 2015 Friday Photos 1 Comment
Tags: Big Tex, Community, education, educators, McDermott Interns

On October 7, the DMA Education Division took a small (and well-deserved!) break to explore the food, photography and fun at the State Fair of Texas! We really enjoyed the Creative Arts Exhibition Hall, and of course the crazy fried food concoctions. In honor of the Fair’s closing weekend, here are a few snaps from our day!

$Just a fraction of the delicious jams and chutneys created for the State Fair. Including a third place win for a blackberry jam created by the wife of Carl Daniel, Manager of Multimedia Services.$

Emily Wiskera and Jon Toles discuss a drawing that won a ribbon.

Jessie Frazier and McDermott Interns Emily Wiskera and Jenny Wang look at some of the many photography entries on view. So many talented artists entered the competition this year!

It's important to try lots of new and fun food (especially if it's fried potatoes!). Jessie shows off her tater tornado!

Madeleine Fitzgerald
Audience Relations Coordinator

Lessons Learned from a Kid Whisperer

Published October 15, 2015 Art & Teaching Closed
Tags: early learning, family learning, kids, play, tips, toddler

Last summer, resident kid whisperer, Leah Hanson, asked me to step in to teach one of her Toddler Art classes. I had observed Leah’s Early Learning programs in the past and thought it would be a cinch. After all, Leah made it look easy!

Her classes were like the scene of Edward Hicks’ The Peacable Kingdom. Teaching her class would be a breeze! Right?

Edward Hicks, The Peaceable Kingdom, c. 1846-1847, Dallas Museum of Art, The Art Museum League Fund

…WRONG!

There was nothing “peaceable” about the scene that ensued. In fact, it much more closely resembled Michelangelo’s Torment of Saint Anthony, on view at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth.

Deeply humbled by the experience, I returned to Leah’s classes to watch with a much more observant eye. While she made the classes look easy, Leah was carefully employing mindful techniques to help her class go smoothly.

Here’s what I learned:

Don’t just give the rules, explain them

Any child who has ever taken a class with Leah is ready to tell you, “We have oils in our skin that are good for us, but bad for the art. That’s why we don’t touch the art!” Give the agency of rules to the child by asking them to help you be the protector of the art.

Keep your cool

With a group of excited children, it can be tempting to raise your voice level to be heard over them. This is a downward spiral. As you get louder, the kids will also get louder and pretty soon you will be at a full cacophony. Instead, lower your voice until you’re in a whisper. The kiddos will quiet down to hear your “secret” information.

Speak their language

Think back. Way back. Remember when your teacher would tell you to fold your paper “hotdog style” or sit “crisscross applesauce” and you knew exactly what she meant? Especially with toddlers, it’s important to know that you are being understood, not just heard. Don’t know kid lingo? Befriend an elementary school teacher to teach you the ropes!

Ask about it

Instead of trying to interpret a child’s artwork on your own (and risk misinterpreting it!), ask them to tell you about their work of art. You will be amazed by what you find out!

Play isn’t a bad word

Museums are often thought of as solemn places, where education takes precedent over entertainment. But at the DMA, we believe that play is important too! Cognitive research has revealed that play is the central device for exploring and learning, developing new skills, and making connections with others. Playing thoughtfully with children will also help nurture their natural curiosity and creativity.

Be specific in your praise

Instead of saying, “That’s a great painting” try to take a closer look at the child’s artwork and find a specific quality to praise, such as “I love how you combined straight lines and zig zag lines in your painting”. This will encourage you to look more closely at the artwork and the child will appreciate your attentive eye.

I returned to the Early Learning programs with these tips and tricks and was amazed at how well the next class went. Practice Leah’s approach and you, too, will be kid whispering in no time!

Emily Wiskera
McDermott Intern for Family and Access Teaching

Texas-Sized Tea with Friends

Published October 14, 2015 Collections , DMA Friends 1 Comment
Tags: Dallas Museum of Art, DMA, DMA Friends, Texas Tea

In September, a group of DMA Friends joined us for an exclusive and new DMA Friends rewards event: Tea Time, Deep in the Heart of Texas. We began our afternoon getting to know each other over Texas-inspired light refreshments which included sweet tea and lemonade paired with mini jalapeño cornbread muffins and mini buttermilk biscuits, baked fresh especially for us by the wonderful staff of the DMA Cafe.

We learned interesting tidbits about each other, such as what artwork from the DMA collection Friends wanted to take home. The Icebergs was the clear winner, yet another Friend wanted to jump into The Ocean’s Bounty: Undersea Windows by Louis Comfort Tiffany!

Next, we ventured up to the Dozier study room, a meeting space named after and honoring Texas artists Velma and Otis Dozier. Rae Pleasant, the Museum’s Research Associate for Early Texas Art, showed us objects in the collection that we might not ordinarily see as they are displayed in cases inside the DMA offices.

The “Tea Time, Deep in the Heart of Texas” reward gives DMA Friends a fun social interaction combined with a new way to engage with art. We heard interesting facts, perused archival material and shared personal reactions to the artworks in Dozier as well as in the Museum galleries. Best of all, we deepened and expanded our circle of art Friends!

Start saving your points now and be on the look out for a new tea time with a new theme at the beginning of the new year.

Dallas Museum of Art_DMA Friends Tea Time, Deep in the Heart of Texas (4)_September 2015_Courtesy of Dallas Museum of Art

Dallas Museum of Art_DMA Friends Tea Time, Deep in the Heart of Texas (5)_September 2015_Courtesy of Dallas Museum of Art

Dallas Museum of Art_DMA Friends Tea Time, Deep in the Heart of Texas (3)_September 2015_Courtesy of Dallas Museum of Art

Dallas Museum of Art_DMA Friends Tea Time, Deep in the Heart of Texas (2)_September 2015_Courtesy of Dallas Museum of Art

Dallas Museum of Art_DMA Friends Tea Time, Deep in the Heart of Texas (1)_September 2015_Courtesy of Dallas Museum of Art

Dallas Museum of Art_DMA Friends Tea Time, Deep in the Heart of Texas (8)_September 2015_Courtesy of Dallas Museum of Art

Dallas Museum of Art_DMA Friends Tea Time, Deep in the Heart of Texas (6)_September 2015_Courtesy of Dallas Museum of Art

Dallas Museum of Art_DMA Friends Tea Time, Deep in the Heart of Texas (7)_September 2015_Courtesy of Dallas Museum of Art

Tanya Miller is the Friends Community Manager at the DMA

Creativity Matters

Published October 13, 2015 Creativity Closed
Tags: Center for Creative Connections, Community, Community Connection, creativity, Dallas Museum of Art, Museum Education, People

Because the Dallas Museum of Art is closed to the public on Mondays, those days are often strangely quiet without the buzz of school children and families in the Center for Creative Connections (C3). However, on Monday, October 5, C3 was brimming with energy from some of the creative educators, artists, and community organizers that make Dallas great. Earlier this year we were approached by the Sam Francis Foundation to be one of three organizations across the country to host a roundtable event focused on the Future of Creativity.

In 2014, the Sam Francis Foundation set out to start a national conversation about the importance of creativity in learning, and they called this initiative Creativity Matters: The Campaign for Creativity in Learning. The first year they partnered with Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and brought together leaders throughout the field in conversations across the United States (at LACMA, The Met, The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and The Exploratorium). These first conversations were centered around two questions:

What does creativity look like?

Where and how does creativity thrive?

Following their 2014 roundtables, the Sam Francis Foundation compiled their findings in this report.

This fall, the Sam Francis Foundation continued the conversation with a set of roundtables at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, The Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C., and the Dallas Museum of Art. These Future of Creativity discussions sought to understand the role creativity will play in the future and the changes needed to prepare students for what that world might look like. Considering the future of creativity in our homes, workplaces, schools, and neighborhoods, our conversations were sparked by these questions:

In twenty years how will creativity shape the world we live in?

How will creativity inform our decision-making?

What new conditions will be needed to unleash creativity?

If we were building a “creativity tool-kit” for future generations – what tactics, methods, and advice would we include?

It was truly remarkable to have so many Dallas leaders, artists, and educators (many of whom we have worked with closely in the past) together in the Center for Creative Connections. The conversations were dynamic, engaging, and inspirational.

Yet, these roundtables are just part of the beginning stage for a grander plan involving community building, the creation of programs, and a public awareness campaign in support of the future of creativity.

In the end, I will leave you with some of my favorite quotes from the day. Some are specific to creativity, and others are general gems to keep in mind.

Home: “A healthy home and community fosters creativity.”

Work: “Investment doesn’t just mean money… often the most valuable thing we can give is our time.”

Home: “Don’t punish failure, celebrate experimentation.”

School: “Curiosity and empathy should be at the core of what we are teaching.”

School: “Every solution to a problem is partial and provisional.”

Neighborhood: “If children do not feel that they can get out and have an amount of freedom, that dampens creativity.”

Jessica Fuentes
C3 Gallery Manager

V.I.B. Visit to the DMA

Published October 12, 2015 Behind-the-Scenes Closed
Tags: Dallas Museum of Art, Gerald Murphy

Two week’s ago we had a special visitor at the DMA, the great godson of Gerald Murphy! The Museum’s education blog, DMA Canvas, shared his visit and snapped a few photos of 11-month-old Vance in front of his great godfather’s work Watch.

Gerald Murphy was described as “the progenitor of Pop Art” in a New York Times review of the exhibition Making it New, which the DMA presented in in 2008. His two works in the colelction serve as a precursuer to those works on view in International Pop, now open and on view through Janaury 17, 2016.

Staff Spotlight: Tom Jungerberg

Published October 9, 2015 Art & Teaching , People Closed
Tags: Teacher Resources

We were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of our friend and colleague, Tom. Our thoughts and prayers are with our friends at the Nasher and with Tom’s family during this time. We wanted to share this post in his remembrance.

Dallas Goes Pop

Published October 7, 2015 Behind-the-Scenes , Exhibitions 3 Comments
Tags: Dallas Museum of Art, DMA, International Pop, León Ferrari

It’s been a busy, colorful week in the Museum’s Barrel Vault gallery. We have been putting the final touches on the nationally touring exhibition International Pop, which opens this Sunday, October 11, including the installation of León Ferrari’s The Western Christian Civilization (La civilización occidentaly cristiana) from 1965. This morning DFW press were given a sneak peek of the groundbreaking and critically acclaimed exhibition. Here’s your behind-the-scenes look, and mark your calendars for Sunday.

DMA curator Gabriel Ritter, organizing co-curators Bartholomew Ryan and Darsie Alexander

Green Tara at the DMA

Published October 7, 2015 People , works of art 1 Comment
Tags: Green Tara, sculpture, Tibetan Art

As the new Manager of Docent and Teacher Programs, my first few weeks at the DMA have flown by in a busy, joyous blur. Everyday seems filled to the brim as I acclimate to my new role and learn as much as I can from my new colleagues and our fabulous docent team. In the midst of this whirlwind of activity, I find myself coming back to the Asian Art collections again and again to visit a familiar face— Green Tara, a beloved female Bodhisattva central to Tibetan Buddhism.

Green Tara, Tibet, 18th century, Gilt copper alloy and turquoise, Dallas Museum of Art, the Cecil and Ida Green Acquisition Fund

In the summer of 2008, I had the opportunity to study Buddhist philosophy and Tibetan history and culture at the College for Higher Tibetan Studies in Himachal Pradesh, India through Miami University’s Anthropology Department. Each morning before breakfast, my fellow students and I would wipe the sleep from our eyes and make our way to temple to practice meditation with our teacher, Geshe Kalsang Damdul la, a monk and scholar with an advanced degree in Tibetan Buddhism. Geshe la taught us the value of cultivating resilience and mindfulness through meditation. I can still picture him chuckling and asking us, “What good is being a genius if you don’t know how to live a quality life? I appeal to you, practice!”

The College for Higher Tibetan Studies in Himachal Pradesh, India.

A sweet welcome message from our hosts, the monks and nuns who study at the College for Higher Tibetan Studies.

Incense perfuming the air during morning prayers.

A lot of hungry monks lined up for their afternoon daal.

As we embarked on our practice, Geshe la instructed us that one possibility was to direct our meditation towards a deity. He suggested Green Tara, a much-loved female Bodhisattva distinguished by her emerald green skin, maternal compassion, and constant readiness to protect her devotees from physical and mental misfortune.

On our last day, one of my monk friends pressed a printed Green Tara card into my hand and told me, via a translator, that I should keep her with me always for protection. She has been with me ever since, tucked safely in my wallet.

Prayer flags decorating sacred sites in the Himalayan foothills.

Spinning prayer wheels at the Dalai Lama's temple complex in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, India.

The DMA’s exquisite 18^th century Green Tara sits on her lotus throne with her right leg extended, ever-ready to leap to the aide of the suffering. Her hand gestures, or mudras, symbolize protection and boon granting. Shining gilt copper alloy flecked with cool turquoise stand in for the Bodhisattva’s characteristic emerald skin. What I love most about Green Tara is the delicate suggestion of tension in her lithe figure—she’s at once in a state of perfect calm and ready to spring into action.

Visiting Green Tara brings me back to the stillness of those early mornings spent in meditation, and reminds me of the sense of ease and wellbeing we experienced chanting the Bodhisattvas’s mantra together with Geshe la. Om Tare Tuttare Ture Svaha.

Lindsay O’Connor
Manager of Docent and Teacher Programs

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