2023 Issue 5 Sept/Oct Focus - Mid-South Magazine
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Following the Early<br />
American and Modern<br />
Art galleries is the<br />
Contemporary Art gallery.<br />
While the previous<br />
galleries were more-or-less<br />
organized chronologically,<br />
the contemporary gallery<br />
arranged work by theme.<br />
As soon as I entered the<br />
gallery, I was greeted by<br />
Beeple’s HUMAN ONE<br />
sculpture. The work is a<br />
technologically advanced,<br />
spinning mechanism<br />
that portrays a distorted<br />
astronaut traversing an<br />
electric, surreal, and everchanging<br />
landscape.<br />
The work commands full<br />
attention of the room with<br />
its intense light and color.<br />
Opposite HUMAN ONE<br />
are two paintings by Mark<br />
Rothko and Lee Krasner,<br />
respectively. Rothko and<br />
Krasner were members of<br />
the Abstract Expressionist<br />
movement of the 1940s and<br />
50s, a period of painting<br />
known for grandeur, but<br />
also existentialism caused<br />
from the upheavals of<br />
World War II. In post-World<br />
War II America, these<br />
two paintings would have<br />
demanded the same level<br />
of investigation as Beeple’s<br />
HUMAN ONE. By situating<br />
examples of contemporary<br />
work from opposite ends<br />
of the timeline, Crystal<br />
Bridges emphasized how<br />
rapid documentation of<br />
culture has shifted with<br />
the introduction of new<br />
technologies. I sat with<br />
Lorraine O’Grady’s Untitled<br />
(Mlle Bourgeoise Noire) for<br />
a long while. The series of<br />
photographs documented<br />
O’Gradys performance work<br />
in which she entered art<br />
institutions, unannounced,<br />
dressed as her fictional<br />
pageant queer persona<br />
Mademoiselle Bourgeoise<br />
Noire (Miss Black <strong>Mid</strong>dle-<br />
Class). By invading art<br />
spaces adorned in a dress<br />
and cape constructed of<br />
180 pairs of white gloves<br />
and lashing herself with<br />
a whip as she recited<br />
poems, O’Grady gave<br />
the institutions a “piece<br />
of her mind” and insisted<br />
on acknowledging<br />
the exclusion of<br />
underrepresented<br />
communities and<br />
internalized oppression. 3<br />
Investigating the<br />
documentation of<br />
O’Grady’s performance<br />
art as individual photos<br />
that capture a duration of<br />
time gave me perspective<br />
on how witnessing a live<br />
event can hold the same<br />
integrity as how it is seen<br />
post-performance. Sitting<br />
with this piece put me<br />
in a prime headspace<br />
for my nighttime event,<br />
Matty Davis’ Die No Die<br />
(Arkansas) hosted at The<br />
Momentary. As I wrapped<br />
up my adventure in the<br />
contemporary art gallery,<br />
I recognized the Memphis<br />
native Mae Aur had a work<br />
in the gallery. Seeing their<br />
work, The Guardeners, in the<br />
Crystal Bridges permanent<br />
collection made me elated<br />
with respect and pride for<br />
my lovely art community<br />
back home in Memphis.<br />
The Momentary is an<br />
interdisciplinary art space<br />
focusing on music, visual<br />
art, performance art,<br />
culinary art, and film. Matty<br />
Davis’ performance Die No<br />
Die included previously<br />
mailed zines functioning<br />
as maps, an 800 meter<br />
procession, lighting effects,<br />
choreography, and spoken<br />
word. While witnessing the<br />
work, I had the response<br />
of most performance art<br />
viewers, “What did I just<br />
see, and why did it make<br />
so much sense?” As a<br />
performance artist myself<br />
with limited access to<br />
viewing live performance<br />
art, it was an interesting<br />
opportunity to witness<br />
such an event in a large<br />
institution. I returned to the<br />
Momentary the following<br />
day to view the galleries.<br />
Exhibitions by Dave Cole,<br />
Firelei Báez, Will Rawls,<br />
Yvette Mayorga–an artistin-residence–and<br />
Rumwolf<br />
were on view. All of the<br />
galleries shared common<br />
threads: historical context,<br />
exploration of identity,<br />
and specific art mediums<br />
displayed as installation.<br />
Firelei Báez’s installation<br />
To Breathe Full and Free:<br />
A Declaration, A Revisioning,<br />
A Correction,<br />
utilized shadowplay and<br />
set construction to explore<br />
various cultural narratives.<br />
While the majority of<br />
the exhibition comprised<br />
grand sculpture amplifying<br />
the gallery space, Báez<br />
considered all of her work<br />
to belong to “the illusionistic<br />
realm of painting.”<br />
Mayorga’s exhibition<br />
contained both sculptures<br />
and paintings; however, the<br />
treatment of the gallery<br />
space created synergy<br />
between the mediums.<br />
Checkered patterns were<br />
laid in complementary<br />
sections. Towards the far<br />
end of the gallery, the<br />
floor became checkered<br />
carpet. The moment my<br />
feet felt the softness of<br />
the ground, I completely<br />
melted into the work. I<br />
was living in Mayorga’s<br />
world. The treatment of<br />
the gallery space became<br />
integral to her work, and the<br />
other artists embraced this<br />
method too.<br />
In addition to visual<br />
art viewing, I indulged<br />
in the culinary arts. The<br />
Momentary houses an<br />
Onyx Coffee Lab, though<br />
it was temporarily closed<br />
during my trip. Luckily, I was<br />
able to visit another Onyx<br />
location down the street<br />
and had the best coffee of<br />
my life. I also paid a quick<br />
visit to 21c Museum Hotel<br />
to view their expansive<br />
contemporary art collection<br />
and enjoy a cocktail at The<br />
Hive. I was particularly<br />
excited to try “The Garden,”<br />
a vodka drink inspired by<br />
Portia Munson’s current<br />
installation, The Garden<br />
(1996-2019) which was on<br />
view in the hotel’s lobby.<br />
A significant part of<br />
my personal agenda is<br />
to uplift <strong>South</strong>ern artists.<br />
We are underrepresented<br />
in the “Capital A” art<br />
world. Having a thriving<br />
art scene only 5 hours<br />
from home fosters hope<br />
that my community can<br />
take ownership in the<br />
art world without living<br />
in New York, Chicago,<br />
or Los Angeles. Crystal<br />
Bridges, The Momentary,<br />
and 21c inspire a crossdisciplinary<br />
art scene<br />
despite residing outside<br />
of a major metropolitan<br />
area. Bentonville, Arkansas<br />
has plenty to offer and<br />
contribute to the larger<br />
conversation of artistic<br />
cultural documentation.<br />
Take time to visit, but, more<br />
importantly, take time to<br />
witness. There are moments<br />
in the galleries where time<br />
seems to stand still.<br />
REFERENCES<br />
1. Infinity Mirrored Room- My Heart<br />
is Dancing into the Universe by<br />
Yayoi Kusama can also been seen<br />
in Crystal Bridges’ contemporary<br />
art gallery<br />
2. Sappho is from the island of<br />
Lesbos, hence the term “lesbian.”<br />
3. Object label for Untitled by<br />
Lorraine O’Grady. At the Crystal<br />
Bridges Art Museum, Bentonville,<br />
Arkansas. Seen on: August 5, <strong>2023</strong>.<br />
26 Go! | <strong>Sept</strong>+<strong>Oct</strong> <strong>2023</strong> | focuslgbt.com