Rose Simpson, Groundbeing: Resonance
An article on Rose Simpson’s new monumental clay figures:
An article on Rose Simpson’s new monumental clay figures:
Here is the video:
Photo processes and techniques in In Our Hands 11.7.23
Here are the slides:
Some works are rotating out of Galleries 211-212 and G243.
Attached are the works being deinstalled:
And attached are the works taking their place:
No changes are happening to G213 at this time.
Some Hmong visitors feel that Miao is a pejorative term for the ethnic group in China to whom they are related. In response, Curator Yang Liu has provided the following information. If you encounter any questions or concerns on tours, please let us know.
Per Curator Yang Liu:
“The costumes and silver ornaments… belong to the ethnic group living in China’s Guizhou and Hunan provinces. These people are known as ‘Miao’ in China – that is not only the term used in Chinese official classification of the minorities, but also the self-designation of these people. I have visited these regions many times and know that they have no feeling that Hmong is in any way preferable to them as a common designator. No contemporary Chinese will feel that ‘Miao’ contains a sign of disrespect in any way, as the basic meaning of the word ‘miao’ in Chinese is ‘young plant’.
Although there are different opinions, some Western scholars propose that the term Hmong be used only for designating the Miao groups speaking the Hmong dialect in China (very small group) and for the Miao outside China. According to Joakim Enwall, Professor of Chinese, Uppsala University, it is these non-Chinese Hmong living outside China who advocate that the term Hmong be used not only for designating their dialect group, but also for the other groups living in China.”
Yang has also provided an article that discusses this further:
As we know, sometimes visitors just wish to express concerns, to be heard, and they may not agree with the museum’s choice of terminology. In those cases, it is good to encourage visitors to complete a comment card if they wish to receive a direct response from museum staff.
As information on new accessions becomes available, we will post on this page. We are now receiving the curatorial accession proposals for new accessions on display in the Rotunda.
New accessions and labels for October 2023:
CUR242114 Rotunda New Acquisitions Labels_EDIT FINAL (2)
October 2023 Rotunda Proposals
New accessions for May 2023:
Spring 2023 Rotunda Rotation Guide Proposals
Here are some resources to learn more about Norman Akers and his work:
There is some good information in the label, to at least discuss the elk’s presence:
Interference and a Tiny Spot of Hope is a presentation of the past, present, and future. Akers combines flat imagery with illusionistic space to provide an immersive and yet open-ended experience into personal, historical, and cultural issues, such as identity, disruption, dislocation, and belonging. In his paintings, Akers uses Osage stories as metaphors over illustrations, and complexity over a singular, fixed interpretation. The most prominent figure in the painting, the suspended or falling elk, is an important figure in Osage cosmology and becomes a symbol to represent ideas of being between two worlds (Osage and non-Osage), and the precarious place of being between the earth and sky, a fundamental Osage principle of balance in the world. Wind turbines found within the painting and within Osage homelands disrupt the spatial order and space between the earth and sky, and according to Akers, “obscure[d] the horizon….and the blades cut into the earth”. Other features within the painting, including tree stumps and skeletal remains along the riverbed, reference the environmental and cultural disruptions within Osage landscapes.
And here is an article about the artist:
https://www.kansan.com/arts_and_culture/theme-of-lost-identities-within-boundaries-ingrained-in-art-professor-norman-akerss-exhibit-contested-territories/article_93fade32-5e4d-11e5-864f-fb3c6c82acc4.html
And there is this video, and a painting that seems to have some similar themes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MCaPpLxTCI
From your colleague Rose Stanley-Gilbert, some information on the inspiration for Fourth Family Octagon:
From curator Dennis Jon, an illustrated list of works on paper in Gallery 353 (as of 9.14.22). The current rotation is up until January 29, 2023.
“I thought I’d share the checklist for the “Recent Acquisitions: Postwar and Contemporary Works on Paper” exhibition now on view in Gallery 353. With diversity in mind, you’ll note that there are a number of artists of color represented, plus Latin American artists, and others.
Black artists: Camille Billops, Rico Gatson, and Jack Whitten
Latin American artists: Luis Cruz Azaceta (Cuba), Teresa Burga (Peru), and Valeska Soares (Brazil)
Native American artist George Morrison (Grand Portage Anishinabe)
Lebanese-American artist Helen Zughaib
This exhibition will be on view through January 29, 2023.”
Gallery 353 Recent Acquisitions-Illustrated Checklist-040422
From your colleague Rose Stanley-Gilbert:
Welcome to our resource page for Dressed by Nature: Textiles of Japan (June 25, 2022 – September 11, 2022).
We will also post any relevant materials here for the Van Gogh and the Olive Groves exhibition (June 25, 2022 – September 18, 2022), for guides volunteering for the Stop and Chat station. As materials become available, we will post them.
Recording of Andreas Marks’ lecture:
Dressed by Nature exhibition lecture 06.16.22
Guide training resource document, with small pictures of artworks and labels:
Guide Training_Dressed by Nature_Textiles of Japan June 2022_v3
Stop and Chat training
Stop and Chat training 06.30.22
Stop and Chat slides
Update on storage of Stop and Chat:
Storage of Stop and Chat cart and garment forms
Labels
Panels
Exhibition Layout (also a print version is posted in the Guide Lounge)
FAQ for Dressed by Nature:
Dressed by Nature Fact Sheet 5-25-22
Videos:
How to video: Bingata technique: 【Ryukyu Bingata】OKINAWA STRUCTURE Vol.1 – Resist-dye technique of Japan
How to process for banana fiber cloth (bashofu)
How to Video: Banana fiber cloth
Shibori (includes hari hitta shibori): The art of Japanese tie-dyeing (shibori)
Indigo dye process video: Short film (less than 2 minutes)
Indigo dye for ikat process: Long video of Japanese ikat process (29 minutes)
Van Gogh and the Olive Grove (see resources from Dallas Museum at end of page)
Lecture by Matthew Welch:
Van Gogh and the Olive Groves 06.23.22
Exhibition labels and panels:
EUR221407_VG_Scientific_Panels_V5
Exhibition layout (also a print version is posted in the Guide Lounge)
FAQs for Van Gogh
Van Gogh and the Olive Groves FAQs
All Olive Grove paintings, in chronological order, left to right, top to bottom:
Peer resources
Dressed by Nature
Here are articles and videos shared by guides, connected to the exhibition:
Articles on Mia’s blog:
From Susan Arndt, the posted link to the May Friends’ lecture, by Anna Jackson: “Drawing on the works to be featured in the MIA exhibition Dressed by Nature, and on those in the V&A and other collections, this lecture will explore what these textiles they can tell us about the lives, beliefs and tastes of those who created and consumed them. In doing so, it will pull together the common threads that bound rural villages to fashionable city streets and connected farmers and fishermen to merchants and entertainers. It will also examine the value and meaning these works have today and the efforts being made to preserve the skills and artistry they embody.”
link to the May Friend’s talk by Anna Jackson, “The Social Fabric”
Susan Arndt also shares some great articles:
The Art of Turning Fish into Leather
From Prejudice to Pride (an article about the Indigenous Ainu culture)
The Secret Language of Salmon Skin Coats
From Kay Miller:
‘Kimono Style’: A Beautiful Painting You Can Wear
From Margie Crone, a site with some information on Ainu patterns: Ainu-Siriki are patterns inscribed on the tools and clothes of Ainu. Ay-us-siriki and morew-siriki, which are whirling designs, are the most popular patterns.
From Pat Gale, a long article on the Ainu, including information on the tattoos women received: AINU: THEIR HISTORY, ART, LIFE, RITUALS, CLOTHES AND BEARS
Peer resources
Van Gogh
From the Mia blog:
Touched by Van Gogh: What a newly discovered fingerprint tells us about a Mia masterwork
From the Dallas Museum of Art, a lecture: Exhibition Talk: Van Gogh and the Olive Groves
From Dallas Museum of Art, online article and images: Virtual Van Gogh and the Olive Groves
From the Van Gogh Museum: Why Did Vincent van Gogh Cut off His Ear?
From Lyn Mierswa, an information page at the Van Gogh Museum: Vincent van Gogh FAQ’s
Van Gogh and Japan (examples of the influence of Japanese art on Van Gogh)
From Lucy Hicks, a great podcast episode focused on Van Gogh’s sister-in-law:
Episode #96: Cherchez La Femme, or The Woman Behind the Art–Johanna Van Gogh (Season 11, Episode 5)
and another article about Jo’s efforts to publicize Van Gogh’s work:
From Pat Gale: How Japanese Woodblock Prints Transformed Van Gogh’s Dreams of Utopia
From Deb Baumer, a chapter from the book Vincent van Gogh in Saint-Paul de-Mausole concerning the options for treatment for mental illness in Van Gogh’s time:
Insanity History and Therapies in Van Gogh’s Century
Here is the recording of the Tour Break on African Arts and Artists with Sheila McGuire:
05.10.22 Tour Break African Arts and Artists
Here is the chat:
Tour Break Africa chat 05.10.22
Here are the slides from the presentation:
African Arts and Artists In-person tour slides
And here are the key ideas/suggested questions:
Here is a recording of the Art Break on Contemporary Prints with Cara Richardson:
Art Break Contemporary Prints 05.05.22
From your colleague Manju Parikh, this article: Open-source encyclopedia puts 10,000 years of Indian art history in one place
and a link to the new open source encyclopedia:
Art Break with Jill Ahlberg Yohe and Juan Lucero:
Art Break on the Americas 02.17.22
Here is the link to the additional conversations with Jill and Juan:
Juan Lucero and Jill Ahlberg Yohe in Conversation
And here are the current artworks in Galleries 259, 260, and 261:
A field guide of plants seen in Japanese paintings of the Edo period:
Here are the labels from the current Cargill exhibition, Yoshitoshi: Master Draftsman Transformed:
Here is a video of Curator Nicole LaBouff’s training on February 26:
Fiber Art acquisitions and Helena Hernmarck 02.25.20
And here are some additional resources from Nicole:
Hernmarck Scandinavian Review article
From your colleague Kathleen Steiger, a link to a MPR interview with Curator Casey Riley, discussing the new exhibition she co-curated, Just Kids.
Youthful curators present a younger world in ‘Just Kids’
Here are training materials for the rotations in the Japan galleries 219, 221, 222, 223 and 239:
Docent Training Gallery Partial Rotation for G219, 221, 222, 223_December 2019
From the curatorial department, here are training materials for the new exhibition “Abstract Prints by Hagiwara Hideo,” up from December 14, 2019 – December 6, 2020 in Gallery 226, 227, 237.
Docent Training_Abstract Prints by Hagiwara Hideo, Rotation 1, Dec. 2020
From the artsmia website:
“Originally a painter trained in oil, Hagiwara Hideo (1913–2007) became ill with tuberculosis and turned to printmaking in 1954. From the start his prints were of an abstract nature, and for 50 years he was a constant innovator in his choice of motifs, style, and technique. This first major U.S. retrospective exhibition of Hagiwara’s work showcases his enormous versatility. More than 30 prints span his early work of the 1950s to the Greek Mythology series in 1965, and from his celebrated series of novel views of Mount Fuji in the 1980s and 1990s to his enormously laborious prints of the Face, Memory, and Mandala series.
This exhibition will be presented in two rotations: Rotation 1: December 14, 2019 – June 21, 2020. Rotation 2: June 27, 2020 – December 6, 2020.”