100 Years of Art: Celebrating Columbus’ Legacy

Let’s clear something up first. Columbus will never be a world-renowned visual arts mecca. Artists will not flock to Columbus in hopes of making it. Wealthy patrons will not pluck Columbus artists from obscurity and make them superstars. Major publications will not shuttle critics through CMH to review local openings. Designers will not appropriate the Columbus style for t-shirts and advertisements. It just won’t happen.

I offer this courageous bit of prognostication not to be negative (though it may sound negative) and not to belittle the contributions of some of our nationally recognized artists and stakeholders (Thank You Ron Pizzuti, Les Wexner, Ann Hamilton, Elijah Pierce, Howard and Babs Sirak, Malcolm Cochran, Aminah Robinson, Sherri Gelden, and everyone else who’s helped put Columbus on the national art map). I offer these predictions to give us a sense of perspective.

Too often this idea that Columbus has to be world-class, big-time, and top-tier dissuades us from really appreciating the work of Columbus artists on its own merits. It creates a false dichotomy, inviting unnecessary and largely unhelpful comparisons; the kind of either-or fallacies that suggest you’re either New York or you’re nowhere, you’re either Damien Hirst or you’re nobody. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Columbus, thanks to some pioneering modernists, inspired outsiders, and a rich academic tradition, has been nurturing great artists and generating great art for over a century. As proof, I suggest visiting 100 Years of Art: Celebrating Columbus’ Legacy, currently on view at the Riffe Gallery. Here you’ll find an amazing selection of work by artists who, in one way or another, are connected with Columbus. It’s a collection of work that stands on its own, transcending comparisons and demonstrating that creativity and vision have little to do with name recognition or city of origin.

That’s not to say there aren’t some big names involved. George Bellows, Roy Lichtenstein, Alice Schille, Stanley Twardowicz, and even James Thurber are all featured in this exhibition. Also represented is the robust outsider heritage that runs through Columbus art. Works by Elijah Pierce, Grandpa Smoky Brown, William Hawkins, and Mary Merrill demonstrate that creativity and artistic vision are not limited to those with formal training.

Highlights for me included the chance to see two of Edna Boies Hopkins’ stunning prints. Purple Astors and Spotted Dahlia exemplify the vibrant, Japanese-inspired color woodblock prints Hopkins is most famous for. Hoyt Sherman’s Across to the Jemez and Lucius Kutchin’s Boy with Guitar – Sante Fe (Cowboy) show the modernist leanings of two of Columbus’ most highly regarded painters.

Melissa Wolfe, Curator of American Art at the Columbus Museum of Art, and The Ohio Arts Council are to be commended for putting together such a fine show. The extensive biographies accompanying the works provide context and connection. The breadth of styles demonstrate a willingness to embrace all manifestations of the visual arts. The inclusion of so many works from private collections makes this exhibition an especially rare treat. It’s unlikely we’ll have the chance to see these works together again, so take advantage of it. I’d encourage anyone interested in the history of Columbus and the artists who were part of it to enjoy 100 Years of Art. It’s a fitting tribute to our City’s Bicentennial Celebration and the perfect chance to remind ourselves that great art happens right here.

100 Years of Art: Celebrating Columbus’ Legacy is on view January 26th to April 15th 2012 at the Riffe Gallery.

Image credits:

William Hawkins
(1895-1990)
The Iguana, 1978-81
Enamel on Masonite with glitter, 33.5” x 51”
Columbus Museum of Art

Lucius Kutchin
(1901-1936)
Boy with Guitar – Santa Fe (Cowboy), 1936
Oil on composition board, 38″ x 29.25″
Columbus Museum of Art

Edna Boies Hopkins
(1872-1937)
Purple Astors, c. 1910
Color woodblock print, 10.75″ x 7.5″
Columbus Museum of Art