Crystal Bridges ­­a Walmart legacy

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Art — larger-than-life sculpture, fantasies in blown glass and a seemingly endless array of gallery-grade works  — aren’t the first things that come to mind in connection with Walmart.

But go to the birthplace of the retail behemoth, Bentonville, Arkansas, and you’ll see that it should.

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art has a permanent collection starting in the colonial era and ranging to the present. Something for everyone doesn’t begin to describe that kind of territory.

Landscapes of the American West, devoid of people in many cases, leave the viewer to think the idealized land could be theirs for the taking — ignoring the fact that Native Americans often already lived there, as accompanying information cards pointed out.

A sculpture by Randolph Rogers of “Ruth Gleaning,” inspired by the biblical story, is breathtakingly lovely and surely enough to stop Boaz in his tracks.

Susie J. Lee’s “Johnny,” a 30-minute silent video of a man sitting alone in front of a video camera, stopped museumgoers in theirs. A museum publication described this type of work as one of a series of portraits based in time, with all the tics and nuances of movement in the human face. Taken aback, people watched to see if his eyes were following their movements.

The dye diffusion transfer prints of David Levinthal starred Barbies outfitted in their glam couture and baseball action figures in what appears to be, well, action.

And more, always more.

The summer exhibitions included Nature’s Nation, a display of what was described as 300 years of attitudes toward our environment expressed in art. The outdoor Color Field, an installation that will remain through Sept. 30, is explained in the museum brochure as “a form of abstraction that relies heavily on color and surfaces devoid of realistic representation.”

In simpler language, the field was a source of great fun – Sam Falls’ giant wind chimes, Nacogdoches artist Jeffie Brewer’s funky animals and a group of TYPOE’S large “Forms From Life” pieces that produced a distinct urge to play with them as you would a toddler’s building blocks. A grid by Spencer Finch, “Back to Kansas,” displays 70 colors, each named for something in the “Wizard of Oz” film.  As daylight fades, they all appear to turn gray, a brochure promises.

This fall, starting on various dates in October, are Crystals in Art, North Forest Lights and an Infinity Mirrored Room.

Off in another corner of the 120 acres of Ozark mountain landscape, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Bachman-Wilson House sits, acquired by the museum in 2013 and relocated from its original site along the Millstone River in New Jersey, according to the museum website. Docents tell of its dismantling, each piece numbered and carefully packed away, a story that also was told in a CBS Sunday Morning segment in 2015. In 2017, Architectural Digest noted the relocation in Arkansas, complete with nine slides of the interior and exterior.

The 1,700-square-foot house stands almost as a reproach to lush lifestyles and overstuffed furniture, instead emphasizing simplicity and efficiency with its built-in furniture and spare style. The beauty is in the design touches and the floor-to-ceiling glass that welcomes the landscape as the only décor it needs.

Named for a nearby natural spring, Crystal Bridges is the work of Alice Walton, daughter of the late Sam and Helen Walton, according to a Bentonville travel guide. Although right in the city itself and connected by a walkable trail, the area has a remote quality that lets visitors forget its presence. The museum architect was Moshe Safdie, and his creation is described on the website as “a series of pavilions nestled around two spring-fed ponds.” Glass balls by Dale Chihuly, titled “Niijima Floats,” dot the surface of one.

It was blind luck that we had set aside a full day for the museum, where visiting the permanent collection and the house that Wright built was free, sponsored by Walmart. Fees are charged for the special exhibitions, and for any guided tours offered, such as the one for the house (even with the self-guided free tours, you’ll have to get a time assignment). The prices for an in-house lunch are not out of line for the type of venue.

Hours are seasonal, but don’t plan this for a Tuesday. It is the one day the facility is closed, and the only thing you’d see is Roxy Paine’s “Yield,” a tree-like dendroid at the museum entrance — beautiful in itself but only the promise of things to come.

For more, visit CrystalBridges.org.

Story by Elaine Wikstrom, ISSUE contributor