HOW WE SEE IT: Arts Embrace Challenges Communities

It’s hard to change an image once it has taken hold.

Sure, it can be done. Ask an O.J. Simpson or a Wilbur D. Mills how one’s image can be changed at break-neck speed. You can also ask someone like Jimmy Carter, who was a disaster as a president but who repaired his reputation somewhat through the work he did in the years after public off ce.

Image isn’t everything, as some Madison Avenue types want us to believe, but it is something signifi cant.

That’s why it makesperfect sense leaders in Bentonville are trying to paint a dift erent picture of their town for the future. The explosion of interest in Bentonville as the result of theCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art naturally leads to questions about community and how to embrace and respond to this amazing facility.

Art, however, is a tricky business. How do you take steps to embrace the sometimes ritzy and glamorous art world without oftending the “always low prices,” don’t-show-oft -your-money culture evoked by Walmart?

It’s going to be a struggle to weave an identity in which the two co-exist peacefully.

Rest assured, the image they’re trying to paint isn’t an entirely modern one that throws aside the traditions of the past. Bentonville’s life has evolved from a small, rural county seat to a community influenced heavily by the culture and condition of that certain multinational company that had its humble beginnings here in Northwest Arkansas.

The image of the town, although updated, will no doubt continue to incorporate that certain spark.

But the issue to wrestle with is how Bentonville can build on the art experience so wonderfully created by the very same family responsible for the corporate attitude.

Galleries are opening. A new Walton Arts Center performance hall is planned somewhere in Bentonville. A new hotel features an art theme.

But the city has struggled with the idea of public art on the downtown square and is busy setting up a process largely designed to make sure any displayed public art oft ends few sensitivities.

Art, generally, doesn’t adhere well to boundaries.

The question of whether Bentonville is ready for a real embrace of the arts will linger, and answering will be a constant struggle.

But it’s a worthwhile struggle. Just as Crystal Bridges has expanded tourism opportunities for Bentonville and the region, art expands our minds, questions conventional wisdom and gives us new perspectives from which to see the world.

That’s worth embracing, no matter which community one lives in.

CASUALTIES OF WAR To honor the men and women in our armed forces and remind our readers of their sacrifices, the Northwest Arkansas Times is publishing Department of Defense announcements identifying Americans killed in active military operations.

Pfc. Patricia L. Horne, 20, of Greenwood, Miss., died Aug. 24 in Bagram, Afghanistan. She was assigned to the 96th Aviation Support Battalion, 101st CombatAviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

Sgt. Christopher J. Birdwell, 25, of Windsor, Colo., and Spc. Mabry J. Anders, 21, of Baker City, Ore., died Aug. 27 in Kalagush, Afghanistan, of injuries suftered from enemy, small-arms fire. They were assigned to the 4th Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.

Opinion, Pages 5 on 09/19/2012

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