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The Kilims Are Coming!

Posted by Arielle Hambrecht on August 18, 2011

In anticipation of The Art of the Anatolian Kilim: Highlights from the McCoy Jones Collection (which opens September 10) the Textiles Conservation team is busy at work preparing each rug for display. It is a meticulous and time-consuming process!

First, the kilims have to be taken out of storage. Normal cardboard contains acid that can cause staining on textiles, which is why kilims are rolled onto blue, acid-free cardboard tubes for storage.To avoid harm from dust, the tubes are shrouded in unbleached cotton fabric.

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Thinking Outside the Crayon Box at the Friday Nights Art Table

Posted by Sarah Bailey Hogarty on August 16, 2011

Guest blogger Danica Gomes is an intern in the Public Programs Department.

The art table has become a fixture of Friday Nights at the de Young. Every Friday kids, adults, regulars, and newcomers all crowd around paper-covered tables to take part in the evening’s hands-on art project. The projects are created and led by one of three museum artists, Suzanne Couture, Christian Davies, or Lisa Hubbard, and are always reflective of and inspired by special exhibitions. This summer, drawing on Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso, Paris, the art table has adapted Picasso’s definitive modes of expression and represented themes into activities designed for the general public.

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Great Women Artists at the de Young

Posted by Sarah Bailey Hogarty on August 12, 2011

Forty years ago, Linda Nochlin published her seminal article "Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?" spurring art historians and curators to reexamine the contributions of women artists over time. Since then, the landscape of the world’s art institutions has changed drastically. Here at the de Young, we often receive inquiries about the presence (or perceived lack) of women artists in the museum. In response, we have created a self-guided tour highlighting women artists at the de Young.

Gallery 1 and 1A

The first stop is in the Art of the Americas located directly off of Wilsey Court.

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Will Work for Art: Paul Palacios

Posted by Sarah Bailey Hogarty on August 9, 2011

"Will Work for Art" takes you behind the scenes to meet the people who make the Fine Arts Museums work. This week we take you into the tech shop, where preparator Paul Palacios installs the art that makes the galleries and exhibitions you see possible! Originally from Texas, Paul has been with the Museums for almost thirteen years, minus the two he spent working at the Asian Art Museum during the construction of the new de Young.

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A Day in the Life of the Museum Ambassadors

Posted by Sarah Bailey Hogarty on August 4, 2011

Last week you met the Museum Ambassadors, a highly motivated group of high school students trained to educate younger students about all things art. Today, we give you a sneak peek into the work that they do here at the Museums.

Weeks before we begin giving community tours, we memorize our scripts with our fellow ambassadors.

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Every Which Way But Up

Posted by Sarah Bailey Hogarty on August 2, 2011

When installing a painting or sculpture for exhibition, determining the correct orientation of the work is (perhaps obviously) paramount. When discussing modern art, a seemingly simple question like “Which side is up?” can become much more complicated; and occasionally when dealing with abstract art, this determination can be downright perplexing.

Two paintings recently reinstalled in Gallery 50 at the de Young have raised this question for years. Since they first arrived at the Museums, Georgia O’Keeffe’s Petunias and Arthur Dove’s Sea Gull Motive have puzzled viewers and art historians alike.

Georgia O'Keeffe (American, 1887–1986). Petunias, 1925. Oil on hardboard panel. Museum purchase, gift of the M. H. de Young Family. 1990.55. © Georgia O'Keeffe Museum

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