Beginning on Feb. 26, the Tacoma Art Museum will be hosting an exhibition of Norman Rockwell’s emblematic artworks, entitled “American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell.”
Making Tacoma its only stop in the Northwest, this rare and impressively expansive collection will include 44 paintings and 323 original Saturday Evening Post covers.
And I have a piece of information that may be news to some of you: on the third Thursday of every month, admission to the museum is free from 5 to 8 p.m. So no excuses, kids.
Norman Rockwell’s images are so iconic in this country that they often seem a combination of overstated and overblown and reminiscent of a time period our generation cannot relate to.
I saw my first Rockwell piece at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington D.C., as part of their “Norman Rockwell: Telling Stories” exhibition. What made this particular collection memorable for many visitors, including myself, was that it explored the connections between film culture and Rockwell’s images of life in America.
In fact, two of Hollywood’s most famous filmmakers, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, had donated the 57 exhibited works from their own personal collections. “Telling Stories” showcased interviews with both directors in a discussion of their personal connections with Rockwell’s portrayals of individuals growing up in an America obsessed with Hollywood glamour.
Rockwell created his pictures using a strategy similar to those employed by filmmakers. In one of the interviews, Lucas remarks that Rockwell told stories “on issues I could relate to… I wanted to be an illustrator but finally went into filmmaking” (Washington Post, Jacqueline Trescott, July 2, 2010).
Ironically, when asked about this eruption of glamour in his work, Rockwell replied, “I learned to draw everything except glamorous women. No matter how much I tried to make them look sexy, they always ended up looking silly…or like somebody’s mother.”
Sometimes his work may seem a bit dull to those who prefer a bordering-on-physical experience of art born from more explosive art movements, but his ability to capture American life so succinctly will ensure his legacy. Many continue to sport intensely emotive reactions to Rockwell’s imagery, created over a span of 65 years, decades after his death.
Rockwell is a masterful storyteller, and his paintings often feel like a snapshot, or a single frame, depicting a moment in the life of an individual or family firmly entrenched in American culture.
Often they visually describe the overcoming of a personal challenge, or on a larger scale, issues of American intolerance; many of the images in the TAM’s “American Chronicles” illuminate personal struggles during the American Civil Rights movement.
Events concurrent with the exhibition will include an Opening Day Family Program and Public Lecture on Saturday, Feb. 26; a Curator Talk introducing Norman Rockwell on Wednesday Mar. 2; a Know More Art Sunday Lecture Series called “Visions of America” on every Sunday in March; and a Second City Concert, “Washington State Meets Norman Rockwell”, on Friday Mar. 11.
For more information visit www.tacomaartmuseum.org. The Tacoma Art Museum will host the exhibition until May 30.