As an often car-less, stay-at-home mom in Tacoma, my 4-year-old son and I feel the distance between us and Seattle with its seemingly endless cultural events and fancy cupcake shops (actual distance, 35 miles; perceived distance, 35 light-years). So, with crumpled dollar bills and a bus schedule in hand, and good walking shoes on the both of us, we head out to explore what gems our own town has to offer.
One such gem (an understatement – think Hope Diamond-sized gem) is the "American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell" exhibit at the Tacoma Art Museum, which runs through May 30th of this year.
The exhibit opened my eyes to the depth of the artist Norman Rockwell. His work has been so produced and reproduced, with his mark on Kellogg's and countless insurance ads, that I'd thought of Rockwell as more of an illustrator than an "artist" per se. As a result, for me the Rockwell Americana look has always translated into an artistic white noise.
I thought I got it – which is why I was struck dumb when I saw his work in actual oil and canvas. Suddenly, I saw the limitless talent and perfectionist dedication of the man: the painstaking detail right down to each strand of hair, each tooth on a chipped mother-of-pearl comb in a model's hair, the buttery texture of a leather bag, the clothes hanging out of that bag suggesting just how quickly the traveler had packed in an effort to get home.
Each painting teems with hidden clues to the story behind it. In person, his paintings are almost three-dimensional, not only in his masterful painting technique but also in the depth of character he brings to each of his subjects. It's clear in his control of light and darkness and depth that he was influenced by the Dutch greats. It's clear in his understanding of humankind (and his ability to express it in a two-dimensional medium) that he was influenced by his own vision of his world and his country.
His later work was more political than I had known – but in an emotional, noncerebral, way.
My son, at 4 years old, is just on the cusp of the age of interest in this exhibit. He greatly enjoyed the vast display of Saturday Evening Post covers, feasting his eyes on one depiction of life after another in a heady blur, giggling that high-pitched giggle at the funny ones – and there are a LOT of funny ones – nodding dutifully as he passed by the more sedate ones (e.g., Rockwell's own self-portrait, which he reluctantly painted at the request of the Post). He was particularly enamored of the numerous depictions of Santa on Post covers.
Luckily, the Tacoma Art Museum has plenty of places for an energetic preschooler to sit down and have a granola bar; there's also the Open Art Studio, a sure-fire hit. My own little artist made a pass through the studio with interest, and I can tell you that we are bound to go back there.
On the day we visited, there were a variety of older kids roaming the Rockwell exhibit. I was moved by a group of teenagers on a tour passionately discussing Rockwell's depiction of 6-year-old Ruby Bridges being escorted to school in 1963 by four U.S. Marshalls in the controversially titled, "The Problem We All Live With." (The title was LOOK Magazine's, not Rockwell's.)
Look closely at this one when you visit the museum. Rockwell rubbed actual dust and grit into the white paint used for the background wall (the wall behind little Ruby Bridges, the one with the dripping smashed tomato and the scrawled racial slurs) to give the piece a dirtier feel. Your heart stops a little when you see this piece in person.
If you live in Seattle and have any reservations about the 35 mile drive to Tacoma, give yourself a double reason: Rockwell and Ruby Bridges herself, who will be in Tacoma on May 21 to speak about the school integration effort that immortalized her.
Both my son and I agree: if we lived in Seattle, we'd make the trip. A day at the Tacoma Art Museum is more than an adventure; it's a chance to share a special piece of American history with your children – not unlike what Rockwell did on every cover of The Saturday Evening Post.
IF YOU GO
Norman Rockwell at Tacoma Art Museum
Where: Tacoma Art Museum, 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma
When: Through May 30. Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., third Thursday of each month, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Cost: Members free. Adults $9, students, military, seniors (65 +) $8, family (two adults and up to four children under 18) $25, children ages 5 and under free. Free admission every third Thursday, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Contact: 253-272-4258; www.tacomaartmuseum.org/.
Travel tip: For around $5, take the Sounder from King Street Station in Seattle to the Tacoma Freight House, and catch the free Tacoma Link Light Rail right out front. It runs every 10 minutes, straight to the museum, avoiding the traffic.
The Ruby Bridges Event
Where: Philip Hall on the University of Washington-Tacoma campus, 1900 Commerce St., Tacoma.
When: May 21, 2 p.m.
Cost: $15.
Jenni Prange Boran is a screenwriter, the marketing lead at The Film School in Seattle and mom to son Ellis. She and her family live and play in Tacoma.
