Then we strolled over across the street to the center of town and took some pictures of the courthouse, a Confederate statue, and the original buildings that surround the place. The breezy perma-stone history of racism was jarring.
We stopped in at the Walmart Museum where a greeter who relocated from the southern suburbs of Chicago told us the elaborate story of the founding of one of the largest companies in the world on this spot. It’s kind of remarkable success story, to be honest. Late-stage capitalism really is something else.
I saw the Big Brothers Pawn shop on the way into town, and it was Valentine’s Day, so we doubled back to pick up some jewelry.
When we got out of the car, there was an employee outside— he had recently relocated from northern Florida. I told her I was here to “get her something nice”. He nodded and asked her what size gun she wanted. We demurred and headed to the jewelry cases in the back and got it done.
Next we checked into the 21c Museum Hotel, a “104-room boutique hotel, contemporary art museum, cultural center and home to The Hive restaurant, led by executive chef Matthew McClure”.
Next it was off to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.
When I was in Charlotte last year, I saw State of The Art, a show created here that really blew me away. So often we go to museums in other cities and we see the same old canon. This was pure new, with real live artists doing great work. When I came home and talked to S-L about it, we looked it up and decided we had to get to Crystal Bridges.
We walked there through the Compton Gardens, with lots of sculpture (including Skyspace— Shawn-Laree is checking it out below) and natural landforms.
And a holiday-appropriate LOVE sculpture:
The Bachman-Wilson House, up the path from the museum, was a joy. They moved it from Jersey. Amazing story.
We saw Soul of a Nation, a deep, blockbuster show “featuring the work of 60 artists and including vibrant paintings, powerful sculptures, street photography, murals, and more, this landmark exhibition is a rare opportunity to see era-defining artworks that changed the face of art in America”. It covers just a 20-year period of American art— 1963 to 1983— and does it with a laser focus. So many great Chicago artists and movements from that time.
The permanent collection was something else, too. We saw All or Nothing, featuring “works from Crystal Bridges’ permanent collection, dating from 1860 to today, that play on the different concepts of these colors. The works utilize black and white in a variety of media to focus on elements such as process, composition, and spatial relationships.”
We had dinner at The Preacher’s son, housed in a repurposed church.
The next morning, in the dawn light, I took some pics outside the hotel and then we had breakfast at the The Hive at 21c. Avocado toast for her, pancakes for me, and then we got in the Durango for Tulsa.
Here’s a complete set of all photos from the trip.