WAM Collections Staff on Twitter

Above: Untitled (Flower Plant), William Henry Hunt (British, 1790-1864), after Simon Watts (British, 1716-possibly 1775), 1827, hand-colored etching on cream wove paper, sheet: 20 x 24.5 cm (7 7/8 x 9 5/8 in.), Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Hall James Peterson, 1982.154.

Hello everyone! I’ve introduced myself in past posts, but I must now do so in a more formal method as I’ll be your official collection representative on our Twitter account @WorcesterArt! I’m Sarah Gillis, our Assistant Registrar for Image Management. I catalogue the art, assist with photographing it, and work hard to ensure that our objects and their information get to you via our online collections search.

What will I be tweeting? I’ll share neat objects that I come across while working in our collection stores, what’s going on at other Museums, and other such collection-related events/facts.

I’m thrilled to be joining our Twitter team because I can give you the behind-the-scenes access that visitors only dream of. The fact that I’m surrounded by history every day still boggles my mind, and it’s only fair to share this dream job with you all!

How will you know that I’m posting? Just look for my unique signature handle of –WAMCollections at the end of the tweet.

Visit Worcester Art Museum on Twitter
View our online collections search

- Sarah Gillis, Assistant Registrar for Image Management

Samurai! Murals Live in Lancaster Lobby

When WAM began working with Samurai! guest curator Eric Nakamura, we knew that having a visible public component was a must. Our Lancaster Street Lobby has large, white walls that have been crying out for ART. We decided to take this amazing opportunity to invite contemporary artists involved with the Samurai project to explore the topic in this well-trafficked lobby.

The three artists selected were Andrew Hem, Mari Inukai, and Audrey Kawasaki.

Andrew Hem is a Los Angeles painter who is well-versed in large-scale murals on buildings. Originally a graffiti artist, Hem moved away from this towards street art, studying at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. His final image of the Samurai figure is inspired by Raphael’s The Cowper Madonna, now on display in our galleries.

Mari Inukai is originally from Japan, and also now resides in Los Angeles. She studied at the California Institute of the Arts. She is known for her smaller scale paintings and strong use of figures in her work. Mari demonstrated her deep connection with her daughter by including her in armor on the right side of the mural.

Audrey Kawasaki is originally from Japan, studied art at Pratt in New York, and now resides in Los Angeles. Although she is traditionally known as a gallery artist who creates painstakingly detailed portrait illustrations, this was her first mural.









The most exciting part of this project took place during installation, when school groups, fans of the artists, staff, and general members of the public dropped in to watch the artists work. Going forward, we plan to make the Lancaster Lobby a more welcoming center for visitors that includes art at its core.

 The Samurai murals will stay on view until May 2016.

Learn more about Samurai!
See work-in-progress photos on Flickr

Press:
The mural to the story - Worcester Magazine
Majestic murals at Worcester Art Museum - Worcester Telegram & Gazette

- Katrina Stacy, Associate Curator of Education

Videos of WAM Lectures Available Online

The Worcester Art Museum's Master Series lectures, held on the Third Thursday of the month on select dates throughout the year, have been a joy to share with our public. These talks have highlighted objects on loan or within our permanent collection, giving insights into some of the most celebrated artists and works of art throughout history.

I am pleased to share with you the video of our February Master Series lecture, led by Linda Wolk-Simon. Her talk, entitled "God is In the Details: Backgrounds (and Foregrounds) in Raphael's Madonnas," sheds light on The Cowper Madonna, on loan to us from the National Gallery of Art through September. This event was filmed by our new partner, the WGBH Forum Network. Forum is a public media service of WGBH that collects thousands of video and audio lectures from the world's foremost scholars, authors, artists, scientists, policymakers, and community leaders, and makes them available to the public for free. Our March and April lectures were also filmed for distribution by Forum, which is a thrilling new addition to our educational offerings, and of great benefit to our public. We will share these videos with you as soon as they are made public.

Learn more about The Cowper Madonna on WGBH Forum Network
Learn more about The Cowper Madonna on worcesterart.org

- Katrina Stacy, Associate Curator of Education