Research Resources

Resource page for May 2024 public tour

Here are some resources for preparing for the in-gallery (Cross Currents) May public tour:

G259

Check out info on Virgil Ortiz, Jagg and Gage, minute mark 14:30 in this new accessions video.

Jeffrey Gibson’s punching bags: Jeffrey Gibson on the origins of his beaded punching bags

 

G301 (Reimagining Native/American Art) Feel free to walk into 302 as well.

(NOTE: This exhibition closes on May 27. For the May 30 and 31st public tours, guides will station in the Prairie School galleries, G300)

Watch Jill and Bob’s training on this gallery installation.

Wing Young Huie, Kids Playing in Frogtown (see Art Adventure set, American Stories, for information)

Christi Belcourt, here is the PDF of some of the flora and fauna depicted:

It’s a Delicate Balance – flora and fauna

 

G364 (American Gothic)

From the Mia blog: The Minnesota legacy of Gordon Parks, a life of seeing and being seen

Here is a link to the training with Curator Casey Riley, from January 9:

Training on Gordon Parks exhibition

Here are the panels, labels, and subpanels in the exhibition:

GCA242167_GordonParks_Panels V2

GCA242167_GordonParks_SubPanels FINAL

GCA242167_GordonParks_Labels FINAL

 

G373 (and feel free to wander into G374)

Check out Dennis Jon’s training on Part 2 of this Collage/Assemblage exhibition.

If you go into G374, Joe Minter’s assemblage provokes lots of conversation. Learn more about Joe Minter by listening to Mia’s podcast, The Object: Yard Show:  The World According to Joe

 

February 2024 BHM tour

Here are some resources for the February in-gallery public tour, Celebrating African American Art, as part of Black History month celebrations.

First, here is a link to all African American art currently on view at Mia (updated for March 2024).

 

Here is a link to the Cross Currents public tour sign-up, where gallery assignments are noted.

 

Here is the training by Jean Ann Durades on January 18:

Part 1: G301-304

Part 2: G322

Part 3: G353 (not on Cross Currents, but good artworks to include on BHM private tours)

Part 4a: G364/365

Part 4b: G364/365

 

2024 self-guided tour flyer:

2024 Self-Guide Template Celebration of African American Art QR final

 

Here is a link to Bisa Butler’s talk.

 

From your colleague Marne Zafar, a detailed tour outline:

Black Heritage-History Tour Notes FEB 2024

 

Galleries 303 (also can access 301, 302, and 304)

Nellie Mae Abrams, “Housetop” quilt

Gee’s Bend quilt information, Mia blog

Lamar Peterson: A Self-Portrait

Leslie Barlow (move ahead to 10 minutes in the video): studio visit

Leslie Barlow’s MAEP exhibition and her talk, recorded

Renee Stout, Biography (also includes a pic of Soul Regenerator)

Object file on Henry Bannarn’s Cleota Collins

Photo of Cleota Collins

 

Gallery 322

Bisa Butler, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Notes from Josie Owens from a convo with Bisa Butler:

“Bisa tried to imagine their past and future personalities. The symbols refer to how she sees them. The fan is a symbol of success. In Ghana in the markets the more lucrative businesses have electricity and can offer fans to their customers. This woman will be a successful businesswoman. The hearts are on the skirt of the woman who looks like the kind friend. The bling is for the woman who is the fashionista. The high heels refer to Michelle Obama’s inauguration heels. She’s a leader and powerful. She said that she had to redo the face of the fan woman. She didn’t like how she looked.”

Video of Jean Ann’s tour, including Joshua Johnson’s painting. (and Bannarn’s Cleota Collins)

Winfred Rembert’s obituary

Video: Patsy Rembert introduces ‘Winfred Rembert. All of Me’ in New York

From the Mia blog: “I wanted people to know”: The moving history behind Winfred Rembert’s “The Beginning”

From Kate Christianson, a great documentary about Rembert now streaming online at Amazon Prime:

All Me: The Life And Times Of Winfred Rembert

 

Galleries 364/365: American Gothic: Gordon Parks and Ella Watson

From the Mia blog: The Minnesota legacy of Gordon Parks, a life of seeing and being seen

Also, from The Object podcast: to come

Here is a link to the training with Curator Casey Riley, from January 9:

Training on Gordon Parks exhibition

Here are the panels, labels, and subpanels in the exhibition:

GCA242167_GordonParks_Panels V2

GCA242167_GordonParks_SubPanels FINAL

GCA242167_GordonParks_Labels FINAL

 

PBS video from Jean London:

Why Gordon Parks’ Most Famous Photo Almost Wasn’t Released

 

From Rose Stanley-Gilbert:

This is a SHORT NPR article with lots of pictures. If someone wants to know about Gordon Parks — this will tell you the many AMAZING and creative things he did.

https://www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2022/06/10/1102645123/gordon-parks-photography

Background on the FSA:

From Mary Costello:
and

Galleries 375 (also can access G376)

A catalog of James Phillips’ works that includes Cosmic Connection

Joe Overstreet’s work discussed (28:24 on video) in Curatorial training in 2019

William Edmondson, Ram (see Jean Ann’s tour video posted under G322–and check out the Art Adventure set, Artist’s Inspirations, of which the Ram is part.)

Curator Bob Cozzolino’s training on Bob Thompson and Beauford Delaney: Kunin Collection Focus on Bob Thompson, January 10, 2019

December 2023 public tour: Cross Currents

Our December public tour is in-gallery conversations (Cross Currents). Guides will be stationed in G243, G250 or 254, G357, and G362.

Cross Currents Flyer Template_December 2023 public tour

The theme is “Celebrating the Season: learn how countries around the world celebrate the season of rebirth and renewal.”

Training for this tour is already available, December 2022. Click on this link to access the Tour Break information from last year for Yalda, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and Christmas.

 

 

Resource page for November 2023 public tour, Arts of Native America

The November tour theme is:

Arts of Native America
Experience the role of tradition and innovation in superb works of Native American Art.

General condensed Native relations statement:

The museum resides on the homelands of the Dakhóta people and their Anishinaabe and Ho-Chunk neighbors. Through gallery installations and future exhibitions, Mia pledges to make visible the creativity and ingenuity of Native artists from the past, the present, and the future.

From your colleague, Marne Zafar, a tour of Native American art, including works in the new reinstallation in G259-261:

Who Are We. Who We Are. Americas Tour 2023-2024 FINAL

 

Check out the Lyrical Art of Jim Denomie resource page (link here) for information on that exhibition.

Check out the tour break and other school tour materials on this topic, at this link.

Check out the Reimagining Native/American Art resource page for information on that gallery reinstallation at this link.

 

Check out our self-guided tour flyer for November:

Native American Heritage Month self guided tour

Peer resources:

Meet the Artist: Virgil Ortiz (Cochiti Pueblo)

Resource page for October 2023 Cross Currents: Telling Stories

In the October 2023 Cross Currents, the theme is Telling Stories: Gather around works of art to look, listen, and tell your own stories.

Guides will be stationed in Galleries 213, 280, 365, and 379. Following are some resources for each gallery, to help prepare for your assignments. If you find additional resources you wish to share with your peers, email those to Debbi or Kara to add here.

Gallery 213

Check out all objects on view in G213

Enshrined Buddha, 1850, with audio stop

and Burma Enshrined Buddha Object File

And article on an enshrined Buddha in the Asian Art Museum collection:

Crowned and bejeweled Buddha image and throne

Ceremonial vessel in the form of a Water Buffalo, 1000-300 BCE (this is an Art Adventure object, so check out the booklet with its entry, in People and Their Environments)

Thailand Walking Buddha object file

Java Ganesha object file

Prajnaparamita, late 12th-early 13th century (with audio stop)

General information on Buddhism:

Introduction to Buddhism and subsequent articles, Khan Academy

Buddhism/Hinduism/Jainism, lecture by Debbi Hegstrom, 2019

 

Gallery 280

Jim Denomie, lecture with Nicole Soukup:

Curator lecture on the Lyrical Art of Jim Denomie

Video playing in the exhibition: The Lyrical Artwork of Jim Denomie, exhibition video

Video interview with Jim Denomie from the Muskegon Museum of Art: Jim Denomie: Challenging the Narrative  (note, great information is included about some works in our show.)

From the Bockley Gallery: Jim Denomie bio

 

Gallery 365

Gallery training (video link) with Associate Curator of Global Contemporary Art, Leslie Ureña.

Another Look exhibition page on Mia website

 

Gallery 379

How might visitors feel when they find out the “true story” of the missing curator is a fiction? What are visitor expectations of the information they find in the museum? What is a period room and how does it “tell a story”?

Mark Dion (pronounced Die-On), Curator’s Office (we recommend bringing a little flashlight with you to point out details within; flashlights are by the attendance clickers.)

Here is the ArtStory on the Curator’s Office. Click on “Details” and “More” in the tab headings to learn great details to point out to visitors.

Here is a video of Mark Dion discussing the work.

Articles about the work:

Artforum: Mark Dion speaks about his latest installation

ArtNews: The Curator Vanishes: Period Room as Crime Scene

Bio and more: Mark Dion: Art 21

 

 

New World Objects of Knowledge

A new research resource from your colleague Kay Miller:

New World Objects of Knowledge compressed

“A stunning, richly illustrated hardback cataloging key artifacts from across Latin American art, nature, and history.

From the late fifteenth century to the present day, countless explorers, conquerors, and other agents of empire have laid siege to the New World, plundering and pilfering its most precious artifacts and treasures. Today, these natural and cultural products—which are key to conceptualizing a history of Latin America—are scattered in museums around the world.

With contributions from a renowned set of scholars, New World Objects of Knowledge delves into the hidden histories of forty of the New World’s most iconic artifacts, from the Inca mummy to Darwin’s hummingbirds. This volume is richly illustrated with photos and sketches from the archives and museums hosting these objects. Each artifact is accompanied by a comprehensive essay covering its dynamic, often global, history and itinerary. This volume will be an indispensable catalog of New World objects and how they have helped shape our modern world.”

MuseumNext 2023 offerings

From the Director’s Office:

MuseumNext Digital Learning Summit 2023
19 – 20 June 2023

Are you curious about how digital learning is transforming education, and what it means for museums? Join us for the Digital Learning Summit, where we’ll bring together some of the most innovative and forward-thinking minds in the museum world.

With presentations and insights from top museums around the globe, including the Guggenheim, Louvre Abu Dhabi, Getty, Smithsonian, Museums Victoria, Nobel Peace Centre and more, you’ll gain valuable knowledge and actionable advice on the future of museum learning.  Whether you’re an educator, museum professional, or just someone with a passion for learning, this virtual event is not to be missed.

Mia staff, volunteers, and trustees can sign up for free using Mia’s season pass: https://ti.to/nxt/digital-learning-summit-2023/with/4p3gnzea9z0
***
Upcoming MuseumNext Virtual Summits
Mia has once again purchased a season pass to the June-December season of MuseumNext virtual conferences. All staff, volunteers, and trustees are eligible to attend. See below for details.

Miao or Hmong?

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:

Miao or Hmong

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.

Norman Akers, Interference and a Tiny Spot of Hope, 2019

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