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| "Maelstrom" by Alice Aycock, powdered-coated aluminum |
After changing my soaked shirt I set my navigation system
to Bentonville, Arkansas to finally go see the art
museum that Kim Butt had so
fervently recommended. As soon as I turned onto the street it was on I could
tell I was up for something exceptional. It seems this entire area had been
recently redesigned and built. The median and sidewalks were nicely landscaped,
there was a new large park with fountains, and other new, modern designed
buildings with nice landscapes. But as I progressed closer to the museum the cool
factor kept heightening.
The entrance to the museum features a polished stainless
steel leafless tree in an oval-shaped, contoured planting bed. The
architectural entrance is subdued and bold at the same time. The architect’s
palette included concrete, glass and wood. From street level you take an
elevator down. When the doors open you find yourself in a small entry court
dominated by a giant bronze spider – it is a bit of a shock to the senses.
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| "Marman" by Louise Bourgeais |
Next I walked through the Dining Bridge with its high
ceiling with wood fins and a giant gold heart. My route took me through the
galleries in reverse chronological order so I started with art from the 1940s
to current and finished with colonial to early 19th century art. As
you walk the building frames stunning views across the pond or into the
surrounding gardens. The architect Moshe Safdie explained his goal, and that of
Alice Walton who funded the museum, was to create a seamless integration
between architecture, landscape architecture and art. Peter Walker was the
landscape architect. They succeeded splendidly.
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The museum entrance. The sculpture is called "Yield" by
Roxy Paine, 2011 |
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| The Dining Bridge |
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| Gallery bridge with Early Twentieth-Century Art |
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| Walker Landing |
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| Architecture framing the view |
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Window framing Buckminster Fuller sculpture in the
landscape |
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