2023 Issue 5 Sept/Oct Focus - Mid-South Magazine

Only five hours from
Memphis, Bentonville,
Arkansas is a surprising
sanctuary for fine art in the
Southeast. Perhaps the best
known spot I visited is the
Crystal Bridges Museum
of American Art, which lies
on 120 acres of beautiful
forest in the foothills of
the Ozark mountains. The
museum is a cultural site
that not only emphasizes
the visual arts, but also
architecture, outdoor
recreation, and culinary
arts. Bentonville itself has
over 140 miles of mountain
biking trails and over 40
miles of walking trails. A six
minute drive away is The
Momentary, Crystal Bridges’
satellite contemporary art
space. The Momentary is
also accessible via shuttle
from Crystal Bridges, or a
short two mile walk down
the Razorback Regional
Greenway. Visitors of The
Momentary can expect to
see contemporary art, live
music, and performance
art, as well as participate
in culinary and fine art
workshops and community
celebrations. The
Momentary is also home
to an artist-in-residence
program. Both Crystal
Bridges and the Momentary
are free admission by the
generosity of the Walton
family, for the exception
of the museums’ special
rotating exhibitions. In
addition to Crystal Bridges
and The Momentary,
Bentonville is home to
a 21c Museum Hotel, a
member of the upscale
21c hotel chain offering
an expansive collection of
contemporary artworks and
a highly-inspired upscale
restaurant, The Hive. While
planning my trip, I reached
out to local artist and
Northwest Arkansas native,
Joel Parsons, for advice
on crafting the perfect art
weekend. With his helpful
suggestions, I formulated
a plan that ensured I could
taste a little of what the
region has to offer.
Upon arriving in
Bentonville, I advise parking
in the town square. I parked
in the lot behind the 21c
Museum Hotel, a spot I
knew I would be visiting
after my museum trip. From
there, I suggest heading
towards the forest and
taking the Crystal Bridges
trail to the Art Trail, entering
the museum from the
South Entrance. Along the
trail, you will encounter
one of James Turrell’s
Skyspaces. The Skyspace,
The Way of Color (2009),
is a large round structure
protruding from a hillside
on the campus grounds.
While walking through the
doorway of the sculpture,
the perception of space
seems surreal; the curved
stone walls create a sense
of confinement, while the
circular opening at the top
of the structure exposes
an intimate peek into the
atmosphere. If you have the
opportunity to witness the
work at sunrise or sunset,
you will be captivated by
how Turrell uses LED lighting
to manipulate your sense
of light, space, and nature.
Continuing down the path,
you will cross many creeks
and waterfalls. I recommend
wearing good walking shoes
as there is some elevation
change, though the Crystal
Bridges Trail and Art Trail
are both ADA accessible.
While approaching the
south entrance, you will
pass some well-known
artworks, such as Louise
Bourgeois’s Maman (1999),
Yayoi Kusama’s Narcissus
Garden (1966-present),
and a corten steel rendition
of Robert Indiana’s LOVE
sculpture (1966-1999). 1
Situated to the right of the
South Entrance is Frank
Lloyd Wright’s Bachman-
Wilson House. Moshe Safdie,
the architect of Crystal
Bridges, shared Wright’s
sentiment that architecture
should be responsive to
its environment, designing
the museum with respect
to the Ozarks. Embracing
horizontality, both Safdie
and Wright examine the
landscape's potential to
heighten the architecture
and vice versa. More
information about the
history of the Bachman-
Wilson house is available
in the Great Hall Corridor
following the south entrance,
as well as a wonderful view
of the building through the
museum’s expansive glass
walls.
Crystal Bridges’
Temporary Exhibition
Gallery was closed during
my visit, so I instead
went straight to the Early
American Art galleries.
The space featured a
collection of portraits from
American history; however,
the museum proved
keenly aware of how they
displayed American culture
in an institutional setting.
Exploring multiplicities of
identity, Crystal Bridges
juxtaposed traditional
portraits of cis-het, rich,
white men of the past with
those of underrepresented
groups. For instance,
situated between Gilbert
Stuart’s George Washington
[The Constable-Hamilton
Portrait] (1797) and Thomas
Sully’s Colonel Samuel
Boyer Davis (1819) portraits
of—you guessed it—old,
rich, cis-het white men, is
Kehinde Wiley’s Portrait of a
Florentine Nobleman (2018).
Wiley’s painting depicts a
portrait of Shontay Haynes,
a St. Louis local, in front
of and intertwined with an
ornate sixteenth-century
floral background. Wiley’s
paintings place Black
individuals in the historical
context of portraiture,
calling attention to the
identities that have been
left out of history. By
sandwiching Wiley’s work
between two classical
paintings of prominent
American figures, Crystal
Bridges is acknowledging
and contributing to the
mission of unveiling history
and uplifting voices that
have historically been
silenced. On your way out of
the Early American gallery,
be sure to spend some
time with William Wetmore
Story’s life-size marble
sculpture Sappho (1867).
The work is representative
of American and European
interest in classical subjects
and mythologies, though
Story was likely unaware
he was depicting a future
prominent figure in LGBTQ+
history and literature, whose
poems are heavily coded
with feminine desire. 2
Mae Aur: The Guardeners, 2019.
Hand cut wood, acrylic paint.
Crystal Bridges Museum of
American Art
photo by Mud
Sept+Oct 2023 | focuslgbt.com | Go! 25