Alice Walton might have caught serious criticism from premier art collectors and curators, but Midwesterners need – no, deserve – access to the world-renowned art she’s showcased at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.
During Thanksgiving weekend, I made my first visit to the spectacle of Bentonville, and it lived up to the hype.
Strolling through and gazing at the galleries, I forgot I was in a northwest Arkansas town of only 35,000.
The surrounding woods and miles of walking trails against the building’s ultramodern architecture disturb the senses enough to lose site of our place on the map. The people gathered were so diverse – I overheard French spoken, and other English speakers had thick accents from India, Europe and Mexico.
Inside, the names that reign are pop artist Warhol, modernists Rockwell and Benton, abstract artist Rothko, glass sculpture artist Chihuly, and, of course, Moshe Safdie, the Crystal Bridges’ architect who created a masterpiece that is artwork in itself and who has an entire exhibit rightfully dedicated to his career.
With the 200,000-square-foot museum, the 63-year-old Wal-Mart Stores heiress has created an island in Bentonville. In actuality, this island serves as a bridge to the future and to diversity. (The Crystal Bridges name is drawn from a nearby spring and the gallery buildings that serve as a bridge over the water.)
While the sprawling museum nestled in a ravine that welcomes Crystal Spring feels worlds away, the 120-acre property sits only a mile from the rejuvenated town square, and Crystal Bridges visionaries even connected the two destinations with outdoor trails.
The progressive museum space parallels the history and tradition of the town square reminiscent of “Back to the Future.”
Of course, Sam Walton’s fingerprint still lingers on the town, from the original Walton’s 5&10 and soda shop on the square to the tractor-trailer branded with a 1964-era “frontier font” Wal-Mart logo docked outside one of the many warehouses and the home office complex, though understated as it is for the headquarters of the world’s largest retailer (NYSE: WMT).
The Walton empire, namely the Walton Family Foundation, serve as the financial backbone of Alice Walton’s vision – to the tune of a reported $1.2 billion gift. Walton herself is a multibillionaire – ranked No. 8 in The Forbes 400 with a net worth of $26.3 billion – and she has spent tens of millions of dollars on individual pieces purchased from private and public collections, the latter bringing her the most grief from art purists. One that got away from the veteran art collector was Thomas Eakins’ “The Gross Clinic,” when amid public outcry in Philadelphia, two city art entities raised funds and took out a loan to match Walton’s $68 million offer and preserve the historic piece for the city.
Perhaps the most memorable piece on site is Evan Penny’s “old” self-portrait.
People congregated, stared, muttered and turned away but always had some sort of reaction.
Overheard on this visit:
“Oh my gosh, he has nose hairs.”
“You can see the veins in his head.”
“I wonder if he used his real hair.”
“Its creepy. It’s incredible. It’s really creepy.”
It’s true. There is a creepy, cool factor with this 3-D piece. Stare him in the eye too long, and it’s creepy. Yet, it’s cool that it even exists.
So it is with Crystal Bridges. The buzz, the scrutiny, the history, the modernity, the eccentricity – it’s a game changer for Middle America. And it’s well worth the short two-hour drive from Springfield.
Springfield Business Journal Editor Eric Olson can be reached at eolson@sbj.net.
