Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art WEBSITE HERE
DAY 1: PLACE OF THE WEEK: Crystal Bridges - Bentonville, Arkansas --Arkansas certainly is fortunate to be home to the magnificent "Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art" which welcomes all to celebrate the American spirit in a setting that unites the power of art with the beauty of nature. The Walmart foundation donates over a million dollars a year so that admission is free.
P. Allen Smith takes us on a tour of Crystal Bridges!
DAY 2: Alice Walton is the founder of Crystal Bridges. She began purchasing American art for the museum long before it began construction. Many in large cities thought it was ridiculous to bring priceless works of art to Arkansas. Yet she believed there was a need for the arts in our area. Watch the video to meet Alice Walton and listen as she talks about her vision for Crystal Bridges. Click HERE
DAY 3: Crystal Bridges provides a setting that unites the power of art with the beauty of nature—a surprisingly easy feat given the sometimes overwhelming natural beauty that exists around the region. The museum is nestled in a ravine in the Ozark Mountains and is surrounded by streams, waterfalls, beautiful forests, and miles of trails. In fact, the landscape itself it a work of art, making a trip to Crystal Bridges remarkable in every season of the year.
DAY 4: Crystal Bridges was designed by internationally renowned architect Moshe Safdie, who envisioned a building that would complement the surrounding Ozark landscape. Nestled into a natural ravine, the Museum integrates the element of water on the site through the creation of two spring-fed ponds that are spanned by two signature bridge structures and surrounded by a group of pavilions housing Museum galleries and studios. Crystal Bridges takes its name from Crystal Spring—a natural spring on the Museum’s wooded site that feeds into the Museum ponds—and from the unique bridge construction incorporated into the building design.
DAY 5: Art museums house both permanent exhibits and special exhibits. Permanent exhibits are those the museum owns --pieces that stay there. Special exhibits are special works of art that are on loan from other museums or collectors of art. As a result, there is almost always something new to see at Crystal Bridges. Today we will look at some of the art in the permanent exhibit at Crystal Bridges.
