Docent in Training - Our Mentors

Hello again,

This weeks meeting was really exciting as we met our mentors. Some of the active docents have given their time to help us become ready to guide interested parties through the museum. After meeting them the mentors gave us some object interpretations and believe me it was most interesting. As I mentioned last week I stepped on my own tongue during my object interpretation, so, it was great to see how it really should be done.

I will list three of them. I have not yet asked permission to use names in this blog so will not name who gave which presentation. If I did not use your example and you read this blog, my apologies, it was not your interpretation just my need to conserve space. The point of tonight's exercise was to show different ways to interpret objects on our tours.

First was a brief talk about the museum itself including the Henry Moore sculpture in the front of the museum.

Henry Moore Sculpture

 Here is a picture of the sculpture. It exhibits all of Moore's strong, solid artistic ability.

Alexander Calder Study

Inside of the museum is the Alexander Calder study that was considered but not used. A beautiful piece and in my opinion, it displays Calder's playfulness.






















When viewing the very large Remington work Dash for the Timber we were asked what sounds would we hear if it was possible to hear the painting. Answers were horses' hoofs, Indians yelling, guns firing, pans clattering. We were then asked to emulate these sounds as a group. Imagine the fun of a bunch of adults making loud sounds. This is a great way to get people to really look at an action painting.

Dash for the Timber - 1889 Frederic Remington

 Another way to have people look at art is to do a comparison between two objects. The works, of course, need to be close enough to each other for a comparison. The active docent doing this interpretation chose two excellent examples.

Attention Company! - 1878 William Harnett

Attention Company! is one of William Harnett's few portraits. He was a trompe l'loeil (fool the eye) painter and mostly painted still lifes. He was an Irish-American painter and was born in County Cork Ireland during the time of the potato famine.

Woman Standing - 1878-1879 Mary Cassatt

Mary Cassatt was an impressionist painter from Pennsylvania that was befriended by Edgar Degas upon moving to Paris, where she spent the rest of her life. She exhibited with other impressionist painters and is best known for her women and children works.

We were asked to compare the two works for differences in the subjects. Notice I said subjects because it is obvious they are painted in two different styles. Two of the answers were: the young man is gazing out intently at you where the woman seems to be unaware she is being observed. The young man is poor as shown by his clothes where the woman is one of privilege, again as shown by her clothes. This is just another way to get people to really look at the painting. Perhaps you can also see differences in the subjects.

Our next class is not until Jan 3, 2019, and will be on 20th-century photography.

Until then,

Caroline

Docent In Training - First Attempt at a Object Interpretation

Hello again,

I have a friend that uses the expression "Don't get tangled up in your own underwear". But that is exactly what I did during my first object interpretation. I became so involved with all of the facts about the artist I forgot the object. Georgia O'Keeffe was my artist and believe me there is enough written about her to give long talks on, but people can look all that up on their own. What they come to an art museum to experience is art, not some long-winded docent rolling out fact after fact about the artist.

Rancho Church

What I should have been talking about is above. What I talked mostly on is below. Georgia and Alfred.

I started with the question "would there have been a Georgia O'Keeffe without an Alfred Stieglitz." I would not have asked that question had the group been any other than my classmates. It was and is a good question but asked at the wrong time. I should have discussed the beautiful mission first before even talking about Georgia and Alfred. Lesson learned.

Others of our group did a much better job. I was impressed with their skill and really enjoyed the evening. Below are two of their choices for object interpretation.

Fall of the Cowboy - Frederick Remington 

Crossing the Pasture - Winslow Homer

Next week we are assigned our mentors. Cannot wait.

Vaya con Dios,

Caroline

Docent in Training - Introduction to Photography

Steamfitter 1921 - Lewis Hine (1874-1940)

 Hello,

You should be able to guess what this weeks class was about by the photograph above. You got it: photography or rather an introduction to the history of photography. In an era where anyone that has a smart phone and snaps pictures right and left; it is easy to forget that true photography exists. But it does and the Amon Carter Museum of American Art (ACMAA) has one of the most important collections of this medium to be had. Below is from the museums web page.

The Amon Carter houses over 45,000 photographic prints, making the museum one of the country’s major repositories of American photography. The holdings span the history of the photographic medium, from one of the earliest daguerreotypes made in this country to inkjet prints being made today. Because of the fragile nature of photographs, the works on view change frequently and may not include images featured on the website.

If you are not close enough to the ACMAA to visit here is a link to some of the collection. http://www.cartermuseum.org/collection/photographs. No, they do not have all 45,000 prints on the web page and of course you will not be able to see all of the collection, but there will be something on view as mentioned above.

Photograph means writing with light from the early Greek. It has also been called by some painting with light. Either is an apt description of photography because light and a means to record it are essential. If you are interested in the history of photography please visit this web page http://www.photo-museum.org/photography-history/

Now the ACMAA would not have such an extensive selection of photography if in the early 20th century a group led by Alfred Stieglitz had not created the Photo-Secession group. They believed that photography can be an art form and I among many, many others totally agree. A beautiful silver gelatin print such as the one above and the two below can take my breath away.

The one of Georgia O'Keefe was taken by her husband Alfred Stieglitz and the ballet slippers was taken and printed by my husband Dave Laskowski. The ballet slippers are not part of the Amon Carter collection.  I urge you to look at photography as the beautiful art form it is.

The last part of the class had to do with how to engage visitors to the museum while giving a tour. It was fun. Next week we will go behind the scenes with the photography curator. A class I am very much looking forward to.

Will let you know how it goes,

Caroline

Docent in Training - Monday Morning With a Wonderful Teacher

Hello,

We did not have a class last Thursday but were rewarded with an invite to participate with the active docents in a class today, Monday. The teacher was Dr. Laura Evans from North Texas University. Our class was about the fundamentals of art, elements and principles, what any artist professional or amateur needs to know. It does not matter if the creation is 2-D or 3-D or the style, the basics have to exist for the piece to work. A docent in an art museum can use the knowledge of these fundamentals to help guests really look at the art pieces. It is a thin line when using them as one does not want to have people's eyes roll back in their head from too much information at one time.

I cannot possibly write for you all that Dr. Evans has taken years to learn and the small part of her knowledge she taught us, but I can offer you a piece of art and ask you to analyse it using the list of elements and principles. Give it a go, it will be fun and who knows, you may learn a thing or two.

Wrapped Oranges - 1889 William J. McCloskey

For more information on McCloskey visit this website https://www.bowers.org/index.php/collection/collection-blog/william-j-mccloskey

This painting is another wonderful piece in the Amon Carter Museum's collection http://www.cartermuseum.org/collection. Let's look at it using the fundamentals of art.

 The Six Elements of Art:

Line - a line is a mark with a greater length than width. It can be curved or straight; horizontal or vertical or diagonal; thick or thin.
Shape - a closed line.
Form - a three dimensional shape expressing length, width, and depth.
Space - is the area between and around objects.
Color - a light reflected off of objects.
Texture - The surface quality that ca be seen and felt.

The elements of art are the building blocks used by artists to create a work of art. The principles of design describe the ways that artists use the elements of art in a work of art.

The Nine Principles of Design:

Balance - the distribution of the visual weight of objects, colors, texture, and space.
Emphasis - the part of the design that catches the viewers attention.
Movement - the path the viewer's eye takes through the work of art, often to focal areas.
Pattern - the repeating of an object or symbol all over the work of art.
Repetition - works with pattern to make the work of art seem active.
Proportion - the feeling of unity created when all parts relate well with each other.
Rhythm - is created when one or more elements of design are used repeatedly to create a feeling of organized movement.
Variety - is the use of several elements of design to hold the viewer's attention and to guide the viewer's eye through and around the work of art.
Unity - the feeling of harmony between all parts of the work of art, which creates a sense of completeness.

See how many elements and principles you can locate in Wrapped Oranges. This is not a test and I cannot see what you come up with unless you wish to comment.

Thursday the 1st of November we have regular class. I will let you know how it goes.

Until then,
Caroline

Docent in Training - Second Evening With a Curator

Happy Rainy Friday the 19th of October,

Last nights class was as excellent as I expected. Curator Maggie Adler contains a wealth of information, but alas, she is also a very busy woman so I did not get to ask her a couple of questions about how a curator goes about their business. Maybe as the months roll by I will get a chance to speak with her one-on-one. Texas Christian University was also having guided tour classes last night and our docent instructor Nancy Strickland was able to attend them. Hope to find out more when we next meet in a couple of weeks.

In the meantime on to what you are reading this blog for. Sharing a few of the art and artists in the ACMAA (Amon Carter Museum of American Art) http://www.cartermuseum.org/collection that was discussed last night.

 William Merritt Chase 1849-1916) was a virtuoso artist and teacher experimenting in various mediums. The oil painting Idle Hours depicts Long Island's rural eastern tip. It shows Chase's wife, with two of his daughters and possibly his sister-in-law. Many Americans were craving a getting back to nature, not unlike today, and artists such as Chase painted just that.

Idle Hours - 1894

Docent in Training First Class

Hello!

Welcome to my adventures as a volunteer or keeping a senior out of trouble.

I have been accepted to be a docent (teacher, tour guide) at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Ft Worth, Texas. This blog will be the journey it takes to achieve this wonderful opportunity. This is the first week of several months of study at the museum. As a class we had to introduce each other as if we were art works. Interesting to say the least.

My mind is in overtime with all I have to read and retain. The Amon Carter Museum has been in existence since 1961 which makes it young in the museum world; however it is a museum well endowed and has been under excellent leadership. This has allowed it to grow and expand from the western art collection, notably works by Frederic Remington and Charles Russell, given by Amon G. Carter to start a museum for the people of Tarrant County, Texas.




Charles Russell

Frederic Remington

Today spouse and I attended a themed tour at the museum of the exhibition "In Our Own Words": Native Impressions by artists Daniel Heyman and Lucy Ganje. Also included in the tour was the exhibit The Theatrical Wild West about William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody. The native impressions is both very sad and yet hopeful. Mr. Heyman and MS. Ganje interviewed several Native Americans in North Dakota and created works of art based on what they heard. The most interesting part of Buffalo Bill is the fact that he was able to keep the show running for 30 years and had hundreds of people working for him, including Sitting Bull, Wild Bill Hickok, and Annie Oakley. Not to mention the hundreds of animals. Imagine the logistics that went into transporting all of them.



In Our Own Words



The Theatrical Wild West

There will be much, much more on this adventure and, if accepted, my adventure in becoming a master gardener certified by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. Have to wait to see if I am accepted into that program. Why did I wait until age 77 to start all this? Well the business of life took up the first 76 and if not now it will never happen.

As Roy used to say,
Happy Trails

Caroline