State of the Art: Crystal Bridges Tour Recap | SeeLaurieWrite.com

When the announcement was made that an art museum was being planned in Bentonville, Arkansas, the global art community basically rolled their eyes and snorted. Critics and collectors alike crowed about the waste of money and effort the endeavor would be. Alice Walton’s dream was to build an art museum that would be accessible to everyone – even farmers and schoolchildren living in the center of the country (as opposed to the coasts, where most significant museums are located). She was dismissed as simply a nouveau-riche billionaire striving for recognition and perhaps trying to polish up what some believe to be a negative family legacy. To these naysayers, she was wasting her money, and worse, buying up works of art to put in her museum that would never been seen.

Oh, what a difference a year makes. In an article in the NY Times published in June 2011, five months before they opened the doors, museum officials were quoted saying they estimated 250,000 people would visit in the first year. I and hundreds of others who believed in Alice’s vision became original members of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and thirteen months later, they reported an astounding update – over 655,000 people had walked through the doors between November 2011 and December 2012; a number that exceeded the Northwest Arkansas region’s population by more than 150,000.

One of my favorite things about Crystal Bridges is that it focuses solely on American art. As a member of a family of artists and makers, I like to think of myself as a tiny little branch of that much bigger forest that is the art world in this country. I grew up looking at coffee table books on the art of Walt Disney, Andrew Wyeth and Norman Rockwell. Walt’s work is not represented at Crystal Bridges, but Andrew and Norman (and Andrew’s son, Jamie) are, and it is so exciting to see a full piece on the wall after looking at it on a page of a book for so long.

Last month, a group of Arkansas Women Bloggers were invited to tour the museum to see the latest exhibition, State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now. It was a no-brainer that I would be jumping in line to get on that list.

The museum is located in a beautiful wooded area just north of downtown Bentonville, Arkansas, on property that Ms. Walton explored as a child. October in Northwest Arkansas is one of the most amazing times of the year, and driving up to the entrance of the museum, graced by the shining silver tree sculpture by artist Roxy Paine and surrounded by the colorful leaves of autumn was a lovely moment in and of itself.

State of the Art: Crystal Bridges Tour Recap | SeeLaurieWrite.com

After a light lunch catered by the museum’s in-house restaurant, Eleven (named for the date of the museum’s grand opening – 11/11/11), we were met by Chad Alligood. Chad is the lead curator for Crystal Bridges Museum, and spent approximately ten months traveling over 100,000 miles around the country with museum President, Don Bacigalupi to put together this very ambitious exhibition. Together, they visited nearly 1,000 artists culled from a list that originally consisted of almost 10,000 names. Of the artists they visited, 102 were selected to be a part of the State of the Art exhibition. Imagine getting that phone call, right??

As the museum’s press release about State of the Art states, “The exhibition examines the ways in which today’s artists are informed by the past, innovating with materials old and new, and engaging deeply with issues relevant to our times.” I was personally most intrigued by the pieces that used repurposed and recycled materials to communicate their message (not surprising). Here are a few of my favorites: Sorry for the fuzziness – no flash photography allowed.

State of the Art: Crystal Bridges Tour Recap | SeeLaurieWrite.com
These figures fascinated me – and artist Vanessa German’s story is even better.

State of the Art: Crystal Bridges Tour Recap | SeeLaurieWrite.com

State of the Art: Crystal Bridges Tour Recap | SeeLaurieWrite.com
Curator Chad Alligood in front of a mural-sized quilt with crazy detail by Gina Phillips. (See right)

State of the Art: Crystal Bridges Tour Recap | SeeLaurieWrite.com

 

State of the Art: Crystal Bridges Tour Recap | SeeLaurieWrite.com
China purchased at thrift stores, with floral details removed using jeweler’s tools – by Elizabeth Alexander.
State of the Art: Crystal Bridges Tour Recap | SeeLaurieWrite.com
I’m not sure how much of Jeila Gueramian’s materials are repurposed, but who doesn’t love a giant crocheted cave??

During our visit, Alligood led us to specific works and described the creative process and message of the artist behind them. We didn’t have time to explore each of the 102 works in detail, but I am looking forward to another trip so I can spend several hours reading the artists’ statements and reflecting on my own thoughts about the art.

State of the Art will be on display through January 19, 2015 and features several ways for viewers to learn more about the works, including a State of the Art app for phones and tablets. (It can be downloaded onto Apple and Android devices – check it out if you are planning a visit!) There are also audio guides available for free to use in the museum, and art kiosks have been set up inside the museum to give visitors insight on the works, the artists’ motivations, and see interviews recorded with artists at their studios.

Here is the website that details the search for the art, the artists themselves, and the works in the exhibition. If you only have an hour or two to spend at the museum, I highly recommend looking through the website first, to hone in on the pieces you really want to view and learn more about.

It is such a treasure, this museum. And having it here in my home is such an amazing source of pride for our state. As a fan of American art, I love this quote from Alice Walton, taken from the NYT article linked above: “I never would have thought of collecting anything but American, truly. This is the heartland of the country. It’s what should be here.”

Couldn’t agree more. Thank you Alice, and happy 3rd anniversary to Crystal Bridges Museum!

1 comment

  1. What a great write-up! And I’m so glad I got to see you there. :-) Can’t wait to go back to take a little more time with each piece.

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