Tag: walters

Super Thursday: In Full Bloom at the Walters

By
D. Sellinger
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In Full Bloom

catch of the day fish (2)T.S. Eliot may have designated April as “the cruelest month,” but it would seem that fashionistas, art lovers, and gardening enthusiasts disagree. After all, April is jam-packed with events for those often overlapping factions. And we all want our frocks to compliment our floral centerpieces that were inspired by our favorite masterwork that we gaze at while listening to our favorite musical selections. Who doesn’t? And while tomorrow evening’s event at the Walters isn’t exactly all about that, it certainly does bring together some of our favorite things. That’s why you’ll want to throw on your spring best to head out to the Walters for In Full Bloom, a free event that brings together art, fashion, flowers, music, and specialty cocktails.

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House of the Day: Mt. Vernon Brownstone, Walk To Walters, Peabody

By
Cynthia McIntyre
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$399,900
910 Calvert Street North, Mount Vernon
7 bedroom(s), 3 bathroom(s)
910 Calvert Street North
910 Calvert Street North
910 Calvert Street North
910 Calvert Street North

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iPhones Meet Museum. Magic Results.

By
Rachel Monroe
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Not all museums are monuments to the past. In the internet age, even collections as venerable as those at the Walters Art Museum are getting an upgrade thanks to innovative use of technology, allowing museumgoers to have a whole new relationship with the art on the wall.

For the next month, visitors to the Walters can play around with Peer One, a video project organized by wi-fi artist Kari Altmann. Altmann turned to her online collective of video artists, designers, bloggers, and other digitally-minded creative types, asking them to create video responses to objects in the museum’s permanent collection. “Altmann… encouraged them to place the museum’s objects into a contemporary informational, commercial and cultural context,” the museum notes.

What this means for you is that you can download a 16-video tour of the collection on your favorite portable device. Then visit the corresponding 16 works of art, and watch the corresponding video. A pdf provides additional context about each work. Old media and new media getting friendly — this is definitely the museum of the future!

Please Do Touch the Art

By
Rachel Monroe
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If you´re the type who avoids museums because the temptation to touch the exhibits is too great, then consider stopping by the Walters sometime in the next couple of months. The museum´s newest show, Touch and the Enjoyment of Sculpture:  Exploring the Appeal of Renaissance Statuettes is aptly titled — ¨Visitors are invited to…  hold, stroke and even caress the pieces.¨

What, exactly, might you be caressing? The installation includes twelve centuries-old statues, along with 22 replicas (those are the ones you´ll actually get to handle). And the touching is essential, because these small art objects were meant to be handled — they were luxury goods commissioned specially because they were satisfying to hold and handle.

But the exhibit isn´t just looking back at the past, it´s also looking forward to the future. Visitors will get to rate their favorite statues to hold and touch on iPads provided by the Walters. Then that data will be mined by the Johns Hopkins Brain Science Institute, which is partnering with the museum for this show. “We’re challenging people to think about why physical contact with works of art can be so satisfying,” says Hopkins neuroscientist Steven Hsiao. So do the museum a favor — come and touch some art!

See How Baltimore Sizes Up Against Europe in "Interior Worlds" Exhibition

By
Robert M. O'Brien
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If you can find a moment amid the pre-holiday bustle, head on over to the Baltimore Museum of Art to check out Interior Worlds, an exhibition of thirteen large images by German photographer Candida Höfer.

The photos are big, like six feet tall, and present in rich detail architecturally stunning interiors from Europe and America, including two Baltimore locations, the Walters Art Museum and the George Peabody Library.

The scale, symmetry, and fine detail of Höfer’s work make each photograph a soothing, contemplative experience. And it’s nice to see Baltimore hanging next to an image of the Louvre.

Candida Höfer: Interior Worlds is on view at the BMA through February 26, 2012. Admission is free.

Move Over, Da Vinci Code. This Is Real Life!

By
Robert M. O'Brien
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The Current Exhibition at the Walters Art Museum in Mount Vernon is an historical mystery novel come to life. Lost and Found: The Secrets of Archimedes centers around a remarkable manuscript with a remarkable story, one that “includes a monastery in the Judaean desert, a Jewish book dealer trying to flee Paris as the Nazis closed in, a French freedom fighter and an anonymous billionaire collector.”

The book in question is a thirteenth century prayer book, unremarkable apart from its age, except that the parchment used in the construction of the book was recycled from a previous manuscript: a tenth century copy of the otherwise lost writings of third century B.C. Greek mathematician Archimedes.

Through modern imaging technology, the original content of the book has been recovered, and it is purported to demonstrate the full breadth of Archimedes mathematical genius.

You can view the pages from the manuscript and learn about its strange history at the Walters Art Museum until January 1.

What a Lovely Art Collection You Have There

By
Rachel Monroe
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In keeping with contemporary trends of open access to information, media, and videos of cats being cute, the Walters Art Museum has digitized a third of its collection and put it online for anyone to browse, tag, and digitally curate.

Search for works by their artist, medium, period, or by any number of tags, some of which make more sense than others (“adam-eve,” “agrizzle,” “alabastron,” etc.). The museum’s curators have set up their own categories (“art of ancient Egypt and Nubia”), but the real fun comes in the user-generated content. Take user Elissa W., who came up with a “Grrrl Power” collection of powerful female figures that includes a Baroque sculpture of Cleopatra and a 19th century ceremonial headdress. “Mr. Walters was one of the 1st American collectors to purchase female artist’s works,” she notes. Other user-generated collections include “Impressions of Delight,” “Mummies,” and “Nice Beard, Man!“

Check out our own Baltimore Fishbowl curated picks here.

Celebrating the International Roots of Family

By
Rachel Monroe
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The Refugee Youth Project and Education Based Latino Outreach do a lot of important, hard work. The RYP helps Baltimore’s under-21 refugee population adjust to life in the U.S., helping with homework, and providing a sense of community; the EBLO aims to improve the lives of  Hispanic children and families through education and cultural activities. But we’re not here to talk about work — we’re here to talk about a party.

Yes, it’s almost time for International Family Day, and if you don’t already celebrate it, this year might be a good time to start. The RYP and EBLO’s annual party celebrating the global roots of our community is at the Walters this year, and if it’s as fun as previous years’ parties, we recommend that you stop by. Highlights include a screening of On One Field, a documentary about how pickup soccer games helped bridge cultural gaps between refugees and immigrants in Baltimore; and a RYP-sponsored talent show featuring local all-star Shodekeh as well as the Student Immigrant Storytellers from Patterson High School, in partnership with the Jewish Museum of Maryland. Not to mention the globally inspired art activities and a show of students’ artwork.

Do you consider your family international?

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