Art Vision – tours for students in healthcare fields

2025 Art Vision Tour info

We are delighted to continue working with our colleagues in healthcare fields to host students in the JCCC Nursing, Respiratory Care and Neurodiagnostic Tech programs here at the museum as part of their coursework. For these “Art Vision” tours we ask students to do a series of in-depth looking exercises to hone their observation and assessment skills.

Students start by doing a full 15-minute formal analysis of an artwork, followed by a comparison of two works and then some sketching. Most visitors don’t spend 15 seconds looking at each work, so this is a challenging and rewarding exercise! As educators facilitating the activities, it is crucial that we spend time with the artwork ourselves, looking and then looking more.

For the formal analysis portion we select works that have figuration and other recognizable imagery. It’s important to start with a representational work (rather than a totally abstract, non-representational work) for this first activity so that folks that have some accessible entry-points into the discussion – it’s easier for many folks to observe that there’s a group of girls in a painting than it is to launch right into a discussion about color and line, for example.

Multiple women surrounding and operating on a person on a table in the middle of a field.

Dana Schutz (b. 1976), Surgery, 2004, Oil on canvas

From there we can move on to abstract works for the comparison portion, if desired. These two works are an example of a set we compare:

Blocky segments of pink, green, blue, and white form a traditional weaving styled pattern.

Jordan Ann Craig (b. 1992), We Don’t Have to Talk About It, 2020, Acrylic on canvas

Wavy lines in different colors move along in multiple directions.

Karin Davie (b. 1965), Lover, 1998, Oil on canvas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Karin Davie, Artist: Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum Interview

Karin Davie’s website

Jordan Ann Craig’s website

And for the sketching we always select a sculpture, as it is more interesting to compare folks’ sketches from different perspectives and observe how the work appears from different points of view/angles. BUT we try to select a sculpture that is not TOO difficult to sketch (not too many complex shapes or textures). For the students visiting this summer we couldn’t resist having them sketch one of Jeremy Scott’s designs.

 

vanessa german’s ET AL, or The Child Plaintiffs as Power-figures

We have had such a wonderful time leading tours that focus on the theme of Materials in Art. The ‘big idea’ we explore on these tours is that artists make thoughtful choices about the materials to use to make their work, and the materials they choose add meaning to the work. There is no better example of this than the wonderful piece by vanessa german, ET AL, or The Child Plaintiffs as Power-figures: Courage and Play,
Love and Hope, Grace and Compassion, Will and Might, Serenity
and Music, Light and Joy, Warrior and Intellect, Creativity and
Vision, 2024.

When we discuss this work, we dive into the materials list that vanessa wrote, reading directly from her list that reads like a poem:

“Love and research, plaster, wood, wood glue, plaster gauze, rage,
wire, multiple conversations with historians Sherrita Camp and
Donna Rae Pearson, tears, shock and the understanding that
these children made a new world, auto body paint, pedestals so
tall that the figures MUST be looked up to, love, prayer for a
crack in the world to bleed new light, ceramic and porcelain birds
and figures as finials, cloth, twine, strands of beads, buttons,
keys put together by the community of Topeka: the beads are an
acknowledgement of our African Ancestry and the wealth, power
and creative force of Africa in relationship to the crime of stealing
African bodies to build a new world in which the descendants of
enslaved Africans have continued to be systemically, strategically,
tragically dehumanized, stomped on and denied full access to true
liberty. The buttons speak to the power of MENDING — for how many
of our mothers, aunties, and homemakers had a button box,
knowing that it is always possible to find a button that fits the
missing space into a mending. The keys are forgiveness — internal
and external forgiveness.”

Initially we tried reading the whole materials lists to our student groups but found that was a bit daunting, so have moved to reading selections interspersed with some open-ended and really thought-provoking questions.

Materials in Art 2025 vanessa german

We also show a photo of the children who were the child plaintiffs in the Brown v. Board case, one of the same photos that is on the wall label itself: Students of Brown v. Board

New Works on View in the Mezzanine!

Il Lee, BL-076 , 2006, ballpoint pen on canvas, 72 x 48 in. Collection Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Johnson County Community College, Overland Park, KS, Acquired in part by gift of Jung Lee Sanders and Andrew Jonas Sanders and in part by purchase with funds provided by the Barton P. and Mary D. Cohen Art Acquisition Endowment at the JCCC Foundation

There are new works on view in the museum’s mezzanine now that the Shooting Stars High School Scholarship show has been de-installed.

Some of the works are old friends (Tomory Dodge’s Wasteland, for example) but others have never been on view before.

This drawing by Il Lee was recently added to the collection thanks to a generous donation. Learn more about Il’s work:

 

IL LEE – Artist – Biography – Art Projects International

Caroline Monnet work now on view!

Sometimes it seems like here at the museum if you blink an artwork will change! We have had several works get swapped out in the museum’s permanent collection galleries recently, and most recently the giant painting by Dustin Pevey was taken down and replaced with a large work by Caroline Monnet.

The label copy:

Caroline Monnet (b. 1985)
Lungs, 2023
Polyethylene, fiberglass insulation, and thread
Collection Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, 2024.025, Gift of the Jedel Family Foundation

Lungs, with geometric designs in hot pink and red hues winding throughout a ground of soft pink, evokes organs filamented with veins and arteries. The format, a decoratively stitched textile, recalls handcrafted domestic objects such as quilts. Yet the materials, fiberglass insulation sandwiched between plastic sheeting, have associations with home construction. Fiberglass is also a material that can be harmful to respiratory health if handled without protective equipment. In juxtaposing these contrasting elements and associations, Monnet subtly references issues around the enduring impacts of colonialism on many facets of life, from health to housing security, for Indigenous communities in North America today.

Monnet has B.A in communications and sociology from the University of Ottawa and has studied at the University of Granada in Spain.

The work is located in the Lieberman Gallery just across from the sculpture works by vanessa german, and adjacent to the sculpture by Jeffrey Gibson.

About the artist:

Caroline Monnet (Anishinaabe-French, born in 1985, Ottawa, Canada) is a multidisciplinary artist from Outaouais, Canada. She studied sociology and communication at the University of Ottawa and the University of Granada before working in visual arts and film.

Caroline’s work has been viewed at the Palais de Tokyo, Paris; Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin; the Toronto International Film Festival, Toronto; Cannes Film Festival, Cannes; the Whitney Biennial, New York; and the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. She is a recipient of the 2021 Hopper Prize; the 2020 Pierre-Ayot Award; the 2020 Sobey Art Award; and the 2017 Hnatyshyn Foundation REVEAL Indigenous Art Awards.

At the heart of her practice is the communication of complex ideas about Aboriginal identity and bicultural life through the examination of cultural histories. Her work is often minimalist, yet emotionally charged, and speaks to the complex realities of Aboriginal peoples today. Her works combine the vocabulary of popular and traditional visual cultures with the tropes of modernist abstraction to create unique hybrid forms.

The artist also makes works in clothing, sculpture, film and photography.

JoAnne Northrup, Executive Director of the Nerman Museum said, “Lungs, is exceptionally large and has a powerful presence. It will be a fantastic addition to the Nerman Museum’s existing collection of works by contemporary Indigenous artists, including Raven Half Moon and Teresa Baker.”

An interesting article about Monnet’s series of works: Caroline Monnet’s Indigenous Worldbuilding (hyperallergic.com)

A quote from the above article: “The structures she makes help Monnet reclaim space and agency. “[The installation structures] were a way for me to speak about the housing crisis that a lot of Indigenous communities across North America are facing,” she told me. The geometric repetition of the works gives way to visual readings that recall maps, digital codes, and precise mark-making — situating the work both within long-running cultural practices and future realities.”

vanessa german quote regarding ET AL … sculpture

I had the wonderful and unexpected opportunity to chat with vanessa german on the phone yesterday and was able to ask her some questions specifically about the work that we have on view in the museum now. I wasn’t able to record our conversation, but took notes, and was able to jot down some direct quotes.

I asked vanessa about the birds on the heads of the figures and what the symbolism might be and she pointed out that one figure doesn’t have a bird but instead an angel  figure that represents the muse of love – a love that is all encompassing, love that is for the wholeness of your being (your strengths, fears, joys and sorrows) that covers all of the figures.

For the birds, she said that as beings that are part of the natural world they are totally aligned with their insticts and take flight with full sovereignty and as creatures of flight they experience a kind of freedom that others don’t. She said “these are children who made it possible for other children to soar.” 

vg_Craving Light essays

Lastly she noted that birds symbolize liberty, and she quoted abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher “Liberty is the soul’s right to breathe and, when it cannot take a long breath, laws are girdled too tight.”

Henry Ward Beecher – Wikipedia

Ding Shilun’s work in the museum lobby

Since Ding Shilun’s work, The Expulsion, was placed in the lobby a little less than a month ago we’ve been enjoying exploring the many intricacies and nuances of the painting. It is a great piece to spend some extended time with!

For more information about the artist, there’s an interview in W Magazine: Artist Ding Shilun Makes His Own Mythology (wmagazine.com)

and the gallery website features lots more information, including some videos of the artist speaking about his work: Ding Shilun – Video | Bernheim (bernheimgallery.com)

Ding Shilun (b. 1998), The Expulsion, 2022, Oil on canvas

Joel Daniel Phillips’s work in Kansas Focus Gallery

We were so pleased to have Joel Daniel Phillips come speak at the museum on Aug 9th, and video of his talk is now available:

 

In his talk he mentions the book that is associated with his Killing the Negative series, a book he worked on in collaboration with another artist, poet Quraysh Ali Lansana. I have a copy of this book available in our Education Library now, volunteers may check it out!

Artist Website: JOEL DANIEL PHILLIPS

“Killing the Negative: A Conversation in Art & Verse” – this is the book in our library

vanessa german sculpture now on view at the Nerman Museum

We are so excited to now have a work by the amazing artist vanessa german on view in the museum’s second floor galleries. The work, titled ET AL, or The Child Plaintiffs as Power-figures: Courage and Play, Love and Hope, Grace and Compassion, Will and Might, Serenity and Music, Light and Joy, Warrior and Intellect, Creativity and
Vision, is from an exhibition that reflects on the 70th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education Topeka court case.

That exhibition, CRAVING LIGHT: The Museum of Love and Reckoning, was commissioned by ArtsConnect and considers the legacies of that 1954 Supreme Court case declaring segregation in schools unconstitutional. Additional selections from this exhibition are on view at the Mulvane Art Museum at Washburn University, the
Brown v. Board National Historical Park Site, and the Great Overland Station, all in Topeka, through 2024.

Learn more about vanessa’s work:

For vanessa german, ‘Citizen Artist,’ Creativity Is a Matter of Survival – The New York Times (nytimes.com)

We are still working on getting the label on the wall (the installation was just completed late yesterday!), here is a PDF of that:

vanessa german wall label (PDF)