Official behind-the-scenes blog of the Dallas Museum of Art
Today docents at the Dallas Museum of Art celebrated the holidays at a Docent Luncheon. We appreciate all of their hard work and dedication throughout the year. Visit the DMA Dashboard to see how many hours the docents have volunteered. If you are interested in learning more about the DMA Docent Program, e-mail skarol@DMA.org.
We all have people on our holiday shopping list that are difficult to buy for. That’s why the DMA’s Museum Store has a wide selection of fun and fantastic last-minute gifts. You can cover everyone on your list while treating yourself to a little holiday cheer too. Check out a few gift ideas below, and then come by the Museum Store or visit us online now.
Beaded Bracelets, $18
Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection, $24.95
DMA Stainless Steel Water Bottle, $19.95
Eames Messenger Bag & Tablets, $14-$19
Earth T-Shirt, $27
Found Object African Bracelet & Necklace, $64-$90
KidO Magnatab Magnetic Tablet, $32
Master Kitz, $35
Mistura Wooden Timepieces, $225-$275
P’kolino Wooden Puzzles, $34-$40
Pop Top Make-Up Bag, $18
Posters of Paris Candles, $35
Rubber Vase design by Henriette Melchiorsen, $40
This is Texas, This is Paris, This is New York, This is San Francisco, $17.95
Last week the Dallas Arts District kicked off Holiday in the District with Holidays at the Center. Below are images from the annual tree lighting event provided by the Dallas Arts District. Visit the Holidays in the District page for information on all holiday-related events, as well as tips on holiday shopping in the District.
Courtesy of the Dallas Arts District
Courtesy of the Dallas Arts District
Courtesy of the Dallas Arts District
Courtesy of the Dallas Arts District
Courtesy of the Dallas Arts District
Courtesy of the Dallas Arts District
Courtesy of the Dallas Arts District
Courtesy of the Dallas Arts District
Courtesy of the Dallas Arts District
Courtesy of the Dallas Arts District
Yesterday we announced our move to free general admission in 2013 along with the launch of an innovative free membership model, the DMA Friends & Partners program. DMA Friends & Partners will not only strengthen our existing relationships with you but also forge new ones, expand audiences throughout greater Dallas, and build a robust global online community.
The DMA Friends program will provide free membership to anyone who wishes to join and will include opportunities for increased access to Museum programs and staff. The DMA Partners program will seek the support of individuals, corporations, and foundations desiring to be a part of the Museum’s efforts to deliver access to its extensive collection and diverse public programs. DMA Partners are also welcome to become DMA Friends and earn rewards through engagement.
DMA Friends earn rewards by engaging with the Museum both at the DMA and online. We will also create a new online engagement platform through which virtual badges are awarded to Friends who really plug-in and make the DMA a vibrant place to be. Badges will give you new ideas about ways to use the Museum that you’ve never thought of before. Earning badges will unlock special rewards and recognition like free tickets to special exhibitions or behind-the-scenes tours with DMA staff.
Our reasons for going free can be explained very simply: the DMA values the participation of the public more than we value the modest return realized from paid general admission. Art museums are different from other cultural destinations because we don’t rely as much on admissions to pay the bills. Our model is closer to that of a public library: we receive substantial philanthropic support from generous individuals, government agencies, foundations, and corporations, and we serve the public by seeking an educational outcome, not a commercial one.
The best part of our work is in seeing how artworks from across 5,000 years of visual creativity can change the way we think about the world, and how we feel about ourselves, as individuals and as a society. We look forward to welcoming you and to learning together.
Find out more about DMA Friends & Partners in the Press Room and watch yesterday’s press announcement below.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARAC8CpYd9Y]
Robert Stein is the Deputy Director at the Dallas Museum of Art.
The DMA wishes you a Happy “Turkey” Day with Don Eddy’s Williams Bar-b-qued Turkey from 1973.
Don Eddy, Williams Bar-b-qued Turkey, 1973, color lithograph, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Dr. Roy M. Fleischmann
And start your Black Friday now with the “Paint It Black” board on the DMA’s Pinterest page.
Kimberly Daniell is the Public Relations Specialist at the Dallas Museum of Art.
We recently opened our DMA Staff Art Show, Crawl Space: Within the Walls, on Level M2. DMA employees love art, and some members of our staff create their own works. Stop by and visit the Staff Art Show, on view through January 6, 2013.
We are very excited about the upcoming launch of a new program, Music and Masterpieces, produced in partnership with the Dallas Opera, on Saturday, November 10.
We have worked closely with our Arts District neighbor the Dallas Opera on many programs and projects in the past. These have included the commission of the song cycle A Question of Light by writing duo Gene Scheer and Jake Heggie, which was inspired by works of art in the DMA’s collection in honor of our shared benefactor and art advocate Margaret McDermott; hosting several special opera season preview performances; and most recently hosting a recital by Laura Claycomb.
The success and positive response to A Question of Light started us thinking: How can we connect the art of performance and music with the art in the galleries in a more meaningful way, and more often? After a fun brainstorming session between the DMA programming staff and the Opera’s Marketing and Education department, the idea for Music and Masterpieces was born. The DMA and the Dallas Opera will work together to choose a theme based on an area of the DMA’s collection or special exhibitions that will serve as inspiration for a performance and tour to be held on the same day. Through this pairing, visitors will gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of both of these art forms and the influences they have on one another within a shared theme, era, or culture.
Jules Cheret, “Jardin de Paris”, 1890, color lithograph, Milwaukee Art Museum, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Milton F. Gutglass, M1998.158, Photo by John R. Glembin, Milwaukee Art Museum
Next Saturday’s Music and Masterpieces program is inspired by the exhibition Posters of Paris: Toulouse-Lautrec and His Contemporaries. Nathalie Paulin*, a French-Canadian soprano, will perform music ranging from late 19th-century French opera to art songs and Parisian bistro chansons. A tour of the exhibition will follow the performance. The performance will start at 2:00 p.m, and the tour will begin at 3:00 p.m. Please arrive early as space on the tour is limited and on a first-come, first-served basis the day of the event.
Nathalie Paulin
We have other Music and Masterpieces programs in the works as well. On January 27, 2013, we will feature Twyla Robinson*, soprano, with Charles Dillard* as accompanist. This program will be themed around the exhibition Difference? and will include music from the 20th century featuring strong feminine themes.
We hope to see you Saturday and at future Music and Masterpieces programs!
Denise Helbing is the Manager of Partner Programs at the Dallas Museum of Art.
*Artists subject to change
It’s another gorgeous sunny day in November here in Dallas. This warm and temperate fall weather could not have been more perfect for the recent opening of the new Klyde Warren Park right across the street from the Dallas Museum of Art. Just two weeks ago, this new urban green space celebrated it’s grand opening with over fifty free programs and a whopping 44,000 excited visitors. The DMA also participated in the lively festivities, offering outdoor art-making workshops and even a re-enactment of the ancient Maya ballgame in connection with our exhibition The Legacy of the Plumed Serpent in Ancient Mexico. The park continues to provide free daily programs, and has already become a populated community space beloved by the locals.
This 5.2 acre deck park features a children’s playground, a gated dog park, putting greens, ping-pong tables, a reading area, and plenty of open green grass to play or picnic on. With something for absolutely everyone, the park brings people together from all walks of life.
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If you’re taking advantage of this wonderful weather and want to explore some of the DMA’s outdoor spaces, we have a couple beautiful spots for you to check out as well. For a tranquil stroll surrounded by trees, waterfalls, and life size sculptures, I highly reccomend heading out to the Sculpture Garden: it’s the perfect place to find inspiration or relaxation.
The Fleischner Courtyard is another great outdoor space to enjoy some sun or shade.
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There are a few special areas of the museum where the archituecture allows for the exterior and interior space to interact, creating a sense of the natural world from the inside. One of my favorite such places is the Atrium Cafe, where colorful glass Chihuly flowers float in the frame of the floor-to-ceiling window. With the colors made vibrant by sunlight and romantic by moonlight, it’s a breath-taking sight at any time of the day.
The recent Karla Black installation titled Necessity seems to also create a similar relationship between man-made objects and nature. Cascading down from the ceiling in front of the glass doors to the Sculpture Garden, the cellophane of this large-scale sculpture catches the natural light and produces a sparkling, rippling effect much like a stream or waterfall. The holes in the sculpture and translucent material allow for glimpses of the trees and nature just beyond the doors of the artwork. While standing in the concourse it’s easy to feel as if you’re transported to an outdoor oasis.
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I hope you all enjoy this weather while it lasts- you now know where I go to soak up the sun!
Hannah Burney
Community Teaching Programs Assistant
Artworks used:
There are some changes taking place in the DMA’s Center for Creative Connections. We have expanded our “making” space in C3 to include a work of art to inspire creation, and we are enlarging the area to allow room for more visitors. We have recently added a new staff pick, and we are in the process of installing the Urban Armor Street Art Camp panels in the Tech Lab and Young Learners Gallery. We’re also changing out the monitor wall images with visitor photo contributions. DMA staff has been preparing the walls in C3 for the installation of a piece by John Hernandez called Hi-C Avenger. We are thrilled to announce that Hernandez will be teaching workshops in C3 this January!
Amanda Batson is the Program Coordinator for the Center for Creative Connections at the Dallas Museum of Art.
We’re celebrating Halloween with works in the Dallas Museum of Art’s collection that are grim and ghastly, a little haunting, and might even give you the creeps. Be sure to check out the rest of our “Macabre Museum” on our DMA Pinterest page. Happy Halloween!
John Alexander, Dancing on the Water Lilies of Life, 1988, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Mr. Claude Albritton and the Museum League Purchase Fund
Mask: The Bad Spirit of the Mountain, Alaska, Yukon River Area, St. Michael, Yupik Eskimo, late 19th century, wood, paint, and feathers, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Elizabeth H. Penn
Edward M. Schiwetz, The Fulton House, 1946 (?), watercolor and oil on board, Dallas Museum of Art, Lida Hooe Memorial Fund
Emma-O, Japan, Momoyama period, late 16th-early 17th century, wood, lacquer, gold gilt, and glass, Dallas Museum of Art, Wendover Fund in memory of Alfred and Juanita Bromberg and the Cecil and Ida Green Acquisition Fund
Dean Ellis, Aspect of a Mexican Cemetery, 1950, oil and wax on panel, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Art Association Purchase
Gerhard Richter, Galerie Heiner Friedrich, and Tünn Konerding, Spherical Object II (Kugelobjekt II), 1970, black-and-white photograph, wood, glass panels, and steel balls, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Museum of Art League Fund, Roberta Coke Camp Fund, General Acquisitions Fund, DMA/amfAR Benefit Auction Fund, and the Contemporary Art Fund: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Vernon E. Faulconer, Mr. and Mrs. Bryant M. Hanley, Jr., Marguerite and Robert K. Hoffman, Howard E. Rachofsky, Deedie and Rusty Rose, Gayle and Paul Stoffel, and two anonymous donors
Kimberly Daniell is the Public Relations Specialist at the Dallas Museum of Art.