Meet the Dixon staff - Margarita

Name: Margarita Maria Sandino Garcés

Position: Curator of education

College/University: Los Andes University- Bogotá, Colombia

How long have you worked at the Dixon? Three years and nine months

The best thing about living in Memphis is: No traffic! Compared to Bogotá, a city of  7.3 million people, the streets of Memphis seem empty at times.

What famous artist (deceased or living) would you want to be for one day and why? It would definitely be a woman, and my favorite of all times is Berthe Morisot. Imagine being an artist, impressionist non the less, changing the art world and hanging out with talented and interesting people like Edouard Manet and Edgar Degas.

How old were you on your first visit to a museum (art, science history)? How did it shape your interest in museums?

I was five years old and went to the National Museum of Colombia. A place that holds archaeology, ethnography, history and art collections. My mother took me to see the pre-columbian mummies. She thought it would be a good idea to reveal that they were that way because they didn’t eat their lunches and dinners (I wasn’t a good eater back then). I was scared, but mostly fascinated! I will never forget that feeling of amazement. It may not be a coincidence that years later I became and anthropologist and worked at the National Museum alongside my lifetime friends, the mummies.

Do you have any pets? If so, what are they and what are their names?

We have a female cat, maybe 12 years old. Her name is Frankenstein.

What is your favorite piece in Jean-Louis Forain: La Comédie parisienne?

I have a favorite in each gallery, but if I have to choose one it would be Forain’s design of The Secrets at the Ball. I really like the colors, the woman’s dress and I love secrets!

What do you like most about working at the Dixon?

The place is absolutely gorgeous! And I get to work with very unique people.

 

 

Meet the Dixon staff-Jenny

Name:  Jenny M. Duggan

Position:  Visitor Services

College/University: Crichton College (BA, English) and University of Memphis (MA Literature and MFA Creative Writing)

How long have you worked at the Dixon? 11 years

The best thing about living in Memphis is……

The Dixon! And living in Midtown

What famous artist (deceased or living) would you want to be for one day and why?

I would want to be Monet because he lived in 19^th century France, and I would like to know how he created his astounding and beautiful visual effects.  If I were a writer in that time period, I would want to be Jane Austen or E.M. Forrester.

How old were you on your first visit to a museum (art, science history)? How did it shape your interest in museums?

I was about 5 or 6. I remember going with my father to the Pink Palace and seeing the mechanical dinosaur and the planetarium. I kept the metal ring with the purple stone in it as a memento for years afterward.  As a child, I loved learning about historical topics and seeing the wax works that depicted them. Because I have always loved art it was just a natural progression for me.

Do you have any pets? If so, what are they and what are their names?

I have a cat named Oya. It means “no” in Swahili. My boyfriend who was learning the language from a coworker named her when she was a kitten, because I would say no to her so often.

What is your favorite piece in Jean-Louis Forain: La Comédie parisienne?

My favorite piece in the show is The Buffet. I love the way Forain shows people in their typical element with the intrigues and storylines taking place behind the scenes.

What do you like most about working at the Dixon?

I love that Margaret and Hugo Dixon decided to give Memphis this beautiful gift.  I also love talking to people and witnessing their lives being enriched by wonderful exhibitions and the beauty of the gardens.

 

Meet the Dixon Staff - Nora

Name:  Nora Tucker

Position: Librarian

College/University:  University of Tennessee, Knoxville for Library Science. University of Memphis for Museum Studies.

How long have you worked at the Dixon?Fall of 2010

The best thing about living in Memphis is……Friendly people and so many arts.

What famous artist (deceased or living) would you want to be for one day and why?

Annie Leibovitz because she photographs musicians who invite her into their world.

How old were you on your first visit to a museum (art, science history)? How did it shape your interest in museums?

I grew up in a Chicago suburb and took frequent outings to the Art Institute of Chicago and the Field Museum.  I’m sure I had visited both by the time I was in third grade.  The mummies at the Field Museum were mystical beyond belief.  The art in the Art Museum took on different meanings as I grew older.  I’ll never forget turning the corner in the modern art area and seeing Joan Miro’s fanciful shapes dancing on a huge canvas!

Do you have any pets? If so, what are they and what are their names?

Four dogs: Lucy and Hugo are Jack Russell Terriers.  Daisy is a yellow lab mix that looks just like Daisy in the Blondie comic strip.  Ziggy is the cutest dog that ever lived:  a Border Collie Jack Russell or a “Border Jack.”

What is your favorite piece in Jean-Louis Forain: La Comédie parisienne?

The two mosaic pieces.  I’ve never seen mosaics appear so soft and flowing!

What do you like most about working at the Dixon?

I love the time from driving into the “wonderland” atmosphere to the genuinely friendly staff to the visitors that enjoy their experience so much.  I am so pleased to be associated with The Dixon.

Meet the Dixon Staff - Nancy

Name: Nancy Parish Trenthem

Position: Executive Assistant

How long have you worked at the Dixon?    4 years

The best thing about living in Memphis is……  

the funky, cool vibe – THE MEMPHIS MOJO!  Big enough to 

have culture and small enough not to take 2 hrs. to get 

across the city.

What famous artist (deceased or living) would you want to be for one day and why? 

Edward Manet.  How great it would be to live in Paris and be a great artist, yet not be destitute as most of the Impressionist painters were.

How old were you on your first visit to a museum (art, science history)? How did it shape your interest in museums?

My interest in art heightened greatly when I worked for Avron Fogelman and two original line drawings by Picasso were on the wall behind my desk and a large Chagall circus painting on another wall.

Do you have any pets? If so, what are they and what are their names?

I have three cats but my favorite babylove is my young male cat, Martini.

What is your favorite piece in Jean-Louis Forain: La Comédie parisienne?

The Buffet

What do you like most about working at the Dixon?

A very pleasant, easy going boss and fabulous art and tall trees for my eyes to feast on.

Meet the Dixon Staff - Laura Gray

Name: Laura Gray Teekell    

Position: PR Associate

College/University:  BA, History, Rhodes College, MA, History of Art and Connoisseurship, Christies Education/University of Glasgow 

How long have you worked at the Dixon?  Since January…

The best thing about living in Memphis is……

The people and the food—I enjoy being here (in Memphis and more specifically at the Dixon) because I am surrounded by and connected to people who care about Memphis and in doing so, highlight the good things that are happening across the community (specifically in the arts and culture sector) and continue to make it a better place to live.

What famous artist (deceased or living) would you want to be for one day and why?

Oouufff. This is the best/worst question. Ideally, it would be someone who can be credited with thinking or creating something that was completely new for their time—like Leonardo Da Vinci for his across-the-board genius, but that is pretty subjective and people are always influenced by something or someone before them…but that being said it would most likely one of the Old Masters—Durer, Michelangelo, Bosch (because his stuff is nuts), El Greco or Bernini. Or in Modern painting, Manet or Picasso. OR any one of the Royal French furniture makers from the second half of the 18^th century, just because.

How old were you on your first visit to a museum (art, science history)? How did it shape your interest in museums?

I remember visiting the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in DC when I was…not sure how old—I was really into animals and dinosaurs and seeing stuff that I had never seen or didn’t exist in the natural world anymore. Just found it fascinating, I remember thinking that this was not a “boring” museum.

Do you have any pets? If so, what are they and what are their names?

Moose is a black lab mix, he is almost 7 (sniff, sniff), and he’s awesome and very human-like.

What is your favorite piece in Jean-Louis Forain: La Comédie parisienne?

I love the Café Riche series and In the Wings. I also love Toff with a Bouquet and the drawing of Clemenceau.

What do you like most about working at the Dixon?

I love the Dixon’s collection, the history of the house and the Dixons, and being surrounded by such beautiful gardens that people really care about and care for! Really, I like the people and how everyone is trying to do great things here—and that we’re succeeding!

Meet the Dixon staff - Tanya

Name: Tanya Miner Dumas

Position: Visitor Services

College/University: University of Memphis-BA/ CBU-MA

How long have you worked at the Dixon? 11 years

The best thing about living in Memphis is…… The changing of the seasons, the people.   The community of faith that is displayed in Memphis by Memphians/ the U of M-Go Tigers!

What famous artist (deceased or living) would you want to be for one day and why?

Helen Turner.  I love the femininity of her work, the colors, her love of the outdoors is apparent in her paintings

How old were you on your first visit to a museum (art, science history)? How did it shape your interest in museums?

Probably on a visit to Florida with my family-a wildlife museum

Do you have any pets? If so, what are they and what are their names?

I have no pets.

What is your favorite piece in Jean-Louis Forain: La Comédie parisienne?

I like all of it. I don’t have a favorite.

What do you like most about working at the Dixon? 

The interesting people that I meet every day in my position from all over the world and the nice people that I work with on a daily basis.

 

Meet the Dixon staff - Erica!

Name:Erica McCarrens

Position:Children’s Program Coordinator

College/University: Memphis College of Art

How long have you worked at the Dixon? 2 years (1 year full time staff)

The best thing about living in Memphis is……Everyone knows everyone. Everybody is somebody.

What famous artist (deceased or living) would you want to be for one day and why?

Louise Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun. She lived such a fancy life as an artist during the Rococo period. Despite her busy schedule of painting fabulous portraits of Marie Antoinette and other royals, she seemed very devoted to her daughter. (Which is something I can really relate to.)

How old were you on your first visit to a museum (art, science history)? How did it shape your interest in museums?

At 4 years old I went to the Art institute of Chicago. They had an interactive exhibit, and all I remember of that was colorful blocks. But I wanted to go back again and again.

Do you have any pets? If so, what are they and what are their names?

I have two dogs, Trotsky and Elsa. Trotsky is not very bright, and Elsa never misses a chance to make fun of him.

What is your favorite piece in Jean-Louis Forain: La Comédie parisienne?

I feel like The Toff and I have a bond. I’ve drawn him at least 50 times for various reasons. But my most favorite is a little painting in the Orgill Gallery, Dancer in her Dressing Room. The color and lighting are breathtaking. It’s amazing that such a little painting can hold so much beauty.

What do you like most about working at the Dixon?

The fact that my mantra from childhood “when I grow up, I’m going to work in an Art Museum!” has actually come true. Of course it doesn’t hurt that I absolutely love all the kiddos and their fantastic caregivers that come to the museum. Oh! Oh! And my coworkers are the smartest, most wonderful people ever.

Meet the Dixon Staff - Glenn

Name: Glenn Overall
 

Position: Bookkeeper
 

College/University: UCLA/State Tech
 

How long have you worked at the Dixon? 11 years

 

The best thing about living in Memphis is……Golf in the winter. Living closer to my 
 family. The Grizzlies.
 

What famous artist (deceased or living) would you want to be for one day and why? Andy Warhol…just to hang with the celebs of those days. Oh the stories I could tell.

How old were you on your first visit to a museum (art, science history)? How did it shape your interest in museums? 

I was a teen and visited the Detroit Institute of Art. I wasn’t very cerebral in those days so it was not a life changing event.

Do you have any pets? If so, what are they and what are their names? 

Two dogs: Tex and Bella. Tex is afraid of people and loves dogs. Bella loves everyone and everyone loves Bella. They both like to eat my house. No joke!

What is your favorite piece in Jean-Louis Forain: La Comédie parisienne? 

There are too many favorites to pick one. I lean toward his more ominous paintings for some reason.
 

What do you like most about working at the Dixon? 
The art, the parties, my co-workers and the Dixon members.

Meet the Dixon staff - Maria

Name: Maria Griffo

Position: Education Intern

College/University: SUNY Purchase College

How long have you worked at the Dixon? A month and a half

The best thing about living in Memphis is…… my church!

What famous artist (deceased or living) would you want to be for one day and why?  I would like to be Vincent Van Gogh, and only for one day, because I want to know what was going on in his mind just long enough to understand it, then be lucid enough to understand it after!

How old were you on your first visit to a museum (art, science history)? How did it shape your interest in museums?  

Oh goodness… super young.  I grew up in New York City and remember going to the Museum of Natural History when I was 5 or 6 for a field trip.  Field trips definitely shaped my interest in museums.  I loved getting out of the classroom to really experience the thing that prior to the trip was just two-dimensional or pictures in a book.  I especially loved my art class in high school that required us to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art on our own and find plenty of famous paintings (most memorably David’s “Death of Socrates”) and reflect on them.  Since the Met was pay as you go anyway, I would use my school train pass, get up to the Met and pay whatever change was in my pockets to go see the treasures inside often.

Do you have any pets? If so, what are they and what are their names?

I grew up in a house full of pets but, tragically, for the first time in my life do not have pets due to landlord stipulations. 

What is your favorite piece in Jean-Louis Forain: La Comédie parisienne?

Relief in the Trenches, 1918.  Hands down.  The first time I saw it, I was transfixed.  I’ve never been to war, but something in it captures the fleeting nature of life and the scent of death on the battlefield.

What do you like most about working at the Dixon?

As an intern, seeing the inner workings of a non-profit has been wonderful, and that it is arts-based is even more spectacular.