Yesterday for my birthday we went up to Crystal Bridges and saw the special exhibit, Soul of a Nation. An excellent exhibit.
And the museum was packed. As much as I dislike the corporate practices of the current generation of Waltons, I have to admit this museum is a gift to the people of Arkansas. Before this museum, most people in the state had no access to any art museum, or at least only rare access. You had to drive to Tulsa, or Kansas City, a prospect out of reach for many of the state's working people.
Nor -- as this exhibit shows -- is Crystal Bridges playing it safe. As this article notes, it's bringing valid and provocative art to its visitors. This latest exhibit demonstrates that clearly.
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| America the Beautiful -- one of the paintings at the Soul of the Nation exhibit |
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| Also from the exhibit |
2 comments:
"You had to drive to Tulsa, or Kansas City,"
If I recall correctly, Memphis is just across the Mississippi River from Arkansas, making it a little more accessible than Tulsa or Kansas City.
Also, Bentonville is in the upper left corner of the state. So I looked at my maps.
*Little Rock is closer to Memphis than it is to Bentonville. (For the record, Little Rock is also closer to Memphis than it is to Fort Smith).
*Jonesboro is 70 miles from Memphis - which is also the distance from Fort Smith to Bentonville. Jonesboro is also closer to St. Louis than it is to Bentonville.
*Texarkana is closer to Dallas than it is to Bentonville.
For most working Arkansans, there are major art museums closer than Crystal Bridges.
Memphis is four hours from us -- five if the traffic sucks.
But I take your point. There are places in Arkansas which are closer to Memphis than Bentonville.
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