Expanding Horizons: The Roundtable

Exploring an Expansive and Ambitious Vision for Art in the Americas

Panelists

Erin Corrales-Diaz

Curator of American Art

Paula Reich Manager of Gallery Interpretation and Learning

Andrea Gardner Senior Director of Collections and Curatorial Affairs

The reinstallation of American art in TMA’s galleries—titled Expanding Horizons: The Evolving Character of a Nation—brings with it many novelties. It invites new stories, as viewers discover new aspects of works they know and love, as well as a new role for audience members, as they are asked to actively participate by providing their feedback, which the Museum hopes to implement in future iterations. We sat down with three members of the large team working behind the scenes on this project to discover their goals for designing a more thoughtprovoking, participatory experience.

Art Matters: There are two facets to the title of this new installation, and they seem equally meaningful— both Expanding Horizons and The Evolving Character of a Nation. Why choose these particular words?

Erin Corrales-Diaz: A lot of thought and effort went into determining the title as a team, and a lot of initial ideas didn’t quite stick or express the ambitions of the project. I think “expanding” is really a crucial word in this since the project itself is presenting to our audiences a much more expansive purview of what American art is and can be.

Expanding Horizons: The Evolving Character of a Nation explores the dual themes of mythmaking and religion.

And as you’ve pointed out, it’s also “evolving,” another really crucial word because our project is meant to change over time and be fluid in a way that mirrors the United States and the Americas at large. Art is being made outside of borders and boundaries, and when we bring that thinking we get a more accurate view of all that was being created in the U.S. and beyond.

AM: A truer history is one ambition of the project, a thought-provoking experience that more accurately reflects art-making in this part of the world. How might this feel different than previous installations of American art at TMA?

Paula Reich: For the most part our previous installations in our American galleries have been pretty traditional, although we have integrated different media. Now we’re trying to expand whose stories we’re telling. We’re also dealing with a large time span, and how you talk about that succinctly and correctly. There’s a lot of complications there that we’ve tried to grapple with. And I’m sure that is among the things that will evolve over time with this exhibition.

Andrea Gardner: That’s right. Before, the American art paralleled our European art collection—it was centered on an aristocratic interpretation of what was valuable or beautiful, one that was very focused on creators of European origin without a real focus on indigenous peoples of America or other more marginalized voices. Certainly in recent years we’ve made a concerted effort to expand our holdings in those areas, but when you have an institution that’s been around for more than 100 years, it takes time to change the configuration of an entire collection. This is part of that effort, to help us see something more true to the history and what was happening here and in the American continents at large.

AM: Storytelling is a huge theme of this reinterpretation of the American art collection—what it means, whose stories are told and why. What are some of the themes that are going to be explored here?

ECD: We went big and challenged ourselves to think about notions of myth-making and religion, two themes that reflect the types of American art that have been collected in the Museum over its 100-plus year history. We felt these were broad buckets that would challenge the viewer to think differently about these works of art.

AM: What are some stories around a work of art you’ve seen grow or evolve thanks to this fresh look at the collection?

ECD: One example is the Thomas Cole painting The Architect’s Dream, a beloved highlight of the collection. A challenge curators face is when a label is only 75 to 100 words long, there is only so much story you can tell. The label was correct previously, but I wanted to focus on something no one really talks about in this painting, which is the Gothic cathedral shrouded in shadow. Where was Cole coming from, and why is this particular architectural form shadowed? What is that dichotomy he might be suggesting? Just that pivot from provenance and history to what’s talked about in the work, and considering the religious underpinnings of the painting, will give viewers an entry into thinking about the undeniable influence of religion on American history, politics, and culture.

AG: It’s quite novel. While many museums are exploring mythmaking in American (art) history, very few have yet engaged with religion as a principle theme. We went with one more common theme and then one that was less well-charted territory, and challenged ourselves to discuss the subject in a new way, because so much of our collection is composed of religious art.

AM: What other stories did you discover over the course of this project that surprised you?

ECD: The Henry Ossawa Tanner painting The Disciples on the Sea was crucial. It’s this amazing work by a Black American artist who was an expatriate. He lived in Paris for the vast majority of his life because he felt less racial discrimination in Paris, and when we talk about Tanner in the histories of American art, it’s often through two works out of his entire career, two paintings that deal with genre scenes, scenes of everyday life of Black Americans.

But that does not make up the body of this work, a vast majority of which is about Christianity. Why specifically in the United States do we not think of this artist as a religious artist? That’s one of the questions we’re exploring.

AM: You collaborated with some living artists to consult on the project. In what ways did outside expertise shape the installation?

ECD: We tried to use objects in our own collection as much as we could, but we really wanted to make sure we were representative of American art even in places where our collection might not be yet, like Indigenous American art. So we rekindled a relationship with the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (DMNS) to borrow several Navajo weavings that will rotate on and off view within the display. [Since the weavings are light sensitive, they cannot be on view at all times.] DMNS then connected us with two Navajo weavers, D.Y. Begay and Lynda Teller Pete, and they curated that particular part of the space, selecting which weavings to display, writing the interpretation, and advising us on how to display the works. Allowing their expertise to shape that part of the project really enhanced it.

AM: The installation design is really built around visitor feedback. How will viewers be part of how this experience evolves?

PR: We’re very upfront about that in the language that we’re using in the introduction to the space. We’re saying we want visitor feedback and we intend to act on it. The idea is we will be re-evaluating on a regular basis. We’ve also been thinking about this as a kind of pilot project to look at how this informs the rest of our work in the Museum, especially around interpretation.

ECD: I think unlike a lot of installations or exhibitions, this is truly a work in progress. We’re coming to our community with a certain level of humility, and we’re hoping to have them provide us some of that context. I’ve never done a project quite like this, where the audience is so much a part of the installation.

AG: And this is intended to be up for a long time, and so that’s part of the opportunity as well. We will want to refresh it, and we will be incorporating audience feedback in the iterations that are to come.

AM: How will visitors get to engage?

PR: We’re giving viewers a few different ways to supply us with their insights, from traditional printed cards they can write on to digital stations that will ask more specific questions, and ways to follow up so they can give more direct comments. You’ll even be able to see people’s answers on a monitor so you can keep track of how people are responding to certain concepts.

AM: It seems to be breaking ground in some ways, in that feedback was typically solicited for temporary exhibitions on a temporary cycle. This project’s impact seems like it will be deeper.

AG: It is more unusual to be soliciting feedback on collection installations. For one, they don’t often get refreshed as frequently. And second, the historical way of looking at it was the curators were the experts and they would present that work to the public for them to learn; it was not reciprocal. This project points to the evolving nature of curators, who are now seen as thought partners and stewards of a dialogue with the audience. That’s the future of museums, and that what we’re experimenting with now.

PR: We are also integrating accessibility. We have 3D-printed replicas of a couple of the works that people can touch, tactile reproductions of a few of the paintings that will be available for people with blindness or vision impairment to request, and we also have audio, verbal descriptions of some of the works. We’ll be adding more of these later on.

AM: Will things look visually different than a typical installation?

PR: The approach is similar to a temporary exhibition in terms of the way we’re using graphics and color to really highlight and give different context for our collection. Things like having relevant quotes reproduced on the wall or visually interesting panels that give additional context are all elements borrowed from temporary exhibition design. They not only draw attention, they underscore themes in the gallery.

ECD: We’re going to have two videos as well that will set the stage for both the themes. One addresses the highly personal nature of interpreting a work of art by recognizing that everyone brings certain experiences— “baggage” as the video puts it— with them into a gallery. The other looks as how this operates at the institutional level, exploring what goes up on view, what remains in storage, and why.

AM: You’re also pursuing feedback early—how will you gather that and how will it influence the installation?

ECD: I really want to position this space as a place of curiosity, inquiry, discovery, and surprise, even in the exhibition design. That’s what makes me excited about sharing this.

AG: Yes, and thought-provoking discussions in a trusted, safe space. Feedback tells us that museums are appreciated as a trusted institution and partner in that dialogue, along with institutions like libraries and historical centers. So we wanted to bring that conversation to TMA and it came to the foreground of this project.

PR: We conducted three focus groups that were crucial in clarifying some things for us, including that people are really interested in challenging concepts.

AG: And that people view museums as a place that challenging thought should happen. The participants in the focus groups spanned education level, race, socioeconomic level, even membership, which is quite different than relying on feedback from those who are already stepping foot in the Museum. It was a very positive and productive interaction that I think we will continue in the future.

AM: What is the ultimate aim for the project, your ultimate hopes?

AM: What can people look forward to in terms of programming?

AG: We’re going to be discussing the project more deeply at a symposium on July 21, where other museum professionals will gather to speak and reflect on these types of projects that are happening at museums across the country. It’s free and anyone interested is encouraged to attend as we hopefully continue and evolve this work of expanding horizons for all of us.