In a memorable scene set in a hotel room in the film, Apocalypse Now, Captain Benjamin Willard, experiencing a fit of delirium, smashes a mirror with his fist and then smears the blood from his wounded hand on his face. The interrelated themes of transformation and recognition introduced in this scene, through the symbol of…Continue Reading Rereading Argos as an Index of Imperiled Selfhood Among Returning Combat Veterans
This posting on the exhibition, Travels in Ithaca: New Paintings by Scott Gleeson, which opened in the Hawn Gallery of the Hamon Arts Library on January 25th, is the first of several postings by the artist. This posting presents a summary of the exhibition. This and future postings are intended as a series of dialogs between the artist…Continue Reading Travels in Ithaca: New Paintings by Scott Gleeson – an Introduction
Learning of the death of Ellsworth Kelly reminded me of the first time I viewed one of his works. The occasion was the Metropolitan Museum’s centennial exhibition, ‘New York Painting and Sculpture: 1940–1970’, curated by Henry Geldzahler when he was but 33 years old. The exhibition displayed 408 works by 43 artists whom Geldzahler identified…Continue Reading Ellsworth Kelly (1923-2015): American abstract artist
Even the most incurious visitor to the Hamon Arts Library cannot have helped but notice the six works posted near the entryway. These pieces are part of a series entitled “Paper Dolls,” by Colleen Shull (SMU MFA ’11) and Justin Shull (former SMU Division of Art Adjunct Lecturer). This show, curated by guest curator Shannon…Continue Reading Reflections on Paper Dolls
Please stop by the second-floor gallery outside of Bywaters Special Collections and view how the portfolio XTOL by Octavio Medellin was researched by the artist in 1938 and later published in 1947 by the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, which preceded the Dallas Museum of Art. Work began in 1938 when Octavio Medellin spent six months…Continue Reading Octavio Medellin: Maya-Toltec Temples and Carvings, 1938 on display
Photographs in the Paper Dolls series confront the viewer with fundamental questions of viewer agency and power central to the critical investigation of visual culture. A feminist critique of visual culture, especially the culture of fashion magazine consumption by young women, is suggested by the selection and treatment of the six images comprising the exhibition….Continue Reading The fantasy / comparison model of fashion image processing: A prospective model of viewer engagement
On Wednesday, November 11, art historian and critic, Michael Fried, and Dallas Museum of Art Hoffman Family Senior Curator of Contemporary Art, Gavin Delahunty, discussed Jackson Pollock’s black paintings, the focus of the exhibition opening at the DMA this coming Friday, November 20….Continue Reading Pollock’s Black Paintings: A Conversation
I just returned from Taos, New Mexico where I attended the symposium that was in conjunction with the exhibition Pressing Through Time – 150 Years of Printmaking in Taos co-curated by Dr. David Farmer, former director of DeGolyer Library, SMU. Two lithographs from Bywaters Special Collections are included in the exhibition – House in…Continue Reading Pressing Through Time: 150 Years of Printmaking in Taos
I have been waiting for an exhibition like this for a while now. After four years as an Art History student researching old masters such as Diego Velasquez and Fra Angelico, I finally had the chance to see their work up close! The Treasures from the House of Alba: 500 Years of Art and Collecting…Continue Reading From the House of Alba to the House of Hamon: exhibition resources at the Hamon Arts Library