Column: Acknowledgments | The Space Between Local Entertainment

At Ucross, we are obsessed with the artist experience. Our residency programs are designed to support and nurture the creative process, while also responding to the changing needs of artists in all fields. At the same time, we cherish our role in the region’s arts scene.

Over the past 10 years, residency programs in private nursing homes, once shrouded in mystery, have expanded their public programs and community-based activities. In many ways, artists lead the way by engaging the community in their artistic practice, but organizations like Ucross also do recognize that they are in a unique position to publicly celebrate and illuminate the creative process, and by doing so, they can amplify their mission.

While the gift of time and space remains the driving force behind all our activities, our ability to highlight alumni artists through the production and promotion of events, workshops, performances and exhibitions has become an important part of what we do. For us, this is perhaps most prominently showcased at the Ucross Art Gallery and Founders Day, the Ucross Arts Festival and our annual Community Christmas Celebration.

As we provide these and many other opportunities for the community to engage with art, artists, and the creative process, we also consider the audience experience. As T. Allen Lawson points out in the quote above, it’s not as simple as hanging a rectangle on the wall. What the viewer brings to the experience is intimately linked to how they perceive, interpret and respond to any work of art. In other words, the interaction between the artwork and the viewer is part of a larger experiment. And that’s the point – there’s no one way to see or feel a work of art. Technology can be recognized, but art is subjective after all.

The work of art is to inspire, stimulate, question, contemplate, explore, exceed expectations, share new perspectives, and challenge the way viewers see landscapes, situations, and relationships. And, yes, sometimes the job of art is to entertain, acknowledge beauty, make you laugh or soothe your soul. But art is not a puzzle with only one solution. It may raise questions, but not necessarily answer them. Plus, frankly, it might show you the scenery, but that doesn’t mean it lacks perspective.

The act of making art is controlled by the artist, but once the work is “finished” and presented to the public, it takes on a life of its own. As artists, how do we let go? And how can we as audiences sincerely accept the passing of the baton? Again, there is no single answer to each of these questions. Just as art is a personal expression, art viewing is a personal experience.

“Field Guide: Teresa Baker + Anthony Hudson + Jessica Mehta + Eliza Naranjo Morse,” the current exhibition at Ucross Art Gallery explores issues of identity, personal expression, resilience, place and tradition. It showcases the work of the 2020 and 2021 recipients of the Ucross Scholarship for Native American Visual Artists.

As I walked through the galleries after the exhibit was installed and saw the variety of forms, methods, and expressions, I was reminded of a quote from another Wyoming-born artist, Jackson Pollock: “The way paint gets on It doesn’t matter, as long as there is something to say.”

We hope you will have the opportunity to visit the Ucross Art Gallery, see this exhibition, explore the work of these four contemporary Indigenous artists, and consider the relationship between artist and audience. Also, if you are interested in learning more about their creative process, we hope you will join us for an artist panel on May 5th at 11am in Kinnison Hall, Sheridan College.