Did you know that the Dallas Museum of Art is an exciting place to spend your Thursday nights? Thursday evenings at the Museum are filled with live jazz music in the cafe and artist encounteers in the Center for Creative Connections. Teachers and students receive free admission from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. each Thursday with a valid school I.D. Did you also know that the DMA has its own YouTube channel featuring a brand new video all about Thursday Night Live at the Museum?
A second video has just been released all about Late Nights at the DMA. On the third Friday of each month, the Museum stays open until midnight. In my opinion, this is the best time to be at the Museum–the whole building pulses with energy and excitement! From live performances to lectures to art-making activities, there are experiences that everyone will enjoy. In fact, tonight is the April Late Night, so watch the video below and then head down to the DMA for a night of art and fun!
Shannon Karol Manager of Docent Programs and Gallery Teaching
This past Wednesday my colleague Hadly Clark and I took advantage of our great Spring Break crowds and tried an impromptu gallery experiment. We spent time in Re-Seeing the Contemporary: Selected from the Collection exhibition, asking visitors to look at four artworks with us and to think deeply…with their noses!
For part one of our experiment, we asked participants: If this artwork had a scent, what do you think it would smell like? Why? As someone who likes thinking with her nose, I had fun hearing visitor responses and considering how their creative associations helped me see familiar artworks in fresh ways. Below are responses inspired by one of our stops, Robert Irwin’s Untitled:
Robert Irwin, Untitled, 1968-69, Fractional gift of The Rachofsky Collection, 2001.345
Coconut & banana, because it’s round
Money
Disinfectant, something very clean. It reminds me of adventures of Buck Rogers.
Nothing!
Mint or toothpaste; it’s clear and transparent
It smells really clean, like clean linen or spring lilies
The slideshow below includes all four featured artworks, images of participants, and a few responses for another one of our stops, Mark Rothko’s Orange, Red and Red. After the slideshow, Hadly explains part two of the experiment and some great opportunities to join in on other experiment-like experiences here at the DMA…
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The second half of our sensory experiment encouraged participants to actively engage their sense of smell. We provided nine samples of scents tucked secretively inside cardboard boxes with conveniently located holes for ventilation. Boxes held a variety of scents such as Ivory soap, leather, and cinnamon. After smelling each box, participants selected their own “scent match” or a scent they associated closest with the work of art, and shared why that scent was evocative of the work. Here are some scent matches inspired by John Chamberlain’s Dancing Duke:
John Chamberlain, Dancing Duke, 1974, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Harold J. Joseph in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Max Walen, 1975.69
Scent match #3 (peach tea) because, it smells bad! (This visitor thought of sweat and things that smell bad when he looked at the artwork, so he picked the scent he liked least).
Scent match #8 (leather) because it reminded me of my car
Scent match #9 (Clorox wipe) because it smells like paint
Scent match #4 (grass) because it smells green
Each week, the Center for Creative Connections (C3) hosts similar experimental, hands-on, artist-led workshops for adults. From 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. every Thursday evening, join C3 staff and a guest artist to explore what inspires them, play with new unexpected materials, or learn different techniques that can be applied to your work during a C3Artist Encounter.
In the meantime, we’d love to hear what you smell when you look at Untitled or Dancing Duke.
Amy Copeland
Coordinator of Go van Gogh Outreach
Hadly Clark
Center for Creative Connections Coordinator
