Cultural collaboration

Arts Center, Animas Museum partner on historical journey

by Stew Mosberg

A couple takes in some of the more than 60 works of art that make up the Durango Arts Center’s 4-Corners Commission. The show’s theme this year was in conjunction with the Smithsonian’s traveling “Journey Stories” exhibit, currently on view at the Animas Museum./ Photo by Steve Eginoire

Taking advantage of a rare opportunity, the Durango Arts Center and the Animas Museum are jump starting the new year with a joint presentation prompted by a Smithsonian traveling exhibition, “Journey Stories.”

Part of the Smithsonian Institute’s Museum on Main Street program, “Journey Stories” was created to open cultural pathways to a community’s history, culture and people. Making the rounds at small-town museums, historical societies and other cultural venue, the presentation pays tribute to our ancestors, many of whom came to America on a one-way trip.

According to Mary Puller, DAC Exhibits Director, the DAC took a cue from this premise for the theme of its current 4-Corners Commission art show, which runs through Feb. 1. Built around stories of migration, transplantation and life-changing choices, the exhibit is intended to celebrate the uniqueness of life, the land and the diverse heritage of the Four Corners.

Of the 64 artists submitted for the show, 41 were chosen, representing 62 works. The artists were asked to submit original work completed within the last two years and not previously exhibited at the DAC.

This year’s juror was Jina Brenneman, Curator of Exhibitions and Collections at the Harwood Museum of Art in Taos. Utilizing criteria that included quality and technical skill, along with imagination and relationship to the exhibit’s theme, Brenneman chose the following three prize winners: “Best of Show” went to Rhonda Polsfut for her charming and whimsical acrylic painting “MOV013 La Plata Canyon;” Second Place went to Mary Kay Harrell and Esther Greenfield for “The Old Ones Historic Aspen Tree Carvings,” which were created on raku clay; and Third Place went to Robert Heyl for his photograph, “Navajo Horses in Monument Valley.”

In addition to these awards, the Durango Chamber of Commerce’s Rita Simon and Jack Llewellyn selected Rod Hubell as the annual “Reflections of Durango” winner for his painting “Horse Canyon at Daybreak,” which will be used as an icon for upcoming Chamber events.

Although visitors to the DAC show may discover work by a number of unfamiliar artists, there are also recognizable local names. The work overall is excellent, some in fact, rather outstanding, but as frequently occurs at group shows, there is some inconsistency. Furthermore, the inclusion of proverbial landscapes could be seen as a stretch of the “Journey Stories” theme, even though they do give a sense of place.

Art in all shapes and mediums hangs on the walls or rests on pedestals and includes sculpture, assemblage, painting, mixed-media, photography and ceramics. There is even hand-tooled leather, an entry from Lisa Skyhorse. Of particular interest is a combined, co-created leather and pottery piece by Skyhorse and Lisa Pedolsky. It is unique, splendidly executed and unquestionably representative of the Four Corners.

While at the DAC, be sure to venture upstairs to the library where Susan Moss presents “Improvisation: Restraint,” a collection of stitched drawings. The hand-stitched sketches represent her current exploration of integrating the spontaneity of drawing with the stitched mark, “Creating play between restraint that embroidery often requires and the improvisation that drawing invites,” she notes. Tantalizingly, the pieces on display are not necessarily completed, nor truly ready for viewing. Instead, they are “in-progress” artifacts based on questions she is still exploring.

The Animas Museum, owned and operated by the La Plata County Historical Society, resides in the restored 1904 Animas City School building, an appropriate location for the traveling Smithsonian program.

Describing the basis for the cultural amalgamation between the DAC and the Museum, Director Carolyn Bowra said the two institutions have much in common. “We stand stronger in the community when we stand together,” she noted. She went on to explain, that Peggy Zemach, DAC Executive Director and she had often talked about doing something collaboratively. “When the Animas Museum was selected by the Smithsonian to host ‘Journey Stories,’ I thought it would be an opportunity to involve programming partners (to) make it a community event and not just a museum event,” said Bowra.

Those familiar with the Animas Museum know about its treasure trove of exhibits and comprehensive research library, as well as its fascinating photo archive. “Journey Stories” is a totally self-contained exhibit with its own images, text, interactive displays and collection of artifacts.

“Explorers, colonists, indentured servants and slaves left friends, extended families and familiar surroundings behind, never to be seen again,” reads the presentation from the Smithsonian. “In search of religious freedom, opportunities, wealth or adventure, many set out voluntarily to explore and settle an unknown land. Others were forced to leave their homes to survive as best they could. Farmers, mechanics, entrepreneurs, immigrants and slaves have built American society over four centuries.”

In addition to the Museum’s permanent collection, La Plata County Historical Society has created “Wish You Were Here – Journeys to La Plata County,” which tells the local role in settling America.

Always inspirational, educational and entertaining, a visit to the Animas Museum is time well spent.