DOUG CARPENTER | DAILY MEMPHIAN
“The glory of art is that it can not only survive change, it can lead it.” — Robert Redford
There has been much conversation in the office, around the table and in our media about the heightened emphasis on chapters ending or doors closing.
Perhaps it is just a personal perspective, but there really are so few actual endings — only evolutions and advancements.
One could list the businesses that have closed in South Main over the years, for example, but that would not take into consideration the evolution that has brought Amelia Gene’s, The Lobbyist, Catherine & Mary’s, Kuya, Tonica, Good Fortune, Felicia Suzanne’s and so on.
The same can be said for the evolution of Overton Park that once housed the Memphis College of Art. Evolution has brought us a much more activated Shell, an expanded Memphis Zoo, enhanced trails, a reimagined Metal Museum and Parkview Apartments.
Don’t lament the loss of the Brooks Museum or Memphis College of Art. Instead, visit the Brooks’ final exhibition before opening as the Memphis Art Museum Downtown this December.
As a sponsor of their final featured exhibit, Memphis College of Art, 1936-2020: An Enduring Legacy, I was struck by the “enduring” impact of the College of Art.
While the institution has gone and the building is currently being reimagined as the new Metal Museum, the curated artworks by graduates of the Memphis College of Art (MCA) are an homage to not only the school as well as Brooks’ longstanding location, but also to the appreciation of the import and influence of both over the years.
The college closed its doors after 84 years of training and translating creative expression into forms that have shaped Memphis and Memphians; but the impact and the individuals of the institution didn’t evaporate.
It lives on in the people, works of art, and experiences that are passed through, lived through, created within and in fact, are critical in shaping our city’s unique culture.
From my art teacher in high school, to professional collaborators, to personal friends; names that hang in my home and office; names I admire from afar.
My first employee was an MCA student. MCA professors were my mentors. Some knew it, some may not have, but the impression was no less indelible.
I was drawn to support this exhibit specifically, alongside generous contributors to our city’s art museum, not only because I respect these local greats personally and professionally, but because I believe in the exhibition’s title: “An Enduring Legacy.”
The legacy of the Memphis College of Art, and those that passed through it, have a living, breathing, enduring impact on us all, and it is well represented in this show.
It’s about recognizing art, artists, and the connections they’ve made with us and for us as a community and understanding that that impression does not live in a location, a time, or a building, but within all of us.
We have knowingly or unknowingly been moved by the remarkably creative DNA that is unique to Memphis, and oftentimes, more recognized from outside than within.
It seems to me that we should recognize the power of art as an ever-evolving representation of who we are as a city.
This is not about what went away. It’s about what has endured.