Helping Children Bridge the Fact/Value Split This painting is part of the beautiful collection of Dutch golden-age paintings at the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky. Not only is it lovely, it’s allegorical. Allegorical paintings are my favorite pieces in any museum. They do something daring! They bridge the chasm […]
Walking toward the south end of campus, you’ll see a new building at the University of Texas. It’s a large bulbous looking structure near the Blanton Museum of Art, as you pass between the PCL building and Jester dorm. It looks like a giant igloo from the back–plain stone, bereft […]
This painting captures the drama of the Enlightenment. During the late 17thth century, discoveries in the realm of natural sciences gave mankind unprecedented power, as well as unavoidable moral dilemmas. In this painting, Wright forged new territory, focusing on the prominent issue of his day. It’s not inconceivable that […]
Xu Bing was 11 years old when the Cultural Revolution began in China. He grew up in a land hostile to the printed word. Countless books were burned and reading was discouraged, unless it was Chairman Mao’s Little Red Book. His parents were both employed at the University of Beijing, were […]
While working at an art museum, I have had the chance to observe thousands of people walk through the doors. During my brief foray into the museum studies program at Johns Hopkins, I took a course in Museum Education and read multiple studies in which social scientists tried to categorize […]
I toured the museum last week with a group of 10th grade students. This painting was our final stop. Recently, I’ve been giving my tours in reverse, beginning with pieces in the modern and contemporary galleries first, and then finishing up in the European galleries. More on the reasons for […]