COMMON QUESTIONS & ANSWERS TO KEEP YOUR FAMILY

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1 COMMON QUESTIONS & ANSWERS TO KEEP YOUR FAMILY WELL-PREPARED FOR ART MUSEUM ADVENTURES If this is your family s first visit to the museum or you haven t visited us in awhile, take a moment to read this page together. How much time does it take to visit the museum? Spend as much or as little time as you d like, but the best way to plan the length of your visit is to estimate the attention span of the children in your group. Most families find the most enjoyable and enriching visits are those spent focusing on just a few artworks instead of trying to see everything. Pre-K and Kindergarten age children are generally satisfied with half an hour in the galleries. Older children may want to spend a little more time. Break up the visit with stops to the museum store and café or check to see if there are special hands-on art activities offered at the museum. The best way to foster art appreciation in younger children is to wrap up visits before they get too fidgety. Leave them wanting more so that every visit to the museum is a treat! How can we find out more information about the artwork? In addition to the variety of gallery guides that are available at the reception desk, you can read the wall labels near each work of art on display. These labels give you basic information about the works and often some interesting facts or history connected to the works. Labels tell you The artist s name, birth year and birthplace, where he or she lives, or the year and place he or she died The artwork s title and the year it was made The materials used in the work s creation Who the work belongs to and was how it was acquired The accession number that tells when the work became part of the museum s collection. For example means that piece was the 14th object acquired in the year Can we take photographs? No photography is allowed in the museum s galleries but you can take pictures in the lobby, café and other public areas. Can we touch the artworks? No. It might be hard to resist touching some of the artworks, but even the gentlest touch can cause damage that might not be immediately visible. The dirt and oils on your hands can harm the surface of artworks. Imagine what could happen to an artwork if every visitor touched it! Some artworks sit right on the gallery floors. By taking your time moving from piece to piece, you ll help protect artworks from accidental bumps. Help us to ensure that future visitors will enjoy these artworks by trying to stay at least a foot away. Can we talk in the galleries? YES! We encourage you to share ideas and observations about the artworks. Please remember, some visitors prefer to quietly enjoy the artworks so it s nice to keep voices low when other visitors are near. Why are there guards in the galleries? Museum guards make sure that all no one accidentally harms the artworks and that all visitors can safely enjoy them. They can help direct you to places in the museum if you are having trouble finding your way. Sometimes, they can help answer questions about the artworks. Is every object in the museum s collection on display? No. The museum currently has more than 4000 objects in its collection. Even our new galleries don t have enough room to let us show them all. There are around 150 objects from the collection on display right now. The rest of the objects are carefully kept in special storage areas until the museum staff decides to change what s on view. Can we write or draw in the galleries? Yes, but with pencils only, please. How much do the artworks cost? A great work of art is valuable for many reasons in addition to the amount of money its worth. The museum treats every artwork in its collection as a priceless treasure. Design 2009 George Coghill CoghillCartooning.com g.com

2 Arty Animals Akron Art Museum s Family Art Adventure This publication is generously underwritten by a grant from Dominion Foundation and OMNOVA Solutions Foundation.

3 Welcome to the Akron Art Museum! Hi, my name is Nimby! I m a cloud that you can find hovering around the Akron Art Museum. I d like to show you around the museum today! If this is your family s first visit, turn to the back cover for answers to common questions that will help prepare you for museum adventures! Before we start looking at the art inside of the museum, let s check out the building The museum s design is a giant work of art! You can spend a lot of time exploring the building s big open spaces, nooks and crannies. If you want to learn more about the building, ask for the Amazing Architecture family guide at the visitor services desk. AUDITORIUM COAT ROOM When you enter the museum, you are walking into the RESTROOMS Knight Building s Crystal lobby, also known as the McDowell Grand Lobby. Here, you will find some neat architectural features, a few artworks, the visitor services desk, Museum Store and café, locker and coatroom areas and restrooms. Ride the zigzagging elevator or walk up the grand staircase to enter the galleries where most of the MUSEUM STORE artwork is displayed. ENTRY The Haslinger Galleries contain newer artworks from the museum s collection that were made between 1950 and right now. In the Bidwell, Isroff and Arnstein Galleries you will find special exhibitions that change regularly. Be sure to ask a museum employee about exciting new exhibitions coming soon! In the 1899 Building you will find the McDowell Galleries and the Corbin Gallery. Collection works created before 1950 live in the McDowell Galleries. Corbin Gallery exhibitions are family-friendly, community-centered and change a few times each year. Near the Corbin Gallery you ll find the museum s library and on the Lower Level, the classroom and restrooms. Now that you ve learned a little bit about this exciting building, join me and my cloud friends in a hide-and-seek scavenger hunt! They re hiding in one of the museum s animal-inspired artworks. FUTURE Second Floor SCULPTURE GARDEN Ground Floor GRAND STAIR G F Restrooms E D B Restrooms McDowell GalleriesTERRACEMuseum Store D C Haslinger Galleries A Café MCDOWELL GRAND LLOBBY B E C Elevator Bidwell Gallery Isroff Gallery Elevator F Arnstein Galleries Classrooms Corbin Gallery MAIN ENTRANCE Basement DROP-OFF (CARS ONLY) 1899 Building John S. & James L. Knight Building 1899 Building John S. & James L. Knight Building

4 Are you ready to play? Super! Go to Haslinger Gallery F on the museum map. START HERE! This artwork is a sculpture. A sculpture is an artwork that sticks out from a flat surface so that you can look at it from more than one side. If a sculpture sticks out from the floor and you can walk all the way around it, it s called sculpture-in-the-round or free-standing sculpture. Sculptures can be made from many different materials including wire, clay, metal, and wood. Describe the COLORS, SHAPES & PATTERNS you see in this sculpture. Look for it: Patterns are made of repeated colors, lines and shapes. Sometimes artists use patterns to decorate their artworks. Artists also use patterns to share ideas or create feelings in their works. What shapes do you see first? How do these shapes create a pattern? If you look very closely, can you find other patterns on the surface of this artwork? Richard Deacon, Cover, 1990, Museum Acquisition Fund and The Mary S. and Louis S. Myers Endowment Fund for Painting and Sculpture a,b Richard Deacon makes unusual sculptures based on ideas from his imagination. Usually, when Deacon makes his sculptures he begins by playing with different materials instead of working from a planned out sketch. For this sculpture, Cover, he did use a drawing to help him create the work. The overall shape of Cover is based on a drawing Deacon made of a map, something he has been interested in since he was a little boy. When people look at his sculptures, Deacon likes them to wonder, What is that? and then to try and answer the question with many possibilities. Why do you think Deacon titled this sculpture, Cover? When I look at this artwork, I think of a bird s wing gliding through the sky, although a wing this heavy, covered in metal might make for a difficult flight! What do you see in this work? Can you imagine what might be hiding under the surface of this sculpture? What questions would you ask the artist to figure out how he made this work? Are you ready to find the next artwork? Make your way to Haslinger Gallery F on the map! We re off to find an artwork that features another heavy wing.

5 START HERE! Sometimes artists try very hard to make the people, places or objects in their artworks look as real and natural as possible. Sometimes instead of carefully observing their subjects and making artworks that are realistic copies, artists make works of art inspired by their dreams and imaginations. Rene Magritte, Les Pas Perdus (The Wasted Footsteps), 1950, Purchased with funds from anonymous donors Describe any FANTASTIC CREATURES you see in this painting. René Magritte was part of a group of artists known as the Surrealists. The Surrealists created dream-like paintings, poems, and stories thatpuzzled their audiences. The titles of Magritte s artworks do not describe the scenes he painted. Instead, Magritte wanted his titles to, surprise and enchant us. The French title of this artwork is Les Pas Perdus, a phrase used to describe waiting rooms. In English this phrase can mean either The Lost or Wasted Footsteps. Magritte chose the titles of his paintings only after he was completely finished working on them, sometimes asking his writer friends to help with names. What story does this artwork tell? Who is the most important character? What makes you say that? What feelings are expressed in this story? How do you feel when you look at this work? Does anything in this artwork remind you of other stories you ve heard or stories from your life? Try it now: Try writing a five line surrealist poem using Les Pas Perdus as inspiration! The Surrealists invented games they could play together to create stories, poems and works of art. For this game, you will need a separate piece of paper. The oldest member of your group makes up the first line of the poem without saying it out loud, writes it at the top of the paper and folds the top of the paper down just enough to cover up the writing. The rest of the members of your group should take turns writing the next lines, folding the paper down to cover up each line as it s written until you have five lines. Unfold the paper and read the poem together. As a group, decide on a good title for the poem. We ll stay here, in Haslinger Gallery F, to look for the next artwork. It s very near and made from a jumble of toys. Can you find it?

6 START HERE! La Wilson, Homage to Jackson Pollock I, c. 1980, Purchased, by exchange, with funds from Mrs. William B. Haynes Like Richard Deacon s Cover, this artwork is a sculpture. Cover is an example of sculpture-in-the-round or free-standing sculpture. Sculptures that hang on the wall and are impossible to walk around are called RELIEF sculptures. In addition to traditional materials like clay, metal and wood, sculptures can be made from collections of objects like the one we re looking at now. Which object or shape caught your eye first? Why do you think you noticed it first? Look for the floating NUMBERS and LETTERS in this artwork. How many can you find? La Wilson is an artist who creates sculptures from everyday objects that other people might consider junk. Part of the fun of looking at Wilson s artwork is identifying the variety of objects in her sculptures and wondering where and how she found them. The way she arranges these objects creates interesting patterns and playful story possibilities. She may select an object because of what it is, because she thinks it is beautiful or simply because it s the right color or shape. Sometimes objects in her sculptures have secret meanings for her, like private jokes. What feeling do you think La Wilson was trying to create with this work? How do you feel when you look at this work? Look for it: How many of the following animals can you find in this artwork? Look for it: La Wilson created another artwork in this gallery. Without peeking at the wall labels, look around and choose the artwork you think was also made by her. Why did you choose this work? 1 white rabbit with broken ears 4 tiny DOGS balancing on an airplane wing 1 baby CALF and 1 baby SHEEP 4 shiny BIRDS in flight 3 black HORSES 1 white HIPPO 1 upside-down yellow and white striped CAT 3 little pigs with pink noses and one bigger pig with piglets 1 brown wooden mouse What other animals can you find? There are a lot! I think we re getting closer to finding my friends! The next artwork continues with the bird theme but to find it, we need to move to the McDowell Gallery C in the 1899 Building.

7 START HERE! Artists often choose to make artworks with people as the subject. An artwork that shows how a person looks and gives clues about the person s personality is called a portrait. Artists also make portraits of small groups of people, like family portraits. Sometimes artists include people in their artworks, but instead of making a portrait, they are more interested in showing details about a story, place, or event. Who is this woman? Where is she? What is she doing? What can you guess about the PERSON you see in this painting? Richard Miller, The Green Cage, c , Gift of Mr. S. G. Carkhuff, Even though the artist doesn t show you the sky or much of the outdoors in this painting, can you guess about the weather? What clues help you guess? Imagine you are sitting with this woman. What sounds do you hear? What smells float through the air? Why do you think the artist titled this painting The Green Cage? What is in the cage? Can you see it clearly? Richard Miller was part of a group of artists known as the Impressionists. These painters wanted to capture how sunlight and shadows dance across different surfaces. The Impressionists created feelings of shimmering sunlight and breeziness in their artworks by applying paints with fast, loose brushstrokes. Most Impressionists painted outdoors and were well known for their nature scenes. Miller is better known for his relaxing scenes of beautiful women sitting inside airy rooms. Try it now: Take a look at this work of art from a number of different places around the room, both up close and far away. Does looking at the painting from one location make it seem more or less real than from another? Why do you think that is? We must be getting close to finding my friends! Are you ready to find the last artwork in this hunt? Make your way to McDowell Gallery F and look for a bright, sunny painting with a lot of different animals!

8 START HERE! A landscape is a work of art with outdoor scenery and nature as its subjects. William and Edwin Sommer, The Bordner Mural, , Gift of Robert Bordner, Aha! Here are my friends! They ve been hiding out in this LANDSCAPE painting. William Sommer and his family lived just north of Akron in the Brandywine neighborhood of Northfield Township. His favorite things to paint were the countryside, animals and children that surrounded him. The Bordner Mural is one of many works by Sommer on view in this gallery. Ruth Bordner, a neighbor and family friend of the Sommers, hired William and his son, Edwin, to paint this scene as a birthday gift for her husband, Robert. The painting reportedly shows the Bordners property and hung over their mantel for 30 years. Robert eventually donated the painting to the museum. Look for it: Can you point out my friends in this painting? What words would you use to describe them? What makes this work of art look real to you? What makes it look unreal? What colors would you use to paint horses, cows and chickens? Imagine you are sitting with this child. What sounds do you hear? What do you smell? Can you name all of the animals you see in this painting? William Sommer used combinations of simple shapes like circles, ovals, triangles and rectangles to create the objects in his paintings. What shapes can you find in the houses? What shapes can you find in the sky? Where else do you see simple shapes? Try it at home: Make a painting or drawing of the scene outside your front door. What animals, people, plants or buildings do you see? Try drawing some of the objects as simple shapes, changing colors and exaggerating certain lines and patterns. Do you know someone who might enjoy receiving your artwork as a special gift? If someone hired an artist to paint you a birthday gift, what would the painting look like? If you were to make a birthday painting for your best friend, what would you paint? Hurray! We completed the Arty Animals hunt! That was really fun! Thanks for helping me find my friends! Think about today s museum visit. Have you discovered something new about looking at art or how art is made? Have you learned something new about yourself or others? If you d like to play again, additional family art adventure guides are available at the visitor services desk. While you re here, pick up information about upcoming programs for kids and families or visit us online at We hope to see you again soon!