Senses Expanded
A sense is a way in which our bodies gather information about the world around us. Senses are traditionally identified as sight, sound, tase, touch, and smell, but there are more senses like balance or proprioception, which is your body's abiliyt to sense movement. Not everyone has all of these senses, and not everyone experiences these senses in the same way. For example, some people have synesthesia and can tase words or see sounds.
In a museum, we usually think of sight as the primary sense for experiencing art. This guide explores new ways of engaging with art using the sense of touch.
Sensory jump links
Glass
1 | Smooth
Persian Wall, Dale Chihuly
born 1941
Persian Wall, 1996
Where object was made: United States
Material/technique: blown glass
Credit line: Museum purchase: Gift of Larry L. and Barbara Criss Marshall
Accession number: 1996.0093
2 | Smooth
vase with dragon appendage, Salviati & C.
active 1859–present
vase with dragon appendage, 1875–1899
Where object was made: Murano, Venice, Italy
Material/technique: blown glass; girasol
Credit line: William Bridges Thayer Memorial
Accession number: 1928.6235.b
3 | Molded
salt cellar with cover, Boston & Sandwich Glass Company
active 1825–1888
salt cellar with cover, circa 1835–1845
Where object was made: Sandwich, Massachusetts, United States
Material/technique: pressed glass
Credit line: William Bridges Thayer Memorial
Accession number: 1928.6041.a,b
4 | Sand-blasted
Eagle Hat, Preston Singletary
Eagle Hat, 2003
Where object was made: United States
Material/technique: blown glass; sandblasting
Credit line: Museum purchase: Friends of the Art Museum
Accession number: 2003.0075
Painting
5 | Flat or matte
Sansei Woman, Roger Shimomura
born 1939
Sansei Woman, 1980
Where object was made: United States
Material/technique: acrylic; canvas
Credit line: Gift of Dean and Ginny Graves; Jim and Gina Graves Lloyd
Accession number: 2011.0022
6 | Repeated pattern
Madonna and Child, Cenni di Francesco di Ser Cenni
active 1369–1415
Madonna and Child, circa 1410–1415
Where object was made: Florence, Republic of Florence (present-day Italy)
Material/technique: panel; tempera; gold leaf
Credit line: Gift from the Samuel H. Kress Study Collection
Accession number: 1960.0046
7 | Shallow brush marks
Arena, Elaine de Kooning
1918–1989
Arena, 1959
Where object was made: United States
Material/technique: oil; board
Credit line: Gift of Virginia Jennings Nadeau and Richard Pierre Nadeau © Elaine de Kooning Trust
Accession number: 2021.0005
8 | Thick brush marks
Around the Cake, Wayne Thiebaud
1920–2021
Around the Cake, 1962
Where object was made: United States
Material/technique: oil; canvas
Credit line: Gift of Ralph T. Coe in memory of Helen F. Spencer
Accession number: 1982.0144
Metal
9 | Layered
Seventh Decade Garden IX-X, Louise Nevelson
1899–1988
Where object was made: United States
Material/technique: aluminum; welding; paint
Credit line: Museum purchase: Reid Foundation, Helen Foresman Spencer Art Acquisition Fund, Kansas University Endowment Association, and the National Endowment for the Arts
Accession number: 1983.0028
10 | Smooth
Prairie Steelscape, Arlie Regier
1931–2014
Prairie Steelscape, 1995
Where object was made: United States
Material/technique: stainless steel
Credit line: Gift of Sam and Connie Perkins Collection
Accession number: 2021.0072
11 | Cast
藥師佛 Yaoshi fo (Medicine Buddha), unknown maker from China
藥師佛 Yaoshi fo (Medicine Buddha), late 1500s–early 1600s, Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Where object was made: China
Material/technique: gilding; bronze; pigment
Credit line: William Bridges Thayer Memorial
Accession number: 1928.1791
12 | Cut-out
Sea Goddesses, Serge Jolimeau
born 1952
Sea Goddesses, 1972–1976
Where object was made: Haiti
Material/technique: recycled steel oil drum
Credit line: Mary Lou Vansant Hughes Collection
Accession number: 2011.0284
Ceramic
13 | Repaired with gold
Translated Vase, Yeesookyung
born 1963
Translated Vase, 2009
Where object was made: Seoul, South Korea
Material/technique: ceramic shards; twenty-four-carat gold leaf; twenty-four-carat gold powder; epoxy
Credit line: Museum purchase: Helen Foresman Spencer Art Acquisition Fund
Accession number: 2012.0033
14 | Glazed
teapot with lid, Ladi Kwali
circa 1925–1984
teapot with lid, 1954–1979
Where object was made: Nigeria
Material/technique: glaze; ceramic
Credit line: Gift of Dr. Beverly Mack
Accession number: 2012.0158.a,b
15 | Terracotta
Warrior Haniwa, unknown maker from Japan
Warrior Haniwa, late 400s, Kofun period (250 CE–552 CE)
Where object was made: Japan
Material/technique: earthenware
Credit line: Museum purchase: Barbara Benton Wescoe Fund
Accession number: 1977.0067
16 | Burnished
vase, Maria Martinez
vase, 1915–1930
Where object was made: San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico, United States
Material/technique: ceramic; burnishing
Credit line: Gift of Eva F. Bennett
Accession number: 2007.4631
Wood
17 | Carved
Head of a bodhisattva, unknown maker from China
Head of a bodhisattva, 1100s–1200s, Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279)
Where object was made: China
Material/technique: carving; wood; paint
Credit line: Gift of John Crawford in honor of Helen F. Spencer
Accession number: 1977.0125
18 | Smooth
Hanging in the Balance, Wendell Castle
1932–2018
Hanging in the Balance, 2002
Where object was made: United States
Material/technique: jelutong wood; bronze
Credit line: Museum purchase: Helen Foresman Spencer Art Acquisition Fund
Accession number: 2003.0016
19 | Frame
Christ in Gethsemane, Jacopo Palma il Giovane
circa 1548–1628
Christ in Gethsemane, circa 1590–1605
Where object was made: Italy
Material/technique: canvas; oil
Credit line: Museum purchase
Accession number: 1954.0002
20 | Gold leafed
La Pia de' Tolomei, Dante Gabriel Rossetti
1828–1882
La Pia de' Tolomei, 1868–1880
Where object was made: England, United Kingdom
Material/technique: canvas; oil
Credit line: Museum purchase
Accession number: 1956.0031
Textile
21 | Quilted
Kanza quilt block, Virginia Jean Cox Mitchell
1931–2023
Kanza quilt block, 1978
Where object was made: Lawrence, Kansas, United States
Material/technique: cotton; piecing; appliqué
Credit line: Gift of Virginia Jean Cox Mitchell and Bill
Accession number: 2013.0180.11
22 | Silk
Literary Gathering in the Orchid Pavilion, Dai Jin
1388–1462
Literary Gathering in the Orchid Pavilion, 1500s–1600s, Ming dynasty (1368–1644) or Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
Where object was made: China
Material/technique: ink; color; silk
Credit line: Museum purchase
Accession number: 1970.0077
23 | Beaded
beaded snood with medallion, Ada Bosin
Where object was made: United States
Material/technique: beading; buckskin
Credit line: Gift of Ann and Britt Brown, Blackbear Bosin Collection
Accession number: 2007.0497
24 | Lace
Maria Maddalena, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, Studio of Domenico and Valore Casini
Maria Maddalena, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, 1610–1628
Where object was made: Grand Duchy of Tuscany (present-day Italy)
Material/technique: oil; canvas
Credit line: Museum purchase
Accession number: 1955.0045
Miscellaneous
25 | Ostrich egg
L' Autruche (The Ostrich), Diego Giacometti
1902–1985
Where object was made: Europe
Material/technique: casting; bronze; ostrich egg
Credit line: Gift of Sam and Connie Perkins Collection
Accession number: 2021.0220.a,b
26 | Coiled pine needles
woven food cover, unrecorded Hausa-Fulani artist
woven food cover, 1982
Where object was made: Kano, Nigeria
Material/technique: coiling; paper; glass; plastic
Credit line: Gift of Professor Beverly Mack
Accession number: 2011.0209
27 | Acrylic
Pale Lens, Frederick John Eversley
1941–2025
Pale Lens, 1970
Where object was made: Los Angeles area, California, United States
Material/technique: cast polyester
Credit line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Ward
Accession number: 1971.0052
28 | Glass mosaic
Portatrice d'acqua (Water carrier), Ludovico Lucietto; Studio del Mosaico Vaticano
active 1727–present
Portatrice d'acqua (Water carrier), 1920–1925
Where object was made: Italy
Material/technique: micromosaic
Credit line: Gift of the Max Kade Foundation
Accession number: 1977.0061
29 | Mirrored
獣の皮を被り 草の編みもの Donning Animal Skins and Braided Grass, Konoike Tomoko
born 1960
Where object was made: Japan
Material/technique: Styrofoam™; aluminum; wood; mirror
Credit line: Museum purchase: R. Charles and Mary Margaret Clevenger Art Acquisition Fund
Accession number: 2017.0048.a,b
30 | Wax on wire
Untitled #751 (Craig's Piece), Petah Coyne
born 1953
Untitled #751 (Craig's Piece), 1992–1993
Where object was made: United States
Material/technique: wire; wax
Credit line: Museum purchase: Peter T. Bohan Art Acquisition Fund
Accession number: 2001.0024
31 | Sand-painted
sand painting depicting sun and eagle, Irene Tsosie
Cultural affiliations: Diné (Navajo)
sand painting depicting sun and eagle, late 1900s–1994
Where object was made: United States
Material/technique: pigment; sand; wood
Credit line: Gift of Carol Chavez
Accession number: 2007.7026
32 | Fiberglass
Howl, Luis Alfonso Jimenez
1940–2006
Howl, 1986
Where object was made: United States
Material/technique: acrylic urethane; fiberglass
Credit line: Museum purchase
Accession number: 1993.0282