Official behind-the-scenes blog of the Dallas Museum of Art
International Pop is coming to a close this weekend on January 17. We’ve had so much fun in this exhibition, so we wanted to share some of our favorite memories from our pop-tastic family programs. After all, as Andy Warhol said, “Pop art is for everyone.”
Come check out International Pop before it closes this Sunday!
Emily Wiskera
McDermott Graduate Intern for Family and Access Teaching
It is almost time for us to say goodbye, auf wiedersehen, adiós, and sayōnara to International Pop, an exhibition that explores the world of Pop art through more than 125 works drawn from over 13 countries on 4 continents. The DMA Member magazine, Artifacts, asked several participating artists for their own personal definition of Pop to celebrate the October opening of the exhibition at the DMA. Check out their responses below, and stop by the DMA before January 17 to find out what Pop art means to you.
Jana Želibská’s Toaletta I (Toiletta I) and Toaletta II (Toiletta II) from 1966 at left
Jana Želibská | Slovakia, born Czechoslovakia
Pop meant for me a way to express myself as a woman, to articulate my ideas in the new contemporary visual language—language totally different from the academic media and topics that we were taught by the professors at the academy—literally a new realism. Aside from that, Pop also meant for me the Youth as such and a way to communicate with the new harmonious world of future, in which men and women will be equal in both their rights and desires, minds and bodies.
Eduardo Costa’s Fashion Fiction 1: Vogue USA, Feb. 1, 1968 (photographer: Richard Avedon; model: Marisa Berenson), from 1966-68
Eduardo Costa | Argentina
Pop is a small usual object magnified many, many times and presented as a sculpture. Pop is a silkscreen print representing the face of a famous movie star left to the imagination of a sophisticated artist. Pop is a pretty girl showing off her lovely face and body from all angles. Pop is a professional body builder posing. Pop is an electric chair. Pop is the lonely image of a highway seen sometimes from a moving car. Pop is a flag representing a whole country in the space of a painting. Pop is a gold prop in the shape of an ear of gold reproduced in millions of copies of fashion magazines. Pop is a philosophy disguised as trivia and presented as art. Pop is basically a wind of life and energy from the popular mind that reaches all over the globe. Pop art seems to require no effort to be understood. Pop is best served with many definitions.
Ushio Shinohara’s 1968 work Oiran on the left
Ushio Shinohara | Japan
For the work Oiran (1968) I chose Japanese ukiyoe (pictures of the floating world) as my creative theme due to the influence of Pop art. First, I removed the eyes, nose, and mouth from the woodblock print of a famous picture of a courtesan. Second, I simplified her hair accessory and kimono design. Third, I used fluorescent paint. As a result, it became a great work of art that is much flashier than the original woodblock print. In this way, the image was reborn as a contemporary painting.
Rosalyn Drexler’s Sorry About That from 1966 on the right
Rosalyn Drexler | United States
Pop is the sound made when a cork is removed from a bottle. It announces that the “liquid” in the bottle is ready to be released. It is a reminder that Pop is an announcement of what is to come. If you are sleeping, Pop will wake you up. It is in the same class as an alarm clock. Simply put, the public at large may not have to struggle with MEANING any longer, but may at last understand the painting. It means nothing. It repeats itself. It advertises what it is, and nothing else. It does reveal the careful hand of the artist and his/her acceptance of nothing done beautifully. The more things change, the more one’s expectations are short-changed. However . . . ignore the label; press one on yourselves. Wash in cold water. Do not iron. The wrinkles are permanent. Pop is not Mom.
Delia Cancela’s 1966 Portrait of Girls and Boys: Antoine and Karine (Retrato Muchachas y Muchachos: Antoine y Karine) at left
Delia Cancela | Argentina
Pop was, for me, a label that I accepted. Critics said I was Pop; they wrote it. Personally, I don’t like categories. Then, in my life, what counted was pop music, cinema, and fashion, and women’s social situation too. Also, as I intended to introduce fashion into art language, magazines were part of my inspiration. My partnership with Pablo Mesejean was not only artistic but personal too. Life and art mingled. Jorge Romero Brest, the art critic who was at the time the director of the Institute Di Tella’s Visual Arts department, said that Pablo Mesejean and I were the most truly Pop artists of our generation.
Kimberly Daniell is the Senior Manager of Communications, Public Affairs, and Social Media Strategy, and Julie Henley is the Communications and Marketing Coordinator at the DMA.
For all of you 21st-century Wise Men, the DMA has the perfect holiday shopping list for all of your gift needs. Explore the more than 80 creative and artful gifts in the 2015 Gift Guide online and check out a few highlights below:
For Her:
She’ll be home for Christmas no matter where she is with a Dallas, Texas necklace custom made for the DMA store.
For Him:
He’ll pack his suitcase to the nines every time with fool-proof folding board.
For Fun:
Dominate family game night with a beautifully designed Chinese checkers set.
For Kids:
Create curiosity for the youngest on your shopping list with colorful Pantone books.
For the Home and Host:
Be the guest with the best gift this holiday season for the hostess with the mostess.
For the Reader:
Light up your favorite bookworm’s holiday with a Mini Lumio lamp.
For the Art Enthusiast:
Add a little art to a rainy day with a Gerald Murphy Watch Umbrella.
For the International Pop Star:
Give a gift that pops with a cool tote.
For the Rebel in Your Life:
Set the table with plates inspired by the DMA’s Jackson Pollock: Blind Spots exhibition.
For Your One and Only:
Give a one of a kind gift this season with items available exclusively at the DMA.
For the One with it All:
Give a year of art to the hardest to shop for on your list with a gift DMA Membership.
Don’t visit the International Pop exhibition on an empty stomach! With paintings of luscious cakes and pies, installations of tempting produce stands, and giant French fries spilling over your head, you just might find yourself suddenly craving a snack. For the December Homeschool Class for Families, we are exploring food-inspired works in the exhibition, and then turning our snack attack into inspiration for art-making. Using recycled food packaging and labels, children experiment with the idea of mixing advertising and art in their own crazy consumer collages.
Visit DMA.org for a fill list of upcoming classes and workshops offered for kids of all ages.
Leah Hanson is the Manager of Early Learning Programs at the DMA
Despite harsh weather conditions this past Monday evening, Educators Night Out saw great success! Teachers were invited to enjoy International Pop and Jackson Pollock: Blind Spots for free, along with snacks, drinks, tours, and a photo booth. The “Poptinis” and tiny cake pops were delicious, and the Pop-themed photo booth was a hit!
We made some new friends, and caught up with a few old ones too. We loved seeing all the awesome teachers in our galleries, and can’t wait to see you again soon!
Whitney Sirois
McDermott Graduate Intern for Gallery and Community Teaching
Calling all Educators!
Do you hop for Pop?
Will a Pollock make you frolic?
Do you think Andy Warhol is souper?
Do drip paintings make your heart go pitter-splatter!?
Do you really, really love Pop Art and/or Jackson Pollock?!!
This Monday, November 16th from 5:00PM-8:00PM, the Museum is hosting an Educators Night Out. Spend an evening at the DMA with free admission to both International Pop and Jackson Pollock: Blind Spots during this exclusive event for teachers. Explore the exhibitions during guided tours and enjoy complimentary light bites, a cash bar, half-price parking in the DMA garage, and more!
Registration is required, so RSVP now!
Amy Copeland
Manager of Go van Gogh and Community Teaching Programs
With co-conspiring punsters:
Emily Wiskera
McDermott Graduate Intern for Family and Access Teaching
Whitney Sirois
McDermott Graduate Intern for Gallery and Community Teaching
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.
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.
Celebrate artist Gerald Murphy and the Roaring ‘20s on Thursday, August 13, at the DMA’s French Riviera Fête!
Gerald and Sara Murphy on La Garoupe beach, Antibes, summer 1926. Gerald and Sara Murphy Papers, Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, © Estate of Honoria Murphy Donnelly.
In 1921, Gerald Murphy, his wife, Sara, and their three children set sail from New York to France. Their house, Villa America on the coast of Antibes on the French Riviera, became the site of legendary parties and the hub of an illustrious social circle that included expatriates F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, Cole Porter, and many others. (Gerald and Sara were the real-life inspirations for Fitzgerald’s novel Tender Is the Night.) There, in their oasis by the sea, the Murphys entertained their friends with flamboyant beach parties, fiery debates over the newest ideas, and dinners beneath the stars.
On August 13, we’re having a French Riviera Fête of our own! Kick off the evening with jazz music by the Texas Gypsies and bring your dance partner. Come dressed in 1920s attire or borrow some of our props and take a selfie in our Murphy-inspired photo booth. Sip the featured cocktail (Gerald’s own recipe for “Juice of a Few Flowers”), and take tours of art by Murphy and those who inspired him.
Gerald Murphy, Razor, 1924, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, gift of the artist, © Estate of Honoria Murphy Donnelly
Gerald Murphy, Watch, 1925, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, gift of the artist, © Estate of Honoria Murphy Donnelly
Gerald Murphy only painted for seven years, and only eight of his fifteen known canvases survive today. The DMA is fortunate to own two of those surviving works: Watch and Razor. Murphy gave them directly to the Museum out of gratitude for the role its curator Douglas McAgy played in reviving his reputation as an important artist.
In 2008, the DMA hosted the exhibition Making It New about the Murphys; in a review by the New York Times, Murphy was called “the progenitor of Pop Art.” So after learning more about Gerald Murphy on August 13, mark your calendars for our International Pop exhibition opening in October.
As part of this celebration, Arts & Letters Live will feature bestselling author Liza Klaussmann at 8:00 p.m. She will share insights into her new historical novel, Villa America. Pre-order your book and buy tickets to hear her speak. Actors will also do dramatic readings of letters between Gerald, Sara, and their friends. How about bringing your book club to enjoy this festive night together?
Liza Klaussmann has quite the literary pedigree herself—she’s the great-great-great granddaughter of Herman Melville. A former journalist, Klaussmann was born in Brooklyn and spent ten years living in Paris. She currently lives in London.
“Liza Klaussmann’s Villa America is so artful and compassionate that I couldn’t fail to love the Murphys and everyone who fell into their orbit during those Lost Generation years, all of them fascinating and flawed and human. This is a beautifully rendered story.”―Therese Anne Fowler, author of “Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald”
Want to read more about Sara and Gerald Murphy? I highly recommend these books too:
Amanda Vaill, Everybody Was So Young: Gerald and Sara Murphy, a Lost Generation Love Story, 1998
Linda Patterson Miller, ed., Letters from the Lost Generation: Gerald and Sara Murphy and Friends, 2002
Carolyn Bess is the Director of Programming and Arts & Letters Live at the DMA.
Not only is July National Ice Cream Month, but yesterday ice cream had an entire day dedicated to its wonderfulness. During the Dallas summers, we certainly love cool treats, which has us thinking of cooler weather and a colorful exhibition opening this fall at the DMA, International Pop. So, in honor of this month dedicated to the coolest dessert there is, we’re highlighting Wayne Thiebaud’s Salads, Sandwiches, and Desserts. You can see this work at the DMA beginning October 11, 2015.
Wayne Thiebaud, Salads, Sandwiches, and Desserts, 1962, oil on canvas, Sheldon Museum of Art, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, NAA–Thomas C. Woods Memorial, © Wayne Thiebaud/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY
Kimberly Daniell is the Manager of Communications and Public Affairs at the DMA.
