With all of the exciting openings and events currently taking place at the Museum, it’s interesting to pause and take a look back at installations from our past—especially this one highly ambitious execution that included a lagoon!
David McCullough, Baggie Mantra Sanctorum March, June 12, 1971
On Saturday, June 12, 1971, artist David McCullough executed a performance sculpture around and in the Fair Park Lagoon.
McCullough conceived of the project as a one-act play to be “performed” by himself and his assistants. Musicians were also on-site improvising music in reaction to the performance.
David McCullough, Baggie Mantra Sanctorum March, June 12, 1971
The sculpture consisted of large plastic bags filled with clear or colored water connected by a nylon cord. The performance consisted of a procession of the baggies from the far side of the lagoon, across the water, and along the bank, ending at the Museum steps. The sculpture remained on view for about a week after the performance.
David McCullough, Baggie Mantra Sanctorum March, June 12, 1971
David McCullough, Baggie Mantra Sanctorum March, June 12, 1971
More information about the work can be found in the press release.
Hillary Bober is the Archivist at the Dallas Museum of Art.
In celebration, the greater Dallas community came together this past Saturday to enjoy Asian Festival 2017 in Fair Park. We hosted our very own art-making booth, where kids could craft their own paper scroll inspired by Enomoto Kikaku’s “Mushrooms,” a haiku poem. Check out the video below to see what we were up to!
This free, family-friendly festival showcased cultural performances, arts and crafts, cuisine, and more from the many, many cultures of Asia and the Pacific Islands. Thank you to the Greater Dallas Asian American Chamber of Commerce for allowing the DMA to participate!
Angela Medrano
McDermott Intern for Gallery and Community Teaching
The nice thing about doing a crossword puzzle is, you know there is a solution. – Stephen Sondheim
Finally, the holidays are here and rest is near! But don’t let your brain turn to mush, instead curl up by the fire with this puzzle and tell all else to hush. Test you DMA knowledge with this battle of wits and if you get tired the answer key is at the bottom so you can call it quits.
Good luck and happy Crossword Puzzle Day!
ACROSS
2
Until the Tutankhamen exhibition in 2008-09, this 1979 exhibition held the record for the highest attendance (without the date)
5
This woman was the first president of the Dallas Art Association: Mrs. Charles L. / Grace Leake __________
8
This popular evening program was inspired by the 100 Hours event for the museum’s Centennial in January 2003, and was initiated the following year (2 words)
9
Title of a sculpture by Mark di Suvero installed on Ross Plaza
10
This is the name of the blue bird who is the mascot for the DMA’s children’s and family programs
DOWN
1
Title of a popular “frozen” landscape by Frederick Church, installed on Level 4
3
This former director was also a Dallas Morning News art critic, taught at SMU, and has art work in the collection
4
This collection is displayed in a recreated French villa
6
The museum was located in two different buildings here (2 words)
7
This animal, named Sir Lancelot and associated with the Wise Collection of Ancient South American Art, has appeared in three Uncrated blog posts
Yesterday our McDermott Interns enjoyed a lovely fall walk through Fair Park with Olivier Meslay, the Museum’s Associate Director of Curatorial Affairs. We took some time to appreciate the Art Deco architecture and art sans the busy fair crowds and learned more about the origins of the DMA.
The preparations for the celebration of the Texas Centennial involved the work of artists from around the state and across the globe, using Six Flags over Texas as an overarching theme.
The Great Hall inside the Hall of State, with the gold medallion representing the six nations
The representation of the Republic of Texas
With the opening of the Texas Centennial Exposition just around the corner, the then Dallas Museum of Fine Arts moved into its new building in Fair Park on May 31, 1936. Although the Museum would be renamed and moved to its current location in the Dallas Arts District, the DMFA building remains in Fair Park, where its Art Deco details can still be appreciated.
In front of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts Building
Whitney Sirois
McDermott Graduate Intern for Gallery and Community Teaching
One hundred and five years ago, in April 1909, the Dallas Art Association (the parent organization of what is now the DMA) presented the City of Dallas with their collection and opened in a new permanent gallery space in the Textile and Fine Arts Building in Fair Park as the Dallas Free Public Art Gallery.
Textile and Fine Arts Building, Fair Park, c. 1909
The DAA collection had been shown in the Art Room at the Dallas Public Library from 1903 to 1909 but was in need of larger quarters. Beginning with the opening of the new gallery on April 17, 1909, the collection’s hours were Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m., and entry was free.
Dallas Free Public Art Gallery in the Textile and Fine Arts Building, Fair Park, c. 1909-1929
The collection remained on display in the Textile and Fine Arts Building for twenty years and was then relocated to the former Halaby Galleries space in the Majestic Theatre Building, opening April 30, 1929.
Hillary Bober is the digital archivist at the Dallas Museum of Art.
How do you navigate your way in a new city’s art community? That became my challenge when I moved from Philadelphia to Dallas in September 2012 to become the new McDermott Curatorial Intern for Contemporary Art. Of course, I did my research: numerous Google searches helped me make a page-long list of contemporary art venues I wanted to visit during my internship. But assisting on the DMA’s newest exhibition, DallasSITES: Charting Contemporary Art, 1963 to Present, was what really taught me about Dallas’s artistic legacy.
Two members of the Dallas art scene who have been influential for decades: Janet Kutner and Paul Rogers Harris, c.1960s, Courtesy of Paul Rogers Harris, Dallas, TX
I’ve spent the past nine months combing through archives, researching galleries, and learning about the evolution of the Dallas art scene. The exhibition, consisting mainly of ephemera from the past fifty years, will illustrate how dynamic the art community of North Texas has been. As a recent transplant, this project became my personal crash course. This history lesson served me well.
Map of Dallas, Courtesy of Swoon the Studio, Dallas, TX
Dallas itself is a large city, and over the years the art scene has concentrated in different neighborhoods. Artists were extremely active in Fair Park and Uptown during the 1960s and 70s. With the establishment of the Arts District in the 80s, many art-related activities migrated to downtown. Deep Ellum became a serious locus for the arts in the 80s as well. Today, many galleries and institutions have relocated to the Design District. Interestingly, artist activity continued in all of these neighborhoods even when the larger cultural trends shifted. Meanwhile, universities produce interesting programs and bring important artists to visit and work in North Texas. The ephemera on view in DallasSITES reflect these events.
A visitor at the 1989 Dallas VideoFest, Courtesy of the DMA Archives
Some fun facts learned from this project: Q: What is the oldest continuously running gallery in Dallas? A: Valley House Gallery & Sculpture Garden, established in 1955. Q: What is the oldest and largest video festival in the United States? A: Dallas’s own VideoFest! First held in 1986 at the Dallas Museum of Art, it provides a platform for experimental video art and Texas artists.
Claes Oldenburg, poster for Injun happening at the Dallas Museum for Contemporary Arts, April 6-7, 1962
Claes Oldenburg is an iconic artist of the pop art movement, but did you know that in 1962 he staged one of his famous “happenings” in Dallas? Injun became a two-day collaboration with local artists at the Dallas Museum for Contemporary Arts (which merged with the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts in 1963 to form the Dallas Museum of Art). That was a fun discovery! Oldenburg’s relationship with Dallas has continued for several decades. Further, I discovered that one of my favorite artists, Oliver Herring, participated in a 1997 group show called Termite Terrace at Angstrom Gallery in Dallas’s Fair Park neighborhood. When DallasSITES opens, visitors will truly see how active this community has been. One of the best parts of contemporary art is the opportunity to meet artists and other art lovers at openings and talks. Each month, there are dozens of exhibition openings, artist talks, and panels that keep Dallas exciting. There are established museums, commercial galleries, and temporary spaces ranging from empty storefronts to an artist’s living room. Artists from across the United States and even internationally are showing in nearby spaces, while the roster of local talent continues to grow.
Dallas’s art scene in action: A packed house at CentralTrak for its NEXT TOPIC series panel “Creating an Art Community/Scene” on May 2, 2013, Courtesy of Sally Glass and CentralTrak, Dallas, TX
When you see all the ephemera in DallasSITES presented in one room, the cultural wealth of this city becomes readily apparent. On May 26, you, too, can experience a crash course of your own for free!
Alexander Unkovic is the McDermott Curatorial Intern for Contemporary Art at the DMA.
Flower of the Prairie: George Grosz in Dallasallows you to compare the Dallas we live in today with the Dallas of 1952. Below are a few images of familiar landmarks from then and now. See more in our first e-catalogue, available as a free iPad app.
Fair Park Esplanade at night with State Fair, October 21, 1950. County, Squire Haskins Photography Collection, The University of Texas at Arlington Library, Arlington, Texas. AR447-11-37.
Fair Park, 2012, Dallas Museum of Art
Adolphus Hotel, 1954, Hayes Collection, Texas/Dallas History and Archives Division, Dallas Public Library. PA76-1/17625
Adolphus Hotel, 2012, Dallas Museum of Art
Pegasus atop the Magnolia Building, 1927. Bud Biggs Collection, Texas/Dallas History and Archives Division, Dallas Public Library. PA84-9/212.
Now that Memorial Day and the unofficial start of summer have come and gone, I thought it would be fun to look back at some past summers spent in the courtyard of the Museum’s former Fair Park home.
Impromptu music in the courtyard draws visitors outside, circa 1963
Summer class, 1970s
Ladies meeting over boxed lunches, 1970s (Photography by David Lawrence Photo)
Director Harry S. Parker III (far right) enjoying the courtyard, 1970s (Photography: From the Collection of the Texas/Dallas History and Archives Division, Dallas Public Library)
Hillary Bober is the Digital Archivist at the Dallas Museum of Art.
With the 75th anniversary of the Texas Centennial Exposition around the corner, we decided to dive into our archives and share some of our finds with you.
Texas Centennial Exposition ticket
Seventy-five years ago, in the summer of 1936, people throughout Texas and the United States traveled to Dallas for the Texas Centennial Exposition. The Exposition, held at Fair Park, was both a world’s fair and a gateway to attractions and events throughout the state celebrating the 100th anniversary of Texas’s independence from Mexico.
The following four photographs are from a set of twenty images published by John Sirigo, official photographer for the Texas Centennial Exposition, as “Genuine Official Photographs, No. 1.”
Texas Centennial Exposition, Esplanade and Exhibit Buildings
Texas Centennial Exposition, Midway
Texas Centennial Exposition, State Building
Texas Centennial Exposition, Ford Building
Advertised as An Empire on Parade, attractions included the Esplanade of State; exhibit halls and sponsored pavilions focusing on major industries in Texas; The Cavalcade of Texas, a living saga of over four hundred years of Texas history; Sinclair’s Dinosaurs, a prehistoric “zoo” of dinosaur reproductions; The Old West, with replicas of historic buildings; the Midway; and the Civic Center, made up of six units of cultural and educational attractions.
Souvenir Guide
Postcard view of museum building (E.C. Kropp Co., Milwaukee, Wis.)
The Hall of Fine Arts, the largest building in the Civic Center, was the permanent home of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, now the Dallas Museum of Art, for nearly fifty years. For the Exposition, the Museum held an enormous exhibition of paintings, sculpture, and graphic arts, including European art from before 1500 to contemporary Texas painting and everything in between. The exhibition, which filled the whole building, included almost six hundred works of art loaned by ninety-six major museums, galleries, private collectors, and artists.
The French Room at the Texas Centennial Exhibition included works by Manet, Renoir, Picasso, and Toulouse-Lautrec.
Grant Wood's "Amercian Gothic" was in the Contemporary American Paintings section of the Texas Centennial Exhibition.
The Texas Centennial Exposition ran from June 6 to November 29, 1936, and over six million people attended. Exhibit halls constructed for the Exposition still form the core buildings at Fair Park.
Hillary Bober is the Digital Archivist at the Dallas Museum of Art.
