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Bridgestone Beauties
| Article
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19023 |
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Section : |
THE ARTS
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| Issue
Date : |
1 / 1991 |
1,619 Words |
| Author
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Eric Gibson
Eric Gibson, art critic for the Washington Times, last wrote
on Henry Ossewa Tanner in the September 1991 issue of The
World & I. |
These days, there seems to be a host of concerns pressing in on the museum profession. Money is the most obvious one, of course. Another is the blockbuster issue: They're getting harder and harder to mount, yet museums can hardly do without them.
Then there is the peculiar problem faced by museums in the midwest and south: How to be included in the network of traveling shows organized by museums on the East and West coasts? Although these smaller institutions in the middle of the country are important lenders to major shows at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and New York's Metropolitan Museum, for example, they don't always find themselves part of the itinerary when it comes time for the shows to travel.
A Public for Art
But all these difficulties presuppose a thriving audience, a public for art that will patronize whatever exhibitions the museums decide to organize. What do you do if you want to make your community part of the itinerary for exhibitions but lack any real base or source of support? Do what the Tennessee State Museum has done, and start with an Impressionist show, in this case a sampling of the collection of the Bridgestone Museum in Tokyo.
By now, Impressionism is surely the most oversold-if not abused-movement in the history of art. It's used by museums that want an easy crowd. And last year, four of five Midwest musumes pooled their Impressionist collections into a traveling exhibition that circulated only to those museums. The idea was to remind people living in that region that there was a good reason to visit the respective institutions even when there's no blockbuster on view.
The use of exhibitions for purposes other than aesthetic is nothing new. Cultural exchanges between countries have as much political as aesthetic motivation. Nor, in general, is it really a good idea. Art needs to be seen as art, and this becomes more difficult in proportion as it is put to the service of other ends.
Succinct Entry
But the case of the Tennessee State Museum, I think, requires that one be willing to make an exception. The Bridgestone collection is being used to introduce the community to modern art, with the idea that the experience will provide a base upon which to build, making future exhibitions possible. We all start
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