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 Director's Letter
 August was special for my family and me. We finally moved into Detroit and started a new life close to the DIA and many other amazing places that the city offers. Because of our proximity, we have been able to enjoy the museum more times as visitors. Last weekend, my son and wife spent quite a bit of time in the American galleries in front of the Samuel F. B. Morse painting The Gallery of the Louvre , on loan from the Terra Foundation for American Art, identifying the works by famous artists represented in this phenomenal image. It is a little bit like trying to find Waldo, but instead, in the Morse painting, one discovers the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci and famous works by great masters of the past like Caravaggio, Titian, and others whose paintings you will also find at the DIA. The painting remains on view through September 18, and I encourage this exercise for your friends and families, as it is a fun way to learn art history and develop an eye for art.
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At the DIA, we want you to develop your eye and intuition for art, and we will go beyond the museum walls to share our passion with you. On August 18, for instance, we gathered with City Councilwoman Patty Campbell at Memorial Park for a special ceremony launching our InsideOut program in the city of River Rouge. It was a glorious summer day and we wanted to celebrate the collaboration between the DIA and this neighboring city. The museum had never had a presence there and Campbell, in her emotional and thoughtful remarks, emphasized the importance of embracing the arts to better life in our community. A number of children were in attendance, and we all shook hands, exchanged some thoughts, and took pictures together (above, left). These kids are part of a leadership program and decided they wanted to prepare and lead some tours of the DIA's InsideOut reproductions in the park and the city. I applauded their initiative and asked them to invite me for the first tour. I am always curious to hear the fresh and uninfluenced perspective children have about a work of art; what a great learning opportunity for me, the proof that art opens the mind and inspires better worlds. I assured the kids and all the residents in attendance that I will also give the director's perspective on a tour sometime in the upcoming weeks. I received very warm applause in response, but what really touched me was the certificate, signed by Mayor Michael D. Bowdler, that Councilwoman Campbell handed me. The document recognizes the DIA's commitment to bring the arts into the community and our outstanding outreach efforts to create art-based programs that enrich the quality of life in River Rouge. I have never received a diploma that celebrates the union of people, the arts, and life, and it is a very fitting lesson that our neighboring friends responded to the DIA's first appearance in Memorial Park in this manner. Thank you for your attention and gratefulness. In the meantime, I will be preparing my InsideOut tour of the city. I promise the experience will be fun, like finding Waldo or a Da Vinci in the Morse painting! 
Salvador Salort-Pons
Director
Detroit Institute of Arts Back to top |
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Exhibitions THE OPEN ROAD
Photography and the American Road Trip Through September 11
Special Exhibitions Central Galleries
Nineteenth-century poet
Walt Whitman certainly didn't have the automobile in mind when he penned
Song of the Open Road in 1855, but it is as applicable today as it was when the options for travel were essentially on foot or horseback. He envisions the road as an expansive pathway to freedom and discovery of the countryside, its people, and one's soul: "You road I enter upon and look around, I believe you are not all that is here, I believe that much unseen is also here."
Stephen Shore, one of the photographers featured in this exhibition that closes in two weeks, thinks this "country is made for long trips." Photographer Joel Meyerowitz summed up the allure of the road trip: "I began to understand that the car window was the frame, and that in some way the car itself was the camera with me inside it, and that the world was scrolling by with a constantly changing image on the screen. All I had to do was raise the camera and blink to make a photograph."
Like Whitman, Shore and Meyerowitz are native born, but the pull of the nation's roads has attracted foreign-born photographers as well. Swiss-born Robert Frank, like many Europeans, felt a sense of displacement caused by thes country's great expanse. His photographs taken on cross-country trips were published in 1959 as
The Americans, a book that influenced many of the artists in this exhibition. Other non-native photographers in the exhibition include
Inge Morath (Austria),
Jacob Holdt (Denmark),
Bernard Plossu (France, born South Vietnam), Shinya Fujiwara (Japan), and the Swiss duo
Taiyo Onorato and Nico Krebs.
This exhibition is organized by Aperture Foundation, New York, David Campany and Denise Wolff, curators, and is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Above:
Outside Memphis, Tennessee, 1960, gelatin silver print; Inge Morath, American, b. Austria.
© Inge Morath/Magnum Photos
Back to top GUEST OF HONOR
Gallery of the Louvre Through September 18
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Top:
The Court of Death, 1820, oil on canvas; Rembrandt Peale, American. Gift of George H. Scripps
Below:
Gallery of the Louvre, 1931-33, oil on canvas; Samuel F. B. Morse, American. Terra Foundation for American Art, Daniel J. Terra Collection, 1992.51
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Samuel F. B. Morse was an accomplished painter back at home when he journeyed to France in 1830. Known for his portraiture, he was commissioned to create a likeness of President James Monroe and a full-length painting of Frenchman Lafayette, hero of the American Revolution. He longed, however, to be a painter of grand history pieces. Early on, he saw a visit to Paris and the Louvre as essential to reaching this goal, writing his mother seventeen years before starting work on
Gallery of the Louvre: "I long to bury myself in the Louvre." Once at the museum, Morse used a moveable scaffold to view the upper rows of paintings. In 1832, he returned to the United States and finished the painting in his studio the following year.
The painting failed to attract the attention Morse had hoped for, and he abandoned plans for a public tour after unsuccessful showings in Manhattan and Hartford, Connecticut, failed to cover costs.
Gallery of the Louvre was Morse's last painting, as he turned his attention to the development of the telegraph and the code that bears his name.
Gallery of the Louvre is on loan from the
Terra Foundaton for American Art
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New On View
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| Bird, 1990, painted metal, wire, basketball, feathers; David Hammons, American. Museum Purchase, W. Hawkins Ferry Fund and Ernest and Rosemarie Kanzler Foundation Fund. (2016.76) |
David Hammons's sculpture Bird, created in 1990, is a quintessential work by the artist, reflecting his distinct approach to combining found and discarded objects, clever wordplay evoking layers of meaning, and a fresh and imaginative visualization of recurring themes focusing on the African American experience. The title of the work alludes to African American jazz saxophonist and composer Charlie Parker, whose nickname was "Yardbird," eventually shortened to "Bird." He was known for his innovations in the 1940s that led to bebop, an improvisational approach to playing jazz. Hammons is a fan of Bird's music. The sculpture also brings to mind famous Boston Celtic basketball player Larry Bird, who is white and usually referred to by only his last name. The prominent basketball suspended at the top of the ornate, white-painted metal birdcage indicates that the sculpture is commenting on the popular sport. Basketball is a recurring reference in Hammons' art, but the presence of the ball is unusual. Hammons typically symbolized the sport with a high hoop and backboard made of found and nontraditional objects. Valerie Mercer, curator of African American art, says the six-foot-tall birdcage pays homage to Parker yet serves as a metaphor for the white establishment's offering of professional sports and music as one of the few careers open to black males. Back to top |
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Detroit Film Theatre The fall 2016 Detroit Film Theatre's schedule features a return visit, after an absence of four years, of the Alloy Orchestra with their original scores for silent films, and screenings of the first two of seven films directed by women.
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| L'Inhumaine (The Inhuman Woman)
Courtesy: Photofest |
The Alloy Orchestra brings its unique sound to the DFT September 23, 24, and 25, accompanying four silent films: Variety (Jealousy), a 1925 German crime drama of lust and revenge; the 1924 futuristic, art deco fantasy L'Inhumaine (The Inhuman Woman), featuring a mad scientist's laboratory designed by cubist painter Fernand Léger; Man With a Movie Camera, a 1929 experimental portrait of a day in the life of the former Soviet Union; and the recently restored version of Fritz Lang's 1925 timeless science-fiction classic Metropolis.
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| The Fits
Courtesy: Oscilloscope Laboratories |
The Boston Globe calls The Fits "what independent moviemaking should be and can be in this country." In an extraordinary feature film debut, director Anna Rose Holmer tells the story of eleven-year-old tomboy Toni, who becomes entranced with a dance troupe while she trains as a boxer at a neighborhood gym. Struggling to fit in, she finds herself caught up in the mysteries of an outbreak of fainting spells and trembling ("the fits") affecting the group. The film plays multiple times the weekend of September 9, 10, and 11. New this fall are monthly screenings of documenties with local connections, shown in conjunction with the Detroit Free Press's Freep Film Festival. First up is Little Gandhi the tragic tale of Syrian peace activist Ghiyath Matar, dubbed "Little Gandhi" for his strict code of nonviolent protest, whose efforts for a peaceful pursuit of freedom and democracy were met with live ammunition from the Syrian regime. The film plays only once, on Thursday, September 29 at 7 p.m., and the screening will be followed by a Q&A session with the award-winning director, metro-Detroiter Sam Kadi.
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| Don't Blink-Robert Frank
Photo: Sid Kaplan, Grasshopper Films |
Don't Blink--Robert Frank is a revealing new documentary tribute to the iconic Swiss-born photographer directed by Laura Israel, Robert Frank's friend and collaborator since the early 1990s. She created a lively cinematic portrait of Frank, who burst on the scene with his 1958 landmark book of photographs, The Americans, and is still active today at the age of ninety-one. His photographs are included in the exhibition The Open Road: Photography and the American Road Trip, through September 11. The film plays Friday, September 30, Saturday, October 1, and Sunday, October 2. Click here to read about film curator Elliot Wilhelm's forty plus years at the DFT. For more DFT information, including dates and times, or to purchase tickets, click here. Back to top |
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Awesome Fun
A movie featuring three best friends-a toy horse, cowboy, and American Indian-and an artist demonstration exploring the nature of portrait photography, including selfies, are the featured events of September's Detroit Institute of Awesome weekends.
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| Courtesy: Zeitgeist Films |
The characters in the DFT Animation Club presentation of
A Town Called Panic (left), a stop-animation feature playing Saturday and Sunday, September 17 and 18, at 2 p.m., may be small and made of plastic, but there's plenty of room in their lives for friendship, love, birthday presents, online shopping, music lessons, and home improvements. This is animation for both adults and kids, or as a critic for the
San Francisco Chronicle put it, "aimed directly at your inner eight-year-old, and it strikes home."
Arturo Herrera, a metro-Detroit area multimedia artist and photographer, recreates a portrait session, inviting visitors to create props from a variety of materials and then pose with them for a picture taken by the artist. In the process, Herrera raises questions of whether a selfie can be considered art.
Every DIA Awesome weekend includes family-friendly guided tours, art-making workshops and, on Sundays, drawing in the galleries. Activities are free with museum admission, except for the Animation Club screenings, which are free for members and $5 for the general public.
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Menuhin Tribute A film and concert celebrating the one-hundredth anniversary of renowned musician and humanitarian Yehudi Menuhin (1916-99), considered to be one of the greatest violinists of the twentieth century, are scheduled at the DIA Friday and Saturday, September 9 and 10. Film director and violinist Bruno Monsaingeon, who counts Menuhin as a lifelong friend and mentor, travels from Paris for "A Centenary Tribute: Menuhin 100," performing with Ukranian cellist Aleksey Shadrin and Detroit pianist Ivan Moshchuk in a Friday Night Live concert of chamber music by Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky's Trio in A Minor, Op. 50, subtitled "In Memory of a Great Artist," at 7 p.m., Friday, September 9.
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| Photo credit: ??? |
The DFT holds a free showing of Yehudi Menuhin: The Violin of the Century, directed by Monsaingeon, on Saturday, September 10 at 2 p.m. The film, a retrospective of Menuhinʼs career, is widely regarded as the definitive portrait of the artist. Monsaigeon discuss Menuhin's life and work following the screening. "A Centenary Tribute: Menuhin 100" is made possible by the generous support of Ethan and Gretchen Davidson, William Kupsky and Ali Moiin, and Lear Corporation. It is part of The Detroit Sessions, a series of collaborations with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Michigan Opera Theatre, Shakespeare in Detroit and ArtLab J, founded by Ivan Moshchuk. Back to top |
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News and Notes
New Benefit for Members
Your membership card is now good for discounts around town in addition to savings at the DIA. This new benefit for members offers discounts at more than fifty shops and restaurants in and around the city. While the businesses are mostly in the Midtown area near the museum, the list is expanding to include more far-flung locations. Each venue sets its own discounts, some offering up to 20 percent off select purchases. Look for this sign (left) at participating business or check the DIA website for a complete list. Call the membership hotline, 313.833.7971, for more information. In the Museum Shop
Ever wonder what curators might choose from the Museum Shop as a means of sharing their knowledge and love for their particular fields of expertise? The shop's new Curator's Choice section gets underway with recent publications selected by Nancy Barr, curator of photography, that provide a sense of both the historical (Walker Evans) and the contemporary (Mickalene Thomas) sides of fine art photography. On the lighter side, The Photographer's Cookbook appeals to Barr's love of food, in addition to photography, with recipes ranging from Horst P. Horst's marinated cucumbers to Ansel Adam's beer-poached eggs. Look for choices by other curators over the coming months. Start planning your activities for next year with a 2017 calendar from the shop. Whether you are plotting a round-the-world trip or merely keeping track of social engagements, you'll enjoy doing so with art-filled desk and wall calendars. Calendars also make great gifts. Stop by the Museum Shop in the Farnsworth lobby during museum hours or shop online anytime. Members receive a 10 percent discount on purchases. Time Change
On Friday, September 16, the first performance by singer Francisco Bedoy begins at 5:30 p.m., instead of the usual 7 p.m. The second concert starts at the regular time, 8:30 p.m. The Mexican tenor appears as part of an ongoing collaboration between the DIA and the Consulate of Mexico featuring performers from that country. Back to top |
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| Detroit Institute of Arts
5200 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, Michigan 48202
www.dia.org
313.833.7900 Comments or questions about the newsletter? Please contact us: [email protected] ADMISSION
$12.50 adults
$8 seniors (62+)
$ 6 youth (6-17)
The museum is free for members and residents of Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb Counties
Contact the Membership HelpLine at
313.833.7971 or [email protected] For group sales (15 or more) contact 313.833.1292 or dia.org/grouptours
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HOURS
Museum
Mon CLOSED
Tue, Wed, Thur 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Fri 9 a.m.-10 p.m.
Sat, Sun 10 a.m.-5 p.m. PARKING
Lighted, secure self-parking is available in the museum parking lot, between John R and Brush behind the museum, for $7. |
CaféDIA
313.833.7966
Tue, Wed, Thur 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Fri 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m., 4-9 p.m.
Sat, Sun 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Kresge Court
Tue, Wed, Thur 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Fri 9 a.m.-9:30 p.m.
Sat., Sun 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Museum Shop
313.833.7944 or [email protected]
Open during museum hours or online at diashop.org |
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