Posts Tagged 'Staff Art Show'

After Hours: Staff Art

 


Ever wanted to know more about the staff at the Dallas Museum of Art? Until November 26, After Hours: Works by DMA Staff will be on view on Level M2. The show features 60 works by 38 staff members and showcases talents from many different mediums, including video and sculpture work. DMA employees whose roles at the Museum range from gallery attendant to librarian participated in the exhibition.


David Caldwell, a Gallery Attendant Supervisor at the DMA for 5 years, created his painting Marie Madeleine En Provence Devant Un Monolithe Kubrick this year based on the story of Mary Magdalene in the South of France and the Stanley Kubrick film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Caldwell has a BFA with an emphasis in Broadcast/Film from SMU. When asked how his position at the DMA inspired his artwork, Caldwell said, “My role at the DMA has inspired my paintings. As a Gallery Attendant, I learned about La Pausa [the home of Wendy and Emery Reves in the South of France], the phrase means ‘the pause.’ I found out that it refers to a French legend that Mary Magdalene fled the Holy Land a few years after the crucifixion. She and her entourage were adrift on a boat in the Mediterranean. They came to shore at what is now the French Riviera in Provence. Legend has it that Mary and her friends, on their journey inland, rested in a grove of olive trees that reminded them of home. That olive grove is said to be located on the property, called La Pausa, of Coco Chanel and then Wendy and Emery Reves. I would have never known this story had I not worked at the DMA.”


Center for Creative Connections Coordinator Kerry Butcher graduated with a BFA in Studio Arts with an emphasis in photography. Butcher entered two photographs she took during a road trip to Montana with friends in 2015. Using a gently used point and shoot film camera, Butcher said, “I had the intent of really working on refocusing my eye on capturing moments that were personal to me, something I felt I had somewhat lost touch with since graduating college.”


Burdette Katzen, a Library Assistant at the DMA for 18 years, created an oil painting titled Morning in Byzantium for the show. When speaking of her work, Katzen stated, “I especially enjoy depicting ordinary women performing typical tasks during their average days. Although there are many impressive paintings of spectacular landscapes, and colorful flowers, I believe there is great beauty to be seen in the simple things of everyday life.”

On your next trip to the DMA, stop by the exhibition and check out the works created by the staff!

Samantha Nemazie is the Exhibition Design Intern at the DMA.

 

An Inside Job

Every two years, the DMA staff shows off their artistic skills with a special installation on Level M2. Explore the FREE exhibition Inside Job: Staff Art Show ’14  through February 22, 2015, and hear more about the art in the video below.

DMA Staff Art Show

Last Friday, the Dallas Museum of Art Staff celebrated the opening of a new show, Crawl Space: Within the Walls, which features works of art by our very own staff. Crawl Space turns the spotlight around onto those who make possible the other wonderful exhibitions on view here at the Museum. In this show, you will find a myriad of subjects and media by representatives from many of the DMA’s departments, from curators to grant writers to the gallery attendants who insure the safety of our collection.

I asked the participants to consider their pieces in relation to the DMA’s permanent collection by responding to the question: “If you could have your work installed next to something from the DMA, what would it be?” Here is a sampling of the responses:

“I would love it if my two photographs could flank [Andrew Wyeth’s That Gentleman]. I believe the images all have similar tones that reflect stillness, reflection, and solitude.” – Reagan Duplisea, Associate Registrar for Exhibitions, 4 years at the DMA

  • Andrew Wyeth, That Gentleman, 1960, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Art Association Purchase.
  • Reagan Duplisea, Ascendez (Tribute to Madame J, I), 2010
  • Reagan Duplisea, Descendez (Tribute to Madame J, II), 2010.

“I would like to have Banquete Chair with Pandas installed next to my collages. My collages are playful and speak to 1950s consumer culture while the Campana chair does something similar with a 21st century sensibility. Also, both may be said to deal with the theme of animals run amuck.” – Dana Harper, Assistant Librarian, 4 years at the DMA.

  • Dana Harper, Dream Kitchen #1, 2012.
  • Fernando and Humberto Campana, Banquete Chair with Pandas, designed 2006, Dallas Museum of Art, DMA/amfAR Benefit Auction Fund.
  • Dana Harper, Dream Kitchen #2, 2012.

“I would love to see my painting, Garden of Earthlike Planet Delights, paired with this mask. The mask is primal, dark, mysterious, and speaks of danger and tribal ritual. I love listening to the big three Diaghilev-era Stravinsky ballets in sequence and on ‘repeat all’ while I paint. For me, it isn’t hard to imagine some faraway, earthlike, but strange world in our galaxy where there may exist primitive humanoid tribes experiencing life in ways similar to our own prehistoric times.” – David Caldwell, Gallery Attendant, 1 year at the DMA.

  • David Caldwell, Garden of Earthlike Planet Delights, 2012.
  • Northern New Caledonia, Mask, late 19th – early 20th century, Dallas Museum of Art, The Roberta Coke Camp Fund.

“I would want my drawing to go next to Sir Winston Churchill’s Self-Portrait from the Reves Collection. It’s a very simple colored pencil drawing of a pig. I think my drawing (of my dog, Cooper) would have a lot of fun hanging out with Churchill’s drawing.” – Hayley Dyer, Teaching Specialist, 2 years at the DMA

  • Winston Churchill, Self Portrait, Dallas Museum of Art, The Wendy and Emery Reves Collection.
  • Hayley Dyer, Mon Petit Chien, 2012.

“I have always been fascinated with using people as my subject matter, because from a simple gesture, expression, attire, or scene, there is almost always a story behind them.” – Kay Sims, Lead Security Supervisor, 15 years at the DMA

  • Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, The Last Respects, 1887, Dallas Museum of Art, The Wendy and Emery Reves Collection.
  • Kay Sims, Sketchy Doodles, 1989-2011.
  • Rembrandt van Rijn, Three Heads of Women, One Asleep, 1637, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Calvin J. Holmes.

“If my piece, Tie Down Thoughts with a Culinary Flair, could be installed next to something from the DMA’s collection, I would imagine it flanked by Bruce Conner’s Knox and Robert Rauschenberg’s Night Hutch. Both of these artists layer found images and objects, resulting in a uniquely recontextualized composition. The layers range from subtle, delicate pieces of cloth referencing “hoarfrost” to attention-grabbing objects protruding from the surface of a chunky assemblage. The layers in my work are meant to mimic the inner layers of the subconscious and how they relate to our outward perceptions. Both of these artists have greatly influenced my understanding of creating a language through mixed-media.” – Nicole Norton, Visitor Services Assistant, 1 year at the DMA.

  • Bruce Conner, Knox, 1963, Dallas Museum of Art, DMA/amfAR Benefit Auction Fund.
  • Nicole Norton, Tie Down Thoughts with a Culinary Flair, 2012.
  • Robert Rauschenberg, Night Hutch, 1976, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of the artist.

Crawl Space will remain on view through January 6, 2013 in the Mezzanine 2 hallway.

Alex Vargo
McDermott Intern for Gallery Teaching


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