The Dream Team

I’m going to follow in Sandy’s footsteps and talk about a tour theme that I never got to do. For one, I could never think of a good enough title. It kept turning into “Pieces that have crazy backgrounds that no one knows about.” Pretty lame. Adrienne told me that I should call it “Past Lives”, and if it ever emerged, that’s what it would be.



Pablo Picasso, The Old Guitarist, 1903-04.

An icon of the Art Institute, and the highlight from Picasso’s Blue Period, this piece is a real crowd pleaser. With students, it’s great to talk about how color is important to the mood and meaning of a piece. But one of the most interesting parts about this painting is what’s behind it. X-Rays and ultraviolet photography show that Picasso used this canvas to paint two other pieces. You can even see a woman’s eyes in the paint above the guitarist’s head. There is also a visible seam where Picasso painted the canvas over the leaves of his kitchen table. Poor Picasso was so broke! No wonder he was blue.


Charles Ray, Hinoki, 2007
As Sandy said, the interns love Hinoki. I mean it’s a tree. In a museum. Carved from another tree. Love. It.


Egyptian Model Boat, c. 2046-1794 B.C.
I know I’ve used this before, but anything that has to do with death and mummification is a hit with any student. This boat was supposed to come to life with the person in the afterlife to guide them to safety. Using this piece also pays tribute to my favorite childhood movie, The Indian in the Cupboard. Things coming to life → always a good pick for a tour.



Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, At the Moulin Rouge, 1892 (right) and Equestrienne, 1887 (above).

I’ll admit it, I just really love Lautrec. The creepy faces, weird colors and all. Maya and I had a great discussion about these paintings on an adult tour. People can talk about them forever! The Moulin Rouge painting once had the green woman (presumably French dancer, May Milton) cut out because dealers didn’t think it would sell. All the figures have their backs turned to Milton because she was about to head off to America to become a big star. Lautrec even painted himself into the background! The Equestrienne painting was displayed on the wall of the Moulin Rouge as visitors walked in.


Ivan Albright, Picture of Dorian Gray, 1943-44
In the beginning of the Summer I hated this piece. So. Much. But now, I’ve grown to love it! This was painted for the 1946 movie of Oscar Wilde’s book, The Picture of Dorian Gray. Though the movie was filmed in all black and white, this portrait was the only part of the movie to be filmed in color. Creeeepy.


Felix Gonzalez Torres, "Untitled" (Portrait of Ross in L.A.) 1991
Who doesn’t love candy? Felix Gonzalez Torres created this portrait of his boyfriend, Ross, after he died from AIDS. The candy is set every morning at 175 lbs., Ross’s ideal weight. Throughout the day visitors are asked to take a piece of candy, causing the piece to shrink and loose weight. It shows Ross’s sweet and colorful nature, as well as the regeneration of life every morning. Plus the students get to pick out their own piece to eat! Incredible edible art.

So that's the dream tour. And hopefully one day someone can use it! This internship has been an incredible experience. I've never met a more encouraging, enthusiastic group of people, and I was actually excited about coming into work each morning. Annie from adult programs told us that we'll probably run into each other at CAA (College Art Association) conferences screaming and hugging. I can only imagine...

FANTASY TOUR: The Little Tour That Could

With our time at AIC coming to a quick close, it's fun to reflect on the tours that never were. David and I stuck pretty firmly to our Travel & Transformation Tour - alternating the order and pieces that we used and sharing research with one another, since after all it was such a solid tour theme. In addition to our Travel & Transformation tour, we also had to put together ABCs In Art Tours which included "Animals In Art", "Color, Line, and Shape", and "My Five Senses" for younger audiences which focus more on the experience of interacting with the artwork and aren't as strictly content based.


Either way, we've been keeping ourselves quite busy touring, exploring, and researching - so it doesn't quite surprise me that I didn't get the chance to put together my fantasy tour. BUT it is going to be up for grabs for future docents, so feel free to borrow it!!


And now for the tour: Fabulous Fibbers & Incredible Illusions


The idea for this tour came from my desire to design a tour in which I could utilize Adriean van der Spelt's/Frans van Mieris' Tromp-l'Oeil Still-Life with a Flower Garland and a Curtain - since I have a "thing" for Dutch Baroque still-life painting, being the first topic I researched as a freshman dabbling in the field of Art History. This painting is one of my absolute favorites in the collection, because of the attention to detail, particularly the surface qualities of the different textures, objects, and materials all expertly conveyed in oil paint!! I honestly feel as though I could reach my hand up and pull that curtain across to unveil what lays concealed.

Tromp-l'Oeil Still-Life with a Flower Garland and a Curtain
Adriean van der Spelt/Frans van Mieris (Dutch)
1658
Oil on Canvas (or is it...)

There's a fantastic story that is being referenced here - the ancient Greek myth of the rivalry between two painters Zeuxis and Parrhasius. The two rival painters were in competition with one another to see who could paint the most lifelike picture. Zeuxis painted an image of grapes so lifelike, that birds landed upon the painting to peck at the painted grapes.  Parrhasius then showed his image - a painting of closed curtains, so real that Zeuxis tried to pull them away to reveal the painting hidden behind the curtain. Parrhasius won the contest, astonishing Zeuxis, and creating the legend of illusion that inspires this very tour.

We're going to fast forward in time with the rest of our works to see how artists use illusion, tromp-l'oeil, and other tricks of the trade to depict things that could never quite exist in reality.

Time Transfixed
Rene Magritte (Belgian)
1938
Oil on Canvas

Magritte's realism and illusionism is super fun. I'm a big fan of having visitors say discuss what this painting means to them, based upon their own personal associations with the various objects and imagery. Plus his mirror that reflects/doesn't reflect is AWESOME!

Woman Descending the Staircase
Gerhard Richter
1965
Oil on Canvas

The illusion here lies in the discussion of what we're looking at. Is it a photograph? Is it a painting? Is it both? Questions like these really spur fantastic discussion, which is what these tours are all about!

Table with Pink Tablecloth
Richard Artschwager (American)
1964
Formica on Wood

I'm a gigantic fan of this work. Yeah, it's a cube. Yes, it's geometric and abstracted. BUT if you go ahead and take a closer look at it, you'll notice that the brown is actually the negative space beneath the table. It's fun to explore and discover the way in which the illusion transforms the way in which you think about the object.

Hinoki
Charles Ray (American)
2007
Cyprus Carving

And then there's Hinoki. What is it? How was it made? How did it get here? Why carve a tree out of a tree? This work was one of the summer hits for the 2010 Museum Education Interns. We LOVE Hinoki. Yes, it's a challenge to talk about, and yes it's a bit of a struggle trying to get the students to stay about 3 feet away, but the discussion is always so rewarding.

Being Not Truthful Always Works Against Me (Edition 1/10)
Stephan Sagmeister (Austrian) & Ralph Ammer (German)
2006
Interactive Projection

And here's where the tour concludes. I am a firm believer in ending with a bang. This work not only teaches a lesson about fibbing, but also is great fun because it is interactive. Loosely based on Charlotte's Web, the well-meaning message spun into the web is part of a computer program that reacts and changes to one's shadows in the exhibition space. 

Basically, this tour would have ruled if I had the time to write and research each of these objects. I hope that a future docent or intern might take inspiration from this little tour that never was...

Travel and Transformation: The Ultimate Tour

After our first couple of weeks of training, David and I had to rack our brains to put together a tour worthy of kings - or maybe a tour that really highlights some of the incredible assets of our collection. Writing a tour isn't easy, but once you get into the swing of things, know your way around the museum, and understand the breadth of our collection it begins to feel like second nature.

But how about I walk you through the steps for writing a tour? Sound good?

1)THEME: Theme is key here. Especially with student tours. Themes help you to narrow down the pool of object choices for your tour and keeps things streamlined. We tried and tried and tried some more to think of the best tour theme, and after running ourselves into a wall, we consulted Robin for some ideas, settling upon the theme of Travel and Transformation. T&T, is a tour that ventures into the stories of the art, artists, and cultures of the works we've selected, which leads me to my next point...

2)OBJECTS: Picking objects!! The Art Institute has around a quarter of a million objects in the permanent collection, of which 140,000 are architectural drawings; 70,000 works on paper; 12,000 textiles; 16,000 photographs; 3,900 paintings; 3,000 sculptures; and 15,000 decorative arts (YOWZA!).* Of course it is not possible for all of our collection to be on display, but there are quite a few objects to pick from, hence having a theme to work with narrows down the selection considerable. 

The objects David and I picked include:

Cartonnage Case of Paankhenamun
Egypt
Third Intermediate Period, Dynasty 22 c. 945-715 BCE
Cartonnage, Gold Leaf, Pigment, Human Remains
Gallery: 154A

We chose this work for the story it tells, of the transformation of a body and materials in the process of mummification, as well as the travel/transport that the spirit goes through in search of the eternal afterlife. Plus, the kids LOVE MUMMIES! And the x-ray is amazing! 

End of The Trail
James Earl Fraser (American)
1918
Bronze
Gallery: 163

This sculpture tells the story of American Indians traveling across the transforming American landscape with the introduction of modern technology and transformation - the train symbolizing the beginning of a trail, and the horse and rider being the end of the trail for this culture in the American landscape.

Eight Armed Dancing Ganesha
India, Uttar Pradesh
10th Century CE
Sandstone Relief Sculpture
Gallery: Alsdorf/Bridge Gallery

Ganesha underwent a series of transformations - from losing his head, to gaining the elephant head we see here, as well as the addition of the snake belt, and rat face on the left knee, we have tales of great transformation all wrapped up into one fantastic sculpture!

Still-life With Dead Game, Fruits, and Vegetables In A Market
Frans Snyders (Dutch)
1614
Oil on Canvas
Gallery: 208

David and I love this work dearly, and we had to stretch to get it into our tour so here's our spiel: Supermarkets have gone through many transformations over the years - here we a supermarket from the Baroque period in the Netherlands. We have the students think about the transformation food goes through as it comes from the initial source (milk/cow) to the food we dine on at home and at restaurants. Basically we love love love this piece... 

Arrival of The Normandy Train at Gare Saint-Lazare
Claude Monet (French)
1877
Oil on Canvas
Gallery: 201

With this painting, I usually discuss the ways in which technology transform our everyday life by examining how the beginning of the modern era in France (Paris in particular) was transformed by the introduction of technology. Here we have the steam engine, large single panes of glass, architectural steel framework, and the incredible mass of people coming in and out of Paris at this specific train station.

FUN FACT: The Caillebotte Paris Street: Rainy Day portrays a couple looking towards the left of the painting, which is the geographic location of this Monet painting the Gare Saint-Lazare train station. The way this painting is curated in the space aligns their pictoral view with the actual train station.

Hinoki
Charles Ray (American)
2007
Wood Carving in Japanese Cyprus
Gallery: 292B

And then there's the intern favorite: HINOKI! We love this piece. Seriously. With Hinoki, we talk about the kind of transformation the tree featured underwent, as well the transformation that occurred as the tree was remade in the wood sculptural format. It's big, it's awesome, and it's a great way to go out with a bang!

3) ORDER: The order of the tour is also extremely important. We don't want to be running the visitors around the museum in a nonsensical order. We must structure our tours to flow well, in addition to thinking about the logistics of the tour in terms of the location of each work selected within the space of the museum. Plus, having a good transition between works helps the flow of the tour.

4) PRACTICE: Practice makes perfect. Know your work. Know how to talk about it. But be flexible! Tours don't always go in the direction you expect.

5) DOUBLE CHECK THE MUSEUM: Live by this. Always check the museum before you give your tour to make sure the works you plan on discussing are still on display. It's been known that some objects grow legs and walk away overnight - so beware of gallery changes!

6) HAVE FUN!!: This is probably the most important rule to live by. Be yourself. Be comfortable. And have fun. If you are passionate and excited about what you are doing, the visitors will also become excited about their trip to the museum!!

telling the stories of Ganesha in front of the Eight Armed Dancing Ganesha sculpture

leading a discussion in front of the cartonnage case

Parading Through The Museum

The last few weeks feel as though they have been on fast forward! From our intense preparatory sessions with Student Programs, Family Programs, and Adult Programs to running around the museum making sure all of our objects were still on display - two weeks has absolutely flown by. We've met a lot of great people, wandered around, gotten lost, found our way - all while keeping our heads on straight! I can confidently say I know my way around the museum, I know where the elevators are, and where the secret water fountains are hidden, and I now notice when a work of art has been taken off of the wall (to my surprise).

For Family Programs we had to start thinking about tours that we wanted to give that would cater to children ages 6 and up, with special attention to the adults and other family members going on the tour. The theme I picked was shapes in art, and I chose to focus on three pieces:

Paris Street; Rainy Day

by Gustave Caillebotte

1877

The Stack of Wheat Series

by Claude Monet

1890-91

and

The Avery Coonley Playhouse Window

by Frank Lloyd Wright

1910

Though the tour I did was the abbreviated version of the full length thirty-minute gallery walk, I brought my group the Frank Lloyd Wright triptych window where I led a discussion on the lines, shapes, and colors within the picture plane. The talk began with a brief reading of Eye Spy Shapes In Art, followed by having the families identify what it is that they were looking at - a window. I then had the families break down the piece visually by naming the different shapes and colors on the window! We talked about what images the window conjured for the viewer, coming to the conclusion that it had lollipops, flags, balloons, and confetti, settling on the conclusion that this window depicted a parade. Then came the interesting part - having the families hypothesize who the window was intended for based on the parade content. Was this window made for "grown ups" or kids? And if it was made for kids, where do you think it would hang? Non other than the experimental school in Riverside, Illinois - The Avery Coonley Playhouse. We came to the conclusion then that this window was meant to be a celebration of education, as well as an object worthy of stimulating the students' imaginations in the school house. 

Some Fun Facts about the piece:

1) Completely set on the idea of him becoming an architect, Frank Lloyd Wright's mother had him working with blocks at an early age. Some scholars suggest that these blocks are represented within the window as the building blocks of education - math, science, history, geography, etc.

2) Frank Lloyd Wright's son John Lloyd Wright invented Lincoln Logs.

3) The students at the Avery Coonley Playhouse learned non-traditional/gender neutral courses including sewing, woodworking, and theater, as well as spending a lot of time outside integrating themselves with nature.

After spending so much time thinking and talking about parades, I thought why not do a little bit of "field research" by going to a parade myself. With the Blackhawks Stanley Cup championship and the Pride Parade both in June I found myself with plenty of opportunities to get lost in a crowd experiencing confetti, floats, balloons, and plenty of flags! Here are some pictures!

From the Blackhawks Parade:

The Stanley Cup at the front of the trolley!

At the Pride Parade, I had the amazing opportunity to ride on one of the floats, AND IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!

Flags, beads, and dancing galore!

A view of the crowd from the float!

Me dancing like a crazy woman on the float!

So all in all, I've been having a lot of fun both in and out of the museum. More to come on the inner-workings of AIC!