photo: David Olsen
Tucked away amongst Tucson’s parched byways and cactus-ridden landscapes are secret caches of items that rival King Tut’s tomb.
In this case, instead of golden artifacts, there are private collections of obscure and iconic contemporary works. The accumulators of these pieces obviously have diverse motivations for their obsessions, but occasionally, through the auspices of the Tucson Museum of Art, the public is afforded a rare opportunity to peek.
Until October 10, TMA offers Thanks for Being With Us, the latest incarnation of the institution’s success in persuading one such collector to share.
Douglas Nielsen, a professor in the University of Arizona modern dance department, has spent decades scouring the world’s marketplaces for works that fulfill his idiosyncratic criteria (basically, anything that speaks to him and asks to be taken home, that “holds the wall” and doesn’t get boring), and Julie Sasse, the TMA’s curator, spent hours consulting with him to choose 75 representative pieces from the hundreds he possesses.
Nielsen’s downtown loft might induce claustrophobia in a visitor frantically searching for visual respite amongst the sensory overload of all the artworks and objects that crowd every foot of available space – walls, shelves, floor – a joyous and colorful group of two- and three-dimensional creations, each one “made by someone.” That thought delights and entertains their owner.
At the museum, the pieces have been arranged so that they “have room to breathe,” Nielsen said. The various levels display works that are loosely affiliated; the connections subtle and not immediately apparent. Curator Sasse and the exhibit designers have expertly teased out related threads and certain tenuous associations are insinuated, perhaps subconsciously. The viewer intuits that this photo and print or painting are somehow affiliated.
Emblematic lithos by Ed Ruscha (a favorite of Nielsen) boldly assert “Thanks for Being With Us,” “Excuse Me, I Didn’t Mean to Interrupt,” and “There’s No Job Too Small” at the entrance. The deliberate mixture of medium/material/subject/dimension at each juncture of room, ramp, turn of direction and separate area conjures up an atmosphere of intrigue, aesthetic jubilation, anxiety, discomfort, pleasure and voluptuous enjoyment.
Strolling by and briefly glancing, or standing immersed in study, visitors marvel at the extent of emotional response elicited by images, sometimes edgy, disturbing and audacious, sometimes tender and heartbreakingly poignant. Overall, though, one is left with an impression of happy optimism, Sasse firmly proclaims.
On October 10, the day the show closes, Nielsen’s modern dance students will interpret chosen works from the collection. Titled “Looking Up, Looking Down,” the performance will invite the audience to watch from above as the dancers undulate and pirouette below. n
Tucson Museum of Art is located at 140 N. Main Ave. and online, TucsonMuseumofArt.org. Call 624-2333 for more information.
