As The Famished Soul Seeks Art
Jundt Art Museum, Gonzaga University, Spokane, Washington. Visited on August 18, 2023.
As I struggle to say something positive about this museum, I recall the adage, “If you can’t … don’t say anything at all.”
So why do I feel compelled to write? I think it’s because my struggle to say something nice has more to do with me than with the museum itself.
I have come here with unrealistic expectations. I thought there would be more than two galleries. I assumed that the collection would include an array of work from various artists.
What I experience is one room with a rotating exhibit — a display of quilts from local artists (more on this in a minute) and a second gallery,
THE CHANCELLOR’S ROOM: DEDICATED IN HONOR OF REV. BERNARD J. COUGHLIN, S.J.,
that could have been named just as easily
MINI STORAGE FOR PIECES BY DALE CHIHULY AND A FEW OTHER OBJECTS
My instinct is to cruise through the quilt exhibit, mostly because the student worker is required to stand in the room and watch me look at the objects, and partly because I grew up in Lancaster County and have a deep affinity for the Amish Quilt Museum in Intercourse (now closed), not to mention the many examples of quilts that have crossed my path in daily life.
But to leave the Jundt Museum now would be to abandon my primary purpose for coming, which is to feed my soul with art. And this raises the question, is my soul so satiated that I can turn down a meal?
The answer is “no.”
This is not Washington, D.C. where I spent my formative years among many massive museums that were free and open to the public. It’s not even Richmond, Virginia, where I had access to the VMFA, an exceptional museum for a town its size. Spokane is neither of those places, and that’s okay. It is time to trade variety and choice for something simpler – a smaller set of objects that I can return to time and time again.
What I’m trying to say is that I have been spoiled. I have had more than my fair share of exposure to great art institutions. I imagine if you grew up in Spokane, you would be eternally grateful for this museum and what it offers. Now a resident, why shouldn’t I feel the same?
My lips have already creeped into a smile. As I sit on this couch taking notes, writing my thoughts, documenting my feelings, I become aware of the silence and tranquility here, a characteristic of any good museum. This is what I came for, is it not?
And what of Chihuly’s work? The Macchia’s are beautiful, the kind of sculptures I would want in my home if I had the space and the money to buy one. They are enough to stir my imagination, to prompt the beginnings of a poem:
Pac Man ghosts upside down
And
Upside down cloche hats
And
Avocado green curls daubs folds waves
And
Weighted handkerchiefs / when a poem
your best defense against death
And
When you’re out of milk
“our journey is coming to an end, friend”
And
Can’t find the object you need to cast your spell
And
Chapel bells flowers graduation ceremony
And
process is prayer dissatisfying answers
Then there is the chandelier, one-of-a-kind, and I have to admit that if I were only taking a trip to Spokane, only staying for two or three days, I would seek it out. No doubt, it is something I would want to visit, to contemplate.
dusk maggot feed heart beats still
And
dying ember paired pinot noir red beans rice
And
audio profane bottle backlit sacred wine loop
And (again)
process is a prayer dissatisfying answers