Blog @ the Nelson-Atkins

Last Friday, the Museum partied like it was 4706! To celebrate the Chinese New Year (officially on Feb. 7 but that's a Thursday and Fridays are much more conducive to celebrations) the Museum offered performances, music, food, art activities and more.

More than 1,900 people enjoyed the evening which included a performance by the Shaolin Lohan Pai Lion Dance Troupe (above). They were a definite crowd pleaser and many people requested we bring them back for other events.

Other activities included a noodle-making demonstration by the owner of Bo Ling's Chinese Restaurant Richard Ng (above) and dance performances by members of the Lily Zhang Li Taylor
dance company (below). They were adorable.

Many people commented that they enjoyed the evening and it has become a family tradition. If you didn't make it this year, make sure you get here next year. It is a magical evening with something for everyone.

If you haven’t experienced Rising Dragon yet, you don’t want to miss your chance. This absorbing exhibition is in its final week and will close on Sunday, Feb. 10. These extraordinary artworks span 5,000 years of China’s rich and diverse art history.

The exhibition is truly an experience. The lighting and colors create a real sense of place; as if you are entering a whole other world for a while. When you enter the galleries, a fantastic bronze dragon greets you. Some of the works at the beginning of the exhibition lack functionality. The pitcher has its obvious use, but the artist has made it in a way that it cannot serve its traditional purpose. It truly is a work of art.

My favorite display in Rising Dragon is <Tomb Miniatures for Use in the Afterworld. These miniature versions of real life objects were not toys. Most of the objects would serve everyday needs in the deceased’s afterlife such as: a stove, shoes, lamps and games. They even built little buildings to store valuables in and containers for clothing and cosmetics to ensure good personal hygiene.

The amazing craftsmanship and skill is evident throughout Rising Dragon. The exhibition seems to come full circle as a dragon bids you farewell. This dragon roof-tile is both elegant and fierce at the same time; the colors and movement are stunning. These works are a great representation of the Museum’s amazing collection of Chinese art. Rising Dragon will close at 5 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 10.

Through Sunday, Feb. 10, you can see two exhibitions for the price of one. Rising Dragon: Ancient Treasures from China and American Horizons: The Photographs of Art Sinsabaugh are two beautiful exhibitions of rarely seen objects.

Rising Dragon features many of the Museum's acquisitions of Chinese art over the past 20 years that have never been on view before. The rare and powerful beauty of these works of art is astonishing. You can enjoy fascinating stories of objects associated with the after world, learn about the importance of dragons and appreciate the delicate beauty of Chinese lacquer in this one-of-a-kind exhibition of our world-famous Chinese collection. This exhibition closes Feb. 10.

American Horizons is a retrospective of photographer Art Sinsabugh. His photographs examined the transformation of the American landscape from farmland to metropolitan with intriguing technique and subtlety. You will definitely want to linger at each photograph to take in all the details Sinsabaugh so delicately captured in his sweeping vistas.

Be sure to come by this weekend to enjoy these two exhbitions. American Horizons continues through April 6.

One area of the Museum that many people don't see is the ground floor where some of the employee offices are located. One of the rooms I have always been fascinated with is the old vault that dates back to 1933 when the original building was constructed.

It has been many, many years since the vault was used to guard valuables (it is rumored that pieces of the Museum collection were stored in the vault before we had any fancy, high tech accommodations). As part of the Museum's expansion and renovation, the vault was transformed into an office. Normally, when I walk by the door is open, but today it was closed. I assume the occupant is just out of the office and not trapped inside.

Gold letters on the door read "The Mosler Safe Co." A little online research revealed that the Mosler Safe Company was one of the country's largest safe and vault makers in the country from 1867 to 2001. In fact, Mosler built the vault that now holds the United States Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

In this time of deciding which earnest candidate should win your vote, the decision is clear. Vote for the Nelson-Atkins! The Kansas City Convention and Visitors Association is conducing their annual KC Visitors Choice awards.

Only votes submitted from outside the five-county metro area will qualify. So if you live outside of Kansas City and have a fondness for the Museum, be sure to exercise your right to vote!

The polls close on April 30, so you have plenty of time to make your voices heard.

Tomorrow in Jefferson City, MO, our Museum director, Marc Wilson, will receive the 2008 award for Arts Leadership from the Missouri Arts Council.

Wilson has been director of the Nelson-Atkins since 1982 but began his career here in the late 1960s on a fellowship and then as curator of Oriental art. During his tenure, the collection has grown to include the Kansas City Sculpture Park and the Hallmark Photographic Collection. Individual works of art include the commissioning of the Museum's signature Shuttlecocks.

Perhaps Wilson's greatest legacy to the Nelson-Atkins will be the expansion and renovation of the Museum which includes the Bloch Building and a complete reinstallation of nearly every collection.

Personally, I have great respect for Marc Wilson. Highly educated and intellectual, he would appear to some to be unapproachable. Anyone who knows him will tell you that he is quite down to earth. His interests range from translating Chinese poetry to farming. He greets all employees by name and sends out occassional messages to the staff (or the Citizens of the Republic, as he likes to call us).

Only the fourth director in the history of the Museum, he has led the Nelson-Atkins through an incredibly active period. One of these days he will no longer be the director. I can't imagine the Nelson-Atins without him.

Today is Valentine's Day so my mind has turned to thoughts of love and romance. Many people think the Nelson-Atkins is a romantic spot and I certainly agree with them. I met my future husband amid the columns in Kirkwood Hall (see picture), the Museum's elegant entry hall.

He later proposed to me in the same spot. He hired Kansas City jazz great, Luqman Hamza, to sing "I Could Write a Book" and "At Last." When Hamza finished singing, my hubby was down on one knee with a ring. Every time I walk through Kirkwood I remember that special day. Who would have thought that my love for art would have led me to the greatest love of my life?

I know many couples enjoy coming to the Museum for dates or to celebrate special ocassions. In honor of Valentine's Day, we want to hear your stories of amour. If you or someone you know has a lovey dovey moment to share, let us know.

I had no idea just how big the new El Anatsui acquisition was until I saw it come out of its crate and unrolled yesterday afternoon. It’s HUGE! The preparators kept going for more blankets to lay out the more they kept unrolling and unrolling. For those of you who have yet to visit Tapping Currents: Contemporary African Art and the Diaspora, El Anatsui has a work, Hovor, featured in this exhibition.

It was apparent just how excited all the people were as the work was being unrolled. Because the work is sewn together with copper wire, the preparators and conservationists were very interested in how much time it might take to fix any stitches. The work seemed to be in excellent shape, but will certainly require much more inspection.

One really neat aspect of El Anatsui’s works of this nature is that they can be hung flat or sculpted on the wall. I am pretty sure I could see everyone’s brains already starting to wonder if there was a wall big enough to hang this one flat, and if not, then how much fun it will be to get to sculpt and “play” with the work. I am definitely looking forward to seeing what they come up with. We'll all have to stay tuned.

. . . adds up to a whole lot – in this case, updated electrical systems for the new American galleries. Square elements shown upper and middle right are sections of Unistrut metal framing. Secured to the ceiling more than 25 feet above the gallery floor, and well above the height of the gallery ceilings themselves, this framework supports vertical hangers that drop down to hold suspended trays for runs of cable or high-power bus duct, a system of enclosed circuitry. The round metal tubes comprise conduit for standard electrical wiring.

A new exhibition of Chinese paintings opened last week called Senses and Sensibilities. It is the product of a graduate-level art history class at the University of Kansas that was taught by Museum Director Marc Wilson and Professor Marsha Haufler. The students were here last week to help install the exhibition. They were quite excited to see the labels they had written for each work of art.

I took a short break today to visit the exhibition and was extremely pleased. The exhibition focuses on the five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste and smell. The room is divided into areas that assist you as you experience each sense.

One area is devoted to "Sensations and Memories of the Garden." This area includes delicate paintings of peonies, bamboo, trees and my favorite, Lotus by Chen Chun (see detail above). This scroll painting depicts the life cycle of a lotus plant. It begins with early buds then progresses into beautiful full blooms of pink lotus flowers. The flowers begin to bend and wilt with fewer and fewer blooms until the stems are almost bare.

Other areas of the room are dedicated to Wind and Water as well as Music and Writing. As I read the label of one scroll, it expressed the use of music to cultivate relationships. In Chinese, there is a saying "understand the music," which is when true friends can understand each other without using words.

It was a lovely way to spend a few minutes. I wish I could have spent much more time there. When I left, I felt as if I had been in a beautiful garden. This exhibition is on view through August 24.

While revisiting Tapping Currents: Contemporary African Art and the Diaspora, I checked out the connection the curator makes between El Anatsui’s Hovor and kente cloth. The Museum’s African galleries had to inspect. The relationship between the two is obvious and interesting.