Sabbatical Adventures- Stop 2: Atlanta

After the brutal cold of Chicago, it was lovely to spend four warmer days in Atlanta. I stayed in mid-town and was within easy walking distance of many museums, while also having some time to think deeply about upcoming projects.

It was such an important reminder to be a sponge and recharge by enveloping myself in other arts practices. I planned to spend time at the Center for Puppetry Arts and the High Museum, but I also discovered the Museum of Design and the Breman Museum. I also found myself in the archives of Emory University finding my mom in newspaper clippings and programs from her time with the Atlantic Civic Ballet in the 1960s.

Not knowing what to expect, I found MODA, the Museum of Design. This museum does not maintain a collection, but features three to four exhibits every year, and I happened to catch the last week of the their exhibit on the history of the hoodie. The curators divided the exhibit into three sections. The first was the history of the hoodie, sportswear generally, and ending with the impact of the hoodie through the lens of social justice, specifically the murder of Trayvon Martin. The second was a room of Atlanta based contemporary fashion designers, many using the hoodie as a canvas for their designs. The last room was filled with hoodies that came with tags indicating date, history and cultural significance for the owner/wearer. It was a great exhibit and I appreciate the mission of the museum uplifting design across forms and genres.

Across the street from MODA is the High Museum part of an extensive Arts campus that include the Alliance Theatre and the symphony. The interior of the museum reminds me a bit of the Guggenheim with an interior ramp spiraling up one wing of the museum. One special exhibit featured work by Minnie Evans. I especially appreciated the color saturation of her later work. The museum as a whole has robust collection of self-taught artists in addition to huge contemporary wing, as well as 16th-19th C European paintings.

The initial reason for adding Atlanta to my sabbatical itinerary was a trip to the Center for Puppetry Arts. Founded in the late 1970s with support from the Henson Foundation and family, this amazing institution is a hub, not only of the history of puppetry but an incubator of contemporary artists. There are two permanent exhibits at the Center, one gallery featuring a current practitioner, and a theatre with daily performances. I was fortunate to be there for the opening of a new exhibit featuring Tom Lee called Child of Wood featuring a timeline of his work, process for new work development, and many puppets he’s designed.

The permanent exhibit of global puppets is a stunning collection celebrating multiple forms from around the globe, contextualizing shared cultures as well as how ideas or characters and forms morph and change between cultures and across geography.

The other permanent exhibit is all about Jim Henson and the Muppets. Oh my goodness! SO inspiring, and very nostalgic. I am grateful the exhibit included rough sketches, story boards and materials in addition to actual puppets and many videos. What a brilliant and innovative creative artist. I discovered a 1968 video called Muppets on Puppets which is something I will excerpt the next time I teach my intro class, and watched many Sesame Street segments. If you want a good cry, watch Jim Henson’s memorial service from 1990.

At the end of the week I had a free morning before my afternoon flight and was heading to the SCAD Museum of Fashion, but passed the Breman Museum and Cultural Center with a sign featuring an exhibit on the costume designs for Fiddler on the Roof. Costumes! This museum did an excellent job of showing Vita Tzykum’s design process as well as the build, including pattern pieces, swatches and lots of research to support the sketches and finished garments featured on mannequins. I especially appreciated the exhibit’s emphasis on the cultural context and history of the musical. The Breman Center also houses a permanent Holocaust exhibit which was incredibly powerful. While I was familiar with so much of that history, especially on heels of designing Here There Are Blueberries, I was grateful to see the artifacts and stories of Atlanta’s Jewish community. I was also reminded of the importance of amplifying these stories as I overheard other museum goers shift from ignorance to understanding, and newly found horror at the murders perpetrated by Nazis in the not so distant past.