My wife and I went to Fort Worth today with the objectives of: 1) viewing the exhibition at the Kimbell Art Museum entitled, “The Kimbell at 40: An Evolving Masterpiece,” and 2) viewing the exhibition entitled “To See as Artists See: American Art from The Phillips Collection” at the Amon Carter Museum of Modern Art. I enjoyed the Kimbell exhibit, which displayed, in chronological order by date of acquisition, the Kimbell’s own collection.
But I absolutely fell in love with by the exhibit at the Amon Carter. It captivated me from the moment we walked in the door.
A quote, expanded beyond what was on the museum’s walls, below, by Robert Henri cemented my appreciation for the exhibition. The words express Henri’s view of the dynamism of art.
I fell in love, too, with this painting by Rockwell Kent entitled “The Road Roller,” among others. Reading the explanatory text by the Kent painting gave me a whole new appreciation for the way in which art can capture a moment in time that cannot otherwise hope to be captured. The road roller in the image is a monstrous piece of equipment to pack the snow and ice in snowy climates so horse-drawn carriages could more easily pass over the roads.
And here are the powerful words of Robert Henri:
Sometimes we do grip the concert in a human head, and so hold it that in a way, we get a record of it into paint, but the vision and expressing of one day will not do for the next.
Today must not be a souvenir of yesterday, and so the struggle is everlasting. Who am I today? What do I see today? How shall I use what I know, and how shall I avoid being victim of what I know? Life is not repetition.
lovely day, john.