After an extremely successful showing in Paris, a special art exhibit is opening in Kansas City.
The Plains Indians: Artists of Earth and Sky is a collection of 140 works of art from the Central Plains of the United States. It opens at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art on Friday, September 19.
The president of a museum in Paris asked Nelson-Atkins senior curator of American Indian Art, Gaylord Torrence, to put together this exhibition four years ago.
It opened at the musée du quai Branly in April to great success. More than 200,000 people visited the exhibit, making it one of the most successful in the museum’s history.
“Native Americans are extraordinary artists,” said Torrence. “Just as you would find in any culture, there were, within the milieu of Native American life and Plains life, there were inspired individuals who created extraordinary works of art filled with both cultural and personal meaning.”
Crews are now putting the finishing touches on the exhibit at the Nelson-Atkins Museum. Torrence said this will be a very different experience for guests than the exhibit in Paris.
“These things all speak of a sense of place in their materiality, in the meanings that they hold,” Torrence said. “These objects are about North America.”
Many of the pieces have not been on U.S. soil since European settlers were here hundreds of years ago.
“A number of European curators were very eager for the objects in their institution's collection to come back to the United States, so they could be seen by the descendants of the Native peoples who had created these things,” said Torrence.
There are a number of special events planned next week in honor of the exhibition. Stéphane Martin, the president of the musée du quai Branly will be here. Jodi Gillette, the Senior Policy Advisor for Native American Affairs for the White House, will visit next Wednesday. She also has a piece featured in the exhibit. These events are by special invitation only.
There is a free, public event on Sunday, Sept. 21, in conjunction with the Plaza Art Fair. There will be a shuttle running from the fair to the Nelson-Atkins Museum from noon to 4 p.m. You can learn more here: http://www.nelson-atkins.org/
The exhibit will eventually close at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City next spring.
