Texas Highways, Volume 70, Number 2, February 2023 Page: 47
80 p. : col. ill., mapsView a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
p
T 'F
SIA
facilitywith the medium transports the viewer to the setting.
This desire to imitate nature, to give it a second life in
our works of art, is a basic and perennial one. From the
beginning, using the materials in our environment-clay,
soot, stone, sap, wood, bone, fat, feather-humans have set
to sculpting, drawing, painting, and engraving the world
around us. Whether for spiritual, cosmological, or aesthetic
purposes, we aim to recapture nature in our art.
In 1998, I made a trip to Kyrgyzstan to visit my younger
sister who was there serving as a Peace Corps volunteer.
To show off the country's natural beauty, she took me up to
the mountains to stay at Lake Issyk Kul, one of the world's
largest and deepest. One afternoon, I walked along the lake
among boulders; I watched a goat climb then stand atop a
large rockin the distance.In the corner of myeye,something
else caught my attention: marks made on the side of a closer
rock. I drew near and saw an engraved image of agoat stand-
ing in the same exact position, facing the same direction, as
the living goat in the distance. I felt myself transported, asthough I was the artist standing before my stone canvas studying the living
goat. having just scratched its image onto the boulder. As I walked around,
I found other petroglyphs of animals preserved across a stretch of 3,000-
4,000 years.
Whether left to the elements under an open sky, or housed in a building
designed for the sole purpose of exhibiting art, our very human works of art
tell the story of our enthrallment to nature. As I walk through the galleries, it
becomes evident that the Kimbell's collection is made up of singularly pow-
erful pieces. There are paintings, sculptures, ceramics, and other objects that
originated across the globe and span 5,000 years. Pieces are acquired for
their individual and aesthetic value rather than collected to fit stylistic or
historical parameters. I can have a moment, or build a relationship, with a
work of art that is based on that piece's merits, rather than its position in an
artistic movement, or even the artist's larger oeuvre.
"Greatworks of art tend tolookeven strongerwhen seenwithin the context
of the Kimbell's galleries, but weaker works of art tend to be diminished'"
Museum Director Eric M. Lee says. "Quality is the unifying feature of the
Kimbell's varied collection."
The Kahn building, at once grand and restrained, showcases each indi-
vidual artwork through open spaces, allowing for impressive views ofFEBRUARY 2023 47
r
Y
I}
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Texas. Department of Transportation. Texas Highways, Volume 70, Number 2, February 2023, periodical, February 2023; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1623752/m1/49/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.