Permanent Collection


Abstract Prints by Hagiwara Hideo

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.”


Americas gallery rotations 2019

Here is a link to Curator Jill Ahlberg Yohe’s lecture:

Americas rotations 10.24.19

Here is the lecture PowerPoint:

Docent Training Americas 2019

11.2.19 Native American Art Training Questions JAY

From the Saturday training, there was a question on the symbolism of the head profiled in the center medallion of Carla Hemlock’s “Boomin’ Out.” Here is the answer from Jill, who asked Carla directly, “For Carla’s work from Carla : No Buffalo head! The three feathers atop the head is in acknowledgment of the Kanienkehaka People. The People of the Flint. What is now commonly known now as the Mohawks.”

Some queries also came for the words on Jeffrey Gibson’s punching bag:

Each Time You Love
Love as deeply as
If it were forever
Nothing is eternal

 


Color Woodcuts in the Arts and Crafts Era

Final panels for the exhibition:

Final panels_Color_Woodcuts_G315_G316

Final Labels:

Labels Part 1

Labels Part II

From artsmia.org:

September 14, 2019 – March 22, 2020
Gallery 315 and 316
Free Exhibition
Color woodcuts enjoyed a revival during the Arts and Crafts movement, whose leaders believed that one antidote to rampant mechanization was a return to handcraft. Artists in the early 20th century thus began carving, inking, and printing each impression by hand. Though demanding, this highly personal process revealed the direct interaction between artists and their materials.

This directness is one of the pleasures of the 80 or so color woodcuts in this exhibition. Most were recently acquired by Mia, and most come from the United States, Britain, and German-speaking countries. A remarkable number—nearly half—are by women. Many works also reveal an interest in the tenets of Japanese design. The delights include Margaret Patterson’s bouquets, Pedro de Lemos’s windblown trees, Frances Gearhart’s paeans to the California coast, Eliza Draper Gardiner’s childhood scenes, and Frank Morley Fletcher’s romantic landscapes.


Hearts of Our People: Teachers’ Guide

The teachers’ guide developed for Hearts of Our People has some excellent information on objects within our permanent collection:

Mia_HOOP_Teacher_Guide_2019

Here are the objects covered in the guide:

Hohokom artist, Bowl
Ancestral Pueblo artist, Pot
Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) or Dakhóta artist, Dance Blanket
Maȟpíya Boğá wiŋ (Nellie Two Bear Gates), Suitcase
Jamie Okuma, Adaptation II
Dyani White Hawk, Untitled (Quiet Strength I)


Marisol and Martha Graham

From your colleague Mary Ann Wark, some information received from a friend who is a dancer and videographer of dance, on the background of Martha Graham, in connection with the portrait by Marisol currently on display:

Thumbnail Dance History in America:

From the mid-1800s to the early 1900s, European dance companies came to America, bringing the stylized ways of moving that you are familiar with, and lots of “story ballets” (“Cinderella,”
“Sleeping Beauty,” “The Nutcracker.”) Lots of fancy costumes, sets, orchestras, etc. Later on, starting in 1916, Serge Diaghilev brought his famous Ballet Russe, which included stars like Nijinsky, Pavlova, and later George Balanchine (founder of the New York City Ballet in NY). He also commissioned modern artists like Picasso, Stravinsky, etc. to create sets and music for the ballets.

In the early 1900s Isadora Duncan burst onto the scene, with her emphasis on naturalism and freedom of movement. Lots of tunics, bare feet. (She was more popular in Europe than here. We were too much of a Puritan culture).

Then came Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn in 1915, who drew heavily on other cultures and “the exotic.” Camp and Kitsch take a whole new level, but they WERE sincere…

And then came our girl, Martha Graham. Born on May 11, 1894 in California and died April 1, 1991 (aged 96) in New York. Her father was a physician who was rather unusual because he also considered his patients psychological states when he was treating them. From him Martha got several key tenets, such as “Movement never lies.”

Martha Graham: Early History

As a teenager, Graham joined the Denishawn company. She left in 1923 after 7 years, and starting choreographing. She created her company(all women in the early years) and her own technique (which is still recognized) and known for its sharp angles, jagged designs and LOTS of contractions, especially in the torso. Her main themes dealt with human conflicts and emotions, drawing heavily on Greek myths (“Medea,” “Errand into the Maze”).

Graham became on of the “Four Pioneers” of Modern Dance in America in the. 1930’s. The others were Doris Humphrey/CHarles Weidman (much more lyrical work, “Fall and Recovery”) and the German-born and trained Hanya Holm (the original Nancy Hauser here was a big disciple of Hanya Holm). Graham was the major influence of choreographers like Merce Cunningham and Erick Hawkins (who ultimately broke away from her aesthetic and found their own).

Graham was a genius and her major contributions to the dance field have been compared to Picasso(for painting), Stravinsky (music) and Frank Lloyd Wright (architecture). She gave modern dance a new depth for showing primal emotions.

She worked closely with Noguchi on sets.

If you want a good, condensed biographical overview of Martha Graham, google
Martha Graham” and click on the Pitt~gillis>dance>Martha website.

Martha Graham: More than a woman locked in a wooden sculpture

The thing that is REALLY important to me, for your docents to convey, is what an extraordinary choreographer and dancer Graham was (Maybe show a short excerpt of her own an iPad?) One of the major dance photographers, a woman named Barbara Morgan, took incredible photos (just google her and you’ll see). One of the most famous is a photo from “Letter to the World,” a dance about Emily Dickinson. (There is a great story how Morgan never took pictures in performance. She would go watch rehearsals when Martha was creating, then she would go home to Scarsdale and when certain images rose to her consciousness which were the “essence” of the piece, she would call Martha and arrange a shoot for just those segments. In fact, capturing the “essence” of things was of ultimate importance to Morgan. But I digress.

The Work with Marisol:

OK. This is what you’ve been looking forward to hearing. There was a series called “Great Performances: Dance in America” that began in 1974 but was ultimately folded into “Great Performances” . The Graham program was broadcast April 7, 1976. (Lots of other major companies were featured over the run of the programs as well).

If you google “Martha Graham’s Diversion of Angels” you will see her introducing that dance as she sits in a chair that looks very much like the Marisol one. You can also google “Collaborations between Marisol and Martha Graham. “ (Marisol did the sculpture a year later in 1977. She also did sculptures of Georgia O’Keefe, Picasso, John Wayne and Andy Warhol sitting as block figures in chairs. She liked to show them “Older” (and wiser?), as opposed to the American passion with everyone being young.

The portrait is especially poignant as Martha Graham was crippled by arthritis at the end of her life.


Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists

Welcome to the exhibition resource page for Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists.

Below is the video link to the training lecture on May 2/4:

HoOP Training May 2

Here is a PDF of the gallery layout, as of May 2, 2019:

HoOP 24×36 050219

Here are the gallery panels and labels for objects:

AAA190008_HOOP_Panels_Themes_26x26

AAA190008_HOOP_Panel_Intro_54x34

HOOP_Wall_Labels_17May19

HOOP_Deck_Labels_16May19

Regarding the multi-linguistic approach, here is a brief story by Juline Chevalier, Head of Interpretation and Participatory Experiences:

Why We Translated an Exhibition’s Labels Into Dozens of Native Languages

Pronunciation Guide:

Native Nations pronun guide

Here is the audioguide transcript:

TRANSCRIPT HOOP AUDIOGUIDE

Here is a FAQ developed for VE volunteers, with lots of great information on the exhibition:

Hearts of Our People FAQ

These three documents were given to the VE volunteers and staff who are working the exhibition, with some top FAQs and also information on microaggressions to be aware of while giving tours or when you are within the galleries:

FAQ Top Five

Microaggression HoOP2

Say this, not that

Here is the special edition of the Docent Muse, devoted to the exhibition:

HOOP Muse May, 2019

From your colleague Angie Seutter: I heard a great interview with Dakota Hoska on KFAI, along with two MIA guides. They talk a lot about HOOP and the Native American collection in general. It starts around the 75 minute and runs until the end mark of 120 minutes.

From your colleague Elizabeth Winga, an article on the origins of the jingle dress:
And from Kathleen Steiger, an additional article on the Jingle Dress:
From your colleague Margi Crone: TPT will be airing original productions that share stories of Native Americans in Minnesota. This collection of programs and events gives everyone the opportunity to learn more about themselves, their neighbors and their world.
An article on Rose B. Simpson, and her El Camino:
An article written by Rose B. Simpson, discussing her journey to becoming an artist:
And here are some fun facts directly from the artist Rose Simpson:
From Ann Isaacson, a resource on trauma from Native Hope:
Various articles from national publications on the exhibition:
Ian Frazier, Staying Native. Review of The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present
by David Treuer, in New York Review of Books. HoOP artist Joan Hill’s work is embedded in the article.
Here is the Native community’s video on visiting Mia to see HoOP:
Mia’s Teachers’ Guide:

Mapping Black Identities training and resource page

Mapping Black Identities Rotation 2 Material 2020 – Artist information

Here is a link to the recorded training session by the Contemporary curatorial staff on Mapping Black Identities,on February 7, 2019:

Mapping Black Identities

Please note that at the start, the sound quality is poor. If you are able to listen to it with headphones, turned to the highest, you should be able to hear it.

Here is the lecture PowerPoint:

Mapping Black Identities Presentation_training pdf

Here is the updated checklist of objects in the exhibition:

Mapping Black Identities Checklist

Here are the labels for the objects:

Mapping Black Identities Labels PDF – Press

Here are resources on the films showing in the Black Box:

Mapping Black Identities- 3 Films Presentation Notes and Resources

This is a MPR story on the exhibition:

Black Identities exhibit marks cultural shift for Mia

From our curatorial staff comes a wealth of research documents on the artists represented in the exhibition, linked here below:

Charles Gaines Supporting Docs

Deana Lawson Supporting Docs

Delita Martin Supporting Docs

Elizabeth Catlett Supporting Docs

Emma Amos Supporting Docs

Frank Bowling Supporting Docs

Igshaan Adams Supporting Docs

J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere Supporting Docs

Joe Overstreet Supporting Docs

Julie Mehretu Supporting Docs

Kerry James Marshall Supporting Docs

Kevin Beasley Additional Supporting Doc_ Black Relief

Kevin Beasley Supporting Docs

Lynette Yiadom-Boakye Supporting Docs

MBI Presentation Training Research Content

Museums are now clamoring for Frank Bowling’s work

From your colleague Jean London, an article on Frank Bowling’s work:

Non-Synchronous Cartographies: Frank Bowling’s Map Paintings

Please note there is a separate post for the rotation, with a video of that gallery training on January 30, 2020. Here is a link to that page.

 

 


Growing the Collection – Label Copy and Resources

LABEL COPY_Growing the Collection

Here are a couple more points of information, coming from the pop-up gallery training:

Samuel Levi Jones deconstructed medical text for his Agent Orange collage.

And the Ray Johnson Estate had done a 4-page paper on Hat with Red Eyes. The PDF is attached:

Hat with Red Eyes – Ray Johnson – from Dennis Michael Jon

Here is a New Yorker article on Lonnie Holley:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/10/29/lonnie-holleys-glorious-improvisations

Here is some information on artist Thornton Dial from Dennis Michael Jon:

here’s a link to an article that mentions that Dial was raised by a household of women. My comments on his reverence for woman and their roles in black families and the community were likely drawn from various sources.
Here’s a long quote from Dial that I found on the Souls Grown Deep Foundation’s website. He doesn’t mention being raised by women in this text, but does talk about his personal values and shares his thoughts on the importance of family.
Also, see text passages on the subject of the tiger and the woman in Dial’s art beginning on page 145 of “Thornton Dial: Thoughts on Paper.”