Oklahoma City Museum of Art

Spring Break Camps at OKCMOA

media — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:49:37 +0000

Foster your children’s love of the arts and inspire their creative expression with the OKCMOA camp program! We offer a variety of age-appropriate, thematic sessions based on the Museum’s exhibitions and permanent collection. All sessions are led by professional educators, who provide guidance and encourage creativity with stimulating instruction and engaging activities. An exhibition of student artwork and reception in the main lobby tops off each camp on Friday, when students can share their fantastic creations and take their families on a tour of the Museum. Cost: $120 members/$130 nonmembers per child (before/after care is available from 8–9 a.m. and from 4–5 p.m. at a charge of $5 per child, per day). Maximum enrollment is 12 students. Fee includes materials; please provide a sack lunch and snacks for your child to bring each day. Children must meet the minimum age requirements for each class to participate. Scholarships are available. Call (405) 236-3100, ext. 213, or enroll online at tickets.okcmoa.com. The Oklahoma City Museum of Art is located at 415 Couch Drive in downtown Oklahoma City. SPRING BREAK ART (AGES 5–7 [...]

Oscar Tune-Up Turns 10!

media — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:22:39 +0000

By Brian Hearn, film curator Waaaay back in early 2003 I was following the Oscar race noting how many nominees either hadn’t come to Oklahoma City at all or came and went too fast. So I invented “Oscar Tune-Up” as a program to enhance one’s enjoyment of the Oscar telecast. It’s always more fun to have seen the nominees in 24 categories, especially the more obscure ones. That year we screened several films that went on to take home a golden guy: Frida, Bowling for Columbine, Spirited Away, Nowhere in Africa, Adaptation, and the live action and animated short films. Audiences clearly loved it so we made it one of the cornerstones of our annual programming. A lot has changed in ten years. For one, Oscar night is one month earlier than it used to be. We’ve also seen a lot of tinkering with Oscar night in an effort to remain relevant in popular culture. While it’s been a mixed bag of experiments, one thing has not changed. It remains the biggest night in the movie business when art trumps [...]

Oklahoma Art Writing and Curatorial Fellowship Presents

media — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:33:53 +0000

Unfolding Contemporary Art: How Curators Impact Culture The Oklahoma Art Writing and Curatorial Fellowship invites the public to hear from visiting art world luminaries in a series of public panels offering a broad view of various professional practices within the field of contemporary art. The first of these, Impacting Contemporary Culture Through Curatorial Practice: Three Perspectives, is February 18, 1-3 pm, at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art Noble Theatre, 415 Couch Dr in Oklahoma City. The panel is free and open to the public. The Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition (OVAC) presents this program to encourage writing that is informed, articulate, inspired and engages audiences in contemporary art. The Oklahoma Art Writing and Curatorial Fellowship is organized in partnership with the Oklahoma City Museum of Art and The School of Art & Art History at the University of Oklahoma. “Experiencing art can be profound and it is different for everyone. How we understand it is shaped by the museums, galleries, and publications produced about art,” said Julia Kirt, OVAC executive director. “Through this program, we hope to grow experiences of [...]

Sundance 2012 Day 5: Views from the Zoo

media — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:38:51 +0000

by Brian Hearn, film curator The “New Frontier” section of Sundance “pushes the boundaries of storytelling and the moving image.” Consisting of both installation based work and feature length films there are always surprises to be found. Bestiaire is one such film that challenges the viewer to follow a series of long, beautifully composed shots of the residents of an exotic animal park. It begins in winter with tigers, zebras, ostriches, and the like rattling their cages despite the wordless care and feeding by their human handlers. It is unnerving watching these beautiful, noble creatures designed to run free, banging around in their confined spaces waiting for spring. Then it comes, sweet freedom! Elephants, water buffalo, hyenas, etc. move to outdoor spaces, but we are reminded that they remain captives of their human counterparts who interact with them on an otherwise equal basis. The film takes a rather gruesome detour to the taxidermy workshop where we see their craft in unflinching detail. (That sent people running for the exits!) I found it to be a strangely fascinating art form, though [...]

Why we go to the Omelette Party by the Pages

media — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:54:15 +0000

Most fund raisers are for seeing and being seen, then you go elsewhere to have fun. The Omelette Party is the one fund raiser that is actually fun!!! Dress in jeans, dress in cocktail attire, dress in costume appropriate to the theme (Royal Art this year) or dress in costume not appropriate to the theme – it’s all about having fun. The tastiest and most creative omelettes by some of the best chefs in town – eat as many as you want – other tasty treats as well. Lots of art to look at and, and dozens of people will go home as the winner of their favorites. We choose bands that are a big hit with every age group – very danceable for all. Hey, and it’s right in the middle of Bricktown!! Your friends will be there!!! Don’t miss out!!! -Ron Page Everyone arrives with a smile because they know they are going to have a great evening! It’s a very inter-active party…you end up dancing with complete strangers who become your friends!! There is fantastic food, drinks [...]

Sundance 2012 Day 4: Attack of the Killer Docs

media — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:56:47 +0000

by Brian Hearn, film curator The debut of Lithuania’s national basketball team at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona was noteworthy for a number of reasons. Yes, their tie-dyed uniforms sponsored by the Grateful Dead were eye catching but the real story behind this team transcended sport altogether. The Other Dream Team have been overshadowed by team USA’s roster of NBA superstars who cruised to the gold medal podium, but the hopes of a new nation reeling from the brutal crackdown by the post-Soviet Russian government were invested entirely in them. No pressure, right!? Due to its geography Lithuania had historically been caught between the titanic forces of Germany and Russia. Prior to WWII basketball was introduced to the country in the 1920s where it quickly became a national pastime. Under the Soviets, much of their national team was comprised of Lithuanian players. Even the NBA came calling in the 1980s knowing full well that drafted players like Sarunas Marciulionis and Arvydas Sabonis wouldn’t be allowed to leave. After the collapse of Soviet Union, everything was on the line when [...]

Portfolio Day at OKCMOA

media — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:57:05 +0000

The Oklahoma City Museum of Art, in conjunction with the Oklahoma Art Education Association, again sponsored Portfolio Day on Friday, January 13, 2012. The event was open to all Oklahoma High School Junior and Senior students who have interest in furthering their arts education to college. Representatives of art faculties from Oklahoma and other regional colleges and universities, private and public, evaluated and made recommendations to students interested in the arts on portfolio development for the purpose of admissions and scholarships. The art inspired students enjoyed their day at the Museum by going on tours in the galleries, eating lunch and getting great advice on their portfolio

Sundance 2012 Day 3: Art at the Heart of It by Brian Hearn, film curator

media — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 23:29:14 +0000

One of the most anticipated films of the festival for me was Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present. Almost a million people visited her landmark retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in 2010. I saw that exhibition and was overwhelmed by her fearless body of work that has earned her the moniker “Grandmother of Performance Art.” That said the masses of people seeing her sensational show created a chaotic experience that was unsettling for me as a viewer. I felt the carnivalesque atmosphere detracted from the visceral power of her work. This documentary follows Marina as she prepares for the exhibition, especially her unprecedented new performance “The Artist is Present” in which she sits face to face in total silence with thousands of visitors, one on one, seven hours a day, six days a week for the duration of the MoMA show. The most surprising thing to me about the film is how successfully it amplified the emotional resonance of her work bringing it into shattering closeness. This was further enriched by her first person history and the [...]

Sundance 2012 Day 2: Emotional Rollercoaster by Brian Hearn, film curator

media — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 01:17:22 +0000

Sundance, like most A-list film festivals, tends to have an obsession with premieres, preferably world premieres or at least North American premieres. There’s a curatorial pride when a festival can claim to have discovered a new talent or breakout film. But under John Cooper’s direction the Sundance lineup has evolved to include a “Spotlight” section of noteworthy international films that have premiered elsewhere around the world. I am especially grateful for this as it’s my best chance to catch these titles that may or may not find theatrical distribution in the United States. Today I’m catching several of these. 9:30am Corpo Celeste is a prime example. Alice Rohrwacher directed this observational Italian drama about 13-year-old Marta who has moved to southern Italy after growing up in Switzerland. Like most girls her age she is in transition physically, mentally and spiritually. Marta struggles to adapt to her new surroundings and finds herself alone while her single mother works long days in a bakery. She joins the local Roman Catholic Church catechism class where she has contact with her peer group. Marta [...]

Sundance 2012 Day 1: Here We Go by Brian Hearn, film curator

media — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 00:22:43 +0000

After burning off some excitement on the slopes today it’s time to get down to the serious business of watching movies. The Sundance Film Festival kicked off tonight and I’m here with my “Okla-homies” Lance McDaniel and Kim Haywood of the deadCENTER Film Festival. Our opening night film was a fascinating documentary called Searching for Sugar Man. It’s only natural to love the popular music from the year of your birth, right? 1970 was a very good year: Elvis, The Jackson 5, Santana, James Brown, Led Zeppelin, The Grateful Dead, CSNY, The Doors, etc. It was also a sad year: the Beatles broke up as did Simon and Garfunkel, and a few weeks after I showed up we lost Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. What about Rodriguez? Remember him? Probably not. Born in Detroit, Sixto Rodriguez was the sixth child of Mexican immigrants. He became a philosopher, poet, singer, songwriter, and musical enigma. Rodriguez recorded two studio albums in 1970-71 that went basically nowhere in the United States despite modest critical acclaim. He was dropped from his record label and [...]