Staff Show 2017: Angela Silhan

Posted on September 8, 2017 by Experiment Station

In this series, Manager of Visitor and Family Engagement Emily Bray highlights participants in the 2017 James McLaughlin Memorial Staff Show, on view through September 17, 2017.

Angela Silhan, Oblivion

Angela Silhan

Tell us about yourself.

My name is Angela Silhan. I am a student about to graduate from George Mason University, currently majoring in Art History. Art is a passion I have had since very young, that I hope to continue the rest of my life.

What do you do at The Phillips Collection? Are there any unique or interesting parts about your job that most people might not know about?

I am a Museum Assistant. A unique part of my job is learning about artwork in the museum every day and being able to relay that to visitors!

Who is your favorite artist in the collection?

Pierre Bonnard.

What is your favorite space within The Phillips Collection?

The Rothko Room.

What would you like people to know about your artwork on view in the 2017 Staff Show (or your work in general)?

My focus, in all of my artworks, is always women. I think the female form and face is one that offers diversity and a variety of options. My piece on display in the show, Oblivion, is one conveying emptiness and endlessness. The colors used are neutral, meant to make the viewer look deeper at the detail within the woman’s face.

The 2017 James McLaughlin Memorial Staff Show is on view August 3 through September 17, 2017.

Staff Show 2014: Ashley Meadows

Posted on January 13, 2015 by Experiment Station

In this series, we profile participants in the 2014 James McLaughlin Memorial Staff Show.

Ashley Meadows, They have been around for at least 565 million years, and probably far longer. And they haven’t needed to change their body form or lifestyle in all that time… because they work. 2013, embroidery on cotton

Ashley took a few moments to give us some insight about her role at The Phillips Collection and her piece in the Staff Show. When not stitching, Ashley Meadows is a museum educator who splits her time between leading tours at The Phillips Collection, cyber navigating at ARTLAB+ at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, and creating art+science workshops at the National Museum of Natural History.

What do you do at The Phillips Collection? Are there any unique/interesting parts about your job that most people might not know about?

I am just one member of the excellent School Programs Educator team! We design, write, and lead arts-integrated lessons both in the galleries and in DC public schools. We create unique tours for groups visiting the Phillips just once and for our Art Links partner schools. If you’re in the museum on a weekday morning, you’ll likely see (and hear) us moving through the museum with groups of students from Pre-K to high school.

What is your favorite work in the collection?

The Open Window by Pierre Bonnard is one of my favorites because I also live with a little, trouble-making black cat.

What is your favorite gallery/space within The Phillips Collection?

The Sant stairs have the best wooden treads and acoustics for boot heels I’ve ever encountered.

What would you like people to know about your artwork on view in the 2014 Staff Show (and/or your work in general)?

This jellyfish is just one in a series of six completed early this year. I became interested in jellyfish because they have been successfully going with the flow for hundreds of millions of years and are quite powerful, especially in large numbers. Each jellyfish is reduced from its shapely form to a linear drawing and the colors are fictional. Each jellyfish requires about fifteen to twenty hours of stitching.

The 2014 James McLaughlin Memorial Staff Show will be on view December 16, 2014 through January 19, 2015. The show features artwork from Phillips Collection staff.

A Centennial Feast for Julia Child

Posted on August 15, 2012 by Experiment Station

Asked to describe her ideal last meal, Julia Child (whose 100th birthday would have been today) imagined a joyfully decadent menu building from caviar, Russian vodka sauce, and oysters with Pouilly-Fuisse wine to pommes anna and fresh asparagus. Dessert might include ripe pears and green tea or sorbet with walnut cake. Appetite for Life: The Biography of Julia Child (1997) also lists among the heroic foody’s go-to comfort food red meat and gin. Many an artist has also turned to food and flavors for inspiration and happiness. In honor of Julia Child, we present some of the most delectable food moments in The Phillips Collection .