I think that, occasionally, people in Dallas take our museums for granted. At least a little bit. What I mean is, they don’t appreciate the work the museums do, and perhaps think of their role merely as a home for traveling exhibitions and/or (only slightly better) wealthy benefactors’ collections. I could be completely wrong here. This is more of a feeling than based on reporting or even significant anecdotal evidence. Just a hunch.
I’m thinking of this because the Nasher Sculpture Center’s latest exhibition, “Groundswell: Women of Land Art.” It is the product of the museum’s associate curator Dr. Leigh Arnold and beyond just being a wonderful collection of work by 12 significant artists, which it is, it completely changes the understanding of what land art was and is. Long thought to be the domain of male artists—and dominated by three in particular: Robert Smithson, Walter De Maria, and Michael Heizer—”Groundswell” challenges that notion and provides an alternate history. Which runs up until right now, with the piece Arnold commissioned from Mary Miss, Stream Trace: Dallas Branch Crossing, a series of polished stainless steel X’s marking the path of a buried stream. Please go check it out.
But before you do, read Lauren Smart’s piece from our October issue, which goes behind the scenes of how “Groundswell” came to be. It’s online today.
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