God knows the City of Little Rock has got its fair share of problems. Many of those problems have been recounted in this space. And because I am weary of them, along with this cold I am fighting off, I do not care to re-allege all of the things I have been bitching about the past three years or so. Rather, I choose to accentuate the positive today.
I spent Thursday afternoon at the new Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts (née Arkansas Arts Center) at McArthur Park. Oh. My. God. While I had long admired the superstructure as it was going up over the last 4 years I was not prepared for what awaited me inside.
But first some background. I have fond memories of the old AAC. It was borne initially by a committee of busy body social doyennes, which is how social and artistic progress used to get kick-started around these parts, called the Fine Arts Club. This was around 1915. It eventually morphed into the AAC in the sixties. Its museum and studios have graced MacArthur Park downtown since those days.
The museum underwent something of a renovation about the time I got back from law school @ 1982 or so. But the old girl still pretty much looked that the same place, only dumpier, I knew in high school. I last set foot in the AAC around 2016 with my then girlfriend to see the Annual Delta art exhibit. Great exhibit. Mediocre surroundings.
Mediocre no more. Boy would the old gals from the Fine Arts Club be surprised.
I do not have an artistic bone in my body. I completely unqualified to write about these matters. So here goes nothing.
But the AMFA is simply stunning. The word space kept coming to my mind as I walked through the new building. The exhibit halls are huge and what contributes to this sense of space is the numerous floor to ceiling windows throughout the museum. I will have to go back soon to take a harder look at the artwork on the walls and floors. I was too busy admiring the building.
And it occurred to me-duh-that the structure itself is to be regarded as a piece of art in and of itself. Nobody ever said that about the old AAC.
There is a large sitting room/coffee shop. I enjoyed sitting there and looking at the surrounding neighborhood through the huge windows. And guess what? There is a real restaurant. With a wet bar. Too bad Winthrop Rockefeller-who helped raise money for the old AAC- isn’t around to see this. I’m guessing he would approve.
To say that I was floored is to understate the case considerably. Of course I am a member and I look forward to spending many happy hours there with that former girlfriend who has since become my wife. Maybe we can drag the kids along as well.
The new AMFA is proof that the City of Little Rock can get involved with something and not screw it up completely. For once.
Now can we please bring back golf to War Memorial Park?
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