Many Wests

ANGEL RODRÍGUEZ-DÍAZ born San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1955; active San Antonio, Texas; THE PROTAGONIST OF AN ENDLESS STORY, 1993, oil on canvas; Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible in part by the Smithsonian Latino Initiatives Pool and the Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program

Artists Shape an American Idea at BAM

July 31, 2021 - February 13, 2022

BY SABINA DANA PLASSE

Two years ago, pre-pandemic and before a nationwide “woke” movement, Boise Art Museum (BAM) Executive Director Melanie Fales began working on a traveling art exhibition to embrace the voices and recognition of men and women integral, but missing, in historical chronicles of the American West. Many Wests: Artists Shape an American Idea is part of a series of American art exhibitions created through a multi-year, multi-institutional partnership formed by the Smithsonian American Art Museum as part of the Art Bridges Initiative, which works to expand access and broaden traditional definitions of American by directly empowering museums. The Boise Art Museum was selected to collaborate with an esteemed list of museums, including the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art in Eugene, Oregon, the Utah Museum of Fine Arts in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the Whatcom Museum in Bellingham, Washington.

HUNG LIU born Changchun, China, 1948; active Oakland, California; Mandarin Ducks, 2005, oil on canvas

Boise Art Museum Permanent Collection, Gift of Anita Kay Hardy in Loving Memory of Her Parents, Earl M. and LaVane M. Hardy

“The museums were chosen through a very competitive review process,” says Fales. “We wanted to see if we could bring our art collections together to offer multiple perspectives about real people, artists, and experiences of the West, especially since there will be an opportunity for this exhibition to be shown in the East, at the Smithsonian. This collaboration became the American West Consortium, which showcases all of our collections, along with the Smithsonian’s.”

WENDY MARUYAMA born La Junta, Colorado, 1952; active San Diego, California; Minidoka, from the Tag Project, 2011, paper, ink, string, and thread

Boise Art Museum Permanent Collection, Collectors Forum Purchase, 2015

Divided into three sections—Caretakers, Memory Makers, and Boundary Breakers—Many Wests presents and examines the perspectives of 48 modern and contemporary artists representing the West with a more inclusive view. Confronting misconceptions, questioning racist stereotypes, and highlighting multiple communities and histories, the exhibition sheds a bright light on those previously underserved or misrepresented in American history. Through a carefully curated process, the work offers a clear perspective and history that may be unknown to some and unnoticed by others, focusing on mostly contemporary art by artists who are Black, white, women, men, LGBTQ+, Native American, Asian American, and Latinx.

RICK BARTOW (Mad River Wiyot) born Newport, Oregon, 1946; died Newport, Oregon, 2016; Buck, 2015, acrylic on canvas

Collection of the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, University of Oregon, Gift of the Estate of Rick Bartow and Froelick Gallery.

As the pandemic forced indelible change in our personal lives, it also forced a seismic shift in cultural connectedness. Embracing this change in awareness, the consortium created a prolific traveling show with more than 80 pieces of art, including paintings, sculpture, film, and other works. BAM has more than 20 artworks in the exhibition.

“The timing coincides with what is happening in the world today, which makes it especially relevant,” says Fales. “It’s a unique project because it includes the Smithsonian American Art Museum collection along with four other museum collections. However, what is most important was to be able to collaborate to bring the strengths of our collections together to dispel those myths of the West—that it was this expansive place that was here for the taking, and that there is only one story of the West. These stereotypical associations of the West took place after westward expansion, when the U.S. government aggressively took over through colonialism.”

ROGER SHIMOMURA born Seattle, Washington, 1939; active Salina, Kansas; American Infamy #2, 2006, acrylic on canvas

Boise Art Museum Permanent Collection, Purchased with donations to the Roger Shimomura Acquisitions Fund

Boise will be the first in the museum consortium to open the exhibition, which will travel to the other partners and conclude in Washington, D.C., allowing many people to see these countervailing views of the West. “BAM and other art organizations have been leaders in showing diversity and sharing the voices of a wide range of people. This exhibition, in part, is making a very strong statement that there is not one perspective but there are diverse perspectives and they all come together to shape the West,” Fales says.

For Fales, it is very important that BAM serves as a place where everyone can see themselves and feel welcome. “If this was not clear in the past, this exhibition makes it very clear now,” she says. “I’m excited about all of the artists in the exhibition. There are some artists in our permanent collection whom people may not know, including Wendy Red Star (Apsáalooke/Crow), Hung Liu (Chinese-born American), and Marie Watt (Seneca). We also have an amazing Native American print portfolio, which includes 15 artists who are part of the exhibition.”

WENDY RED STAR (Apsáalooke/Crow) born Billings, Montana, 1981; Four Seasons: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer, 2006, archival pigment print, edition of 27

Boise Art Museum Permanent Collection, Collectors Forum Purchase, 2019

In addition to creating this landmark show, BAM is also undertaking an accessibility and inclusivity project for the exhibition, so that information provided about Many Wests is accessible through new interpretative strategies, including reaching people with low or no vision and other physical disabilities.

Perhaps the most exciting part of this exhibition, especially for art lovers and BAM, is the number of artworks to view that are in other museum collections, including the Smithsonian. “The Smithsonian collection is very strong in Latinx artwork, which is a nice compliment to the Asian American and Native American works we have in our collection,” says Fales. “It’s a unique and wonderful opportunity to bring all these works together to share the diversity of perspectives.”

MANY WESTS: ARTISTS SHAPE AN AMERICAN IDEA

Boise Art Museum

Boise, Idaho

July 31, 2021 – February 13, 2022

Whatcom Museum of Art

Bellingham, Washington

March 19, 2022 – August 21, 2022

Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art

Eugene, Oregon

September 26, 2022 – December 31, 2022

Utah Museum of Fine Arts

Salt Lake City, Utah

February 4, 2023 – June 11, 2023

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Washington, D.C.

July 28, 2023 – January 14, 2024