Stuff to Do: “America’s Illustrator” @ the DIA

March 5, 2009
By
Pin It
Triple Self-Portrait by Norman Rockwell

Triple Self-Portrait by Norman Rockwell

American Chronicles:  The Art of Norman Rockwell, March 8 – May 31

Norman Rockwell had a decade that spanned over 60 years.  The DIA will feature what is sure to be a very popular, very nostalgic show featuring Americana as captured by illustrator extraordinaire Norman Rockwell.  The exhibition will feature forty-four paintings including No Swimming, Christmas Homecoming, The Problem We All Live With (re school desegregation in the south, below) and Triple Self-Portrait (above).

Norman Rockwell is one of America’s most enduring artists; his images both reflected and helped shape perceptions of American culture.  This must-see exhibition features forty-four of the artist’s exquisitely detailed paintings of everyday life, from early-twentieth-century small towns to the Civil Rights movement, as well as all of Rockwell’s Saturday Evening Post covers.  –DIA website

More on this show, which debuts to the public this Sunday (members of the DIA can preview the exhibition starting on Friday), after the jump . . .

The DIA is located at 5200 Woodward Avenue.  It’s open Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Fridays from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  Admission is $8 for adults; members get in free.  Incidentally, the DIA is a very special institution that is going through a rough time due to the economy.  If you enjoy having a first-class museum in our community, do consider purchasing a membership.  We’re really lucky to have this collection!

Now, back to Rockwell for a moment . . .

Michael H. Hodges of The Detroit News wrote a great article on the DIA’s Rockwell exhibit which included some interesting color about Rockwell’s snooty critics.  He quotes Wayne State American Studies Prof. Jerry Herron who explained why the fine art snobs were so resistant to Rockwell’s work.

The more widely somebody’s work is understood and loved, the less likely it is to garner academic prestige and gallery respect.  –Jerry Herron

What do you think of Norman Rockwell?  Did you get a chance to visit this exhibit?  If so, let us know in the comments.

This article brought to you by the good folks at Urbane Apartments Royal Oak Michigan, Urbane Apartments Ferndale Michigan,Urbane Apartments Birmingham Michigan, and Urbane Apartments Dearborn Michigan

Brandon

More Posts -

Tags: , ,

This entry was posted on March 5, 2009 at 4:00 pm and is filed under Neighborhoods, Play. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

  • http://www.dia.org jeanie

    Thanks for the heads up on this! I was so sad to hear about the large staff cuts @ the DIA. Hopefully this exhibition is the shot in the arm the DIA needs right now to get more visitors and members.

  • Matthew Dibble

    What a cool and retrospective exhibit this will be. My buddy (Urbane resident) is taking his mom for her birthday.
    I think that’s a great idea!

  • Brandon

    Seems like a great parent – child, or grandchild – grandparent activity. The younger can learn something new and the older can reminisce a bit. I love going to the DIA — having a cup of coffee in the internal courtyard between exhibits. Thanks for the comment, Matthew.

  • Brandon

    Oops, and Jeanie too. Yes, the cuts are sad. I need to renew my membership soon!

  • http://www.laferle.com Cindy L

    What a great time for this particular art exhibit… We’re all so beaten down by bad economic news lately; maybe a dash of artistic nostalgia is just what we need. Thanks for the heads-up.

  • Booshido

    I will sure put this on my must-do list.

  • Brandon

    Thanks for stopping by and for the comments, Cindy and Booshido. It’s on my to-do list to! I feel terribly guilty as my membership lapsed at the end of 2008. I’m planning on renewing it in the next couple of weeks and will go see this show on my first visit. I remember thumbing through old issues of this great magazine in my Grandparents home in Au Gres, Michigan, when I was 5 years old. Even then I appreciated his amazing work. Later, as an intern at the United Nations, I marveled at a cool tile mosaic of a Norman Rockwell piece. Can’t wait to relive those memories at this exhibit.

  • http://www.midwestguest.com Dominique

    We haven’t seen the Rockwell show yet, but we were down at the DIA last night.
    Friday nights are a lot of fun at the museum. You can always roam around the galleries, but there is usually also some live music (last night’s entertainment was the Trachtenberg Slide Show Players band http://www.slideshowplayers.com/ a quirky mom-pop-daughter sort of vaudeville concept show where they sang their own compositions set to vintage slide they’ve found and showed a video of a kids show based on their family life and use of found and recycled objects–you had to see it to believe it, I think!). The family show was meant as a tie-in to the Rockwell exhibit and family themes.
    Last night’s activities also included a human chess board and opportunities for real chess matches (a tie-in to a chess board display in the galleries) and drawing in the galleries.

    We’ve had our DIA membership for many years (as well as memberships to a lot of other places around town). You’re right about it being more important than ever to support the DIA and other cultural institutions by purchasing memberships.