School’s OUT for Students, IN for Teachers

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Rosemary

You may think of summer time as vacation, but for many teachers, it’s time to go back to school! Educators not only take advantage of summer continuing education offerings to get a head start on required hours for the coming school year, but also get inspiration for new projects and learn new things that they can apply in the classroom. This is why many teachers choose to spend their very first days of summer vacation at the McNay’s Summer Teacher Institute.

This year’s theme is Every Object Tells a Story. From June 11 though 13, educators experience three days of storytelling, art making, and careful visual investigation of works in the museum’s permanent collection. The first day of the Institute, led by Paul Bolin, PhD, The University of Texas at Austin, focuses on the personal stories tied to objects that we own. Think about the works of art that really speak to you. Have you ever considered why you feel a connection to them?

Over the course of three days, educators have the opportunity to tell their own stories and create new ones with the help of some of San Antonio’s most talented artists, performers, and writers. On the second day, this includes photographer Sarah Sudhoff. She recently completed an artist residency at Artpace and had her work featured in the McNay’s series Artists Looking at Art last year.

Also that day, educators see a dance performance by SpareWorks.dance and hear from Artistic Director and choreographer Amber Ortega-Perez. Her new work, Man-made Man, was commissioned by the McNay and inspired by the sculpture exhibition, The Human Face and Form.

On the last day, poet and art educator Jim LaVilla-Havelin leads the teachers in making written responses to artwork. Jim is the outgoing director of the Young Artist Programs at the Southwest School of Art and his poetry has appeared in many publications.

The other guest artist for the day is sculptor Adriana Corral, a recent graduate of the MFA program at The University of Texas at Austin.

Here’s how to register: Teachers earn 18 hours of continuing professional education credit for attending all three days. Fee includes a box lunch on Thursday and museum admission all three days. McNay members $65; nonmembers $75. Two or more teachers from the same school receive a discount, ask when you register at education@mcnayart.org or call 210.805.1768. Registration ends June 7.

Works of Art with Infinite Possibilities

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Jackie

Do you remember looking at the clouds as a child with friends, picking out the ones that looked like animals or castles or faces? Wasn’t it surprising when your friends saw something completely different than you did in those clouds? That’s a similar experience to viewing and talking about art with a group—everyone is bound to see or feel something different in the same object. This phenomenon is especially relevant when faced with one of John Fraser’s works of art. While seemingly simple upon first glance, these minimalist works often inspire drastically different interpretations from one viewer to the next.

John Fraser, “Composition of Rectangles,” 2004-05. Graphite, acrylic, and collage on paper. Collection of the McNay Art Museum, Museum purchase with the Alvin Whitley Estate.

The McNay currently counts ten works by this artist in its permanent collection, ranging from sculpture, to drawings, prints, and collage. Not by accident, Fraser’s representation in the permanent collection in a wide variety of mediums reflects the artist’s broader preference for varied methods and forms in his art making.

On May 23, the McNay presents a rare opportunity for the public to listen to and engage with Fraser as a part of the museum’s Contemporary Crash Course series. As his works do not necessarily speak for themselves, come hear what the artist has to say about them! Stop by the museum before the talk to take a look at Fraser’s simplicity and elegance of design in his sculpture Marker (2001).

John Fraser, “Marker,” 2001. Acrylic and wax on wood. Collection of the McNay Art Museum, Museum purchase with funds from the McNay Contemporary Collectors Forum.

In the words of the artist, “my objective continues to be offering to the prospective viewer an object worthy of study and reflection, to make something that can arrest time and to offer a place for contemplation.” What do you see in these works of art?

To hear more from John Fraser on his process, work, and where he fits in within the contemporary art world, come to the McNay for his free presentation on Thursday, May 23 at 6:30 pm. Better yet, bring a friend and compare notes—you may be surprised at how differently you see Fraser’s art!

From sculpture to dance

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Celeste

Not too long ago we shared a few highlights from our current exhibition The Human Face and Form, a beautiful skylit presentation of our sculpture with themes on the human body.

Our former Tobin Fund Intern in Theatre Arts, Kat Bell, is a dancer and naturally loved the exhibition and it’s groupings, particularly the sculptures “in motion.” Our Education Department saw the link too, and commissioned SpareWorks.dance to choreograph a piece inspired by the works of art.

Their Exhibition Performance, entitled Man-made Man, is scheduled for Sunday, May 19, at 2:00 pm. Check out their rehearsal in our Leeper Auditorium!

Backstage at the McNay with “Spring Awakening”

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Rosemary

Last Thursday evening, the McNay hosted director, creative team, and cast of the new rock musical Spring Awakening as a part of the museum’s series, Backstage at the McNay. The creation of Jody Blake, Curator, Tobin Theatre Arts Collection, this series provides behind-the-scenes looks at upcoming local productions. As a new staff member and someone new to the city, I was excited to get this insight into San Antonio’s theatre community.

Spring Awakening, which addresses a range of issues, from growing up to different types of abuse encountered by children, may not seem the typical subject matter for a rock musical. The original play, The Awakening of Spring: A Tragedy of Childhood, set in 1891 Germany was written by Frank Wedekind over a hundred years ago. In 2006, pop singer Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater wrote music and lyrics to what they saw as a story that would resonate with a contemporary audience. In light of the recent discovery of three women held captive and abused over a decade in Cleveland this week, the production seems especially timely.

During Backstage at the McNay, director Shannon Ivey discussed her personal connection to the content of the show; she volunteers with Child Advocates of San Antonio (CASA). Throughout the production, there is a continual effort to connect the themes of the play with real life stories of abuse. This happens in the staging of the musical (pantomimed recreations of rape accounts, for instance) and in projected photos of victims onto the set with descriptive captions.

Shannon Ivey discusses her approach to directing “Spring Awakening.”

After hearing from the other members of the creative team during Backstage, including Media Designer David Legore, Set and Lighting Designer Terry Price, and Costume Designer Jodi Karjala, it was clear that there was a unified effort to incorporate media into the production in exciting ways. (Several of the speakers are faculty at Texas Lutheran University, where the traditional dramatic arts is intentionally combined with new media.) Feeling strongly that the show holds important messages for youth, the team made an effort to “speak their language.“ One of the most innovative aspects of the productions is the inclusion of an on-stage VJ who creates live visualizations of the music being performed.

Set & Lighting Designer Terry Price talks about the three different zones created for the set of “Spring Awakening.”

Costume Designer Jodi Karjala describes the thought process behind the play’s period costumes.

Costume Designer Jodi Karjala describes the thought process behind the musical’s period costumes.

The real treat of the evening was a performance by the full cast of Spring Awakening, in full costume. They performed The Song of Purple Summer and The Dark I Know Well with staging and projections.

Cast of Spring Awakening performs one of the seminal numbers of the music, "Purple Summer."

Cast of Spring Awakening performs one of the seminal numbers of the music, “The Song of Purple Summer.”

A play with so much content and many levels of artistic decisions deserves a program like Backstage at the McNay, where the public can hear firsthand from the artists about their process. So many of these choices are not apparent to an audience member seeing the show for the first time. I know I really appreciate having this peek behind the curtain. Spring Awakening opens at The Playhouse on Friday, May 17, and runs through June 9.

Find out more with a Spring Awakening Study Guide prepared by The Playhouse staff, Christina Casella and Judith York. And stay tuned for information on our next Backstage at the McNay.

Reading on…Art and World War II

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Craig

Robert Edsel’s free lecture and book signing on May 16 is fast approaching! His latest book Saving Italy: The Race to Rescue a Nation’s Treasures from the Nazis (Norton, 2013) is the most recent to find a home in the McNay Library. As we gear up to meet him and hear what he’s got to say, we decided to a look at his last few publications and related titles in the library.

His previous book The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History (Center Street, 2009) focused more on France, Germany, and Austria and is the subject of a new film produced by George Clooney and Grant Heslov.

While each of these books is accompanied by historical photographs and maps, Edsel’s Rescuing Da Vinci: Hitler and the Nazis Stole Europe’s Great Art - America and Her Allies Recovered It (Laurel Publishing, 2006) is a treasure trove of photographs—some 300 pages worth, accompanied by exceptionally detailed captions.

Edsel did not write the next book on our list, but he co-produced the award-winning documentary film based on The Rape of Europa: The Fate of Europe’s Treasures in the Third Reich and the Second World War (Vintage, 1995). My, how long subtitles can affect the length and flow of a sentence! They do add essential information, though. Lynn H. Nicholas is the author of this National Book Critics Circle Award title.

Two additional titles in the McNay Library are also succinctly described by their subtitles. The Lost Museum: The Nazi Conspiracy to Steal the World’s Greatest Works of Art (Basic Books, 1997) is the well-documented book by Hector Feliciano. The Lost Museum includes chapters describing the Rothschild, Paul Rosenberg Gallery, Bernheim-Jeune, David David-Weill, and Schloss collections and their fates at the hands of the Nazis.

Similarly well-documented and subtitled is Ilaria Dagnini Brey’s book The Venus Fixers: The Remarkable Story of the Allied Soldiers Who Saved Italy’s Art During World War II (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2009).

The preceding books all appeal to general audiences intrigued by their related subjects. Two final volumes in the McNay Library were conceived for specialists but are generously illustrated and provide additional depth for anyone fascinated by the foregoing titles. The Spoils of War: World War II and Its Aftermath: The Loss, Reappearance, and Recovery of Cultural Property documents the Bard Graduate Center’s symposium of the same title. Its dozens of brief chapters were edited by Elizabeth Simpson and published by Harry N. Abrams in association with the Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts (1997). You know subtitles are hot when even the subtitles have subtitles!

Finally, Treasures Untraced: An Inventory of the Italian Art Treasures Lost During the Second World War is a copiously (but not comprehensively) illustrated catalogue of paintings, sculpture, furniture, musical instruments, and other missing objects from Italian museums, churches, public institutions and private collections (Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca Dello Stato, 1995).

The McNay Library is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 10:00 am to 3:45 pm; Thursdays from 10:00 am to 4:45 pm (until 7:45 on select H-E-B Thursday Nights); and from noon to 4:45 pm on select AT&T First Sundays. Come and see us! Or, if I could make this into a book title: Looking Forward to Seeing You: The Story of the McNay Art Museum Library and Its Treasured Patrons.

And if you’re interested in purchasing Saving Italy before Edsel’s lecture and book signing, stop by the Museum Store for your copy!

Sometimes you forget

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Celeste

When you work in a museum, particularly one as beautiful on the inside and out as the McNay, you hear the same thing all the time: “Oh, it must be so wonderful to be surrounded by all that art!” or “Oh, it must be so great to take advantage of those fabulous grounds!”

Unfortunately our offices are neither in the galleries where the art is displayed, nor are our desks situated along the patio or koy pond. However, there is one thing everyone’s got right, and that is, it’s all within a few steps reach. When you’re focused on this or that you forget that you’re sitting a few rooms away from Alexander Calder or Pablo Picasso.

With that in mind, before an exhibition closes I try to remind myself to get up and walk around, to take one last look before it all gets reshuffled. And coming down this Sunday is Printed in San Antonio, an exhibition celebrating our great city as having one of the longest printmaking traditions in the state of Texas with works from our collection.

Ranging from the early 1900s through to today’s local artists, I decided to share a few of my favorites, though they’re really all my favorites…(excuse the cell phone shots)

Mary Bonner, “Les Cowboys,” 1925. Etching with hand-coloring.

Kristi Hager, Untitled from “Birdbath,” 1990-96. Etching.

Leslie Koptchi, “Falling Into,” 1992. Etching. This is a must-see in person.

Nate Cassie, Two sheets from “Flora,” 2005. Woodcut.

Other fantastic artists in the show include Janet Flohr, Jon Lee, Dennis Olsen, Bill Reily, Reginald Rowe, Kent Rush, Ethel Shipton, Kiki Smith, and Vincent Valdez.

And just as it’s easy for me to meander upstairs or across the museum to look at these special prints, it’s easy for you to hop in the car and come take a look in person. Don’t forget the McNay’s just around the corner and don’t miss this exhibitions’ final days.

Spotlight on Spotlight!

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Rosemary

A couple years ago our education department decided to Spotlight a work of art in the McNay’s collection. And not just any Spotlight, but literally a year-long salute.

For 2012-2013, we asked teachers and students from classrooms all over the city to take a look at, Ben Shahn’s Sing Sorrow. We challenged students to find cross-curricular connections between the painting and what they were learning in the classroom, and to develop and submit creative responses inspired by themes and subjects in the painting.

Director of Education at the McNay Kate Carey leads a family gallery talk in the “Real/Surreal” exhibition

Why Ben Shahn’s Sing Sorrow? Ben Shahn was a leading American painter in the Social Realist movement, and he addressed the extraordinary events in lives of ordinary people during the Depression Era (1930–1940). Shahn was a photographer, draftsman, illustrator, designer, writer, and teacher. A special quality of his work was his refusal to preach; he told a story, drew the picture, but left the conclusions to others. In Sing Sorrow there’s a lot to take note of, the turbulent sky, telephone wires, railroad signal, and a man in anguish holding a guitar. In 1946, Shahn and his family drove to Trenton, New Jersey, to see Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s funeral train pass through town. Shahn was inspired to paint Sing Sorrow when he saw someone with a banjo weeping as the train passed by.

As you can imagine, there’s a lot of historical, musical, and visual elements in the painting to inspire students to think and respond. And at the end of the school year (yep, right now) we had a Spotlight Celebration, bringing together Spotlight participants to present their creative submissions. Take a look at how it all went and stay tuned for the next McNay work to be chosen for Spotlight 2013-2014!

Choir students from Specht Elementary ready for their performance in the Chiego Lecture Hall

Specht Elementary Student mimics the posture of the guitarist in Ben Shahn’s Sing Sorrow

Specht Elementary Student mimics the posture of the guitarist in “Sing Sorrow”

Specht Elementary Student Singing “Bridge Over Troubled Water”

Specht Elementary student with her version of Ben Shahn’s Sing Sorrow

Specht Elementary student with her version of “Sing Sorrow”

Alamo Heights Junior School students discuss their installation based on Ben Shahn’s Sing Sorrow

Alamo Heights Junior School students discuss their installation based on “Sing Sorrow”

Art teacher Casey Fallis with Alamo Heights Junior School students in front of their installation. The students wanted visitors to experience the movement and sound

Art teacher Casey Fallis with Alamo Heights Junior School students in front of their installation, which allowed visitors to experience the movement and sound of “Sing Sorrow”

North East School of the Arts students under the direction of Creative Writing Teacher Amy Stengel perform original poetry inspired by Ben Shahn’s Sing Sorrow

North East School of the Arts students under the direction of Creative Writing Teacher Amy Stengel perform original poetry inspired by “Sing Sorrow”

Proud parents congratulate their daughter, one of the poetry performers from North East School of the Arts

Students from Holy Cross High School perform original poetry

Hector Garza, art history educator at Holy Cross High School, addresses the crowd following his students’ performance

Artie is in da House!

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Daniela

We have a new member in the McNay family, drum roll, please…..it’s Artie! Who is Artie, you ask? We’re not sure, but we love him. He just showed up one day and decided his mission was to show the world how incredible the McNay is. We liked the idea and made him our Member in Residence.

This is his first week here and he already has a full schedule with Backstage at the McNay: Staging the Rock Musical Spring Awakening this Thursday; and he already got his ticket for this Friday’s Spring Party Margaritaville at the McNay. Get your tickets too so you can meet him!

Just this morning we caught him reading Impressions cover to cover and getting excited about everything that we have planned this summer at the museum. So stay tuned, because you will be seeing a lot more of him. Follow him on Instagram at mcnayart to capture his museum adventures.

TAM thinks we’re cool!

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Daniela

And they gave us an award to prove it! We don’t usually brag, but a few weeks ago we got an email from Ruth Ann Rugg, executive director of the Texas Association of Museums:

Congratulations, the McNay Art Museum has won two awards in the 2013 TAM Wilder Design Awards Competition!

Make that three, actually, because our exhibition catalogue for Andy Warhol: Fame and Misfortune was named Judge’s Favorite. We were already in love the show, presented by Rene Paul Barilleaux, the McNay’s Chief Curator/Curator of Art after 1945. But it being Judge’s Favorite is the cherry on top.

We are honored to receive a 2013 Gold Citation Award for excellence in publication and media design in the Books and Catalogues category for Andy Warhol: Fame and Misfortune, an 80-page catalogue designed by Marquand Books with an introduction by Barilleaux.

Gold_Warhol

In the book, art historian Justin Spring examines the exhibition’s dual themes as depicted in the works selected for this overview, and places the themes within the larger context of the artist’s life and career. Spring also focuses on Warhol’s recycling of favorite sources and familiar subjects, constantly reinventing pictures over his lifetime.

Warhol Catalogue

The catalogue includes reproductions of all paintings and sculpture in the exhibition plus a small sampling of key Warhol drawings, prints, and photographs, as well as source photographs for iconic early works and portraits of the artist.

Watch the video for the exhibition here!

A most recent exhibition, Estampas de la Raza: Contemporary Prints from the Romo Collection, presented by Lyle W. Williams, the McNay’s Curator of Prints and Drawings, was also part of the accolades. Its video, created by Adorable Creative in Houston, received a 2013 Silver Citation Award for excellence in publication and media design in the Non-Print Media category.

The video features a candid account of San Antonio collectors Harriett and Ricardo Romo’s passion for prints by Latino and Chicano artists. It also shows the process of creating a screenprint, taking the viewer to the artist studio for a step-by-step look into this specific printmaking technique.

Check out the award-winning exhibition video here!

The catalogue for this exhibition was also named one of the best coffee table books of 2012 by the Austin American-Statesman.

We thank TAM for this splendid recognition, it only inspires us to keep producing unique and quality publications and videos! Come see the books in the McNay Library or you can still purchase them in the Museum Store!

Frozen or on the Rocks?

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Daniela

Lately we have been daydreaming about May 10, when we will be wearing cool linen outfits, sipping margaritas, enjoying music, getting a hand-rolled cigar, and munching on delicious Latin-inspired food…and no, we are not going on vacation. This is all going to happen right here in the museum at our 2013 Spring Party, Margaritaville at the McNay!

From 7pm to midnight, the McNay is getting a Key West makeover for a party to remember. The Spring Party Steering Committee, chaired by the amazing Heather & Jeff de Rojas, are hard at work to ensure everything about this party makes guests feel like they are on vacation. By the way, a lucky person is actually going to win a vacation for two to Key West, Florida! Just click here to purchase one of our Margaritaville trip raffle tickets. I’d hurry because only 250 tickets will be sold.

Ok, so back to the party, tickets are $85 in advance or $100 at the door, so don’t wait until the last minute to buy them. The food by True Flavors catering features tacos, empanadas, churros and more.

And what better way to water it all down than with a full bar featuring Los Azulejos Tequila tasting, Land Shark beer, and frozen and on the rocks margaritas. You won’t be able to keep your feet on the ground with music by the UTSA Steel Drum Band, Joe Calvert Texas Tide, and other island inspired music playing in our courtyard. More details include a fun photo booth and a hand rolled cigars for you to enjoy or take home.

And when you sleep in on Saturday after all the fun you have Friday, you’ll have breakfast ready to go with a box of take home macarons, graciously donated by Bakery Lorraine.

Not only are you guaranteed to have a blast, but you might also go home with a gift for yourself or a loved one. Our silent auction is sizzling hot and packed with items that ensure a bidding war between party guests and yourself with items that include art, jewelry, golf, dining, and family entertainment.

Lastly, we really do want to thank our chairs, Steering Committee, and sponsors not only for making this event happen, but for making it so incredible. Our main Key West Sponsor is CW Floors; Paradise Sponsor is Silver Eagle Distributors; Land Shark Sponsors are Sarah Harte & John Gutzler, Sherry Braslau Jacobson, Neiman Marcus, JoAnna & Vince Martinez, Mary Nelson, Traci Nix, PlainsCapital Bank, White Pearl Medical Spa, Zachry Holdings, Inc.; Valet Parking Sponsor is BMW of San Antonio; and finally we give special thanks to Los Azulejos Tequila, Bakery Lorraine, San Antonio Current, Great Events & Rentals, Hyatt Regency San Antonio & Grand Hyatt San Antonio, and Southwest Airlines.