Object Lesson: French Porcelain Soup Tureen
Porcelain imported from China was one of the most prized commodities in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Europe. Europeans had not yet figured out the secret formula to produce a pure white… Read More
Object Lessons
Object Lesson: Platinum-print photography
All photographs depend on different combinations of chemicals and minerals to turn light into pictures. This week, as NOMA focuses on the materials and processes that artists use to create,… Read More
Object Lesson: Newcomb College Pottery “Loquat Fruit” Table Lamp
From 1895 to 1940 Newcomb College Pottery gave young New Orleans women the skills they needed to reputably support themselves as artists. Mostly remembered today for coveted ceramic vases and… Read More
Object Lesson: What is a Photograph?
As NOMA explores the theme of process and materials, this essay looks back at an exhibition from 2011, What is a Photograph?, and some of the treasures that it included… Read More
Object Lesson: Wing by Lynda Benglis
Lynda Benglis’s art is simultaneously subtle and imposing, subdued and sensual, earthy and surreal. In the 1960s, the Louisiana native shocked the New York art world with her electric-hued sculptures… Read More
Object Lesson: Cereus Giganteus, Arizona by Timothy H. O’Sullivan
During the Civil War, Timothy O’Sullivan made a name for himself photographing army camp life and Eastern landscapes destroyed by cataclysmic battles. In 1871 O’Sullivan enlisted in the U.S. Corps… Read More
Object Lesson: A Cave Seen in Sunlight and A Cave Seen in Shade by John Ruskin
Sometime in the 1830s, a young John Ruskin walked into a cave with a box of paper, pencils and paint. Ruskin stationed himself near the mouth of the cave… Read More
Object Lesson: Carlotta Corpron and Edward Weston
During a week when NOMA’s team looks toward our permanent collection for examples of plant life and floral beauty, it may seem strange to focus on the humble cabbage. Carlotta… Read More
Object Lesson: Cypress Trees by Richard Misrach
In the late 1970s, Richard Misrach produced a group of photographs in Louisiana that made dramatic use of long exposures and stroboscopic lighting. Here, the intermittent blasts of light on… Read More
Object Lesson: Dogwood Display II by Alma W. Thomas
“I say everyone on earth should take note of the spring, coming back every year, blooming and gorgeous.” —Alma W. Thomas In Alma Thomas’s painting Dogwood Display II, a rainbow… Read More
Object Lesson: Rubber Plant by Imogen Cunningham
Although Imogen Cunningham’s earliest photographs were soft-focused, often ethereal studies of friends presented as allegories, she would become best known for images such as this one, which presented forms in… Read More
Object Lesson: Rosa Alpina Vulgaris by Pierre-Joseph Redouté
Pierre-Joseph Redouté has been called the greatest botanical artist of all time. Although he received little formal education in his youth, through a series of apprenticeships, mostly in Paris where… Read More
Object Lesson: Study for “Salut de Schiaparelli” by Ilse Bing
In 1930, Ilse Bing moved to Paris, where she was influential in fields as diverse as photojournalism, fashion photography, and advertisements. She also tinkered with avant-garde darkroom practices, inventing her… Read More
Object Lesson: The Garden Party by Toyin Ojih Odutola
“I am my own person, a land that I now wish to take back. Here, I will show you. Do not omit me or render me invisible…I am here, I… Read More
Object Lesson: Rose Trémières by Eugéne Atget
The rose trémière, or hollyhock, is a classic summer bloom with flowers arranged vertically on long stems. Eugéne Atget came across this hollyhock in a Paris, where he roamed the… Read More
Object Lesson: Bamboo in the Snow by Obaku Taiho
Bamboo is considered by many New Orleans area gardeners to be an invasive pest. In Japan and in other parts of East Asia, however, bamboo has much more positive associations,… Read More
Object Lesson: Demonstration of the Talbotype by Thomas Augustine Malone
This unique photograph, made without using a camera, has a wonderful story behind its creation, much of which is written directly on the surface of the photograph. The word “photograph”… Read More
Object Lesson: Mechanic and Steam Pump by Lewis Hine
The story behind the making of this photograph is a lesson in how photographers craft stories into pictures. Lewis Hine, who was well known for this ability once said, “If… Read More