News Letter
I now have two newsletters you can read. You can click on my News Letter tab or find one of them here.
Newsletter #2
Museum of the month: The McNay in San Antonio Texas.
The McNay Art Museum
Person of the month: McNay and her museum
McNay: Photo from the McNay website
A native to Ohio heiress Marion Koogler in 1918 went to San Antonio. She married her first husband Sergeant Don Denton McNay. He had to report to Laredo, Texas for his active duty. He would die of the Spanish Flu. In 1926 she would remarry and move to San Antonio to make this her permanent home. In 1927 she would buy her first artwork, an oil painting. This was by the Mexican artist Diego Rivera. It was a portrait painting of a young girl. Koogler knew she wanted to leave a legacy of art and planned for this. With her new husband Mr. Atkinson, they commissioned local San Antonio architects to create a Spanish Colonial – Revival house. In 1936 her marriage to Atkinson ended and she kept the name McNay. She would pass in the 1950’s with over 700 works of art in her collection. The grounds of the museum were beautiful and well-kept as well.
So now that we know a bit about the namesake of the McNay museum lets see what kind of art she collected. We know she had a special desire to have art from New Mexico’s southwest. This was not all she collected, she had both American and European paintings from the 19th and 20th century. She also had the land around the house and put it to effective use. She had an endowment made for modern art, this helped to establish the first ever modern art museum, in Texas in 1954. This was the opening year for the museum. They have since expanded their collection with the additions of more galleries in 2008 to add an extra 45k of footage to the land. The French architects planning had the museum gain a lecture hall, sculpture garden and more.
This is my second newsletter. So, two years ago I went to visit a new museum. The McNay in San Antonio. The trip was cool. I took my boyfriend to the River Walk and the Alamo as well. But my main focus was on the special exhibition. As a Tim Burton fan, with a passion for art and museums I had to go.
The exhibition font for the Dream Land exhibition.
Tim Burton’s Special Exhibit called DREAMLAND at the McNay. This is no longer available to be seen. August 17, 2023 - January 14, 2024. It was located in the Tobin Exhibition Galleries. The items have been returned to storage. THIS CAN NO LONGER BE SEEN CURRENTLY BY THE PUBLIC. This art was not exclusive to just the Tim Burton exhibit. McNay put up other works in the show that compliment what was out, things from their local collection. This was in a one room area of the museum; it was off the right side of the ticket desk and gift shop.
Here is the write up on the McNay site about DREAMLAND: This is direct from the museum’s website, and this information is not mine.
Be our ghoul of honor at an exhibition hosted by creatures lured from the depths of the McNay Art Museum’s collection. Dreamland | Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas marks the 30th anniversary of filmmaker Tim Burton’s 1993 stop-motion animated film.
In the exhibition, visitors can reacquaint themselves with Burton’s awkwardly charming cast that includes Oogie Boogie, Bone Crusher, and the beloved hero, Jack Skellington. And meet unusual characters created by artists from the McNay’s collection, including José Clemente Orozco Farías, Julie Heffernan, Eugene Berman, Marilyn Lanfear, Willem de Kooning, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Julie Speed, and others. Visitors can explore colorful and unfamiliar worlds found in large paintings and photographs by artists Paul Maxwell, Claudia Rogge, Robin Utterback, and Sandy Skoglund.
Small models (or maquettes) created for Burton’s iconic film in conversation with a range of artworks, encourage guests to imagine fantasy narratives of their own. And with a nod to Burton’s creative roots at Walt Disney, explore a “hall of peculiar portraits” that will have you wondering—is that picture looking at me?
Due to high demand for Dreamland | Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, the McNay will be offering timed-entry reservations for the exhibition through January 14, 2024.
After you make your timed entry reservation to Dreamland, an admission ticket is still needed for entry to the exhibition. Please check-in at the front desk and show your time reservation to purchase your ticket. Members do not need to make a reservation and can simply check in at the front desk.
Dreamland | Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas is organized for the McNay Art Museum by R. Scott Blackshire, PhD, Curator, The Tobin Collection of Theatre Arts; and Kim Neptune, The Tobin Theatre Arts Fund Assistant Curator, The Tobin Collection of Theatre Arts.
Major support is provided by The Tobin Endowment. Additional funding is most generously provided by The Tobin Theatre Arts Fund, the Semmes Foundation, Inc., and our Exhibition Host Committee Chaired by Mr. and Mrs. J. Bruce Bugg.
Oggie Boogie with out his clothes, he is all bugs. Image from: The McNay site.
It was no pun intended to make a dream come true. It was as a child that I first got into things like art through the behind the scenes on his films. I enjoy this book because it offers a behind-the-scenes look at the artists' and writers' efforts. It features excellent images of the environment where everything was created. I had done a quick check of the gift shop and would go back for this book.
The room was off to the right with dark flooring. Inside were cases and frames with art. These were some of the hundreds of sketches and concept art made for the film, only some were shown. These included the sets like one of my favorites, the clawed bathtub and setting for the three children Locke, Shock and Barrel. I had the pleasure of getting up close to see how they had painted and carved all the detail in the set piece. So many writers, sculptors and others go into a movie like this a whole team of people create just a fraction of what I saw at the McNay.
Lock, Shock and Barrel in bathtub. Image from: The McNay site.
I had questions. How was the art made? Who drew it and why? What did it take to build a set? These questions lead me to want to see this exhibit. The sets are a good example of mixed media. This exhibit let me see it all up close. I got to see foam, rubber and the other materials used to make the items by reading the museum wall card. These questions are answered in the book I bought.
I was able to see the drawings, set pieces (one of many) and more, like the figurines. Please note that many of these pieces in the collection were made to be used to shoot the film. The background environments and puppets used for the movie. This was art with a function. It was a figure or maquette (character like Jack) , a set (a background like a bathtub) or something else that was used in the movie, like concept art. All of these items must be created for the movie to be used.
What was the setting like? The dramatic lighting made photos difficult, and music from the movie played during the exhibition. The space was small with one main room, but the timed tickets kept it uncrowded. Overall, it was worth visiting.
The rest of the McNay museum was very cool. It has a lot of Mexican influence, think white stucco interior and old wood railing for the stairs trimmed with gold fixtures with lots of natural light. The new addition to the museum was more chrome and big windows with ample light. I was so glad I made the trip to see it. It was worth it.
Book of the month
Now on to the book review.
While this book review is brief it is good. If you are a fan of behind the scenes information in films then this book is for you. While the script and lines form the film make up most of the book there are so many cool photos and other info in this book. I enjoy the pictures of just how much work went into this film. Everything had to be made by hand and or done on a computer. The book is a nice souvenir from the exhibition. I have good memories of this trip.
SOURCES and Terms :
If you want to see the McNay museum in person here is where to go:
McNay Art Museum
6000 N New Braunfels Ave.
San Antonio, TX 78209
Book of the month: The Full Film Script: Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas.
Use image to link to Amz.
Art Term: What is a maquette?
What is a Maquttee? usually small preliminary model (as of a sculpture or a building.) Defintion form Webster. Think of this as a “character sketch” in 3d. It is a guide and reference to characters. They can be made with wire to let them bend and be posed as well.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/maquette
https://www.mcnayart.org/our-mission/
Museum Term: What is a house museum? House Museum
https://www.loveofmuses.net/blog/types-of-museums-pt1
Sources:
https://thespaces.com/these-10-museums-are-set-to-open-in-2024/
Museum of the month: The McNay in San Antino Texas.
https://collection.mcnayart.org/objects/10197/oogie-boogie-exposed-from-the-nightmare-before-christmas
