Seldom Scene: 160 Guises

On Sunday we will open Cindy Sherman, serving as the final stop for this nationally touring exhibition featuring the work from Cindy Sherman from the 1970s to the present. For the past couple of weeks we have been installing the more than 160 photographs, ranging in size from 9.5 by 7.56 inches to over 6 by 11 feet, not to mention photographic mural standing at 14 feet. Visit through June 9 the different guises of this significant contemporary artist, who is arguably the most influential one working with photography — and check out our special programming for it here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There’s No Place Like Home…Or a Museum That’s Open Until Midnight

Next week is Spring Break and we are offering a lot for families and visitors of all ages to do at the DMA.

We will kick-off the week with our WFAA Family First Day on Saturday, March 9. Then, throughout the week you can explore our galleries with self-guided tours, stop by the Art Cart, compete in games with your family, and more!

Stop by our new Art Cart in the Museum galleries.

And to end the weeklong celebration, we invite you to join us for our annual Spring Break Block Party on Friday, March 15. We will be open until midnight for our Late Night event, as will our neighbors in the Arts District: the Crow Collection of Asian Art, the Klyde Warren Park, and the Nasher Sculpture Center.

Each year we program the March Late Night around a fun family theme, from Where the Wild Things Are to Alice in Wonderland and the world of Dr. Seuss. This year, staff debated between Mary Poppins and The Wizard of Oz, and after some nostalgic discussions and fun brainstorming meetings, we decided to go over the rainbow and follow the yellow brick road to the wonderful world of Oz.

Don’t miss the “Prince of Pop-Ups,” Robert Sabuda, who will discuss his major feats of paper engineering, including his pop-up book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Families can explore the galleries with our Journey Through Oz Family Adventure to find courage, a heart, a brain, and a home. And if you stay late, you can take a tour that looks at the lions, tigers, and bears (oh my!) in our collection.

Sword ornament in the form of a lion, Ghana, Nsuta State, Asante peoples, c. mid-20th century, cast gold and felt, Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc.

As for films, we decided we didn’t want to show the original Wizard of Oz but instead screen some interesting takes on the classic. So throughout the night you can watch Tom and Jerry’s take on the film as well as The Muppet’s version. And for adults we will screen the cult classic Return to Oz.

Don’t forget to bring your camera so you can take a photo with your friends and family in front of our Emerald City backdrop, accompanied by cardboard cut-out characters from The Wizard of Oz. Glinda the Good Witch is living in my office until the big day!

And if you are a DMA Friend, come to Late Night dressed as your favorite Wizard of Oz character to earn the Midnight Masquerade Badge and 450 points! Not a DMA Friend? Be sure to sign up at the kiosks near the Visitor Services Desks when you arrive.

Stacey Lizotte is the Head of Adult Programming and Multimedia Services at the DMA.

Countdown to DMA Friends & Partners on January 21

We have been preparing for months for the launch of DMA Friends & Partners and our return to free general admission. The DMA Friend kiosks are in place, the badges have been uploaded, and we are ready to welcome everyone to the DMA on Monday, January 21.

Join us on this very special day. Explore the Museum and start earning credit as you enjoy performances in the galleries, tours, art making, and more! Download the full schedule of activities here and check out a few shots of the installation process below.

 

Feasting: From Ancient Mexico to Our Kitchens

On Thursday, November 15, cookbook author Diana Kennedy, often called the Julia Child of Mexico, will be here to discuss her cookbook Oaxaca al Gusto: An Infinite Gastronomy, as well as the feasting traditions of ancient Mexico.

Oaxaca al Gusto: An Infinite Gastronomy is equal parts historic document and kitchen guide, focusing on the traditional cuisine of the Oaxaca region of Mexico. In preparation for this event, the DMA’s programming team decided to try some recipes from the book to see what they were like (and to test their kitchen skills).

Stacey Lizotte, Head of Adult Programming and Multimedia Services:

I decided to make Clavaria Mushrooms in Mole (Mole de hongos de curenito de venado) because I have always wanted to learn how to make a mole sauce. This recipe called for a few ingredients that I could not find in the four different grocery stores that I went to. I replaced the main ingredient, clavaria mushrooms, with a mix of regular button mushrooms and oyster mushrooms. I also could not find dried costeños chiles and instead went with dried gaujillo chiles.

Ingredients for Clavaria Mushrooms in Mole (Mole de hongos de curenito de venado)

First you make a paste of the mushrooms and then add them to a pureed tomato, chile, garlic, onion, and spice mixture before frying in a skillet with lard over high heat. You then mix with masa to thicken the sauce. Traditionally, this dish is just served with corn tortillas.

Mushroom paste

I found the mole to be on the mild side and would serve it with a meat next time, either chicken or beef, in addition to the tortillas.

Things I learned: You can toast the chiles on an electric stove top burner if you don’t have a comal as recommended in the book. And, you will need a very large skillet for the last step, as this recipe makes a lot of mole.

Roasting chiles on electric stove

Clavaria Mushrooms in Mole (Mole de hongos de curenito de venado)

Liz Menz, Manager of Adult Programming:

I am without question the least experienced cook of our team, so I chose to make a simpler recipe, Red Chickpea Soup (Molito de garbanzo rojo). After a pep talk from a few of my more kitchen-savvy friends and a deep breath, I gathered my ingredients and went to work. I did make one small change to the recipe and replaced the lard with Crisco to make it vegetarian friendly.

Ingredients for Red Chickpea Soup (Molito de garbanzo rojo)

After whisking the chickpea powder/flour into water to get a smooth consistency, I turned to my blender to puree the onion, garlic, and tomatoes.

Tomato, onion, and garlic in blender to puree

I added the chickpea mixture to boiling salted water and let it reduce for quite a while to get a thicker consistency for the soup. Meanwhile, the Crisco was melting in a larger skillet to fry and reduce the onion, garlic, and tomato puree. After the puree had reduced some, I added it to the pot with the chickpea base and whisked regularly as it reduced more. After letting it simmer for a while on low, the soup thickened up quite a bit.

Chickpea mixture and tomato puree reducing on stove

The soup was very tasty and, as I mwentioned to a co-worker afterwards, would also make a great base for veggies or meat for a heartier meal.

Things I learned: The puree mixture fries and reduces much quicker than I expected, whereas the soup reduced very slowly. Also, my Google app on my phone was just as important as my whisk–in fact, for this inexperienced cook, it was essential!

Red Chickpea Soup (Molito de garbanzo rojo)

Denise Helbing, Manager of Partner Programs:

I decided to finish off our departmental Oaxacan meal with dessert so I made Rice Pudding (Arroz con leche).

For this dish, you only need a few simple ingredients. The only “special” ingredient I didn’t already have was evaporated milk.

Ingredients for Rice Pudding (Arroz con leche)

You just cook the rice in a bit of water with the spices first, then add the two milks and lime and cook slowly for about thirty0 minutes, stirring regularly.

Cooking all the ingredients

The unique aspect of this pudding, compared to other rice puddings I have made or eaten, was the addition of the lime rind during the cooking process. It combined nicely with the cinnamon and allspice and gave the pudding a distinct flavor.

Removing lime rind from milk

This recipe did not call for any sugar or sweetener (like honey or agave), and to me, rice pudding, in a dessert form, needs to be a little bit sweet, so I must make a confession; I added some simple syrup to my pudding at the end of cooking.

I served it as suggested with a bit of lime zest and cream (half and half) on top. My husband said it reminded him of decadent, rich Fruit Loops. And he likes Fruit Loops, so that was a compliment!

Rice Pudding (Arroz con leche)

Feasting in Ancient Mexio is part of our programming for the special exhibition The Legacy of the Plumed Serpent in Ancient Mexico. The exhibition will be on view through Sunday, November 25.

Seldom Scene: Karla Black at the DMA

Scottish artist Karla Black will open her first solo project at a U.S. museum this Friday at the DMA. For Karla Black: Concentrations 55, the artist has created two sculptures for the DMA’s Hoffman Gallery and South Concourse. See images from the installation process below, and meet Black and see her work at our Late Night this Friday. She will discuss her exhibition at 7:00 p.m. in the Hoffman Gallery.

Red, White, and Blue

Some visitors to the DMA may have taken our self-guided tour Seeing Red, and loyal readers of our blog may remember a post we did back in December about works in our collection that are white. So while we have not focused on the color blue yet, we thought this would be a good day to share with you a few works in our collection that feature red, white, and blue.

Striped chevron bead, Drawn glass, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of The Dozier Foundation

Childe Hassam, Flags, Fifth Avenue, 1918, Watercolor, Dallas Museum of Art, Munger Fund, in memory of Mrs. George Aldredge

Anne Vallayer-Coster, Bouquet of Flowers in a Blue Porcelain Vase, 1776, Oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, Mrs. John B. O’Hara Fund and gift of Michael L. Rosenberg

Rufino Tamayo, El Hombre (Man), 1953, Vinyl with pigment on panel, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Art Association commission, Neiman-Marcus Company Exposition Funds [credit line published in 1997 DMA Guide to the Collections: Dallas Museum of Art, commissioned by the Dallas Art Association through Neiman-Marcus Exposition Funds]

Piet Mondrian, Composition with Large Blue Plane, Red, Black, Yellow, and Gray, 1921, Oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, gift of Mrs. James H. Clark

Yves Tanguy, Apparitions, 1927, Oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., in honor of Nancy O’Boyle

Jean Antoine Theodore Giroust, Oedipus at Colonus, 1788, Oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, Mrs. John B. O’Hara Fund

James Brooks, Quand, 1969, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of the Meadows Foundation Incorporated

Wassily Kandinsky, Boating (from Sounds), 1907-1911, 1913, Volume with thirty-eight prose poems and twelve color and forty-four black-and-white woodcuts, Dallas Museum of Art, Centennial gift of Natalie H. (Schatzie) and George T. Lee

Stacey Lizotte is the Head of Adult Programming and Multimedia Services.

Our Quest for a Player Piano

Our upcoming Late Night on Friday, April 20, will celebrate our exhibition Youth and Beauty: Art of the American Twenties. As we were planning for this event, we learned that Chilton Gallery I would be empty during this time, as staff prepares the space for a new installation, so we inquired about using it for one of our programs. Once we got the green light, we immediately thought: Speakeasy!

The Speakeasy will feature 1920s-inspired cocktails and live music, with an area where visitors can “cut a rug.” But we also wanted to have music playing in-between the live acts, and what speakeasy would be complete without a player piano!

We believed the easiest thing to do would be to rent one from a local piano company, but after placing a few calls we found that they didn’t have any “older-looking” player pianos, and even if they did, it would cost a lot of money to rent one for a night. We thought we were out of luck until one of the companies suggested that it would be cheaper if we just bought one online.

Surprisingly (to us at least), there were quite a few to choose from.

Welcome to Carrollton

After examining all of the listings for pianos for sale we picked our favorite four. We heard back from a couple who was selling a Rubenstein player piano that fit the feel of the 1920s. So we headed to Carrollton to take a look, make sure the player part did indeed work, and check out the instrument’s overall condition.

Checking out the inner workings of the piano.

A box of music rolls for the player piano.

Once we agreed to buy the piano we then had to work out transport to the Museum. After a few more calls, and the brief thought of moving it ourselves with a U-Haul, we ended up working with Piano Movers of Texas.

Bringing the piano into the Museum via our loading dock.

Two weeks after beginning our quest for a player piano we finally have one on-site, where it is waiting in our auditorium greenroom for its move next Friday to the Speakeasy.

Stop by during the Late Night and take a look at the newest addition to the DMA piano family, which also includes a 9-foot Steinway Concert Grand piano and a 6-foot Yamaha G Series Baby Grand white piano.

Stacey Lizotte is Head of Adult Programming and Multimedia Services.
Denise Helbing is Manager of Partner Programs.

Merry Museum Memories

HM and Marilyn Hailey at the member preview for All the Worlds a Stage

Marilyn Hailey has been a member of the Dallas Museum of Art and a Museum Store volunteer for more than twenty years. Last week, she stopped in to purchase a gift membership as a Christmas gift for a friend. I had the opportunity to sit down and ask her a few questions about why she loves the Museum.

Do you remember why you joined?

MH: A friend had a volunteer position with the Museum Store and was moving. She asked me to take over for her and I did.

If you could have one work of art from the Museum’s collections in your home, what would it be?

MH: Vase of White Lilacs and Roses by Édouard Manet.

What is your favorite activity at the DMA?

MH: I enjoy coming to the exhibition previews on the member days. I love the jazz on Thursday nights as well. I sometimes tell Wendell [Sneed, Jazz in the Atrium Program Coordinator] who to bring back.

What has been your favorite special exhibition?

MH: Splendors of China’s Forbidden City: The Glorious Reign of Emperor Qianlong. That Christmas, every gift I bought was from the Splendors of China’s Forbidden City gift shop. I love oriental art. My husband, HM, and I lived in Japan for a while when he was in the Air Force.

What is a typical day like for you?

MH: I get the newspaper and read the funnies, and then work on the computer crosswords. I spend too much time doing that. I’m in a lot of leagues in the city.