What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1496120
8 What's up! april 2-8, 2023 Hidden In 'The Garden' Busy, bright installation invites contemplation BECCA MARTIN-BROWN NWA Democrat-Gazette T he Garden' reminds me of being a little kid and seeing the magical window displays at department stores in New York City at Christmas time, or seeing the sugar-coated Easter eggs with an open window to a little world inside, and that feeling of discovering a dense imaginary world," says artist Portia Munson of her installation on show at 21c Museum Hotel in Bentonville. "Each surface in 'The Garden' is meticulously decorated with floral mementos, souvenirs and fake flowers, and the installation process feels very meditative — almost how a little girl might arrange relics in her bedroom," Munson goes on. "An exciting element of 'The Garden' is that viewers discover objects that are relevant to their lives or things they may have or have had in the past…" But that is where Munson's busy and brightly colored work of art takes a darker turn. The dense collection of objects — everything layers deep, from ceiling to floor of the 15-by-15 square foot installation — "speaks to the mass production of objects that becomes a part of a common visual culture," the upstate New York artist says. "A claustrophobic den of beautiful refuse, the installation amplifies capitalism's vision of bourgeois femininity, where the act of acquiring to meet societal standards fuels the momentum of hyper-consumption and climate crisis," Munson says. "'The Garden' proposes that disrespect for the environment runs parallel to disregard for women, inviting viewers to meditate on the irony of manufacturing a regressive notion of beauty while simultaneously annihilating our natural world." The largest artwork currently on show at 21c in Bentonville, "The Garden" is the centerpiece of an exhibit titled "Still, Life! Mourning, Meaning, Mending," open through December. As a whole, says 21c Chief Curator Alice Gray Stites, the exhibit "is an attempt to reflect on the collective experience we've had worldwide over the last nearly three years: responding to the pandemic, to civic trauma, and to climate crisis, we've had to deal with loss, injustice, and a heightened sense of vulnerability — our shared humanity has been illuminated in many ways. "'Still, Life! Mourning, Meaning, Mending' acknowledges these experiences and features artworks that reflect how art can offer solace and inspiration during times of uncertainty, while proposing new understandings and approaches for the future," she says. Created by Munson in 1996 — or at least, begun in 1996 — "The Garden" was acquired by 21c Museum Hotels founder Steve Wilson for $225,000, according to The Art Newspaper in December 2019. Like many of the exhibits seen at the 10 21c Museum Hotels across the country, it is part of the permanent collection created by Wilson and co-founder Laura Lee Brown. "21c Museum Hotels was founded with a mission to expand access to contemporary art," says curator Stites. "Without the exhibitions and cultural programming, the locations would not be 21c; the art is integral and integrated into our all of our spaces and our identity." In addition to pieces from the permanent collection, "we also borrow works from artists and other galleries and museums from time to time," Stites says. "When the exhibitions travel, new artworks are often added, both new acquisitions to the permanent collections and loans. The exhibition's theme often shifts a Nate Lewis, "Tuning the calibration of his weather," 2022, hand- sculpted inkjet print, ink, graphite, frottage. (Courtesy image/21c) Cover Story Faq 'Still, Life! Mourning, Meaning, Mending' WHEN — through December WHERE — 21c Museum Hotel in Bentonville COST — Free INFO — 21cmuseumhotels.com/ bentonville