Blog @ the Nelson-Atkins

A black and white photograph by Walker Evans, Tenant Farmer’s Wife, taken during the Great Depression captivated my attention today.

The photograph, which is about 8” x 10”, does not stand out at first amongst the others. I noticed it because last semester in my art history class we studied Walker Evans and this photograph specifically.

Evans didn’t pick a traditionally beautiful person but rather an ordinary woman. The shot is very candid and genuine which in today’s world comes rarely. Seeing this photograph in person made the artwork seem more real than before.

Another photograph in the Hallmark Photographic collection I appreciate seeing every time I go to the gallery is Migrant Mother by Dorthea Lange. I usually come to the conclusion that the mother in the image wonders how to support her children. I always try to place myself in her situation and it seems unimaginable.

As I finish my internship at the Nelson-Atkins, I realize how much I will miss having the luxury of popping into the gallery to see so many amazing works of art. I definitely plan to keep in touch.

Last weekend I helped with the Museum’s outreach booth at the farmer’s market in Brookside. As part of the outreach, we visit several local farmer’s markets and art festivals to hand out material and talk with members of the community about what’s going on at the Nelson Atkins.

We had a fabulous turn out and a blast at the same time. We gave away these great free sketch books promoting the Museum, and people seemed to really enjoy them.

Four wonderful Museum volunteers came to help with the effort which added tons of excitement to the booth. They were such a great help and I really appreciated their support.

I was so surprised at the number of people that attended the farmer’s market and interesting booths and vendors that were present. A caricature artist, beautiful flowers, and locally grown fresh vegetables.

I had a fantastic time and am going to be there again this weekend, July 25th. We will also be at the Lawrence Farmer’s Market on August 8th. I cannot wait, and I hope to see you all there!

At first glance, Beloved Daughters: Photographs by Fazal Sheikh is a beautiful exhibition. Black and white images of women and children are simply framed. Large, dark eyes and chubby round faces fill the walls. Upon closer inspection, the exhibition is haunting, heartwrenching and thoroughly moving.

Divided into two sections, Beloved Daughters unites two recent projects by artist-activist Fazal Sheikh which explore the challenges facing women in certain sectors of contemporary Indian society. Challenges such as living and breathing.

The first section, Ladli (which means Beloved Daughter) attacks the complexity of social problems in India such as selective abortion, girls abandonned in orphanages, arranged marriages, forced prostitution and homeless children.

Many of the images are taken straight on with the subject staring directly into the camera giving the viewer a sense of the relationship with the artist. Many are accompanied by testimonials from the women. They are stories of pain, suffering and injustice.

"There's a name to every face and a story behind every portrait," said Associate Curator April Watson. This is not a voyeuristic relationship.

Sheikh was very concerned with the "rush-in, rush-out" mentality of journalists when he worked in northern Africa in the early 1990s. While the media "plunged in, worked swiftly, and departed," Sheikh stayed and began photographing what was left of shattered communities and families living in refugee camps.

Ladli was the same approach. Sheikh worked with activist groups to gain first-hand stories from these women and children. Any money he makes is given back to the communities he has worked in or is used for his next project.

The second half of Beloved Daughters is called Moksha which means Heaven. Moskha concerns dispossessed widows who move to the holy city of Vrindavan to live out their lives in devotion to the Hindu god Krishna. These women who no longer have an association with a husband are cast out by society and many times by their remaining family often under threat of violence.

The images in this section are slightly less disturbing than in Ladli but the stories of loss and pain remain. The translation of "heaven" has a different meaning than the western tradition. Heaven means a release of the cycle of rebirth and reincarnation into lives of desperation. There is small comfort knowing that these women have been set free from their earthly pain.

Beloved Daughters is on view until Sept. 13 in gallery L11. Admission is free. Sheikh will give a free lecture at the Museum on Sept. 10.

Complete online editions of Moksha and Ladli are available at the artist's website, fazalsheikh.org.

Last Thursday, my fellow intern, Ali, and I visited an exhibition of the Starr Miniature Collection called The Fashionable Sitter.

Sitting in front of the glass case, I realize the little treasures before my eyes and all their beauty. Noticing a portrait of a young girl on a ring, I thought to myself about the differences in my world compared to the life of a young girl in the 18th and 19th centuries. She dressed so fancifully and there I was in grey pants and a work top. The girls’ hair was decorated with either gems or headbands and they all had long curly hair. Besides the ring, most of the other miniatures looked like watches or lockets.

Just after I quickly got over the idea of a young girl in the 18th century, I noticed mirrors behind a couple of the miniatures. Why would there be a mirror on only a few? I looked closer and saw a reflection on the back of one with the letter “A.” The letter “A” was surrounded by hair! The description above the miniatures explained that the hair was commonly used to remember a loved one. I was amazed at the idea of hair as ornamentation.

Pearls and faux gems decorated the outer rim of a couple miniatures and each one was beautiful and ornate in their own way. The miniatures exhibition has definitely become one of my favorites.

In addition to working as an intern at the Nelson-Atkins this summer, I am taking an Impressionism art history course. The Museum has provided many opportunities to look at the works of art in person rather than on a projection screen.

In my free time last week, I made a visit to the Impressionist gallery to look at the Museum’s very own Boulevard de Capucines, painted by Claude Monet in 1873. This painting was in the first Impressionist exhibition in 1874 and was criticized for its loose brush work and lack of realism. Now it is one of the most recognized and loved paintings in the Museum’s European collection.

I was thrilled to find another painting I’ve been studying in my class nearby. One of Monet’s immense Water Lilies panels takes up a full wall of the gallery. As I examined it, I found the incredible textures and brushstrokes unbelievable. A book or computer screen does not do this painting justice.

My trip to the gallery really opened up a new world for me. Instead of learning about art in a dark classroom I am able to experience the real thing. I am excited to learn about other artists as well so I am able to take a real look at these one-of-a-kind paintings.

This past weekend brought stares and awe-struck amazement at our performing artists on the corner of Baltimore and 19th streets during this month's First Fridays in the Crossroads.

As I waited for the performers to arrive I was surprised to see two ghostly figures approaching covered in white from head to toe! They mimicked the white sculptures from our current exhibition George Segal: Street Scenes by applying white makeup (even on their eyelashes) and wearing white clothes-down to their shoe laces. I asked one of them how he got his shoes on because his laces were painted tied and he said, “painfully.”

People of all ages stopped to observe the all-white figures and soon realized he was holding a card. The card had information about Street Scenes and each person had to come grab it from his hand and then he would wave back. It was fun to see how they interacted with the crowd.

Some of the folks on the street even got in on the scene themselves as did this woman who posed like a mannequin so realistically it was eery.

I was a newbie to the First Fridays scene in the Crossroads district before I started working at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art this summer. After this past weekend, I now know all the adventures a street corner can bring.

This Independence weekend is the perfect opportunity to celebrate America's history with a tour of the Museum's new galleries of American art.

The new installation features paintings and works on paper mixed with sculpture and decorative arts. It is organized around 6 key dates in American history to give visitors contextual connections to the works of art.

Please note: If you do stop by this weekend, make sure to plan ahead. We are closed on Saturday, July 4th but open regular hours on Friday (10 a.m. to 9 p.m.) and Sunday (Noon to 5 p.m.).

Just for fun, let's enjoy a little American history lesson as we tour the galleries.

1776: From Colonies to Country - Significant works of art in this section divide among Boston, Philadelphia and Great Britain indicating the relationship of these art centers for early American artists. This section includes portraits by John Copley and paintings by the Peale family (Charles and Raphaelle). My favorite part of this section would have to be the Hall from the Hooper House. Robert Hooper was a loyalist who permitted his home to be used as British headquarters before the Battle of Lexington and Concord. Mr. Hooper soon lost his fortune as the Revolutionay War began to look hopeful for the colonists.

1826: Promoting Republican Values - This second section covers the years of 1805 to 1840. During these years America saw great expansion in size directly following the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. The founding of the National Academy of Design in New York launched the professional status and increased the availability of formal training for artists. Images of American daily life could be found in works such as Winding Up (right) by William Sydney Mount. Coinciding with the expansion in territory, this period saw the creation of the quintessential American subject, the landscape, indicated in Jacob Ward's Natural Bridge, Virginia.

1850: Producing the National Ideal - 1850 marks the mid-point of the 19th century which was the 75th anniversary of the United States. It also was marked by the Compromise of 1850 which set the course for the western territories and the move toward secession by the Southern states. Life and the democratic process on the frontier are recorded in paintings by George Caleb Bingham such as Canvassing for a Vote. Landscape was used to promote the idea of manifest destiny in works such as Thomas Cole's The Old Mill and Thomas Otter's On the Road. The year 1850 also saw an influx of European immigrants who added their international style to American decorative arts.

1886: Joining the International Arena - The late 19th century saw a return to Europe for American artists. The first Impressionist exhibition of 1886 created a surge of internationalism in American art that continues today. Artists traveled to and worked in other countries including Frederick Edwin Church (Jersulem from the Mount of Olives), John Singer Sargent (Mrs. Cecil Wade) and Henry Ossawa Tanner (The Sabot Maker). Decorative arts such as John La Farge's Peonies Blowing in the Wind demonstrate how American manufacturers had achieved skills comparable to European makers and the inspiration of the Far East for design.

1913: Wrestling with the Modern - The span of 1900 to 1927 encompassed unprecedented transformations in American life related to advances in technology and the impact of World War I. 1913 saw the creation of the Federal Reserve Banking system, the moving assembly line by Ford Motor Co., and the first home electric refrigerator. Of course, 1913 is known in art history for the landmark Armory Show which showcased both European and American vanguard art including Marcel Duchamp's infamous Fountain. Marsden Hartley's Himmel always seems out of place to me in the American collection but his work was a signal of the changing attitudes toward American art.

1939: The World of Tomorrow - The beginning of World War II signaled the end of the Great Depression. A new era of cultural affairs, economics and science was promoted in the 1939 World's Fair - "Building a World of Tomorrow." Though civil rights was a few decades away, the results of America's racism was beginning to appear in works such as Joseph Hirsch's The Lynch Family. American artists such as Thomas Hart Benton (Persephone) and John Steuart Curry (The Bathers) created a new style called regionalism that was frought with classical connotations while adding a sense of American irony.