Decoding the Details: Oil Field Girls
Decoding the Details is a four-part blog series investigating works in the Blanton’s permanent collection. Each post will focus on a single work of art and explore the importance of details that many...
View ArticleArt on the Edge: Austin’s Newest Black Tie Affair
Since moving to its two-building complex in 2006, the Blanton Museum has dazzled art supporters from San Antonio to Dallas to New York City and back, with their biennial galas, which fund the Blanton’s...
View ArticleFive Highlights from La línea continua
The Blanton’s special exhibition La línea continua: The Judy and Charles Tate Collection of Latin American Art closes this Sunday, February 15. The exhibition features highlights from the Tate...
View ArticleTo Be Young, Gifted and Black: The Civil Rights Legacy of Nina Simone
They called her the “High Priestess of Soul.” Her voice was so rich, so anguished, and hypnotic that she could fill you—completely overwhelm you—with the spirit of pride and unparalleled struggle....
View ArticleBeyond All Reason: Goya and his Disparates
One of my joys as a Mellon fellow has been researching the prints of Francisco Goya (1746–1828). Produced after the artist’s fiftieth birthday, Goya’s four mature etching series are emblematic of his...
View ArticleA Conversation with Christina Coleman
Ever since she graduated from UCLA in 2006, University of Texas at Austin MFA grad Christina Coleman has been exploring themes surrounding portraiture, skin and hair. The Austin-based artist has shown...
View ArticleOkay Mountain reunites at the Blanton Museum of Art
On a recent trip to Dallas, I checked into the DoubleTree Hotel and was promptly offered a warm chocolate chip cookie. The service was excellent from the cookie onward but as I wheeled my suitcase...
View ArticlePaper and Performance: The Bent Page
Everyday life is full of paper objects—a dollar bill, a utility bill, a receipt; each of these evoke a range of senses from dread to desire or delight. These objects all participate in different...
View ArticleArt as a Way of Seeing: Two Works by Antonio Caro
If you chose to escape the SXSW revelry last month with a visit to the Blanton, you may have happened upon the installation of two new works in the museum’s Klein Gallery. Both are recent acquisitions...
View ArticleBearing Witness to Awe: Some Final Thoughts on Witness: Art and Civil Rights...
A few weeks ago, a visitor came up to me after I had finished leading a tour of Witness: Art and Civil Rights in the Sixties at the Blanton. He overheard me speaking in detail about Jack Whitten’s...
View ArticleSocial Iconography and Graphics in Mexican and Chicano Art
The bilingual exhibition All the Signs are (T)Here: Social Iconography in Mexican and Chicano Art from Collections at The University of Texas at Austin emerges from my research this year as the Mellon...
View ArticleIn Honor of “Impressionism and the Caribbean,” a Pop Quiz
The Blanton’s new special exhibition Impressionism and the Caribbean: Francisco Oller and His Transatlantic World offers seemingly infinite possibilities for comparative study. The exhibition includes...
View ArticleNot Your Average Princess: Humanity and Complexity in Natalie Frank’s...
On December 21, 1937, Walt Disney studios released their first animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The movie, based on the story by the Brothers Grimm, grossed nearly $8 million...
View ArticleHitting the Road to Find Impressionism in Texas (But Not Texas Impressionism)
One Friday in February, I set out on a five-hour drive from Austin through the Piney Woods of far East Texas to a small, nearly forgotten town called San Augustine. I was headed there on a mission...
View ArticleUp Close and Personal with Artworks on Paper
You spot it down the hallway, past the plaster casts. You wonder what kinds of artworks abound behind the two glass doors. You approach and read the lettering over the entrance: “The Julia Matthews...
View Article“Battle”-ing the Importance of Casts
Throughout our lives we are constantly reminded of the importance of original work—students are taught from grade school that plagiarism is a serious offense, and are always encouraged to come up with...
View ArticleThe Art of Fashion
Works of art can move us, enlighten us, spark imagination, and serve as a source of inspiration for many ideas—even for fashion. Fashion? Yep! Many of you know Hilary Elrod as the voice behind our...
View ArticleModern Living: At Home with the Future
The Blanton’s new exhibition, Moderno: Design for Living in Brazil, Mexico, and Venezuela, 1940-1978, opens this Sunday. We asked Florencia Bazzano, Curatorial Research Associate in Latin American Art,...
View ArticleEuropean Paintings Get a Check-Up
Every painting in the Blanton’s collection has a history. Before it found its way to Austin, it might have made a centuries-long trek across the globe, through various owners and situations. Today, it...
View ArticleLove and the Brain
This is the final week to see the exhibition, Natalie Frank: The Brothers Grimm on view through Sunday, November 15. For this blog post, we asked Dr. Juan Dominguez in the Psychology Department at the...
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