Blog @ the Nelson-Atkins

Who made that? What is it for? Why did you become a Curator? What the heck was that artist thinking?

Museum Curators across the world are ready to tackle your art-related questions via Twitter during Ask A Curator Day on Wednesday, September 1st, 2010. We want to hear from you!

Although the Nelson-Atkins regularly participates in audience evaluation, this is a great opportunity to tell us about your art-related interests in real-time and learn more about curatorial work.

Our Curator Q&A team:
Stephanie Knappe
Assistant Curator, American Art

Colin Mackenzie
Senior Curator, Early Chinese Art

Jan Schall
Sanders Sosland Curator, Modern & Contemporary Art

April Watson
Associate Curator, Photography

How does this work?

1. Join/log-in to Twitter on September 1.
2. Follow us @nelson_atkins.
3. Send us your art-related questions. Be sure to add the #askacurator hashtag so that everyone benefits from your awesome inquiries.

Check out www.askacurator.com for more details and a list of participating Museums and Galleries.

See you September 1st!

Hi! I’m Julia Stroud and I work in the prep department. I thought I’d tell you a little about the creation of the ushebti wall in the new Egyptian galleries.

First question, “What is the prep department?” The Preparation Department handles the artworks in the museum and in storage. We are responsible for installing and transporting artworks throughout the Museum, packing artworks which have been approved for travel, and safely storing artworks which remain in the museum and storage facility. Working with the conservation department, preparators produce mounts for objects and maintain proper packing and installation procedures.

Second question, “What is a ushebti?” According to Robert Cohon, Curator of Art of the Ancient World, “Before there were office temps, there were ‘ushebtis.’ Ushebtis – which means ‘responders’ – were meant to come to life and perform any labor that might be requested of the deceased in the hereafter. Not taking any changes, Meretites had 305.” Originally, we called them “shabtis” but that was later changed to the more appropriate ushebti.

Now, back to my story.

Over the weekend, the Museum hosted thousands of visitors for the member preview of the new American Indian art galleries.

The new galleries greatly increase space for American Indian art from approximately 1,500 square feet to just over 6,000. The Nelson-Atkins is one of the only comprehensive museums in the US to dedicate that much space to native American art.

The new galleries are positioned adjacent to the new American art galleries which opened in April 2009. This bold step establishes American Indian art as part of American heritage and creates an unprecedented continuity and commitment rarely seen in a fine arts museum.

The two new galleries are now on the second floor in what used to be the Modern & Contemporary galleries. However, they look nothing like the former space.

Grouped by eight main culture areas of North America, the new installation includes masterworks from a wide spectrum of cultures from pre-European contact to the present, including Woodlands, Plains, Southwest; Plateau; California and the adjacent Great Basin, Northwest Coast and Arctic. Navajo textiles, Woodlands and Plains quillwork, beadwork and sculpture, Pueblo pottery, Southwestern jewelry, Northwest Coast sculpture and California and Plateau basketry are among the artistic traditions represented in the Museum’s collection.

There are approximately 200 objects in the new galleries including many masterworks such as this incredible Objiwa Coat, Lonnie Vigil's gorgeous Micaceous Pottery Jar and one of my favorites, this Arikara Shield.

There are many "smaller" objects in the galleries too. Some literally only a few inches such as this ivory Toggle that is only 1 5/8 inches long. One pair of objects I found fascinating are these Prescription Sticks here and here.

Prescription Sticks were used by a healer as he or she prepared herbal medicines. The edges of the sticks are incised with pictographs that represent plant species and quantities. These are from the Potawatomi tribe in either Wisconsin or Kansas.

I'm looking forward to exploring the galleries in depth and learning more about the objects and sharing stories about the people who created them. The galleries are open to the public now. This weekend is the community celebration with special activities and performances.

Gallery 214 is unique. It is devoted to American Art on Paper, and these art objects are often smaller in size, which I have learned is typical of the predominant media represented: lithographs, pastels, etchings and woodcuts. The sizes of earlier prints, particularly those of the 19th and early 20th centuries (pre-1945), were quite likely dictated by available materials, the desire to sell or distribute reproductions, or the desire to create more intimate viewing experiences. I have been told that some contemporary print artists (for example, Tom Huck) are experimenting with larger prints.

In Gallery 214, the text labels that hang beside the prints blend almost seamlessly into the walls. The subdued ambiance of the gallery is appropriate considering the art objects it houses. The work required to create a print is intensive (I strongly recommend individual research on these interesting processes), and the gallery does not detract attention from these deceptively "simple" objects. To adequately consider their layers, a person must be patient enough to really slow down, pause and look.

The art objects in the gallery’s current exhibition, Impressions of the Southwest and Mexico, depict a wide range of early-twentieth century life in that geographic area.

In the early 20th century, there was widespread fascination with the American Southwest (in this exhibition, specifically New Mexico, Arizona, California) and Mexico. The artists featured in this exhibition were clearly stirred and motivated by the people, architecture, landscapes, weather and customs of these spaces.

These prints ask viewers to examine the lives and worlds of their inhabitants. The prints invite viewers to see the internal and external beauty, history and multiplicity of peoples and a space often defined as isolated, arid and deserted.

Activities represented range from celebrations to daily labor to reflective moments. The prints depict moments that are intimate and also voyeuristic. Simple and complex. They are dynamic and calm. Direct and subtle. Mourning and hopeful. Innocent and brave…

But only if we take a moment to really see them.

Image: David Alfaro Siqueiros, Zapata, ca. 1930.

If you saw the recent entry about Museum volunteers helping the conservation team clean the Noguchi Fountain, you may have thought the job was finished.

It turns out the plumbing system that helps drain and recirculate the water needed some attention. Once again, volunteers removed and cleaned ALL of the rocks.

When that was finished, they turned their attention to the grates under the rocks. The metal pieces were thoroughly scrubbed with an ethonal solution to kill any living organisms that were present.

Below you can see volunteers Dean Dixon and Michael Mullarky using toothbrushes to gently clean the metal grate.

After Museum engineers complete the plumbing project, more volunteers will help return the rocks to the fountain.

If you think you have a lot of housework, you would have loved to see the task that awaited staff members and five volunteers this week.

The team was tasked with cleaning the "Fountain" in Noguchi Court. This is no ordinary fountain, mind you. This one was created by Japanese-born artist Isamu Noguchi and sits prominently in the Bloch Building.

The sculpture is composed of two, asymmetrically sculpted basalt stones similar in size but differing in subtle configurations of form. The top surface of one stone is concave, while that of the other is convex. Water flows gently over the tops and sides of Fountain, reflecting light, deepening the stones' color and creating a meditative sound as it reaches the bed of river rocks below.

Today's project started with taking out all the rocks, which volunteers then vacuumed. Members of the conservation staff cleaned some rocks with an alcohol-based solution. Museum Engineers cleaned the stainless steel pans under the sculpture and snaked the drains. Volunteers replaced the rocks, with larger rocks on the bottom to create an aesthetically pleasing effect.

Fountain is cleaned once a year. Thank goodness for volunteers!

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 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.

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery so I must preface this post with a shout out to the sensational blog Jumping in Art Museums.

We loved the idea so much that we starting our own jumping club at the Nelson-Atkins. The first attempt was in honor of our beloved Shuttlecocks sculpture. We're celebrating the 15th anniversary of their installation with a special exhibition this summer.

A group of Museum employees did this jump and it was so fun, we've decided to make it a regular activity.

Today, we spent some time with Standing Figures (Thirty Figures) by Magdalena Abakanowicz.

I must say it is a great Friday afternoon stress reliever. We are all thinking about our next jump. If you have suggestions on what our next jump should be or are inspired to do your own "jump shot", let us know. We would love to see it.

As spring approaches I was reminded of one of the Museum's most intriguing works of art. It is actually a set of four marble slabs that hang in the Chinese furniture gallery on the second floor.

The set is called the Four Seasons. The “images” on each piece are actually the natural pattern of a cross section of a specific type of marble from southern China. The appearance of rolling fog and clouds across green hills on this one represents spring.

The other three all contain the same type of patterns that indicate winter, summer and fall. I highly recommend a trip to Gallery 202 to see them all together.

At the end of the corridor of European art, there sits a small room that at first glance seems out of place. The wall panels are painted a deep red with lacquer decorations that seem reminiscent of Chinese works of art. In fact, the opulent panels of the Gabinetto, or withdrawing room, come from 18th-century Italy. Here, artisans related to Pietro Massa's workshop in Turin used a process called "japanning" to imitate Chinese lacquer and record an imagined vision of life in the Far East.

Today, I had the opportunity to watch conservation scientist John Twilley and Senior Conservator Kate Garland in action as they worked on an ongoing survey of the Gabinetto. The survey, funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, investigates the panels to see how they were originally constructed in the 1730s-1750s and what has been restored since then. Eventually, this survey will lead to conservation work to reveal the original appearance of the room.

Conservation is all about the details, and I was amazed by the way Kate and John uncovered tiny clues to the room's history. Because of the different ways paint has been manufactured over the last two centuries, they can tell that the green wood framing the panels has probably been repainted twice, the last time as late as the mid-20th century. The original paint was a transparent brown, and it was flecked with brass for added shimmer.

Restorers wanted to use materials and techniques that were as close as possible to the original ones, so sometimes it's difficult for conservators to tell exactly when restoration took place. Kate told me that humidity causes raised areas of paint, and we can see places where the paint seems more textured or where there are cracks in the panels.

Next time you're looking at our wonderful collection of European art, be sure to stop by the Gabinetto and imagine what it would have been like to have such an incredible room be part of your everyday life! You can also find out more about conservation projects here at the museum on our website.

The Chinese collection galleries reopened last week just in time to celebrate Chinese New Year on Friday. The galleries have been closed off an on for about six months due to the construction of the American and American Indian galleries on the second floor of the Nelson-Atkins Building.

As I wandered through the galleries this afternoon, I was happy to see old friends such as the monumental Guanyin of the Southern Sea and the gorgeous Flower Vase with Dragon Motif.

Even though it was heart breaking to have our Chinese collection missing for so long, the good news is that the time was used to incorporate objects and displays that have not been on view for awhile.

It was great fun checking out the displays of Tang Dynasty ceramics and two cases of Chinese mirrors. However, I was completely enchanted by a couple of Wine Jars from the Han Dynasty just inside Gallery 229.

What captured me about the jars is the brilliance of the paint and the lyrical, swirling designs of the decoration. I am certainly not an expert on Chinese stoneware but I have never seen any other examples of such dynamic and energetic designs.

As I read the label, I learned that the design was intended to create an "expressive pictorial manifestation of the Han vision of the world, the dynamic integration of the cosmic and moral orders that are endlessly revolved and reborn in an eternal cycle of Yin Yang and the Five Phases concept of the composition of the universe."

I left the galleries after an hour feeling energized and renewed which is just what a good museum visit should do.

In honor of the Museum’s Chinese New Year celebration on Feb. 6, today we are highlighting the beautiful Ming Dynasty Yellow Ox from the Chinese collection.

In China, the New Year was called Spring Festival and celebrated the preparations for the spring planting season.

This ceramic sculpture features the physique of a water buffalo, a domestic variety of ox that has been used for farm labor for several centuries in Asia. It is glazed in yellow, the conventional color of a farming ox, and its nostrils are molded to demonstrate where a leash would be attached.

The year of the ox is noted for the nature of the animal: strength and endurance. Among its many metaphors in Chinese art, the ox is associated with spiritual training.

Yellow Ox is on view in Gallery 202.

Be sure to join us this Friday for all the fun. The popular evening features three performances by the Shaolin Pai Lion Dance Troupe (above) which will knock your socks off. The troupe is highly energetic and fun for kids of all ages. If you plan to watch them, be sure to get to Kirkwood Hall a little early so the kids can get a good view.

Other activities include artist demonstrations of Chinese painting and calligraphy, traditional music by the Kansas City Chinese Music Ensemble, gallery games and of course, art-making in the Ford Learning Center.

Today, I noticed that a new Family Gallery Guide is on the stands. This one features early transportation and will take you on a true journey through the European collection.

The guide includes several types of transportation including animals and boats. My favorite "mode" of transportation was a pair of shoes featured in the painting A Frankish Woman and Her Servant.

I guess you would call that "a la mode" transportation! (If you don't get it, check your high school French dictionary for a translation).

½ Manila Curved Area Series W

News has made its way to me that the Museum has acquired several new works for the Modern and Contemporary collection. I hope to share some of those with you over the next few months.

The first to be unveild are two prints by Robert Mangold. They are from a series he worked on in 1968 that consisted of semicircular configurations of solid color subdivided into wedge-shaped sections.

Thank you to Leesa Fanning, Assistant Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art for her description of the following works.

In the same year of these prints, Mangold was creating paintings called the W and X series. The composition of these prints is the same as those paintings and their black lines form variations on that motif. Also, repetition of a kind of unit, such as the wedge-shaped form and the desire to make a composition based on a set of rules, around which certain variations can occur, are fundamental principles of Minimalism.

Mangold also believed that a “beautiful thing” about a “fraction of a form,” a semi-circle for example, “is that it is implies a circle, but it is also a complete thing in itself.”

Mangold emphasizes the literal quality of his art and formal qualities—line, color, form, repetition balance, and proportion are the subject matter of his art. He has consistently refused to make statements regarding content. As he says, “Art should be taken at face value.”

For all of the objectivity of the work, and the clearly rational approach to art making, ½ Gray Curved Area Series X and ½ Manila Curved Area Series W subtly reveal slight variations in the thickness of the black lines, and in small irregularities along the black lines, to convey the touch of the artist.

Together, these two prints join Four Color Frame Painting #4, a major work in the existing Modern and Contemporary collection, to build not only our holdings of Mangold’s work but Minimalism in general.

½ Gray Curved Area Series X

Just in case you haven't heard, tomorrow is the big day when America will elect a new president. I'm not a big fan of crowds and waiting in line so I cast my vote last week (very forward thinking for a state that gets dissed for being stuck in the stone age). I look forward to the day when we will be able to vote online as long as it can be safely verified that my cat didn't vote 27 times for the candidate of the Feline party.

Whether you voted early or just want to wait for Tuesday to enjoy your free coffee from Starbucks, I'm giving you an opportunity to warm up your voting muscles by casting your ballot for your favorite work of art at the Nelson-Atkins.

Highlights from the Museum's 13 collections are available on our website. Here's a tip: If your favorite work of art is not one of the selected works listed under each collection, try entering the title or the artist in our Search box. Chances are that it may pop up anyway.

In honor of the election, I have chosen Canvassing for a Vote by George Caleb Bingham (above) as my favorite.

And don't forget to vote in the other election!

In honor of Halloween, I asked our tours department to provide a list of "scary" art in the Museum's collection. If you think you're brave enough, come to the Museum and see these spooky works of art tonight.

1. Atlantean Figure of a Winged Demon (above)

2. The Emperor Hadrian

3. The Temptation of Saint Anthony

4. Woman IV

5. Saint George and the Dragon

I love it when I can find an extra reason to go into the galleries. Today's reason is a painting called Muscial Angel by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones. This striking painting will be on view in Gallery P32 for the next few months while van Gogh's Olive Orchard is on loan to another institution.

Burne-Jones was a member of the Pre-Raphaelite movement which was a group of English painters who sought to return to a kind of art that had existed before the Renaissance master, Raphael. This new group created works of intense color, rich detail and spiritual intensity.

If you read the label, you will find that Musical Angel was painted in the late 19th century as a study for a stained glass window for Christ Church Cathedral at Oxford. The entire window depicts the patron saint of music, Saint Cecilia, flanked by musical angels. This angel is holding a violin in one hand and the palm of martyrdom in the other.

The painting is strkinigly beautiful at first but after a bit, I began to notice how awkward it made me feel. The angel stands in a lyrical position with the head bent and the body curved slightly to the right. The robe is a rich blue with dramatic drapery falling into pleasant patterns. While there is a sense of grace, there is also a feeling of discomfort. This is not a joyful angel. The face is sharply turned to the side showing only a profile and no emotion. Even the position of the feet is jarring with one pointing directly forward and the other pointing directly to the right. The wings are also positioned awkwardly with one flat against the angel's back and the other sticking out at a very odd angel.

My biggest question is what is this painting doing in the Post-Impressionist gallery. At first it felt completely out of place but once I looked at it closely (and chatted with one of our curators of European painting) I began to make the connections.

The description explains that Burne-Jones was a prominent figure in the English Arts and Crafts movement. This painting is an example of flattening form into two-dimensional pattern which anticipated art noveau approaches to design. It hangs next to Faaturuma (Melancholic) by Gauguin. It turns out that Gauguin was heavily influenced by the work of Burne-Jones.

You can definitely see that in the use of flat, matte colors of intense hues in both works. Where Burne-Jones uses blue and red, Gauguin's use of bright pink is a bit shocking at first. For Gauguin, it is a matter of intensity to the point of saturation. However, the similarities are obvious. The woman's awkward body position as she slumps in the rocking chair is akin to the angel's jarring stance.

Another detail that seems incongruent at first is the draping of the cloth. Burne-Jones uses flowing drapes, folds and puckers on the angel's robe to create patterns and designs. The woman's gown in the Gauguin is flat on her body. He uses shadows to indicate her shape but it is certainly not a graceful shape. She is a lump of pink cloth with hands, feet and a head. Burne-Jones may have been a bit more subtle, but both artists have created intense figures that cause a powerful reaction (at least in me).

Musical Angel will only be on view through December 14.

August can be pretty quiet at the Nelson-Atkins, and this year is no different. The summer exhibitions have ended and we are all getting prepared for the busy fall season.

I am glad for the respite so that I can tell you about the Museum's wonderful photography collection. The collection encompasses the entire history of photography from 1839 to the present. There are only two galleries dedicated to photography (thank you to the new Bloch Building) and one of them is currently hosting the Human/Nature exhibition. That leaves one gallery to show the rest of the collection (7,500 works). That gallery is L10 in case you are wondering. It is just off the contemporary galleries and right behind the African galleries.

Due to the lack of space, the photography collection is completely reinstalled on a regular basis. One reason is to protect the original prints from too much exposure to light. The other is to allow the public to see a larger share of the collection. I walked in last week to see what they were up to and the galleries were totally empty. When I got there this afternoon, everything was perfectly in place. It was like magic.

In this one little gallery, I was treated to a wonderful tour of collection highlights as well as a quick lesson on the history of photography. The tour starts with three strking daguerreotypes. One is the recently acquired image of John Brown.

The next section covers the entire 19th century and includes a gorgeous image of the Adirondack Mountains by William Henry Jackson. The photograph is one image printed from four individual negatives. Jackson achieved this in 1890, long before Photoshop was conceived. The image is seamless and even in black and white, it is a stunning scene of natural beauty. There is also a fascinating compsoite picture of the Class of '87 (1887, of course) for both Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges.

The next section covers the 20th century through World War II. It was during this time that styles of photography began to develop. While some photographers were concerned with straight on picture taking, others began to experiment with techniques and composition. The Great Depression led others to concentrate on documenting social concerns. There are some beautiful images in this section that show how photographers dealt with light and composition including these images of Columbus Circle by William Fraser and the Brooklyn Bridge by Karl Struss.

The final section focuses on post World War II when photography finally became accepted as an art form. The highlights for me of this section were a stunning image by Irving Penn (similar to this one), a quirky photo by Ralph Steiner of cups and saucers with pocket watches (a little Dali mixed with a premonition of Thiebaud) and a sexy image from Man Ray of the lips of his former girlfriend, Lee Miller.

It only took me about an hour to view this wonderful gallery. I would definitely recommend putting it on your list the next time you visit.

A recent entry on another blog titled "Severed Heads at the Nelson-Atkins" caught my attention for obvious reasons. As I read it, I noticed an image under the "New Flickr images" that I have always thought of as one of the creepiest objects in the Museum's collection.

The image is of a Monstrance (or Reliquary) that is on view in Gallery P6. This reliquary was created circa 1400 in Germany. The story goes that the object contains a finger bone from John the Baptist.

Every once in a while the Museum gets some interest in this object. Just a few years ago, we had a call from a man who had a great idea on how to get us on the Discovery channel. Since John the Baptist and Jesus were cousins on the mother's side, this man was convinced he could authenticate the Shroud of Turin by matching the DNA from our finger bone to the DNA in the cloth.

Sadly, a call to the curator confirmed that the bone is not even human. It is a bird bone, most likely from a chicken.

The Monstrance is still pretty cool to see and who knows, maybe one day a long, long time ago, it did contain a bone from the Baptist. I guess that is why they call it faith.

One of the best parts of my job as the Ford Learning Center Assistant is interacting with the youth and adult students who participate in studio art classes. Therefore, I was very eager to join family, friends and Nelson-Atkins staff gathered in Atkins Auditorium to watch the final class performance of Act It Out, a unique offering that brings the Museum collection to life by combining visual and performing arts.

Inspired by Joseph Cornell’s A Pantry Ballet (for Jacques Offenbach), student-lobsters popped, locked and pirouetted to Herbie Hancock’s classic 1980s tune, “Rockit.” Led by full-time Ford Learning Center teacher, Kreshaun McKinney, and assistant Jane Hahn Leat, the students’ two weeks of hard work creating costumes and choreography paid off with a fantastic performance before an enthusiastic crowd.

After the show, the rock "lob-stars" enjoyed a brief photo shoot in the Atkins foyer before returning to their classroom for an after-party of cookies and lemonade.

Thanks to all of the students, parents and staff who made my afternoon so enjoyable. I’ll never look at lobsters the same way again!

Cubism is just plain neato. I think it’s so interesting that artists chose not to draw, paint or sculpt exactly what they saw, but instead create something that is purely perceptual, an experience. I was lucky enough to re-discover a fantastic cubist sculpture today as I showed a few people around the Museum. The Modern and Contemporary collection really does have some amazing cubist examples. I have always really liked Jacques Lipschitz’s work, and today I was reminded why.

Lipschitz’s Bather is a bronze sculpture of a woman bathing. It may be difficult to detect the figure of the woman through all the edges and corners, but look harder – she’s there. Sometimes I think that cubist work is very similar to one of those 3-D picture puzzles where an image appears as long as you “relax your eyes.” Once your eyes are relaxed, the woman’s figure really just pops out at you.

Another aspect that fascinates me about the ideas behind cubism is how the artists manage to turn natural and organic shapes into a geometric puzzle. It seems that cubism somehow strips its subject down into its most basic form. Apparently these cubists really did know what they were doing.

The training of a Museum Guide at The Nelson-Atkins Museum is far less intensive than that of a Docent. Instead of a two-year long study session, Museum Guides spend only a few months studying everything from specific collections within the museum to art history to how to give an effective tour. They are also solely responsible for presenting the free Thursday and Friday evening tours, which have recently been added to the museum’s daily tour repertoire.

I recently attended one of these evening tours and, by the night’s end, I was very satisfied with the experience. Museum Guides are skillful at the art of giving a tour that is as entertaining as it is informative. Although it must be said that my Museum Guide on this tour, an IT consultant named Laura Fredrickson, had a little help with the entertainment portion of the evening. My favorite part about the tour was listening to the many humorous comments made by a group of junior high students taking the tour with me. The Commemorative Head of an Oba wasn’t just a testament to the wonders of 16th-century African sculpture, it was now a person exhibiting clear gender-identity issues. As one student described the androgynous-looking head, “Maybe it’s a girly-guy.” And Caravaggio’s Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness wasn’t just a martyr and a Saint, he was a fine specimen of a man – a little rough around the edges, but also extremely “muscular and buff.”

If you aren’t, however, lucky enough to tour the museum with a group of eager young minds such as these, you will still be subject to a delightful sampling of Nelson-Atkins offerings (for which you can verbalize your own thoughts and perceptions… Museum Guides welcome open participation from the group). Stops on the tour include de Kooning’s Woman IV, Monet’s Boulevard des Capucines and, my personal favorite, Seated Guanyin Bodhisattva. And there couldn’t be a better time to tour. Imagine a relaxing evening after a long day at work, surrounded by beautiful works of art, and you will know the pleasure attached to evening hours at the Nelson-Atkins.

I have long been fascinated with the Museum's collection of miniatures. The collection numbers around 250 pieces and currently, only a handful are on view at anyone time.

I hope in the future we can remedy that because even those these little treasures are only 2 or 3 inches big, the details are so interesting and amazing. For example, the piece above definitely caught my eye (pun intended) when it was on view a few months ago.

If you would like to take a gander at some of these pieces yourself, head to Gallery P27 on the Museum's first floor for The Sitter and the Setting on view through November.

I love coming to work on a Monday to find out that my job has been done for me. I came in this morning and found a message from the conservation department that they were planning to remove the lid from the outer coffin of our recent Egyptian acquisition. I grabbed my camera and headed off to the lab!

When I got there, they were trying to figure out how to get the lid off without a) destroying it and b) damaging the bottom half. The bottom half is attached to a wooden base because the back wall of the coffin is missing. Turns out the lid is attached to the bottom half only by a few shims and four corner posts. The conservators immediately recognized that the posts were a "modern" addition. When I asked what they meant by modern, they said probably from the 1940s.

Once they figured out how to detach the lid, they lifted it and set it on the table for examination. They noted there were some pieces that had been restored, again probably done in the 1940s. If you look closely, you can see the new pieces on the end. They include the top arched piece and a small plank on the lower right. The paint is much brighter and smoother in those areas.

I thought they were going to do a thorough examination of the lid but it turned out they were more interested in the interior of the coffin. They noted differences in the wood and how the drip marks from the exterior painting didn't match. The next step is to x-ray the coffin to determine the condition and which parts were reconstructed.

Today, I made a visit to one of my favorite spots in the Museum; standing in front of the enormous Water Lilies painting by Claude Monet in Gallery P31. Generally, when I enter the gallery, I head straight for this painting. This time, after spending a few moments considering the amazing canvas of colors and swirls, I took the time to reaquaint myself with other works of art in the space including three lovely paintings by Pissarro, portraits by Manet and Caillebotte and two dazzling works from the Decorative Arts collection.

For the first time, I realized that there are actually four paintings by Monet in this little room. Just to the left of Water Lilies are two snow scenes. One is View from Argenteuil - Snow from 1874-1875 and the other is the landmark painting Boulevard des Capucines from 1873-1874 that was shown at the first Impressionist exhibition in 1874. I have appreciated these paintings on many occasions however there was one more that I don't recall having seen previously.

In the corner before you move into the next gallery, is Mill at Limetz (above) from 1888. The vibrant scene shows the mill in the background looking across the Epte River. There are two things that I really love about this painting. One is that the view is partially obscured by low hanging tree branches. It is as if you are on the river bank peering through the dark green curtain of foliage.

The second is that Monet has used such vibrant colors to capture the dancing sunlight on the leaves and the river. The reflection of both the tree and the mill on the opposite bank blend together to give the water an iridescent quality. The label explained that this painting was probably a response to Georges Seurat and Paul Signac whose pointilist style emerged in the 1880s to "bring order" to the loose brushwork of the Impressionists. This powerful canvas certainly places Monet as the greatest of the Impressionists; something that I think he was definately proud to be.

Some new works of art and some old friends are being sprinkled into the contemporary galleries in the Bloch Building. I have noticed a few here and there including Time Pocket by Dennis Oppenheim and Venturi and Blue Pinion by James Rosenquist.

Gallery L5 has changed almost completely. Fred Wilson's The Ominous Glut is featured prominently. The Museum acquired it in 2007, and I don't believe it has been on view previously. The meaning is overtly political dealing with "greed, pollution, global warming and wars in the Middle East." The composition is intriguing with its big drops attached to the wall as if they are sliding down into the puddle on the floor.

Other works in the gallery include Alison Saar's Subway Preacher which I haven't seen on view for several years. Roger Brown's Southern Skies and Southern Pines returns as well with its zigzag patterns of sky and earth.

Even though I miss Elizabeth Murray's Art Part and Carroll Dunham's Particular Aspects (Two), I'm happy to say they are only gone for a short time. These paintings plus others will be on view this summer in Sparks! The William T. Kemper Collecting Initiative.