Mending the Sky

On view through January 31, 2021RESERVE MUSEUM TICKETS

Stroll among more than 90 works of art in a scenic Louisiana landscape.

Visit the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden

Stroll among more than 90 works of art in a scenic Louisiana landscape.

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Helen Gillet presents the second in a series of three concerts inspired by the exhibition Mending the Sky.

Curators Mel Buchanan and Nic Aziz joined ceramicist, social activist, poet, and educator Roberto Lugo in a conversation about his commissioned work for NOMA and other career highlights.

NOMA on Instagram @neworleansmuseumofart

"From the genesis of African-based spiritual pract

"From the genesis of African-based spiritual practices such as Vodou and Santería to the creation of soul food and the invention of hip-hop music, the common tie between each of these pieces of history is the idea of remixing. This practice of re-contextualizing existing materials and experiences has been integral to Black expression and survival since the beginning of time.

Whether in regard to his experiences growing up in his father’s church, or extensive reading of Marxist-related works, or his travels to India in 1959 to learn more about nonviolent resistance, the leadership and vision of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was also the product of remixing schools of thought. As we celebrate the legacy of Dr. King, I think this fact is one that is especially pertinent to our current moment in history. I also think of the work and methods of artist Fred Wilson and the ways they affirm the ideals exemplified by the man we honor with an annual holiday, including courage, identity, and social justice.

Fred Wilson is an artist born in the Bronx whose work includes sculpture, painting, photography, collage, printmaking, and installation. He is best known for the conceptual aspects of his practice which examine the art and artifacts contained within traditional museums and the ways that these objects are displayed.

Through the rearrangement of art objects from museum collections, he prompts viewers to consider the fundamentally inequitable and exclusionary foundations of these institutions. These 'interventions,' as he calls them, challenge our assumptions of history, race, and culture, along with the relationships of these constructs to the display practices of museums.

In Wilson’s work 'The Mete of The Muse,' the artist utilizes the concept of juxtaposition to highlight the traditional prioritization of European narratives within museum contexts. In this sculpture, the contrast between an ancient Egyptian female figure and the figure of a Greco-Roman woman creates an easy access point for viewers to ponder issues around the ramifications of race and colonialism."

Tap the link in our bio to read the full essay from Nic Brierre Aziz, Community Engagement Curator

𝑯𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏 𝑳𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑱𝒓. 𝒂𝒕 𝑵𝑶𝑴𝑨⁠
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NOMA will be offering FREE admission during special holiday hours on Monday, January 18, from 10 am to 3 pm. Celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by immersing yourself in art and culture. ⁠
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Complimentary family guides exploring the themes of courage and care will be available at the museum. You can also tap the link in our bio to access our Courage and Care Activity Guide online. ⁠
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[Elyn Zimmerman, "Mississippi Meanders," 2019]⁠
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[📷 @scarcello_images]

Inspired by this work by artist Beili Liu (@beilil

Inspired by this work by artist Beili Liu (@beililiu), "Mending the Sky" takes its title from a Chinese fable in which a rip in the sky causes the earth to split open, bringing floods, fires, famine, and disease—until a goddess comes to take on the arduous task of mending the broken sky.⁠
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Liu’s installation "After All/Mending the Sky" features raw silk clouds and dangling needles, representing a sky in the act of repair. ⁠
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"Mending the Sky" is on view at NOMA through January 31. ⁠
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[📷 @beililiu]

This unadorned glass bowl displayed in NOMA’s de

This unadorned glass bowl displayed in NOMA’s decorative arts galleries is celebrated as art. No ornament or color is needed to decorate its form, as the concentric circles molded into perfectly clear glass make an elegant design statement. However, if one saw this exact same object affixed to the lead car of a quickly-approaching train, it might not be fully appreciated as a prime example of geometric reduction in 20th-century Modern art. This striking “Lens” Bowl was made in 1932 directly from the factory mold of a Corning Glass Company locomotive-headlight lens.⁠⠀⁣
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⚫ Tap the link in our bio to read the full object lesson on the Corning “Lens” Bowl from Mel Buchanan, RosaMary Curator for Decorative Arts & Design. ⁠⠀⁣
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⚫ Check out our Instagram Stories to learn more about the Fresnel-type lens that became a luxury bowl and was patented by the Corning Glass factory in 1877. ⁠⠀⁣
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[Walter Dorwin Teague, designer (American, 1883–1960), Steuben Division, Corning Glass Works (Corning, New York, founded 1903 as Steuben, acquired by Corning in 1918), “Lens” Bowl, c. 1932, Mold-blown Pyrex glass, 2 1/4 x 12 inch diameter, Gift of John Bullard in honor of Isidore and Marianne Cohn, 2014.11]⁠⠀⁣
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[Illustration from U.S. Patent US187631A, Charles F. Houghton, for Improvement In Semaphore-Lenses, patented Feb 20, 1877]

For C. C. Zainey, weekly visits to NOMA are a must

For C. C. Zainey, weekly visits to NOMA are a must. The Museum and the Besthoff Sculpture Garden are a wonderland for the preschool-age visitor who finds herself gazing up at the works of art and offering imaginative interpretations of all that she beholds. Her mother Casey shared her observations. ⁠
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"C. C. Zainey is the museum’s biggest —and smallest—fan! She feels so happy and at home during her weekly visits that she refers to the museum as her 'Uncle NOMA.' She loves the 'big pieces' just as much as she loves the wonderful museum staff, who welcome C.C. by name every week.⁠
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On beautiful days, C. C. enjoys catching up with her 'bench buddies' ('Three Figures and Four Benches' by George Segal), the 'alphabet man' ('Overflow' by Jaume Plensa), and the 'huge strong Dada' (Gaston Lachaise’s 'Heroic Man') in the magical Sculpture Garden. C. C. also highly recommends the chicken tenders and lemon macaroons at @cafenoma."⁠
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Which works in NOMA's collection do you love to revisit?

"Sketch for Several Circles" is a study for Kandin

"Sketch for Several Circles" is a study for Kandinsky’s large painting 'Several Circles,' now in the collection of the @guggenheim. It was made in Dessau when Kandinsky, influenced by the Bauhaus, where he was working and teaching, began experimenting with geometric figures superimposed on dark backgrounds. In Kandinsky’s work colored backgrounds became increasingly opaque in the middle of the 1920s as line surrendered to the explicit configuration of the circle. Halos around the circles, a feature of Kandinsky’s paintings in the middle of the 1920s, serve to separate the circles from the background. The halos lend a spatial quality to the composition, a quality enhanced by the cloud-like effects of the background and the transparency of the intersecting circles. From 1923 through 1929 the circle was the single motif which the artist explored exhaustively in ten major paintings.⁠
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"Sketch for Several Circles" supports and forms the basis for Kandinsky’s own statement of of October 12, 1930, in which he describes his fascination with the circle and its relation to the cosmos: “…Of the three primary forms…the circle points most clearly to the fourth dimension.”⁠
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Tap the link in our bio to read the full object lesson on this seasonal work from NOMA's permanent collection. ⁠
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How many circles can you find in works hanging in NOMA's galleries? Are there any circles hidden in your favorite paintings? ⁠
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[Wassily Kandinsky (Russian, 1866–1944), "Sketch for Several Circles," 1926, Oil on canvas, 27 5/8 x 27 5/8 in., Gift of Mrs. Edgar B. Stern, 64.31]

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