Posts Tagged 'photographs'

Friday Photos: All in a Day’s Work

Thursday, April 23, was National Take Our Daughters and Sons To Work Day.  This year, I observed the day by bringing my daughter Julia to the Museum. She had the opportunity to help with daily tasks, attend meetings, attend a workshop, and participate in a Star Wars themed photo shoot… All in a day’s work at the DMA!

Jessica Fuentes
C3 Gallery Coordinator

Friday Photos: C3 In Bloom

Though the weather is getting cooler and the leaves will soon be falling, here at the Museum, the Center for Creative Connections is in full bloom!  In conjunction with the DMA’s upcoming exhibition Bouquets: French Still-Life Painting from Chardin to Matisse, we have updated our monitor wall to display visitor submitted photographs of flowers. We’ve also stocked the Art Spot with supplies to make flowery creations.

Stop by and make a flower to add to our garden of creations, or join our Flickr Group, DMA In Bloom and submit your flowery photos to have them displayed on the monitor wall. We look forward to your blooming creativity!

Jessica Fuentes
C3 Gallery Coordinator

Friday Photos: Capturing Culture

Art is often a reflection of a society’s culture; it can range from an artist’s response to a specific experience, to a cultural relic born out of a particular time and place.  The Dallas Museum of Art’s collection represents cultures from every continent over the last 5,000 years.  Help us explore the diversity within North Texas by sharing your photographs that capture culture.

Upload your photographs here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/dmaculture 

Click here for guidelines and more information.

Submitted photos will be on view in the DMA’s Center for Creative Connections starting in July.

Jessica Fuentes

C3 Gallery Coordinator

Friday Photos: Old Haunts, New Friends

Museums often seem to inspire very personal and strong emotional bonds, and it is not uncommon to hear people talk of specific works in a collection or favorite locations within a building as akin to “friends and family.”  As a former DMA Education employee who has recently returned to the Museum, I have enjoyed spending the last several weeks rediscovering some of my favorite spaces and works of art here.  Of course, along the way, I have stumbled across some new works of art and changes at the DMA that I am becoming newly acquainted with!   I thought I would share this –admittedly quirky and idiosyncratic– tour of “old haunts and new friends.”

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I have always loved the tree that grows in the middle of our upper office area, particularly when viewed from one of the hallways radiating from it.   Also, the tucked-away chairs at the corner windows on the fourth floor are my favorite place to sit and read a few pages of a book during a break, followed only by the view of Fleischner Courtyard from the Mayer Library (Did you know we have a fantastic library the public is welcome to use for research?)

 

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Another favorite object is one of Winston Churchill’s paint sets, tucked away with a wonderful assortment of his letters, telegrams, small works on paper, and assorted memorabilia in the Wendy and Emery Reves Collection.

 

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As a lover and student of Surrealism, I was delighted to see two works on view that I had not previously viewed in person: René Magritte’s Our Daily Bread (Le Pain Quotidien), 1942, and Dorothea Tanning’s Jeux d’Enfants, 1942.  The deep-set frame of  the Tanning is particularly lovely, I think!

 

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Nearest the Ross entrance in the Founder’s Room are a set of window panels designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, originally from the Francis W. Little House in Deephaven, Minnesota.  It was interesting viewing the geometrically-designed “grilles” in the window against one of the orange-and-white striped hanging cloth panels in Daniel Buren’s Sanction of the Museum from 1973.

Finally, there is a little tucked away kitchenette in the Museum’s office area where I was always fascinated by a framed Dallas Morning News front page from 1984 announcing the donation of the Reves Collection, and I was pleased to discover it was still there.  I love how this is an historical artifact of the worldly context during which this important collection was added to the Museum, a preserved moment in time akin to the recreation of the Reves’ villa here.

 

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Two newer features of the Museum that I am quickly becoming quite fond of are the recently acquired painting by Norwegian Romantic painter Johan Christian DahlFrederiksborg Castle by Moonlight, and the Conservation Studio across from the Founder’s Room.  Not only is the Conservation Studio fascinating to glimpse into, but the works on display outside it offer insightful peeks into little-seen aspects of objects like gallery labels and abandoned paintings hidden by frames.  (And, if you look carefully at my reflection in the window, it appears the female figure in the painting is tapping me on the shoulder.)

What are some of your favorite works of art and tucked away places here at the Dallas Museum of Art?  Please leave your examples in the comments!

 

Artworks shown (in order of appearance):

  • René Magritte, Our Daily Bread (Le Pain Quotidien), 1942, Dallas Museum of Art, Gift of Nancy B. Hamon in honor of Margaret McDermott.
  • Dorothea Tanning’s Jeux d’Enfants, 1942, Lent by Private Collection.
  • Frank Lloyd Wright, Window panels from the Francis W. Little House, “Northome” in Deephaven, Minnesota, 1912-14, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Ralph Greenlee, Jr.
  • Johan Christian Dahl, Frederiksborg Castle, 1817, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, Mrs. John B. O’Hara Fund.

 

Josh Rose
Manager of Docent and Teacher Programs

Friday Photos: DMA Fotogs

At the beginning of 2014, a small group of DMA Educators formed an informal photo club. Some of us have been photographers for over a decade and others are newer to the field, but we all share a passion for capturing moments with an artistic eye.

Being part of the group helps to keep us each motivated, whether perfecting techniques or experimenting with new subject matter. Check out some of our photographs exploring specific themes below.

Objects in Motion

Close-Ups

Capturing Light

Did you know that May is National Photography Month? Don’t worry, there’s still time to get out and participate. Grab your camera (or camera phone) and get clicking!

Jessica Fuentes
C3 Gallery Coordinator

Danielle Schulz
Teaching Specialist

Amanda Blake
Head of Family, Access, and School Experiences

Leah Hanson
Manager of Early Learning

Melissa Nelson Gonzales
C3 Gallery Manager

More than Meets the Eye

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Sometimes we associate certain objects with specific people, places, or memories. A seemingly ordinary object can hold very personal meanings. When I was young, my grandmother gave me a rose pendant. It consisted of three layers, each with small images carved into the surface. I wore it throughout my childhood and adolescence and remember frequently running my fingers over the textured surfaces when I felt anxious. To anyone else this rose pendant may seem to be a simple trinket, but to me it holds significance and reminds me of my grandmother.

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Similarly, there is often more to a work of art than meets the eye. In Family Portrait 1963 by Martin Delabano, the artist has depicted his mother sitting in a red chair. To most viewers, this may simply seem to reflect the reality that she was sitting in a red chair; but in fact, this chair is significant to both the artist and his family. The chair is a family heirloom that also appears in a painting by Barney Delabano, Martin’s father. In Portrait of Papa, Barney paints his own father sitting in the same red chair.

During July and August, the DMA is asking you to discover the stories behind works of art in our collection and then share your own stories about significant objects in your life. DMA Friends who complete all three activities below can earn the More Than Meets the Eye Badge with codes gathered upon the completion of each activity.

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Discover stories behind other works of art in our collection by completing the More Than Meets The Eye smART phone tour. Bring your web-enabled device and pick up a list of the suggested stops on this tour in the Center for Creative Connections (C3).


DSC_0327cropMake
Stop by the C3 Art Spot to re-create an object from your home that holds a special meaning for you. Fill out a label for your creation and tell us why this object is meaningful.

 

 

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Contribute your photographs of objects that hold a special meaning or personal story to the C3 wall of monitors. Simply join our Flickr group and share your images. For more information on how to participate click here.



Can’t make it to the DMA today? No worries! You can start participating right now from your computer at home. Look around you, what objects do you see nearby that are special to you? Grab your camera (or smartphone), take a picture, upload it to Flickr, and add it to our group. One step down, two to go!

Artworks Shown:

  • Martin Delabano, Family Portrait 1963, 2001, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Bryant M. Hanley, Jr., Lorine and David H. Gibson, and Sonny Burt and Bob Butler.
  • Barney Delabano, Portrait of Papa, 1972-73, Dallas Museum of Art, Barney Delabano Memorial Fund and gift of the Delabano family.
  • Wreath, Greek, 4th century B.C., Dallas Museum of Art, Museum League Purchase Funds, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., and Cecil H. and Ida M. Green in honor of Virginia Lucas Nick.

Jessica Fuentes
C3 Gallery Coordinator

Cindy Sherman: An Actor’s Perspective

The DMA has had several exciting opportunities to collaborate with the Dallas Theater Center in 2013. Last Monday, two of DTC’s fabulous actors joined our docents to share their perspectives on the Cindy Sherman exhibition. Hassan El-Amin and Christie Vela talked about the ways in which they transform themselves as they prepare to take on new roles. This also helped docents think about Cindy Sherman’s process, which includes using make-up, costumes, and props to alter her appearance for photographs.

Christie and Hassan both mentioned that sometimes it’s the little things that help them figure out who a character is. A pair of glasses, a silly vest, or a wig can make you act differently, and that may be just what’s needed to define a character. They also discussed how a costume can serve as a visual cue to the audience about a character’s personality. That costume tells us something about a character from the first moment we see it–Hassan described it as the “pop and sizzle.”

Actors Hassan El-Amin and Christie Vela lead training for the DMA's docents

Actors Hassan El-Amin and Christie Vela lead training for the DMA’s docents

The docents had a lot of questions about how Christie and Hassan mentally prepare for a new role. In a sense, they take on a new persona each time they prepare for a new production. They did say that they have fun inventing a back story for each character–they create little stories that help to explain a character’s personality traits or appearance. Christie described them as “little secrets” that she keeps for herself and maybe doesn’t tell the rest of the cast. The docents had an opportunity to explore this process while looking at Cindy Sherman’s Society Portraits, a series from 2008.

Inventing a persona for one of Cindy Sherman's Society Portraits

Inventing a persona for one of Cindy Sherman’s Society Portraits

Hassan led the docents through the galleries and asked them to describe the women in the series. Our best conversation was about Untitled #474. The group decided that this looked the most like a real society portrait. This woman has put forth a lot of effort with her outfit and makeup, so we know she cares about her appearance. Perhaps she is a woman who knows a lot of famous people, based on the wall of portraits behind her. They finally decided that she was an old-time movie starlet, and she had just had her third facelift in an effort to keep up her good looks. We were able to create a life for her just by looking deeper into what Cindy Sherman was presenting to us in the photograph.

Cindy Sherman. Untitled #474. 2008. Chromogenic color print, 7' 6 3/4" x 60" (230.5 x 152.4 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Courtesy the artist and Metro Pictures, New York © 2012 Cindy Sherman

Cindy Sherman. Untitled #474. 2008. Chromogenic color print, 7′ 6 3/4″ x 60″ (230.5 x 152.4 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Courtesy the artist and Metro Pictures, New York © 2012 Cindy Sherman

Christie then led the docents in a simple actor exercise. Each docent was asked to select one History Portrait and look at the details that Cindy Sherman has provided for us. Christie pointed out that in theater, everything actors need to know is in the text of a play. We can look at these photographs as a text as well–everything that we need to know is there, and everything has significance. Docents were then asked to think about how this person would walk. Would she lead with her nose, her chest, her hips? Docents walked around the gallery in character, and we tried to guess which photograph they were bringing to life. Once again, the emphasis was on slowing down and looking deeper to discover the hidden traits of these people.

Docents walking like figures from Cindy Sherman's History Portraits

Docents walking like characters from Cindy Sherman’s History Portraits

It was so interesting to hear Hassan and Christie talk about how important the audience is to a performance; I think that’s something a lot of us take for granted. They said as actors, they think of the audience as a partner and they’re interacting with us just as much as they are the other actors on the stage.  It’s interesting to think about how important the viewer is to Cindy Sherman’s photos, too.  Without our interpretations and invented narratives, the photos would just be untitled images in the gallery. Our relationships–either with photos or with actors on stage–help to complete the viewing process and make it fulfilling for everyone involved.

Shannon Karol
Manager of Docent and Teacher Programs

Cindy Sherman SmARTphone Tour

Cindy Sherman, a retrospective exhibition of the artist’s work from the mid-seventies to the present, opened this past weekend.  About 160 larger-than-life photographs fill up the Barrel Vault and its adjacent galleries. The majority of the photographs show the artist as model, posing in a variety of costumes and guises.

Sherman often creates her photographs in a series. In this exhibition, for example, you can see Sherman’s Untitled Film Stills, which were created to appear like snapshots of movie scenes, or her History Portraits that stylistically reference Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, and Neo-classical portraiture.

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Cindy Sherman, Untitled Film Still #56

Before, during, or after a visit to the exhibition, check out the Cindy Sherman smARTphone tour. This tour includes audio commentary from MoMA curators and from Cindy Sherman herself about her work. It also includes ten video interviews, with artists and other art-world figures who are asked to discuss their favorite Cindy Sherman photograph. These offer a unique, personal perspective to work in the exhibition. Which Cindy Sherman photograph is your favorite?

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The DMA offers free Wi-Fi in the galleries, so be sure to connect before accessing the smartphone tour for optimum access!

Andrea V. Severin
Interpretation Specialist

Artwork shown:

  • Cindy Sherman, Untitled Film Still #56, 1980, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, Acquired through the generosity of Jo Carole and Ronald S. Lauder in memory of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd © 2012 Cindy Sherman

Costumes from the Collection

Every year I struggle to think of a creative new Halloween costume to wear. Oftentimes the month somehow escapes me and I end up recycling one of my old costumes: a cat, witch, or something with a mask. However, this year I realized that inspiration is all around me in the DMA galleries. As I wandered through the Museum this month, I was flooded with images of myself as a fierce Hindu goddess with multiple arms, an affluent Asante chief covered with gold, or even a mummy wrapped in linen. Excited by all the endless possibilities, I decided to ask my fellow authors which artwork they would choose to base a Halloween costume on.

Amanda Batson

“Amanda Panda” drew her inspiration for a Halloween costume from the Banquete chair with pandas.
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Jessica Fuentes

“I would be Marcel Dzama’s The Minotaur. The sculpture already lends itself to a costume as there appears to be a person underneath the Minotaur’s mask-like head and the white cloth.  I like that the Minotaur should be a scary creature, but it looks defeated as it is portrayed here, with one horn, one arm, and one leg.  I also like that the artist includes the artist tools, paint brushes in a can, I think it would be fun to walk around as this character with all of the accessories.”
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Andrea Severin

Andrea created a headpiece inspired by our new Karla Black installation.
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Artie

Andrea’s adorable dog Artie also wanted to dress up!
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Hannah Burney

As for me, I decided to base my costume on the spooky gorgon head featured on the inside of this Black-figure kylix. In Greek mythology gorgons are treacherous female creatures that have snakes for hair and can turn anyone who looks them in the eye to stone.

Hannah Burney
Community Teaching Programs Assistant

Artworks used:

  • Banquete chair with pandas, Fernando Campana and Humberto Campana, 2006, stuffed animals on steel base, Dallas Museum of Art, DMA/amfAR Benefit Auction Fund
  • Bird-form finial, Zenú culture, South America, Colombia, c. A.D. 500-1500, gold, Dallas Museum of Art, The Nora and John Wise Collection, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Jake L. Hamon, the Eugene McDermott Family, Mr. and Mrs. Algur H. Meadows and the Meadows Foundation, and Mr. and Mrs. John D. Murchison
  • Black-figure kylix, Greek, Attic, 6th century B.C., ceramic, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Cecil H. Green
  • Necessity, Karla Black, 2012, cellophane, sellotape, paint, body moisturisers and cosmetics, Courtesy Stuart Shave/Modern Art, London and Galerie Gisele Captain, Cologne
  • The Minotaur, Marcel Dzama, 2008, plaster, gauze, rope, fabric, chair, bucket, and paintbrushes, Dallas Museum of Art, DMA/amfAR Benefit Auction Fund

Friday Photos: Youth and Beauty

This Sunday is the opening of Youth and Beauty: Art of the American Twenties. With over sixty-five artists represented, this dynamic exhibition expresses life as an American in the period between World War I and the Great Depression. The “Roaring Twenties“, as they are known, may bring to mind iconic flappers and lively jazz music. From the outside this may seem like a period of frivolous fun, but taking a closer look reveals a complex time of transition. With the rapid urbanization of America, modern ideals and industry created a lot of change and disorientation, which can be felt throughout the exhibition. With so much to see and discover, don’t miss your chance to peer into the psyche of this topsy-turvy decade.

Below is a little sneak peek of some of the artworks in the exhibition.

Don’t miss all the fun and engaging Youth and Beauty programs for you and your students!

Hannah Burney
McDermott Education Intern for Teaching Programs and Partnerships

Artworks shown:

Nickolas Muray, Gloria Swanson, circa 1925, gelatin silver print, George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography and Film, Rochester, New York, Gift of Mrs. Nickolas Muray

George Wesley Bellows, Two Women, 1924, oil on canvas, Portland Museum of Art, Maine, Lent by Karl Jaeger, Tamara Jaeger, and Karena Jaeger

John Steuart Curry, The Bathers, circa 1928, oil on canvas, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri, Purchase: Acquired with a donation in memory of George K. Baum II by his family, G. Kenneth Baum, Jonathan Edward Baum, and Jessica Baum Pasmore, and through the bequest of Celestin H. Meugniot

Edward Hopper, Lighthouse Hill, 1927, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Purnell

Bumpei Usui, 14th Street, 1924, oil on canvas, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, J. Harwood and Louise B. Cochrane Fund for American Art

Joseph Stella, American Landscape, 1929, oil on canvas, Collection Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Gift of the T.B. Walker Foundation

Gerald Murphy, Razor, 1924, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, gift of the artist

Lewis Wickes Hine, Power House Mechanic, 1920-1921, gelatin silver print, Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Walter and Naomi Rosenblum

Youth and Beauty: Art of the American Twenties is organized by the Brooklyn Museum. Major support for this exhibition and the accompanying catalogue was provided by the Henry Luce Foundation, the Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Exhibition Fund, The Mr. and Mrs. Raymond J. Horowitz Foundation for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.


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