Research Resources

Color use in Mughal painting

From your colleague Kathleen Steiger, an excellent short video on the color within Mughal paintings, from the Getty Museum:

Exploring Color in Mughal Paintings

“Court painters from the Mughal empire in India created detailed portraits of some of the most powerful and wealthy figures of the 17th century. These paintings traveled to Europe through trade, where their fine lines and majestic subjects inspired artists like Rembrandt. Learn how the Mughal painters employed a variety of natural pigments in their brilliantly colored images of emperors and elites.

This video accompanies the exhibition “Rembrandt and the Inspiration of India” (March 13, 2018 – June 24, 2018) at the Getty Museum.”

Alec Soth

From your colleague, Kathleen Steiger:

I came across this Youtube video (actually from 4 years ago) with photos and an interview with a Minnesota Artist – Alec Soth…we have some of his works at Mia.
He uses a large format Camera and the images he captures are great.  The first video (from SFMoma) speaks of the commission he had to photograph Silicon Valley and “the cloud”.  
The second video (MN Original) gives a good deal of background on how and why he does what he does:
One of his pieces is on view at Mia in G373.  It is one from his Sleeping by the Mississippi series. Here is a link to his website:

TCAMGC tour at WAM, May 4

Twin Cities Art Museum Guide Collaborative (TCAMGC) and the Weisman Art Museum invite you to join us to tour

Vanishing Ice

Friday, May 4, 2018, 11:00am

Showcasing the beauty, significance, and vulnerability of Earth’s frozen lands, Vanishing Ice visualizes the environmental and social impact that climate change has had on alpine and polar regions. A world without ice holds profound consequences for plant and animal habitats as well as human culture. One quarter of Earth’s population (1.9 billion people) relies on glacier-fed rivers for life-sustaining water.

Vanishing Ice offers a glimpse into the rich cultural legacy of the planet’s frozen frontiers. International in scope, the exhibition traces the impact of glaciers, icebergs, and fields of ice on artists’ imaginations – giving another perspective on why ice matters.

RSVP: https://tcamgcvanishingicetourwam.eventbrite.com

Tour limited to 30 people

Meet at WAM’s front desk

 This tour is free and open to museum guides and their guests. If you’re bringing a guest(s), please provide their names.

Please remember that by signing up for outreach tours you are making a commitment to your colleagues. If you need to change your plans, please cancel your reservation on the web site so that your spot can be given to someone on the waiting list.

Civilizations, new PBS series

Frome your colleague Richard Lemanczykafka, a reminder that the new PBS series on art history, Civilizations, has begun! Here is a link to the PBS site with synopses of the episodes:

PBS Civilizations

 

Conference for the Society of Architectural Historians

From your colleague, docent Liz Short, here is a link to the Society of Architectural Historians Conference, held in St. Paul this week, April 18th through the 22nd. If anyone is interested in volunteering for the conference, there is a reduction to the cost of attending the conference with 6 hours of volunteer work. Contact the SAH directly if interested.

Society of Architectural Historians

 

Art in Bloom flowers and plants

From your colleague Lynn Dunlap. a useful reference to flowers and plants used in AIB designs, recently updated in January 2020. According to Lynn:

“Each year, we have a few plant books in the lounge but it’s hard to find some plants due to names, clarity of photos, etc.  It seems docents often are trying to figure out which plant is ‘green trick’ or what’s that plant with the red tinged leaves.

This database includes common names, botanical names, two photos and additional notes, such as the symbolism of flowers.”

AIB plant materials 1_1_2020 update

TCAMGC Outreach tour at NCC

From Alison Beech, Community Engagement Manager at Northern Clay Center:

The Twin Cities Art Museum Guide Collaborative and Northern Clay Center invite you to tour:

Expatriate Ceramics, NCC Residential, and the Northern Clay Center facility.

  • Wednesday April 18th, 2018: 10:00 – 11:00 am
  • Meet in the Sales Gallery at Northern Clay Center:  2424 Franklin Ave East MPLS
  • Parking is available on the West side of the building and there is ample street parking as well. NCC is easily accessed by bus and just a short walk from the Franklin light rail station (METRO Blue Line).
  • Register yourself and a guest: https://store.northernclaycenter.org/tour-for-tour-guides-from-metro-area-art-museums.html
  • This tour is free for you and your guest, but space is limited to 45 participants. If you are unable to attend the tour after you have registered, please contact Mackenzie Catton mackenziecatton@northernclaycenter.org or 612.339.8007 x319.

Robert Rauschenberg, Opal Gospel, 1971 installation

From your colleague Josie Owens, some information on the current installation in Gallery 261 of Robert Rauschenberg’s Opal Gospel:

“On 24 January 2018, I met with Jill, Deb, Kara, and Ann at the Opal Gospel.
 
·      Jill explained the process for the installation. She said that Rauschenberg did not use his Native American background as Jimmie Durham had. However, there were some issues around it. She gave us some information about the Cherokee people and their regulations for self-identification. There has been a problem with many celebrities wrongfully claiming Cherokee heritage. She said that this exhibit was supposed to make one think about how picking when to self-identify is a luxury that Native Peoples do not have.  
·      She said that 5 scholars couldn’t identify Rauschenberg’s Cherokee ancestry. However, sometimes Cherokees would claim to be white in order to buy land and that this could be a possibility for his grandmother. There had not been a decisive conclusion that she wasn’t.
·      Then she shared her interaction with the director of the Rauschenberg Foundation, Kathy Halbreich. Kathy had seen the images of the installation with the quotations.  Jill said that she told Kathy that she thought that Rauschenberg would have liked this as he enjoyed the discussion and debate. Kathy agreed.
·      I then mentioned that I wished that there were more explanation. I said that I felt that there was so much Cherokee information when in fact the texts used by Rauschenberg were all by other Native American people. I worried that this was a bit misleading. Jill was immediately receptive and suggested that more labels be added identifying the writings themselves.
·      Jill even shared that she felt that Boney, who had known Rauschenberg and liked him, had a more inclusive statement than Tehee. She seemed to agree with my concern that Tehee’s comment did not help with an open discussion.
·      Then we all discussed that if the purpose of the installation was to ask the question what is cultural appropriation and if this is an example or not, then perhaps a sign with that idea should be added. We said that this would help the average viewer especially without a docent.
·      Jill was eager to do and said it could be similar to what is happening in period rooms. She suggested something that said that this is a curatorial decision and only one of many approaches.
·      We left it that Jill would speak with Juline and circle back.
·      The other suggestion Jill had was to get the image of the beautiful metal box that the Opal Gospel comes in. I will do this and share.
Jill was so approachable and open-minded. It was a wonderful discussion and helped so much with my ability to use the art.”

You be the Curator! tour and participatory activity

From your colleague Josie Owens, an idea for a tour capped by a participatory activity connected to Native American Art.

Josie says, “If anyone wants to use my supplies, I am happy to share them. They are all laminated and very nice. I shared the tour idea and a photo of the curatorial decisions reached with Jill who loved it.”

Here are the instructions:

You Be the Curator tour and activity

And here is a photograph that shows how the final layout looked: