Tour Topics and Themes

October 2024 in-gallery public tour

Here are resources for he October in-gallery public tour!

October 3 to 31 , Thursdays through Sundays, 1-3 pm; Thursday evenings, 6-8 pm

Theme: Gather around works of art to look, listen, and tell your own stories.
No tour October 11: Yom Kippur holiday

Galleries: G255, G275, G302, G322

G255 resources

For information on the Tibetan Buddhist shrine, and other things in the supporting gallery, see the Tibetan Shrine resource page on our guide website.

Note that there may be curiosity about the sand mandala process. We have the videos still linked on the Mia website, so you could show some examples of the nuns doing the sand mandala, at this link.

Here is a link to the object file for the Yamantaka Mandala.

Here is a link to the object file for the sculpture of Green Tara.

 

G275 resources

Here is a link to the recording of the training with Valeria Piccoli, 9.26.24

Here is a recording of Valeria’s previous training on Gallery 255 (which included some of the same artworks).

Website for Myrlande Constant

From the Indigo Arts Gallery, a bio and more information on vodou flags: Myrlande Constant artist

Elsa Gramcko: Hyperallergic review of an exhibition, The Gap Between Things and Their Names

ELSA GRAMCKO: THE INVISIBLE PLOT OF THINGS (in this article, check out the photo of Gramcko with her painting, No. 6!)

More information on No. 6, by Gramcko

Information from Rose Stanley Gilbert on Gramcko: Elsa Gramcko and oil pump– Prop and Elsa Gramcko – No. 6, 1957

 

G302 resources

From the Art Institute of Chicago a short video: Archibald John Motley Jr.’s Nightlife | Art Institute Essentials Tour

From the National Endowment of the Humanities: Block Party: Archibald Motley painted African Americans having a good time.

From the Nasher, some great info within an exhibition page for Motley’s first exhibition: Archibald Motley: Jazz Age Modernist

Artist bio on Wikipedia: Archibald Motley

Biography of Victor Gatto

Romare Bearden Foundation

Khan Academy/Smart History (about a similar subject): Romare Bearden, Three Folk Musicians

Romare Bearden The Art Story (extensive biography)

Romare Bearden 3 musicians PDF (with our painting)

Elmer Bischoff: Biography

From the Marin Museum, a virtual tour of Elmer Bischoff exhibition

From the Pacific Sun: Bischoff retrospective goes on display

And an article from 1988 on Victor Joseph Gatto, from your colleague Susan Arndt (scroll to page 56 for the article): The Clarion Spring 1988

Then we have a whole treasure of Georgia O’Keeffe paintings in the gallery!

From the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum: About Georgia O’Keeffe

 

G322 resources

Labels and panels for new artworks within this gallery

EUR252546 G322 Labels_EDIT (1) (1)

A defining thread connecting the works is the influence of Classical art, so you can trace how that appears in decorative objects, paintings, and sculptures within the gallery.

Wedgwood’s Anti-Slavery Medallion: Josiah Wedgwood’s Medallion

Voltaire, Rousseau and Franklin were often pictured together as important philosophers of the 18th century

Here is a link to the object file for the Portrait of George Washington. Note that this is also a work in the Art Adventure set, American Stories, so you can look at the entry there.

The portrait of Countess Bucquoi is in the Art Adventure set, Dressed for the Occasion, so check out the entry for more info on the artist and the sitter.

Information on Juliette Recamier from the Library of Congress and Wikipedia.

From SmartHistory: The Age of Enlightenment, an introduction

 

September 2024 public tour: Art and Activism

As Art and Activism is a standard topic within the options on the tour request form, it will remain a useful resource moving forward. We have a live Google doc for viewing as well as the PDF for downloading below:

Art and Activism public tour Sept 2024

We had also created a peer resource for Art and Activism, so we are sharing the link to that peer resource document as well. If you find other artworks that will fit well within this tour topic, please add to this resource.

Here is a good introduction to Activist art, in an article found by your colleague Kate Christianson:

An Introduction to Activist Art

Reach out to one of the educators with any questions about the public tour.

July 2024 in-gallery public tour resource page

July Cross Currents: Summer Vacation! Take a break as works of art transport you on a trip around the world.

Gallery 203

Training with Curator Yang Liu on 6.27.24

Articles by Yang Liu:

Three_Eremitic_Pictures_and_a_Song_of_Despair

Fantastic_Mountains_Where_Man_Meets_Nature

Fantastic_Mountains_Chinese_Landscape_Painting

Essay from the Met: Landscape Painting in Chinese Art

From Khan Academy: Chinese landscape painting

From the Asian Art Museum: The Development of Landscape Painting in China through the Tang Dynasty (618-906) (in particular, note this statement: “In Chinese color theory, black contains all colors; thus theorists believe that people can conceive all colors in the various tones of ink.”

Lesson on Chinese landscape painting from Princeton, with some good questions under the “Lesson” heading: Chinese Landscape Painting during the Song Dynasty

 

Gallery 355

Worcester Art Museum Video: Matthias Waschek: Pierre Bonnard’s ‘Dining Room In The Country’

French Quarter magazine: Exploring the Intellectual Haven: The Legacy of Parisian Café Culture (Vuillard’s Place Saint-Augustin)

BBC Arts: The Pursuit of Paradise: Eight paintings tracing Paul Gauguin’s quest for the exotic in Tahiti

Gauguin, Tahitian Landscape (in /Art Adventure, People and Their Environments)

National Gallery of Art: Gauguin: Maker of Myth

Musee Giverny: Signac, the colors of water

PDF fact sheet on Salmon Fishers at Nesøya, 1891, by Hjalmar Eilif Emanuel Peterssen: Eilif Peterssen – Laksefiskere på Nesøya (Salmon Fishers at Nesøya) – factsheet

Van Gogh, Olive Trees, ArtStory

 

Gallery 379 (Going on a road trip, boat ride, or scooter–in streamlined design)

Streamline Moderne: Speeding into the future!

From Wikipedia, a history of the Road Trip

From the Library of Congress blog: America on the Road: The Family Vacation by Car

Go on a road trip with the Tatra! Tatra 603 ad video (a later Tatra version, but good sense of how fast it could go, even in the countryside)

From Wikipedia: Tatra 87

Tatra ArtStory on artsmia.org

Classic Car Review: The Death Eaters, Chapter 1: Tatra T87

Skippy Racer Scooter history, with photos: 1938 ‘Skippy Racer’ Streamlined Scooter

 

 

 

 

Resource page for June 2024 in-gallery conversation

Here are some resources for the in-gallery (Cross Currents) June conversation, in support of Pride Month, as we profile queer artists.

“*To clarify, when we say the word “queer,” we are referring to a self-identification of a person that is not heterosexual or cisgender (having a gender identity that matches the sex assigned at birth). It is important to note that for many, the term “queer” can be problematic, as it is a reflection of a negative history, but for others, “queer” is how they self-identify, which is why we use the word.” (definition from Crystal Bridges Museum)

Here is a link to the sign up for tours.

General resources:

Check out this one hour Facebook virtual tour by the Detroit Institute of Arts, discussing the work of Hosmer, Hartley, Delaney, and Bacon, all artists profiled on this month’s Pride tour.

Also from the LGBTCenter NYC, a video in conjunction with the Whitney: Queer Belonging: Identity and Community in America Art

Information and quotes from May 30 in-gallery training: Pride artists’ quotes

G323 

Harriet Hosmer

Harriet Hosmer: The Art Story

From the Davisart.com, Curator’s Corner: LGBTQI+ History Month: Harriet Hosmer

Another version of Medusa in Hood Museum: Harriet Goodhue Hosmer, American, 1830 – 1908

Harriet Hosmer on Art and Ambition: The World’s First Successful Woman Sculptor on What It Takes to Be a Great Artist

Grant Wood

Regarding Grant Wood: SULTRY NIGHT: GRANT WOOD’S QUEER MIDWEST

From the LGBTQ Archives and Library for Iowa: History-By-Letter #3 | Grant Wood

Des Moines Art Center: Justin Favela on Grant Wood’s “Birthplace of Herbert Hoover”

Informational video: Beyond American Gothic | Analysis of Grant Wood’s The Birthplace of Herbert Hoover

The Art Story: Grant Wood

Marsden Hartley

From the Met: Marsden Hartley and Wilfred Owen: Queer Voices of Memorial in Wartime

From the Museum of Fine Arts St. Petersburg: Stories We Tell: Conversation with director Michael Maglaras (discussing his film on Hartley)

Marsden Hartley: The Art Story

From the Sheldon Museum, Marsden Hartley

A couple labels from the Smithsonian with info on Hartley’s time in Mexico in 1932 and the artworks he produced: Yliaster and Popocatepetl

 

G361

Paul Cadmus

An object file on our Aspects of Suburban Life

DC Moore Gallery: Paul Cadmus

From the Met: Paul Cadmus and the Censorship of Queer Art

From the Smithsonian: Artists, Friends, Lovers: Paul Cadmus and George Tooker 

Cadmus, transcript of oral interview from the Smithsonian

From Artsy: When Paul Cadmus’s Homoerotic Military Painting Launched a National Scandal.

George Tooker

Lot essay from Christie’s for Coney Island

An article from America Magazine: Beyond Protest: The art of George Tooker

George Tooker: The Art Story

The Art of George Tooker

Check out these three short videos (and you’ll recognize Bob Cozzolino’s voice!): Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Beauford Delaney

Beauford Delaney: The Art Story

Bio at NMAAHC

From Scalawag Magazine: Out of the Shadows: The Queer Life of Artist Beauford Delaney

 

G374–and also feel free to use G373 if you wish to include Harmony Hammond, Elliot Hundley, or Stan Shellabarger & Dutes Miller (who are married)

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

Recent article on Harmony Hammond: Harmony Hammond’s Ongoing Revolution

Hunter Reynolds

From ArtNews: Hunter Reynolds, Pioneering Artist Known for Heart-Wrenching Works That Chronicled the Immense Loss Wrought by HIV/AIDS, Dies at 62

From the NYT: Hunter Reynolds, Artist Who Dressed Up AIDS, Dies at 62

From Visual Aids, a bio and artist statement: Hunter Reynolds

Hales Gallery, link to information about Reynolds’ photo weavings, including a photo of our work currently on display.

Another article on the weavings: Weavings: Adam Ash Barbu and Ethan Shoshan for Hunter Reynolds

Wangechi Mutu (Is an important artist ally for LGBTQ+ rights, but does NOT identify as queer)

Essence Magazine: Artist Wangechi Mutu Celebrates ‘Africa’s Out!’ Campaign, with a Little Help from Solange

From National Museum of Women in the Arts: Positive Fragmentation: Wangechi Mutu on the Black Body

From the Met: Museums Without Men: Wangechi Mutu

From Google Arts and Culture: Discover the work of Wangechi Mutu

Art 21: Between the Earth and the Sky, Wangechi Mutu

Sadie Benning (pronouns they/them)

From W Magazine: Transgender Artist Sadie Benning Is Not Afraid

In the label, a reference to Forrest Bess–here is some information from the National Gallery of Art.

Art Forum: Sadie Benning

From Moma: Sadie Benning

Shinique Smith

Sarasota Magazine: With Parade, Shinique Smith Turns Her Gaze on the Ringling’s Old Masters

From a Mia Story: Shinique Smith and the fabric of life

Bio: Shinique Smith

Her website: Shinique Smith

New York Times: Giving Castoffs a Second Life

 

G376/377

Beauford Delaney

(See resources in G361 above)

George Tooker

(See resources in G361 above)

Francis Bacon (in 377 now)

From Art Forum: Francis Bacon

From ArtNews: Francis Bacon’s ‘Screaming Pope’ Embodied Postwar Anguish—Here Are 3 Surprising Facts About the Influential Painting

Francis Bacon: The Art Story

From the Tate: WHO IS FRANCIS BACON?

 

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

Jeffrey Gibson at the Venice Biennale 2024

Rose Simpson’s monumental sculptures: Rose B. Simpson in “Everyday Icons” – Season 11 – “Art in the Twenty-First Century” | Art21

Rose Simpson at the Jack Shaiman Gallery

Avis Charley: New to Nevada: Avis Charley

The Growing Thunder Collective

Pathfinder: 40 Years of Marcus Amerman

From the New York Times: Kay WalkingStick: Reframing the American Landscape

 

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

Eva Zeisel–Town and Country by Eva Zeisel

Eva Zeisel in Chicago Tribune: EVA DOES IT

Charles Biederman: The Sage of Red Wing

 

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

 

March 2024 public tour resource page

Our public tour for March 2024 is Women in Art, and it is an in-gallery tour (Cross Currents).

Self-guided tour flyer (contains Myrlande Constant, Elisabeth Osborne, Yayoi Kusama):

Women’s History Self Guided Tour_2024

 

General resources about women artists and contemporary art:

From Khan Academy: Where are the women artists?

Introduction to Contemporary Art

 

Gallery 255:

Check out Valeria Piccoli’s training on G255

Website for Myrlande Constant

From the Indigo Arts Gallery, a bio and more information on vodou flags: Myrlande Constant artist

Graciela Iturbide: Artist Profile

From the Guardian: Mexico’s poetic gaze: Graciela Iturbide at 80 – in pictures

Elsa Gramcko: Hyperallergic review of an exhibition, The Gap Between Things and Their Names

ELSA GRAMCKO: THE INVISIBLE PLOT OF THINGS (in this article, check out the photo of Gramcko with her painting, No. 6!)

More information on No. 6, by Gramcko

Sonia Gomes, interview in Frieze: Sonia Gomes Responds to Her Materials

From the Pace Gallery, a video: Of Seams and Stories: The Art of Sonia Gomes

From the Guggenheim, a description of a similar work from the Torções (Twistings) series by Sonia Gomes.

From the National Museum of Women in the Arts: Fabric of History: Sonia Gomes

 

Gallery 236/250:

Magdalene Odundo_notes_DH

From your colleague Ramaa Bhasin, Odundo’s “A Dialogue with Objects”

Article about Odundo’s work: The Shifting Resonances of Magdalene Odundo’s Vessels on the Global Stage

Wodaabe Tunic

Article about Wodaabe Embroidery

Amazigh (Berber) carpet (G250)

Ait Ouagharda, Berber carpet (G250)

Regions and Types of Moroccan carpets

Bamana mudcloth

Bamana mudcloth Metropolitan Museum

Bamana mudcloth UW Milwaukee

From Rose Stanley Gilbert, a video: How Rug Weavers In Morocco Are Working Together To Fight For A Fair Wage 

 

Gallery 303:

Nora Naranjo Morse_1

Nora Naranjo Morse_2

Video: Nora Naranjo-Morse: Potter & Poet

Dyani White Hawk: Essay from the MacArthur Foundation

Dyani White Hawk: “Takes Care of Them” by Dyani White Hawk, 2019 – Press Process video from Highpoint

Hearts of Our People — Artist Profile: Dyani White Hawk

Sheila Hicks: Video from MoMA: Sheila Hicks: Pillar of Inquiry | ARTIST STORIES

Sheila Hicks: From the NYT, A Career Woven From Life

Aliza Nisenbaum: From Mia website, a video: A Place We Share, Aliza Nisenbaum

Aliza Nisenbaum: From ArtForum, a video discussing work at Mia: ALIZA NISENBAUM TALKS ABOUT HER WORK

Mimi Gross: The Radiant Fearlessness of Mimi Gross

Mimi Gross at Eric Firestone Gallery

Critical Eye: Mimi Gross in Her World

 

Gallery 375–and also feel free to walk into G374, with the new reinstallation:

Yayoi Kusama notes_DH

From the Tate: An Introduction to Yayoi Kusama

Elizabeth Osborne

A bio of artist Elizabeth Osborne, written by Curator Bob Cozzolino.

Louise Nevelson

Wangechi Mutu (G374): Essay on the artist from Khan Academy

Shinique Smith (G374): Shinique Smith and the Politics of Fabric

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

January 2024 public tour, Oh the weather outside

Here are a list of ideas for the January public tour,

Oh, the Weather Outside!
Explore images of indoor/outdoor pastimes while contemplating Minnesotans’ obsession with the weather.

January Public Tour

(Note: We have a new installation in the Japanese galleries by curator Mai Yamaguchi, with many weather-related works. Check out “Falling Water: Expressions of Weather in Japanese Art” in G223.)

We also encourage you to share other ideas with each other for this tour, so to that end, we are sharing the Google doc link for the tour, so feel free to add to this any other ideas you have of great artworks to include!

As always, one-hour public tours meet at the Info Bar in the lobby, and please remember to record the attendance of your tours on the attendance sheet on the Guide Lounge bulletin board. Thank you!

December 2023 Cross Currents, Celebrating the Season

This is a resource page for the December 2023 public tour, Celebrating the Season, Cross Currents format.

Last year’s training, link here to the Tour Break, includes good background on all 4 celebrations we are again focusing upon:

Kwanzaa (Tue, Dec 26, 2023 – Mon, Jan 1, 2024)

Hanukkah (Evening of Thu, Dec 7, 2023 – Fri, Dec 15, 2023)

Christmas (Mon., December 25)

Yalda (Thur, Dec 21)

Here is the Cross Currents flyer for December:

Cross Currents Flyer Template_December 2023 public tour

 

Additional information on James Tissot:

Watercolor of The Magi Journeying in the Brooklyn Museum.

Article: Contrasting Visions Of Painter James Tissot, The Secular And Sometime Mystical Realist

Tissot lecture notes_DH:

Tissot_Journey of the Magi

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)

Urban Poverty tour

Here is a tour developed by Terry Edam for a sociology class at the U of MN:

Tour University of Minnesota March 2

Per Terry:

The topic is Urban Poverty with an eye on how museums historically have reflected in their art–and served–a more dominant culture and what museums like MIA have been doing to address this more recently. It’s part of a larger conversation about urban planning and marginalization.

From the Professor:
My students have been interested in ways in which institutions have become more inclusive of their representations of art as well as outreach efforts to a wider range of audiences.
Theme:
Seeing Yourself at Mia*: Cultural Inclusion and Community Outreach. *Mia translates to “Mine” in many languages.

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

 

 

July 2023 Cross Currents Public Tour: Fresh Perspectives

This resource page will contain information to help prepare for a July 2023 Cross Currents assignment.

Cross Currents Flyer Template_July 2023 public tour

Theme of the tour: 

Fresh Perspectives on Art: Reflect on evolving museum practices as we reimagine what art is and view artworks paired in unexpected ways.

Gallery 230 (Rotunda)

Thematic connection:

In the past, the Rotunda showcased the Classical sculpture of ancient Greece and Rome, giving prominence to the Eurocentric view of art history, where Classical sculpture is seen as one of the high points of (predominantly male) artists’ achievements. Now, the Rotunda is showcasing new accessions to Mia’s collection, better reflecting the diversity in the museum’s collection and the current curatorial approach to collecting and displaying work from artists (women and BIPOC) who historically have not had representation in these gallery spaces.

Artworks, see accession proposals for artworks on display:

Spring 2023 Rotunda Rotation Guide Proposals

Visitors might be interested in learning more about some of the other new gallery reinstallations or approaches.  You can send them to check out the Americas galleries, to explore the contemporary work on display:

How to Shift Museum Space to Native Place

For Shiva and Parvati with Companions:

Mia blog post

Visit the colorful and vibrant South and Southeast Asian galleries:

With New Light: Mia’s Reinstalled Himalayan, South, and Southeast Asian Art Galleries

as well as Pujan’s training with us (search Pujan Gandhi to find the recording)

For the Chief’s Blanket: Navajo Chief’s Blankets: Three Phases

and Navajo Weaving Methods

For Lamar Peterson, a great article: Lamar Peterson: A Self-Portrait

From Kate Christianson, a gallery with good info on Navajo weaving: Donald Ellis Gallery

 

Gallery 255

Thematic connection:

Gallery 255 is set up as a mini-exhibition, “Night Life,” which presents 20 artworks from across Africa that address the various ways nighttime was, and in some cases still is, perceived and experienced. With the sounds of African nightlife in the background, these artworks speak to the richness and vitality of life after the sun goes down.  Here the curator attempts to evoke a greater understanding of the context for the works by use of sound as well as a dark blue on the walls.

Note connections to some “fresh perspectives” on display in G250/254 (see articles below). For example, ancient Egypt art is included within the African galleries, reflecting a Curatorial approach to reconnect all aspects of African history. In the past, ancient Egyptian art was included within the ancient art galleries.

Articles about the African galleries re-design:

Inside the Minneapolis Institute of Art’s New, Improved African Art Galleries

Redesigned African Art Galleries To Open at MIA

Africa revisited: How the new galleries will change the way you see art museums

 

Gallery 318

Thematic connection:

Period rooms like our French salon used to be very static spaces, filled with decorative arts and furniture from that specific era of the room. With the Living Rooms Initiative, Mia sought to reinvigorate and reinterpret these spaces. Now the Salon is set up to reflect the use of the room, with a soundtrack and lighting scheme meant to better give a sense of its original context.

(Note: Bring a flashlight to this room to use, as it does become quite dark!)

Articles on the initiative:

Up All Night in the 1700s

Living Rooms: The Period Room Initiative

Mia’s Period Rooms

ArtStory on the Salon

Labels and panels:

Grand Salon labels and panels

Other notes:

Grand Salon_DH notes

 

Gallery 375

Thematic connection:

In this gallery, focus on the idea of “fresh perspectives” from artists, in the inventive use of traditional materials (e.g., Joe Overstreet’s canvases) and use of new materials, previously not seen in museum spaces (e.g., Harmony Hammond’s Chicken Lady). Also, in this gallery we have a focus on better representation of the diversity in modern art, with works by BIPOC and women artists prominently showcased.

Recording of training with Curator Bob Cozzolino:

Gallery 375 training 06.15.23

Bonus training G322 06.15.23

Black History Month resources

Here are some resources for Black History Month or for giving tours focused on African American/Black American artists:

Mia’s website compilation for Black History Month

 

African American artwork currently on view:

African American artist/works on view, February 2024

 

Walkthrough with Mia Guide Jean Ann Durades (to come)

 

Tour Outlines

(If you care to share tour outlines. please email to Kara or Debbi, to include here.)

Rebecca Haddad_Celebration of African America Art History