The First Ladies Garden has been part of the White House
grounds since the early 1960's. Jacqueline Kennedy created the garden and tens of
thousands of White House guests and visitors have enjoyed and appreciated
it since that day. Early in her residency at the White House, Hillary
Rodham Clinton conceived of using the First Ladies Garden as a setting
for changing exhibitions of 20th century American sculpture. Mrs. Clinton
thought this seemed very compatible with the nature of the garden and
with the spirit of Mrs. Kennedy, who championed art and the arts
throughout her life.
In 1994 the first exhibition of 20th century sculpture was installed in
the garden under the auspices of the Association of Art Museum
Directors. George Neubert, Director of the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery
and Sculpture Garden at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, selected 12
sculptures from museums in the Midwest to place in the garden. These 12
illustrated the major developments in American sculpture from the early
20th century to the present.
This second exhibition in the First Ladies Garden also has 12 sculptures.
They were selected from museums in the Southeast and focus on American
sculpture from 1965 to the present. All the artists, save one, are alive
and working today, and all have learned from and been inspired by the
artists who have preceded them in this century. Their work is like
America itself--full of consistency and change and fresh expression
grounded in the rich soil of tradition.
The sculptors whose work is now in the First Ladies Garden bring fresh
ideas and insights to the world of which they are a part. They are
seeking both personal and universal realities as they explore solutions
to contemporary problems in new and innovative ways. As they work with
new materials, new hues, and unusual forms, they cause us to question our
own sensibilities and to contemplate things we have never seen or felt or
thought about before.
Metal and paint have replaced stone and clay as primary working
materials. For the most part, construction is the method used to realize
an idea rather than modeling or carving. Good figures, familiar
portraits, and heroic events as subject matter have given way to new,
compelling and powerful forms which energize our imaginations and renew
our souls.
What we discover in this exhibition is that this historic and beautiful
First Ladies Garden is alive with the spirit of America. The works of art
reflect the diversity, vitality and energy of our past, present and
future. The exhibition includes work by a self-taught artist who uses
discarded and found materials in the creation of his art; a MacArthur
Fellow; one of this century's most famous sculptors; and other Americans
both well known and yet-to-be-known. Each work is the individual artist's
contribution to the American vision of human life and human
understanding. Each work invites and encourages us to be affected by that
vision. As we accept the invitation to look at the art and respond to it,
we see as many different things as we are different people; but one thing
we will see the same: art in America is alive and well, rejoicing in
today, and eager for the future.
Townsend Wolfe, Director and Chief Curator
Arkansas Arts Center
Little Rock, Arkansas