Abigail Wang ’27 looks at Judy Pfaff ’s “N.E.W.S. (North, East, West, South)” (1988), a wall
mounted piece made of painted steel, found objects, acrylic sheets.
A visitor gazes upon Georgia O’Keeffe’s “Wave, Night” (1928)
On September 8, The Addison Gallery of American Art (Addison) opened its newest exhibition, “America in the Making,” in recognition of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Featuring works from the 18th century to the present throughout the museum, the exhibition examines the relationship between art and the American society for over nearly two and a half centuries.
This exhibition was curated by Allison Kemmerer, Director of the Addison, and Gordon Wilkins, Robert M. Walker Curator. Wilkins discussed the process of selecting and arranging works based on the subjects and perspectives represented in the Addison’s collection.
“It’s really one of the most comprehensive and remarkable collections of American art in the world. We didn’t have a pre-set narrative of American art history or U.S. history broadly that we wanted to fit things into. We let the objects tell us what stories we were going to be able to tell, so we had these sort of keystone objects, the things that we know people come here specifically to see or want to see. [From there] we were able to see [which objects were] speaking about [what, and] how we could add greater nuance to the conversation,” said Wilkins.
The curators also considered how visitors would engage and move through the space. Kemmerer explained their goal of encouraging visitors to consider the perspectives both included in and absent from the exhibition.
“In that rotunda entrance, we start with a painting of the flag that says ‘Think.’ We really want people to, as they progress through the galleries and through time, think; think critically about what stories the works are telling, and what stories they’re not telling. We can’t be comprehensive. No museum can. Even if we owned work that could tell a comprehensive story, we can only fit so much. This is definitely reflecting on American culture and society, but not telling a fully-fledged story. It gives you a sense of how art has reflected, reframed, and challenged society and culture over time. We are a teaching museum, so we want people to come up with their own thoughts and opinions,” said Kemmerer.
Breanna Ren ’29 noted how interactive the experience felt, pointing to the exhibition’s unconventional layout and wide range of art on display.
“I think it’s pretty rare for a museum to show an exhibition in chronological order instead of art by a certain artist or of a certain story. There’s definitely a wide variety of styles. From what I looked at it’s not just painting or drawing. [There are] multimedia sculptures, and you can see the progression of styles in painting. There’s also a lot of photography upstairs, as well as printmaking. By the time we got to the room [with the art] that we talked about in the meeting, it was a little bit more geometric instead of realistic. It wasn’t describing a thing or an event that was happening, but more of the emotions and feelings behind things,” said Ren.
Sophia Zhan ’28, an Addison Ambassador, connected the exhibition to ideas about liberty she had encountered in History-300, “The United States.”
“Something that our [History-300] textbook really stresses is the definition of liberty and how that has changed throughout history. Liberty to me represents [freedom of] thought as well. I think this is prevalent in all the artworks as well, even in the landscapes where one might think ‘oh the artist probably wasn’t thinking.’ I’d have to say that drawing these observations of daily life and interpreting it through your own art is a way of this manifestation of the idea of liberty, which somehow also occurs to me as an ownership of what you think and what you perceive. It takes a lot of observation to draw these landscapes. It takes a lot of observation to look at the work around you and make one piece of artwork. I am impressed and flabbergasted in a good way,” said Zhan.
Zhan also discussed the exhibition’s central themes, pointing to Picking Cotton as a piece that brought them into focus for her.
“Throughout the exhibition, I saw a lot of people, for one, and I think this is something that’s common across art in any civilization. I felt particularly connected with the painting of the farmers picking cotton because it resonates with my family background. Even though my family didn’t originate in the United States, we used to be farmers. It touched on my family history even though it wasn’t necessarily about US history,” said Zhan.
Likewise, Ren commented on the pieces that stood out most to her and the personal significance many of them carried, from classical sculpture to mixed media.
“I liked the Diana and Actaeon statues, as well as Blue Vase with Nasturtiums by Judy Pfaff, which is upstairs. I also liked this painting based on America. Instead of drawing every single line, it’s the impression of a person. One more piece that I really liked, [A Bed of Poppies by Maria Oakey Dewing], was right outside the main gallery on the first floor. There’s these poppies, and it reminded me of the poem for Remembrance Day. It’s something along the lines of ‘In Flanders Fields, poppies blow,’ and it commemorates people who died in global conflict. I also really like the color palette with the contrast between the red and the green,” said Ren.
Zhan emphasized the importance of personal interpretation and of taking in each piece fully.
“I feel like all these pieces are different, and if you just showed me one piece, it would be hard to understand its significance without seeing the other pieces. Seeing each piece with other voices in the room changed how I interpreted each artwork…every piece contributes something different and intrinsically significant. This exhibit encompasses so many different styles; I think a lot of people will be able to understand the exhibit in their own way and find parts of themselves in the artwork,” said Zhan.
