fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
Exploring the New Installation of ArtLens Exhibition: Why Iteration Matters
By: Cleveland Museum Of Art
Tags: Musetech, Culture, Technology, Museums, Art

Designing the space began in 2010. The CMA’s team embraced rapid prototyping, agile workflows, and especially, iterative design. Effective iterative design requires constant analysis of the interactives, process, and backend while improving without reinventing. For our digital innovation team, a sustainable framework reminds us that our job is never done. Our milieu requires scalability, so we can add onto interactives as needed, modularity, so individual changes can be easily made, and the ability to take a calculated risk and learn from it. Each team member recognizes the dynamism of digital experiences for our visitors. ArtLens Gallery is a living lab for both a museum-wide collaboration and a deep dive for evolving design and process. Since ArtLens Exhibition, formerly known as Gallery One, opened in 2012, each year improvements and additions have been made to interactives, workflow, and backend development to enhance the visitor experience.

“ArtLens Gallery is a living lab for both a museum-wide collaboration and a deep dive for evolving design and process.” — Jane Alexander, Chief Digital Information Officer

Designing for the Digital Native — Removing the Touchscreen

The fundamental design challenge in ArtLens Exhibition is the balance between encouraging interaction with the games and close looking at the art objects. How do we create interactives that are engaging, but not distracting? In the original installation, formerly known as Gallery One, each lens, or digital kiosk, was physically placed in front of art objects. Artworks were situated in a rigid and inflexible arrangement so that the lens could frame the works related to a specific theme or concept. The result was a set of highly engaging stand-alone interactive kiosks that were surrounded by works of art that could not be reorganized or changed — to not break the illusion they were arranged to create.
105 Years in the Making: Building the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Armor Court
By: Cleveland Museum Of Art
Tags: Culture, History, Medieval, Museums, Art

The much-beloved Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Armor Court is unique among the galleries of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Not only does it showcase a breathtaking installation of arms and armor, complete with regimental banners and tapestries, it is also the only gallery to have remained in its original location since opening in 1916. Planning for this magnificent space began two years before the grand opening of the museum would even take place.

In 1914 the museum’s first director, Frederic Allen Whiting, knew he wanted arms and armor prominently displayed.

“I already have our former Court of Casts arranged in my mind’s eye as a Court of Armor and wish to make every possible effort to carry out this scheme, which I am sure will work out very beautifully.” — Frederic Allen Whiting, December 19, 1914

Little did Whiting know how difficult the journey would be to make his dream a reality. Armed with pen and paper, his quest would take place mostly at his writing desk (fig. 2).

Figure 2. The Cleveland Museum of Art’s first director, Frederic Allen Whiting (1913–1930). Photograph by Edd A. Ruggles, from the Photograph Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art Archives

Whiting began his search for a suitable armor collection with the help of Bashford Dean, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s curator of arms and armor (fig. 3). Whiting and Dean became interested in the collection of Henry Griffith Keasbey, an American who lived in Great Britain. His collection of 700 works of arms and armor was assembled with great love and care from many prominent dealers. Negotiations lasted more than a year because Keasbey was prone to changing his mind and continually reconsidering offers. By 1915 negotiations broke down, much to Whiting’s consternation.

Figure 3. Major Bashford Dean, c. 1917. Photograph by Harrison Ewing, from the Photograph Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art Archives

“It looks as if I will have to give up the idea of getting this collection, which is a matter of serious disappointment to me, as I had set aside the so-called Court of Casts for this purpose and it will be difficult to secure other material to take its place satisfactorily.” — Frederic Allen Whiting, January 7, 1915

With construction proceeding rapidly, the museum was set to open in less than a year’s time, and Whiting once again found himself seeking an armor collection (fig. 4). With the continued help of Dean, the Macomber collection of Boston was targeted. Frank Gair Macomber, a wealthy Boston attorney who made his money through insurance, had built his collection in the late 1800s by acquiring objects from some of the same prominent dealers as Keasbey. Many considered Macomber to have one of the top collections in the country. With only two months before the scheduled opening of the museum, however, negotiations with Macomber seemed to flounder, despite Whiting’s impassioned pleas.
Arkansas and Oklahoma Road Trip: Part Four
By: Meandering Mandy
Tags: Oklahoma, Cherokee Nation, Traveling, Museums, Roadtrip

Welcome back to the Meandering Mandy blog! I am currently in the process of writing about my husband and I’s road trip through Arkansas and Oklahoma in May and June 2021! On the fifth day of our adventure, we started off at the Cherokee National History Museum. Smack dab in the middle of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, was the building that used to be used as the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court building, and before that, the Cherokee National Capitol building.

I LOVED this museum! I have been to quite a few museums in my life — okay, more like several, maybe even at least a hundred — especially if you count “museums” like the Ka-Do-Ha Indian Village that we had visited the day before (and written about in part three!). Anyway, out of the dozens of museums that I have visited, this has got to be one of the best museums! The artifacts were expertly put on display and the stories and facts were expertly written. I learned so much!

This professional museum exceeded my expectations, and I was enamored with all of the stories and facts I read. I was also sad, sad for the Cherokees and what the Europeans and Americans did to them. The Cherokees were treated poorly. Yet the museum presented the stories and facts objectively. The museum also showed what the Cherokees were doing today to keep their culture and history alive.

My only complaint was that there were a few narrow passageways. I sometimes tend to get claustrophobic, but I was too engrossed by the stories to feel closed in. I was fine standing in a narrow hallway reading the texts to learn about this resilient group of people! Also, it helped that there was only one other couple in the museum, and they were several rooms ahead of us.

Okay, I have one other complaint — the museum was free! Why is this a complaint, you may ask? I WANTED to give them money to support this amazing resource! I couldn’t even find a donation bucket! I learned so much, and it was such an enjoyable experience. Also, they required masks even if you were vaccinated, and they took our temperatures before entering with a high tech camera. Furthermore, they gave us a pen with a soft stylus that we could use on the touchscreens, so we wouldn’t leave germs or pick up germs! They definitely took this pandemic seriously and watched out for our safety even though our ancestors had severely harmed them! It felt like an honor to learn more about their history, and I highly recommend you visit if you find yourself in the eastern part of Oklahoma!

*I was not compensated for the reviews of any of these businesses.
Building connections
By: Lauren Allinson
Tags: Local Business, Museum, Placement, Swp05, Weaving

Getting ‘in’ with a local business.

Much later on in the placement, a representative from McNair (a local business) came to visit the museum. This was a clothes shop that made bespoke shirts, designed for harsh environments.

The representative was incredibly interested in the cloth the museum was producing, and was wanting to create a collaboration. The museum would produce the cloth for the trim of the shirts.

As I was now one of the main weavers in the museum, this meant that I would be producing a lot of this cloth. This meant that I would have to consistently keep to high standards, while still maintaining the other duties of the museum.

The whole idea was nerve-wracking, especially as the representatives would understandably want to know about how the cloth was made, and who would be making the cloth.

This meant that I had to tame the butterflies zooming around in my stomach and have a discussion with the representatives. About the weaving process, and about my role in the museum.

The cloth that I had previously woven.

Understandably, the representative wanted to look at what I could do. So I had to display the cloth that I had previously made.

Thankfully, they were impressed!

This was it now. The order of cloth was made official, and I had to get my head down and weave. Thankfully, the pattern was rather easy to produce on the loom.

One, two, three, four. Change colour.

One, two, three, four. Change colour.

Much easier than some of my other patterns, this meant that I was able to share my time between the weaving and the visitors. Which kept my levels of stress in check!

It also felt quite inspiring to hear what the general public thought about the joint project. As many were interested in why we were weaving, and it was interesting to hear their thoughts.

The number of visitors to the museum also increased, as many of McNair’s clients visited the museum. The client wanted to be able to see the making process of the shirt that they were going to buy. This increase in visitors really shows the importance of making new connections.

The finished product.

The collaboration between the museum and McNair was called ‘really slow fashion’ due to the length of time needed to produce cloth on a handloom (but I promise that I went as fast as I could!).

The finished shirts are now in the shop, and many have already been sold. It is a little overwhelming to think that people are wearing something that I have made.

This has been a fantastic experience that has enabled me to address one of my weakest points in terms of career readiness.

The dreaded networking!

This was one of my weakest aspects, due to the constant fear of not coming across well to other people. This fear led to a major lack of confidence in myself. Going through this experience has proven that my fears were unfounded.

Through developing this skill, more doors will be open to me. These doors will lead to more and more potential opportunities.
Get Creative at Home: A Serving of Inspiration from Molly Hatch’s Botanical Plates
By: High Museum Of Art
Tags: Education, Ceramics, Creativity, Museums, Art

Explore Hatch’s design process, create your own designs for a wall arrangement, and learn more with a math curriculum connection.

By Melissa Katzin, Manager of Family Programs, and Meg Williams, Coordinator of School and Teacher Services, High Museum of Art

Molly Hatch (American, born 1978), Physic Garden, 2013–2014, earthenware and glaze.

Molly Hatch is an artist and designer who creates ceramic works such as Physic Garden and also works in painting, printmaking, and drawing. Hatch often uses historical images, such as prints and drawings, for design inspiration for her ceramic installations, which she calls “plate paintings.” She creates her plate paintings for specific locations such as museums, galleries, and private collections.

Hatch created Physic Garden in 2014 specifically for the High Museum. She painted 456 individual plates after finding her inspiration in two ca. 1755 plates in the High’s Decorative Arts and Design Collection. The flowers painted on those eighteenth-century plates were inspired by the nearby Chelsea Physic Garden, a real garden that houses many medicinal plants.

Look closely at Hatch’s Physic Garden and the plates that inspired the work. Hatch combined the Chelsea plates and moved elements around to create a new composition.
Exploration at Museum Macan: Exhibition of Melati Suryodarmo
By: Ketut Astika
Tags: Jakarta, Education, Museum Education, Museums, Indonesia

What is one self longing for after doing hectic routines? From working day to day to regular rounds doing tasks; I decided to take a quick recharge and go for a short trip to the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Nusantara — famously known as Museum MACAN.

As the art museum located in the West side of Jakarta, this place provides visitors with massive knowledge and lets me explore artworks in detail. Because the artists’ exhibitions lasts for 12 weeks, this time I get a chance to explore Melati Suryodarmo performance works.

In short, Melati Suryodarmo performance work is mainly exhibited in the form of short documentary, with the live performance itself taking time between 20 minutes to 12 hours a day. To be acquainted with her, let me take you to explore her works in detail.

I Love You (2007)

Cited from the explanatory on Museum MACAN, Melati performs using black suit while repeatedly saying “I Love You” with her hands together moving a sheet of glass for 3–6 hours. As I gave an intent gaze to this performance, I deeply appreciated when every single time Melati was carefully moving the glass, how her body must have a stable stamina perform different poses to explain the meaning of the sentence I Love You.

Exergie — Butter Dance (2000) and The Promise (2002)

Although these works deliver a whole different message, both performances use intriguing objects. From her work titled “Exergie — Butter Dance” can be seen Melati dances on piles of slippery butter, while “The Promise” shows Melati holds cow liver and moves the liver into several different positions. By showing these performances, Melati tries to communicate powerful messages mainly about lessons in our life.

There are more art performances and by the time I visited, it feels the time has stopped as Melati’s performances manage to steal attention, which I believe Museum MACAN is the right place to learn many aspects through art.
A Guide to the Museums Open During COVID and How to Visit Them
By: Jaden Tactaquin
Tags: Student Discounts, Covid 19, History, Museums, Art

Photo from Google.

Known for its vast array of art and sculpture derived from antiquity to the late-renaissance, the Metropolitan Museum of Art is now open with new COVID safety-measures put in place. NYU students can attend the Met at a discounted price but must reserve a time slot online then purchase a ticket in-person at the admission desk. The admission fee for students is $12 and includes access to exhibitions and same-day entry to both Met locations.

The Museum of Modern Art

Photo from Google.

The Museum of Modern Art features world-famous works from artists of the modern era including Vincent Van Gough, Alfred H. Barr, and a personal favorite of mine, René Margritte. NYU students can receive free admission to the MoMA with a valid student-ID. Tickets cannot be bought in advance and must be picked up at the ticketing desk in the museum’s main lobby. Time slots only last an hour, so make sure to research which exhibits you want to see in advance!

The Guggenheim

Photo from Google

Coined as the museum where “radical art and architecture meet,” this New York gem is back in business! The Guggenheim asks all visitors to visit their “Before Your Visit” page and review the new modified hours and safety precautions for the exhibit. With a reduced capacity of 25%, timed-tickets are required for entry but discounted for students with a valid student-ID.

The American Museum of Natural History

Photo from Google.

Looking for something different from your typical art museum? Go check out the American Museum of Natural History, full of out-of-this-world exhibits about space, 21st-century science, and dinosaurs! Tickets must be purchased online and include access to permanent museum halls and at least one special exhibition (dependent on the tier of ticket you purchase). For general admission, students receive a discounted ticket at $18 with a valid student-ID and New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut residents receive free admission with valid ID.

Museum of the City of New York

Photo from Google.

For a mix of both art and history, go check out the Museum of the City of New York. Exhibits highlight important cultural-events like the Black Lives Matter Movement and the life of Former-Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, all tied together with fantastic artwork and commentary relevant to the events. Students receive a discounted ticket at $14 which can be purchased online or in-person, including an hour and a half time slot and access to all exhibits.
This Museum Really Exists; and Back in the Day, It Helped A Lot of People Too!
By: The Mindful Optimist
Tags: Traveling, Travel Writing, Netherlands, Museums, Travel

I have the most amazing travel buddy in the world. Before the pandemic, my travel buddy and I used to plan trips abroad at least once a year; even though we are located in two different countries. We’ve been very good at organizing our flights to meet at the airports around the same time.

Back in 2018 my buddy and I decided to go to the Netherlands. Our goal was not to visit only Amsterdam. We’ve always been light travelers and we decided that within three days we can see a lot of different cities in the country. The Netherlands offers one of the most convenient transportation systems and a lot of its cities can be easily reached by train within hours. And we decided to start our trip by visiting a very unique place in a city called Oudewater. The reason is, I had read somewhere that this city was frequently visited in the 16th century by many people from Europe. People who were accused of being a witch etc could go to Oudewater, and receive a certification stating that they were not witches; provided that they passed a weighing test on the huge scales.

Actually, below you can find an excerpt from Visit Oudewater’s website which explains how the museum helped people in the past.

“ Many people accused of witchcraft from all over Europe (or at least, those who could afford the trip) made a head-over-heels trip to Oudewater to avoid being burned at a stake. After the weighing, they received an official certificate proclaiming them not to be a witch. Although nobody was ever found to be an actual witch in Oudewater, the weighings were still a public spectacle. Even today you can get a certificate that “your body weight is in proportion to your build.” The reasoning behind this is the old belief that a witch has no soul and therefore weighs significantly less than an ordinary person; this distinction allows the witch to fly on a broomstick. “

The museum is very small, and it is a lot of fun. I could not have missed the chance to be weighed on the scales and get my certificate. My travel buddy was happy to find out she was not a witch either.

This museum got us thinking that back in the 16th century, thanks to intelligent thinking, lots of actual lives were saved in this city. And not a lot of people know that this place exists. If you ever get the chance to visit the Netherlands, you may consider visiting this museum. You will need to take a bus to get there, and on your way, you can enjoy the beautiful countryside scenery as well.
The Amazing Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, Japan
By: Ilya Kushnirskiy, Fine Art Shippers
Tags: Japan, Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Museums, Art

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons User: Syced / CC BY-SA 3.0

At Fine Art Shippers, we specialize in shipping art from NYC to Tokyo and vice versa. Tokyo has a vibrant art scene, with so many galleries that are worth visiting by all connoisseurs of modern and contemporary art, such as the superb Seizan Gallery that offers a fantastic selection of works by both Japanese and international artists. Tokyo is also home to many must-visit art institutions, and in this blog post, we want to tell you about one of them — The Mori Art Museum located in Minato City.

The Mori Art Museum

The Mori Art Museum is a museum of contemporary art, which was founded in Tokyo by Minoru Mori in 2003. It is located at the top of the 54-story Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, a place visible from throughout the city.

The Museum does not have a permanent collection, but it is known worldwide for its wide variety of original solo and group exhibitions featuring works by many talented Japanese and international contemporary artists, including Bill Viola, Tokujin Yoshioka, and Ai Weiwei. Besides, it is committed to presenting various learning programs focused on cutting-edge visual arts, design, architecture, and other artistic activities within the contexts of science, philosophy, history, and certainly culture. It is also worth noting that the Museum collaborates with different art business professionals, art fairs, and galleries, bringing the best contemporary art to Tokyo. At Fine Art Shippers, we highly recommend that you visit this amazing institution at your first opportunity!

Originally published at https://fineartshippers.com on July 10, 2019.
Are there boundaries in the digital world?
By: Ilan Dahn
Tags: Museums, Digital, Art

A new exhibition in the Tokio digital art museum gives you the experience of a lifetime. you can travel in space when you are surrounded by 470 projectors that connected to 520 computers that let you travel in 10000 square meters of living and breathing art.

‘We want visitors to understand how digital technology can expand the conception of art. The art we create is made up of both the art and the viewer, and the existence and behavior of the viewer can influence the art.’ said teamLab to the British council.

TeamLab (f. 2001) is an art collective, interdisciplinary group of ultra-technologists whose collaborative practice seeks to navigate the confluence of art, science, technology, design and the natural world. Various specialists such as artists, programmers, engineers, CG animators, mathematicians, and architects form teamLab.

I don't think i need to talk any more just take a look on the stunning result.

here’s a link to the official website:

https://borderless.teamlab.art/

and here some inspirations from the website…

all rights reserved to MORI Building DIGITAL ART MUSEUM & teamLab borderless

all rights reserved to MORI Building DIGITAL ART MUSEUM & teamLab borderless

learn more on digital lab

https://www.teamlab.art

now run and buy some flying tickets!

Ilan Dahan

https://www.ilandahan.com/
Our changing relationship with Irtyru
By: Tyne, Wear Archives
Tags: Decolonisation, Ancient Egypt, Mummification, Museums, Ethics

Impact of colonialism and Western beliefs

Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt in 1798 led to an explosion of European interest in ancient Egypt. Collecting Egyptian antiquities was seen more as a scientific study — when it came to mummified people, unwrapping the dead prioritised the extraction of knowledge over respect for the remains. This unwrapping was a Western colonial practice that has happened to Irtyru. The ancient Egyptians would have wrapped her to transform her into a sacred being while the unwrapping process merely transformed her into a specimen or curiosity. What happened to Irtyru in 1830 would likely have been seen as an act of sacrilege and defacement to the ancient Egyptians. When we also consider the possibility that unknown remains may have been placed into Irtyru’s coffins by unscrupulous dealers to make more money, it can be clearly seen that respect for the ancient dead and their beliefs were disregarded in order to gain knowledge and prestige from these ancient “curiosities”.

The impact of colonialism did not stop in the Victorian era. How we see Irtyru and other mummified people on display has been heavily influenced by western beliefs and culture throughout the 20th century and into the new millennium. On seeing mummified remains like Irtyru, our cultural backgrounds can make it difficult to confront the dead human before us. Many of us have grown up hearing legends about the “mummy’s curse” and watching movies portraying supernatural monsters. This distorts our interactions with mummified people as they have been seen in popular culture in ways that can undermine their humanity.

Local newspaper report on the loan of Irtyru to the Louvre in the mid 1990s. The headline reads “Mummy takes its curse to Paris”.

Poster for the 1932 film “The Mummy”.

The attitudes towards death in the western world also come into play when displaying mummified remains. A significant number of visitors question whether mummified people on display are real. This is due to an increasing unfamiliarity with dead bodies. Through the 20th century, there was a massive change in western attitudes towards death. Previously, everyone was familiar with death and dead bodies. Death was a discernible experience and the rituals that surrounded it were commonplace. Death was always close at hand and people were de-sensitised by its frequency. However, the increased “medicalisation” of death during the last century has meant a change in outlook. Now, the dead have all but disappeared from the everyday world of the living. Because death is less frequent due to medical advances, many people may well reach adulthood and beyond without seeing a dead body — a mummified person might be the first dead body that they ever see. This can then lead us to deny their very presence, which can make people think that the person they are looking at is a “fake”.
“Calder-Picasso” Has Arrived in Atlanta! Here’s What You Need to Know
By: High Museum Of Art
Tags: Atlanta, Modernism, Museums, Art History, Art

With more than one hundred artworks by legendary artists Alexander Calder and Pablo Picasso, this exhibition is sure to be a popular one.

By Eva Berlin, Digital Content Specialist, High Museum of Art

Pablo Picasso, Reclining Nude (Nu couche), 1932, oil on canvas, Musée nationale Picasso-Paris, Pablo Picasso Acceptance in Lieu, 1979. © 2021 Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

From sold-out galleries in San Francisco to overwhelming demand in Atlanta, Calder-Picasso is here at the High! Due to the show’s popularity, we strongly recommend reserving your timed tickets in advance to guarantee entry.

How to Get Tickets

Calder-Picasso is on view at the High Museum of Art through September 19, 2021. Tickets are available online on the Calder-Picasso exhibition page. Select a date and time that works for you!

Admission is free for members and Museum Pass holders and is $16.50 for the general public (except during HIGH Frequency Friday, Friday Jazz, and Second Sunday).

When you arrive at your designated time, please head to the Calder-Picasso exhibition first to prevent overcrowding in the galleries. Your ticket includes admission to the entire Museum, so feel free to peruse the other galleries and exhibitions after experiencing Calder-Picasso.

Related Events
New Art and New Ideas at the New Museum in New York
Tags: Contemporary Art, Museums, Fine Art, New York, Art

New Art and New Ideas at the New Museum in New York 300Magazine Mar 7, 2020·2 min read

New York is a sacred cradle for contemporary art, with new art forms and styles being emerged and developed year by year. In our time, New York is home to probably the richest spectrum of museums and galleries specifically devoted to contemporary art. Thousands of ingenious artists work within the unique realm of stone jungles and make the artistic world go round. Today, our focus is on the New Museum, a NYC art museum with futuristic external design. Let’s look at how new ideas are evolving in this peculiar place.

The New Museum as the manifestation of new art

Since its founding by Marcia Tucker in 1977, the New Museum has been an artistic shelter for emerging and mid-career artists who have not gained lustrous success and fame yet. Being the catalyst for under-recognized contemporary artists, the museum arranges all sorts of exhibitions to represent the might and power of new art side by side with new ideas. If you happen to pass by, make sure to visit this amazing place that is rightfully considered one of the most interesting NYC museums.

Daiga Grantina: What eats round itself

The New Museum is known for hosting art installations and exhibitions to highlight the new talents of the world of contemporary art. One such exhibition is “Daiga Grantina: what eats round itself.” It is a solo show of the Paris-based Latvian artist Daiga Grantina, which represents an incorporation of conflicting physical qualities, such as strong and weak, black and white, soft and hard. When looking at Grantina’s large-scale sculptural assemblages displayed at the museum, you start feeling the slight confusion as if you are imbued with some sort of hypnosis. They are impressive and fascinating with their unique forms and overall idea. The exhibition is on view through May 17, 2020.

Location: 235 Bowery, New York
Britney Spears Pop Up Museum in L.A. Gets Fans “In The Zone”
By: Vanessa Castaneda
Tags: Britney Spears, Pop, Music, Museums, Los Angeles

Britney Spears Pop Up Museum in L.A. Gets Fans “In The Zone”

By: Vanessa Castaneda

The Zone: Britney Spears Experience, 6310 W. 3rd St. Los Angeles Photo By Vanessa Castaneda

Fans everywhere have this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience Britney Spears at a more intimate level. The Zone: Britney Spears Experience, is an interactive pop up museum that allows her fans to engage with recreations of her most popular music video sets, props and a chance to relive her most memorable moments throughout her music career.

The museum dedicated to our pop princess is on sale now until April 26, 2020. Tickets start at $29 for fans ages 4–12 (before 5pm only) and $39 for adults. Buy your tickets on “The Zone: Britney Spears Experience” through the direct link found on the official website.

It is as if for a moment, you forget you were in a building that once was a vacant K-Mart on West 3rd Street in Los Angeles. Instead, you escape through the sounds of Spears’ music, and accomplished your dream of being in one of her music videos.

According to LA Weekly, The Zone is 30,000 square-feet, located in Fairfax, and consists of ten different Britney-inspired rooms that was co-created by longtime fans, Jeff Delson and Shannon Ramirez.

“It took about two years of conceptualizing and planning to put this together. There’s a lot of detail involved, and as fans, we wanted to make sure we captured all of the little moments. Once we started construction, it took about three months to build it,” Delson told Insider.

Spears herself supported the two and provided input into this major project. She brought her fans a much closer experience by contributing a few of her most famous outfits, including her flight attendant costume as seen in her “Toxic” music video from 2003, her Pepsi 400 outfit in 2004, and her outfit as seen in her “Till The World Ends” music video from 2012. Each costume display also includes a photograph of Spears of when she wore the outfits.
Sporadic & belated posts— Art & Artists in Vienna
By: Soundarya Venkataraman
Tags: Vienna, Photography, Museums, Photo Essay, Travel

If you aren’t the one to gaze at paintings of yore, MUMOK will be the museum for you. Containing more installations and interactive art, MUMOK was the fun museum, with art that you can walk in and out of, play with and touch.

The whole theme of the exhibition was Vertigo — optical illusions in various forms that can manipulate your senses. There were laser projections, digital videos with piercing sounds and vivid shapeshifting colours, reminiscent of the 90’s Windows wallpapers we used to stare at as kids, and a room filled with wind chimes, almost as large as a person, which you had to part to enter. Apart from that, there was a fascinating collection of drawings that had experimented with optical illusions and perspectives, which had to be viewed through peepholes, or with the help of a mirror or by just… staring hard enough, or tilting your head a little.

There is also the basement level, with paintings by Alfred Schmeller which are equally trippy, with its use of dazzling bright colours, dots of various shapes, and lines of various intensities.
#JesuitMuseums: Saint Louis University (MOCRA)
Tags: Religious Art, Saint Louis University, Jesuiteducated, Museums, Art History

AJCU’s #JesuitMuseums series is back for the summer! Today’s post on Lesley Dill’s Anne Hutchinson Is Present comes from the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art (MOCRA) at Saint Louis University.

Lesley Dill (b. 1950), Anne Hutchinson Is Present, 2018, ink, paper, and thread on Tyvek-backed fabric, MOCRA collection, M2021–0001.

The visionary words of Anne Hutchinson, a central figure in an early religious and political conflict in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, radiate from this intimate work by Lesley Dill. Working at the intersection of language and fine art in printmaking, sculpture, installation and performance, Dill is deeply interested in language, faith and spirituality, and the possibility of awakening viewers to the physical intimacy and power of language itself.

Outspoken and unafraid to court controversy, Anne Hutchinson convened weekly meetings at her home at which she articulated theological positions that put her at odds with the colony’s religious and political leaders (and also challenged the patriarchal social order). Put on trial in 1637, she asserted that her knowledge came directly from God: “So to me by an immediate revelation . . . By the voice of his own spirit to my soul.” Hutchinson was banished from Massachusetts; she died in 1643 in New Netherland (now New York) in an attack by the indigenous Siwanoy.

Anne Hutchinson Is Present, a recent addition to the MOCRA collection, reflects Dill’s exploration of the lives and writings of American poets, speakers, religious visionaries, and abolitionists. Combining imagery with stenciled words, these works elicit themes of contradiction and excess and ecstasy, activism and terrorism, stillness and chaos, repression and freedom, madness and sanity. A major exhibition of Dill’s recent work, Wilderness: Light Sizzles Around Me, is on display at the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, Iowa, through August 22, 2021, and will travel to multiple subsequent venues.

Contributed by David Brinker, Director of the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art at Saint Louis University.
Arts In American Audience:
By: Kinza Abbasi
Tags: Abstract Art, Museums, Abstract Art Painting, Art, Arts In American Audience

Like many nations, Americans have also got diverse skills of arts and crafts. They have got a huge ability to play their role as an artist.

Americans are famous for their artistic approach. Their native culture also includes many arts.

Americans are known as Art lovers. They have got many artistic approaches like Abstract Art, singing, and acting skills and they also portray their art in a very proud way.

Today, we are going to discuss Abstract Art and love for the Abstract Art among Americans.

Abstract Art:

In the last decade, the love of visual arts among American people has immensely increased.

According to the survey of Public Participation carried out in 1985 on Arts, the major visiting centers were museums and Art Displaying Galleries. It shows the American's love for Art.

Americans not only perform diversifying arts but also appreciate other artists. The attendance rates for Arts museums and jazz concerts have increased immensely in the last decade.

Elite class people show more interest in the visual arts and jazz and less in classical music, ballet, and theatre.

With the advancement in technology, people prefer home-based entertainment like social media artists and vloggers are very appreciated nowadays. But still, the attendance at museums, Art galleries, and cinemas is quite appreciable.
Testing Boundaries at the Burchfield Penney Art Center
By: Jordan Anthony
Tags: Burchfield Penney, Museums, Audience Engagement

In an attempt to put some of my newfound knowledge of engaging museum audiences to the test, my family and I visited a local art museum. Here’s how it went…

Friday morning, my family all attended the Burchfield Penney Art Center in Buffalo, NY to test a new concept. After sharing one of my blog posts on Facebook, my family and I discussed how different museum layouts and features of an exhibit further audience engagement. By prompting people to take pictures and “vibe” with the exhibit in their own way, the idea that everyone interacts with exhibits differently is reinforced.

My mom, taking an interest in my future career field, suggested that we “try to do both”, meaning we divide the exhibit into 2 sections and behave differently in each. In the first stages of the exhibit, we walk through the museum as we most likely were expected to do: quietly, slowly, with discussion about the art in the room. Then for the second half of the exhibit, we take pictures of our favorite parts of the art, have open discussion about whatever the art evokes in us, and zig-zag back and forth in the exhibit to make connections between pieces in different areas.

And so, we walked through the museum in this way. What we found was that there was little interaction among ourselves to discuss the art, and even less interaction between us and the art! None of us there were professional art critics, and after speaking with my family members on the car ride home, we all felt that we did not feel experienced enough in this field to make meaningful comments on the art, so the result was that we didn’t make any comments on the art! Of course, the curation of the exhibit was amazing, and the topic of the exhibit was important, so it was unfortunate that we didn’t get as much out of it as we could have.

Some of our favorite pieces. Artist: Bill Stewart (2005). Photo Credit Jordan Anthony

I think that it’s such a simple idea: take interesting photos of the art(ifacts) — moreover, participate in the exhibit! My family and I followed this idea for our second half of the exhibit. Outside of hugging the installations, I think we did everything in the exhibit we wanted to do. Let me express how much more we got out of the exhibit! A few of the pieces sparked conversation with laughter that caused a security guard to give us a glare. We had memorable conversations throughout the rest of the exhibit, and the result was that we were excited to attend the Burchfield Penney’s next exhibition. That museum is interesting already from an architectural standpoint. Now that we are learning how to create our own meaningful experiences with these exhibitions, I think my family and I will become more frequent patrons.
Indianapolis — Newfields. Newfields really has it all. It is an…
Tags: Indianapolis, Indiana, Botanical Garden, Museums, Travel

Newfields really has it all. It is an art museum, garden, art and nature park, and historical grounds all rolled into one. It is definitely a must-see site in Indianapolis.

Planning Your Visit

Plan to spend a decent amount of time here, and go with a plan in mind of what you want to prioritize on your visit. We personally spent an entire afternoon here and only saw maybe half of the grounds and only just briefly visited the indoor museum.

Indianapolis Museum of Art

Of course a major attraction at Newfields is the art museum galleries. There is much to see here from their collection, from different eras, regions, styles, and materials used.

In addition to their standard displays, the Indianapolis Museum of Art also hosts rotating exhibitions, so there is always new art on display. During our visit and running through October, one of these exhibitions is Edward Hopper and the American Hotel.

While we were visiting, much of our trip included rain, but we had phenomenal weather while at Newfields, so we opted to spend our time in the gardens and outdoor areas. However, we didn’t miss the opportunity to see the original Love sculpture by Robert Indiana, along with Holes, by Anderson Ruhwald, the current light sculpture on display in the main entrance.

Lilly House

This historical landmark is a beauty. Home to the Lilly family from the 1930s to the 1960s, the Lilly house is restored to its 1930s appearance. My favorite part of this home is the view from the back of the house, overlooking the lake.

The Gardens

A vast amount of different garden areas exist within the estate. From wooded paths, to flower gardens, to sculptures and fountains — there is much to see.

I was thoroughly impressed by these beautiful gardens, and have been told the gardens receive a makeover for both Halloween and Christmas that is well worth the visit.

If you need a break during your visit, stop by the beer garden at the greenhouse for a refreshment.

Virginia B. Fairbanks Art and Nature Park

Unfortunately access to the art and nature park from the gardens was temporarily closed due to construction during our visit. However, that gives us all the more reason to visit again.

This area of the grounds includes many contemporary art installations and sculptures by the lake, but we were able to see some lovely sculptures on the lawn in front of the art museum.

Overall, I must recommend you take the time to visit Newfields in Indianapolis. If you are looking for additional ideas for your visit to Indianapolis, click here.
The Next Big Update!
By: Making The Magnolia House Exhibit
Tags: Museum Studies, Graduate School, North Carolina, History, Museums

Events Committee

Since the last blog, the Events Committee has thoroughly planned the first event! Three fantastic panelists have been secured for our October 13th event, Dr. Torren Gatson, Dr. Virginia L. Summey, and Lisa R. Withers. The process of reaching out to scholars was stressful and a bit daunting but receiving positive engagement from them was a great confidence boost! We have crafted questions for the panel and started to test virtual event platforms to ensure the event goes well from a technical standpoint. Thankfully, everything is in place for the panel discussion. We hope that we can be this productive in the next couple of weeks!

The Events Committee communicates very well with one another. Due to the tight timeline, we all understand that there is a need for consistent and effective communication. Working together has been a great way to bounce ideas off of one another and get to the exhibit’s core. In crafting the questions, we were able to distill our purpose and see a fuller picture of this project’s potential impact. Hopefully, planning the opening will be made more accessible by the work we accomplished as a team to understand the “why” behind the exhibit. Working on this committee has presented an opportunity to sharpen our event planning skills and see the enthusiasm in the community for our project.
A two and a half thousand year old mummy coffin was unveiled in public in Egypt
Tags: Museums, Sakara, Egypt

A two and a half thousand year old mummy coffin was unveiled in public in Egypt Adilmurphy Oct 7, 2020·1 min read

There is no end to the interest surrounding mummies in ancient Egypt. This time the archaeologists opened such a mummy coffin in public. Earlier this year, 59 stone coffins were found in Sakara. One of them witnessed the opening of a coffin and many took pictures. As soon as the coffin was opened, the body of a mummy was found inside ancient Egypt.

Sakara is a huge Egyptian cemetery, used as a cemetery in the ancient Egyptian city of Memphis. According to the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, 59 wooden coffins were recovered from the tomb at the Sakara archeological site. The wooden coffins were found intact and contained the bodies of ancient Egyptian priests, respected members of the community, and other elderly people.

Such a coffin was opened in front of everyone on Saturday. The coffin basket was closed about two and a half thousand years ago. The video of the coffin opening on Saturday has spread on social media. The mummy was seen inside the coffin in the video. The body of an ancient Egyptian nobleman killed two and a half thousand years ago covered in a well-decorated tombstone.

New Zealand Ambassador to Egypt Greg Lewis also shared a video of the coffin opening on Twitter.

The coffins rescued in Sakara will be sent to the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza for display.
Searching for a Masterpiece: Exploring the CMA’s New Collection Online
By: Cleveland Museum Of Art
Tags: Culture, Online, Museums, Digital, Art

When was the last time you looked at the CMA’s collection from your smartphone, an airplane, or the comfort of home? You can now access more than 61,000 artwork records, including those of some of the world’s most beloved paintings and sculptures, like never before. Dive deep into the provenance of J. M. W. Turner’s The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons. Zoom in on every detail of the boxing match in George Bellows’s Stag at Sharkey’s. Watch videos explaining the story of creation and destruction depicted in the statue Nataraja, Shiva as the Lord of Dance. Select alternate views for Bamboo, Rocks and Lonely Orchids to easily examine the handscroll’s intricate images and writing.



Earlier this year, director William Griswold introduced the CMA’s Open Access initiative as a logical and exciting outgrowth of the CMA’s mission to create transformative experiences through art, for the benefit of all the people forever. In addition to around 30,000 images of public-domain artworks, metadata relevant to more than 61,000 records is available without restriction, whether the works are in the public domain or under copyright. Objects are now linked to brand-new content, from videos to 3-D models, all within a sleek modern framework.
Conjure the Museum of Your Dreams in The Anything Gallery
By: Vlad Alex, Merzmensch
Tags: Gaming, Videogames, Features, Museums, Art

Conjure the Museum of Your Dreams in The Anything Gallery

Museum simulations belong to an extensive video game genre we have yet to explore. They can be collaborations of digital artists, like “Zium Museum” or “Zium Garden”. They can be Museum parodies like “The Crows Crows Crows Community Museum” or “The Artist is Present” by Pippin Barr. They can be silent but powerful exhibitions like “Neo-Brutalism of Tomorrow”. They even can be endlessly transient AI-generated diorama experiences like “Telephone Paintings” or perception-related phenomenons like “Gallery of Subjective Art”. Perhaps we need to discuss a brand new style: Museumcore, -punk or -wave.

Especially during lockdowns and quarantines, as museums are closed or inaccessible, the urge to get lost in endless halls full of art is uncontrollable. Especially if your bent is to contemplate the art you seek.

“The Gallery of Anything” by Jan Malitschek follows this urge in a simple but genius way.

The approach is straightforward and laconic. You enter the game. You enter the empty museum. You enter the desired topic.