Knowing the West

Cummer Museum’s newest Exhibit

Words & photos by Ambar Ramirez

The West might bring to mind cowboy hats, intricately detailed boots, wooden saloons, tumbleweeds and vast, open landscapes. Or maybe it evokes memories of long drives on winding roads, knee-high grass swaying in the wind and pools of water shimmering like scattered glitter.

“For those of us who have never lived in the American West, and even for those who have been lucky enough to call it home, ‘Knowing the West’ is an incredible opportunity for learning,” said Andrea Barnwell Brownlee, George W. and Kathleen I. Gibbs Director and CEO of the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens. “This exhibition invites us to discover new truths about this iconic region of America by exploring stories told by the many people who have shaped its culture over the centuries.”

As the Cummer Museum’s first exhibition centered on the American West, “Knowing the West” challenges visitors to rethink what they know about the region. Through a dynamic blend of artistic mediums, the exhibit — originally housed at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas — explores themes of travel and exploration, featuring more than 100 objects from over 40 artists and lenders.

Co-curated by Mindy N. Besaw and Jami C. Powell, the exhibit carefully walks visitors through different themes and prompts through art. How art shows persistence, how this nation was built, how cultural exchange influenced the West’s trajectory, how variety tells a story and how we know the West are just some of the topics visitors will find themselves questioning. 

What was your understanding and connection to the West before curating this exhibit, and what have you learned about it?

Besaw: I actually came to Crystal Bridges from the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming. So there are a lot of objects in this exhibition from the museum. And before that, I was at the Denver Art Museum. So I’ve been working with part of the West to clarify from a sort of European American standpoint for over 20 years. I also wrote my dissertation for my Ph.D. on Art of the West, but I had not really been thinking of those other instances that paintings and sculptures were separate from native art. And so this exhibition is an attempt to bring those together in meaningful dialogs, which is also why Jami Powell is such an important partner on this because her expertise is Native American art. And so bringing that together in a way that it’s like seeing part of the West in a very new way, I learned artists that I had never heard of before, I learned so much about Native American art in all of this. And like the H. Wilson Co. pottery … I had never heard of that before.

What was your favorite piece in this exhibition and why?

Besaw: It’s like asking you to pick your favorite kid, but I do have several. So the “Winter Coat” is, I think to me, one that sustains interest in looking and exploration. And like you learn something new every time you look at it, the winter coat is so special. And so that remains like a kind of North star, if you will, for the exhibition and for me. But I think the “Nellie Two Bear Gates” is a remarkable object. Like, how long did it take her to make that? And a suitcase frame instead of, like a side bag or a saddle bag. So that one is really special, I think, for me. And I could go on because there’s so much.

What surprises you about the West?

Besaw: What surprises me about the West is how these artists really were so side by side in the way that museums, collectors, anyone that is really stewarding these collections now, we tend to categorize as if they don’t relate to one another. So this story of Albert Bierstadt and really like it dawning on me that, of course, he meant native people, right? Despite the fact he doesn’t even include them in his landscapes whatsoever, but he experienced a West that was populated with people, with artists. Like Elizabeth Hecox, who’s just gathering the materials and making these exquisite baskets. But yet somehow that whole side of his experience is just invisible. And so being able to find that image of his studio with all of his collections side by side with his paintings, that’s a bit of an aha moment that I still relish.

The exhibit can be viewed from March 28 to Aug. 31.