People often assume that everyone shares the same associations with an iconic image or object. This exhibition brings attention to the reality that people have different perspectives about popular icons and cultural ideas. The artworks here challenge viewers to think twice and discover through conversation just how varied interpretations of even a common symbol can be.
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, generously loaned several of the works in this exhibition. The museum is a lending partner of the Art Bridges Collection Loan Partnership. Art Bridges, founded by philanthropist and arts patron Alice Walton, is a foundation dedicated to expanding access to American art across the United States.
—Aileen June Wang, curator
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Generous support for this project provided by:
Platinum – Major Sponsors
Art Bridges
The Alms Group
Friends of the Beach Museum of Art
Greater Manhattan Community Foundation’s Lincoln & Dorothy I. Deihl Community Grants Program
Gold Level Sponsors
Beach-Edwards Family Foundation
Bronze Sponsors
Steve and Janet Cooper
Russell Clay Harvey and Patty McGivern
Explore the Virtual Tour
The Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art is grateful to The Alms Group for creating this and other 3D Virtual Tours for our exhibitions.
John Baldessari
Born 1931, National City, California
Died 2020, Venice, Los Angeles, CA
Beethoven’s Trumpet (with Ear) Opus #132, 2007
Foam, resin, aluminum, cold bronze, and electronics
Crystal Bridges Museum of Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2010.6
Bo Bartlett
Born 1955, Columbus, Georgia
The Lobster Wars, 2007
Oil on linen
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2007.193
Paul Rucker
Born 1968, Anderson, South Carolina
FOREVER: Emmett Louis Till, AUGUST 28, 1955. MONEY, MISSISSIPPI: TALLAHATCHIE RIVER, 2019
Inkjet print
Kansas State University, Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, 2020.56
Paul Rucker
Born 1968, Anderson, South Carolina
FOREVER: FOREVER: Edwin T. Pratt, JANUARY 26, 1969. SHORELINE, WASHINGTON, 2019
Inkjet print
Kansas State University, Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, 2020.57
Paul Rucker
Born 1968, Anderson, South Carolina
FOREVER: Medgar Wiley Evers, JUNE 12, 1963. JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI, 2019
Inkjet print
Kansas State University, Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, 2020.53
Paul Rucker
Born 1968, Anderson, South Carolina
FOREVER: Viola Fauver Gregg Liuzzo, MARCH 25, 1965. MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA, 2019
Inkjet print
Kansas State University, Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, 2020.50
Paul Rucker
Born 1968, Anderson, South Carolina
FOREVER: Scottsboro Boys, MARCH 24, 1931. BETWEEN CHATTANOOGA & MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, 2019
Inkjet print
Kansas State University, Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, 2020.52
Paul Rucker
Born 1968, Anderson, South Carolina
FOREVER: Freedom Summer, JUNE 21-22, 1964. NESHOBA COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI, 2019
Inkjet print
Kansas State University, Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, 2020.54
Paul Rucker
Born 1968, Anderson, South Carolina
FOREVER: Vernon Ferdinand Dahmer, Sr., JANUARY 11, 1966. Hattiesburg, Mississippi, 2019
Inkjet print
Kansas State University, Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, 2020.51
Paul Rucker
Born 1968, Anderson, South Carolina
FOREVER: Four Little Girls, SEPTEMBER 15, 1963. BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA, 2019
Inkjet print
Kansas State University, Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, 2020.55
Grant Wood
Born 1891, Anamosa, Iowa
Died 1942, Iowa City, Iowa
The American Golfer, Portrait of Charles Campbell, 1940
Oil on board
Crystal Bridges Museum of Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2014.33
Archie Scott Gobber
Born 1965, Warrensburg, Missouri
Kneeling Flag, 2018 (fabricated 2022)
2 in edition of 3
Enamel on aluminum
Kansas State University, Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, gift of the artist
Susie J. Lee
Born 1972, Hershey, Pennsylvania
Max, 2013
High-definition video portrait
Duration: 1 minute, 18 seconds
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, GAE.2014.97
Luke Butler
Born 1971, San Francisco, California
The End XIV, 2013
Acrylic on canvas
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, GAE 2015.41
Peter Glenn Oakley
Born 1974, Southern Pines, North Carolina
Sewing Machine, 2014
Marble with granite base
Crystal Bridges Museum of Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, GAE.2014.7
Andy Warhol
Born 1928, Pittsburgh, PA
Died 1987, New York, NY
Hammer and Sickle, 1977
Acrylic and screen print on canvas
Crystal Bridges Museum of Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2012.495