American dreams

Last fall, the Brigham Young University Museum of Art opened "American Dreams: Selected Works from the Museum's Permanent Collection of American Art" to the public.

Replacing the previous, chronologically arranged exhibition, "150 Years of American Painting," "American Dreams" is divided into three thematic sections: "The Dream of Eden," "American Aspirations" and "Envisioning America."

In last year's Museum of Art magazine, the institution made an effort to prepare visitors for the change: "When confronted with a pairing of works that seems unusually out of line with the standard practice of displaying works chronologically or stylistically, the viewer can become engaged with the works on a deeper level, seeking to understand the broader meanings of the individual works, as well as the reason for their juxtaposition."

While the museum's attempt to bring new life to its collection through thematic presentation is commendable, the resulting art groupings seem a bit strained at times, as if it were a forced marriage. Fortunately for viewers, there are plenty of stunning brides to counter any contextual confusion or visual discomfort.

The exhibit features 214 works by 96 artists, including prints, sculpture, photography, textiles and mixed media. Some pieces will be permanently displayed, while others, those more sensitive to light and other deleterious environmental conditions, will be rotated every year of the five-year exhibition.

Thus, at any one time 115 works of art are on display. After the exhibit's five-year run, the permanent collection will be re-installed with additional works and a different focus.

In "The Dream of Eden" section, numerous landscapes evoke the vision of America as a new Eden. Frederic Edwin Church, Edwin Evans and John Frederick Kensett are just a few of the artists represented.

We also encounter America's westward expansion and attempt to re-establish paradise, in excellent works by George Inness, Thomas Moran, N.C. Wyeth, Frederic Remington, Maynard Dixon, Mahonri Young and more.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, America's resources no longer seemed limitless, and the repercussions are portrayed through the contemporary work of Patrick Nagatani, Richard Misrach, Douglas Snow, Fritz Scholder, Minerva Teichert and others.

The second area of the exhibit, "American Aspirations," portrays America as a land of opportunity. Here we find works by John Singer Sargent, Winslow Homer, J. Alden Weir, John Sloan, Everett Shinn, Robert Henri and even Andy Warhol.