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| My husband, Jordan, in front of the "Peaceful Warriors: Aim for Change" post-it wall |
The Brooks Museum is a fabulous art museum located in historic Overton Park in midtown Memphis , near the famous Memphis Zoo and the quirky Memphis College of Art. We visited on an early Wednesday afternoon and saw two special exhibits, “Art and Scandal: The McCall Purchase” and “Peaceful Warriors: Aim for Change.” These exhibits are powerful and successful because they meld together art and local culture.
The first exhibit we viewed was “Art and Scandal: The McCall Purchase.” In addition to showcasing exemplary art, this exhibit focuses on some fascinating Memphis history. The McCall Purchase was a group of paintings bought by the city in 1943. The collection was already controversial in the art world because many of the works were considered to be frauds. Complicating matters, many Memphians felt that $25,000 of taxpayer money could be better spent. The parks commissioner, city mayor, and Brooks personnel, however, saw the money as an investment in Memphis ’s cultural community.
Many of the paintings were indeed frauds and acknowledged as such by the city and its art advisers at the time, but critics disputed the worth of several of the paintings, supposedly by masters. While the city felt one of these paintings alone was worth $25,000, many art connoisseurs thought it was worth much less and valued the collection at well under $25,000. Now, however, the acquisition is seen as a smart investment for the city. Time eventually proved the value of the pieces and the acquisition garnered much prestige for the museum, elevating it from a regional museum of art to one of the best in the Mid South.
I especially enjoyed this exhibit because it combined local history, art history, and art exhibition. The installment displayed items from the purchase still in the collection, as well as black and white foam board prints of paintings which had been deaccessioned or never accessioned at all. Prints’ interpretive labels discussed the piece’s history, role in the scandal, and reasons for deaccessioning. A hallway between the two rooms of the exhibit featured a display of enlarged prints of period newspaper articles discussing the purchase, including statements made by the mayor. As a historian, I really loved this aspect of the exhibit.
We also viewed an exhibit called “Peaceful Warriors: Aim for Change.” Advertised as having been “curated by the Memphis community via Facebook,” it was developed to correspond with a visiting exhibit, “The Art of the Arsenal,” which closed earlier this month. The project asked students from three local high schools to submit photographs and short essays depicting their “peaceful warriors,” people engaged in changing the community through social action. Before the exhibit’s opening, interns and other workers used social media to invite the community to vote for their favorite photographs.[1] The top twenty were displayed in the gallery, along with descriptions of the community action depicted. Other entries not chosen by Facebook fans were displayed in a small slideshow in the gallery.
I loved that the exhibit was almost entirely community-collaborative. A large wall of post-its invited visitors to share their own ideas of peaceful warriors. Unfortunately, most of the post-its left on the wall did not take the charge seriously. Many visitors put answers like “Batman,” “Godzilla,” or outright offensive statements that should not be repeated here. I am normally against censoring, but I feel that the staff could have curated the post-it notes, especially since one of the exhibit themes is involving teenagers in cultural collaboration. Seeing such immature and offensive responses, likely from visiting school groups, after seeing such thoughtful photographs by students cheapened the experience. Labels on the photographs were also difficult to understand. There were two or three names on each label, but nothing showed who the photographer was, who wrote the description, or who submitted the idea. Overall, I loved the idea behind this exhibit, but thought it could have been better curated.
The Brooks is one of my favorite museums in Memphis . I’ve gone to more visiting exhibits here than I can count, including Andy Warhol, Annie Leibovitz, and a selection of Impressionist paintings. The permanent collection is also impressive. I really enjoy the layout of the museum – it is in typical art museum style, featuring multiple galleries where one can get lost looking at art. The museum décor is clean and modern, while the architecture is traditional and ornate. The Brooks is an integral part of the cultural fabric of Memphis , and a must-see for any visitor to or resident of the city.
[1] See the Facebook page created for the exhibit, “Peaceful Warriors: Aim for Change,” here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Peaceful-Warriors-Aim-for-Change/151238354979515?sk=wall
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