Blog @ the Nelson-Atkins

Gallery 214 is unique. It is devoted to American Art on Paper, and these art objects are often smaller in size, which I have learned is typical of the predominant media represented: lithographs, pastels, etchings and woodcuts. The sizes of earlier prints, particularly those of the 19th and early 20th centuries (pre-1945), were quite likely dictated by available materials, the desire to sell or distribute reproductions, or the desire to create more intimate viewing experiences. I have been told that some contemporary print artists (for example, Tom Huck) are experimenting with larger prints.

In Gallery 214, the text labels that hang beside the prints blend almost seamlessly into the walls. The subdued ambiance of the gallery is appropriate considering the art objects it houses. The work required to create a print is intensive (I strongly recommend individual research on these interesting processes), and the gallery does not detract attention from these deceptively "simple" objects. To adequately consider their layers, a person must be patient enough to really slow down, pause and look.

The art objects in the gallery’s current exhibition, Impressions of the Southwest and Mexico, depict a wide range of early-twentieth century life in that geographic area.

In the early 20th century, there was widespread fascination with the American Southwest (in this exhibition, specifically New Mexico, Arizona, California) and Mexico. The artists featured in this exhibition were clearly stirred and motivated by the people, architecture, landscapes, weather and customs of these spaces.

These prints ask viewers to examine the lives and worlds of their inhabitants. The prints invite viewers to see the internal and external beauty, history and multiplicity of peoples and a space often defined as isolated, arid and deserted.

Activities represented range from celebrations to daily labor to reflective moments. The prints depict moments that are intimate and also voyeuristic. Simple and complex. They are dynamic and calm. Direct and subtle. Mourning and hopeful. Innocent and brave…

But only if we take a moment to really see them.

Image: David Alfaro Siqueiros, Zapata, ca. 1930.