Crystal Bridges Museum of American
Art
I admit it. Art is not an area of
expertise for me. Don't get me wrong. I really do appreciate
talent. Whether it's paintings, sculpture, music, or photography, I
admire the talents and artistic abilities of others. Art experts,
however, with arrogant, self centered opinions, sometimes get the
better of me.
The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art has an app that we downloaded to our phones before we visited the museum.
The app allows you to enter a code that is
placed along side some of the works of art. The code entry starts an
audio description, history, and an opinion of an art critic about the
piece.
I was listening to the description of a beautiful landscape
featuring a large meadow, mountains in the background with cows
grazing, and workers busily raking hay. It featured a church steeple
in the background with a storm brewing overhead. I was thinking how
well it captured life in the mid 1800's when an arrogant voice came
on stating "this was not just an ordinary predictable landscape,
but a metaphor for the complexities of life".
Forgetting I was
wearing ear buds and blurting out a little too loudly perhaps, I said
"Give me a break – This was the 1800's – People were
concerned about making a living, not metaphors...". This, of
course brought a few glares from the attendants and Jo just walked
away pretending not to know me....
After that I just put away my ear
buds, deleted the app from my phone, and simply walked around,
quietly enjoying the art pieces.
Jo's mother was one of many women
who worked in the factories building munitions while their husbands were away during
World War II. Remembering this, we were both pleased to be able to
view in person, Norman Rockwell's painting "Rosie the Riveter".
We had seen prints of this painting, of course, but to be able to
view the original was special.
Alice Walton, daughter of the
founder of Walmart, was the brainchild and presenter of this
fantastic museum. She presented the works as a gift to the people.
There are some incredible masterpieces here, with values of some of
the pieces in the millions.
The museum is a tribute to American
artists and American architecture. The connected bridges alone, with
their amazing architecture are worth the time to visit. The
permanent displays are divided into styles, eras, and types of
American artist's works. It's a wonderful and amazing collection.
The entire permanent collection is available to view free of charge.
There are traveling art collections featured separately for viewing
at a nominal fee.
In addition there is a beautiful
restaurant that shows off the architure, and a lounge area where you
can sit and rest from your walking. Outside there are numerous
trails that wind through natural woodland settings with well placed
sculptures featured along the trails.
I'm still learning about this art
thing. I was only yelled at one other time during my visit. I
rested my hand on a large table that contained a small sculpture and
was awarded instantly with a "Sir, please don't touch
that"........ I didn't touch the sculpture. It was too far away
to reach anyway, being in the center of the table.
But that's
OK.....I learned that when you go into an art gallery, you should
keep quiet, and you shouldn't touch anything but the floor......and
if possible, as you walk around, you should avoid touching the floor.
And to avoid stress, you should avoid phone apps that feature art
critics...... But don't mind me. Most of you are much more
sophisticated than I am, and you already know all about art and art
gallery etiquette.
In all sincerety, the Crystal
Bridges Museum of American Art is one of those places you should not
miss. It's bridges and it's art will impress and amaze you. Thank
you, Alice Walton, for your much more than generous gift.
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