The most entertaining news story in the state at the moment is the giant battle of the douches over the State Museum as documented by Tom Humphrey over at the Knoxville News-Sentinel. The story is just one very important person used to having his/her own way who apparently doesn't have enough to do with his/her time fighting with one very important person used to having his/her own way who apparently doesn't have enough to do with his/her time after another. It's catty and hilarious and everyone involved should be ashamed of themselves for acting like such giant babies.

I mean, seriously, these people are not middle schoolers. Does Victor Ashe — former state legislator, former mayor of Knoxville, former ambassador to Poland, etc. — really want one of the last things he does to be squabbling over the state museum? And I realize that having a guy like Ashe come after you sucks, but Lois Riggins-Ezzell running around being all "I am the museum!"? Bwah ha ha ha ha. Yes, that is exactly the kind of thing someone who has lost touch with the real world says.

But there is one thing actually worth fighting about in this mess, I think.

Humphrey reports:

Ashe and Walker, chief critics of the current museum director, said in separate interviews that they think purchases of Jessica Ingram’s work are at least arguably warranted because of her national reputation on civil rights photography as a woman with Tennessee roots. Ezzell-Riggins said it is unquestionably warranted as a part of Tennessee’s history in the civil rights movement. But Walker said purchase of Simons’ “amateurish” work is an example of a “clear bias” in favor of “friends of Lois” getting preference in state museum purchases. Ashe said the value of Simons’ work to taxpayers is “something people looking at it should decide on their own.” Cook offered no criticism of Simons’ art, but said he remains concerned about the apparent conflict of interest. Riggins-Ezzell staunchly defended the purchase of Simmons’ work, declaring her “an outstanding artist” who has realized and expanded development of innate talent in “mid-life” and who is likely to achieve future recognition. She likened Simons’ work to that of Grandma Moses and said purchases of contemporary art, in general, are wise for the museum. Ashe said he believes the museum has over-emphasized purchase of contemporary art as compared to historic works. Riggins-Ezzell said purchase of contemporary work from living artists is often financially astute, since prices are far lower for up-and-coming artistic works than for those of dead artists with a reputation. She put Simmons’ work in this category, saying she would like to buy yet another painting from the “excellent artist” in a belief that “it would do nothing but increase and grow in value with age.” Walker says an art gallery director told him the paintings were of such poor quality that he would not display them — an opinion Walker shares.

Now, there's a lot to untangle here, because the conflict-of-interest question is important. But it's also one that can be sorted out through investigation. What I'm more troubled by is Walker's complaint that Simons' art is too crappy to be in the museum.

This is utterly wrong. It's wrong at the level of being ridiculously snobbish, as if Walker and his friends can decide for history what good art is for the whole state. As if the art community isn't constantly involved in a roiling conversation about what is art and what is good art and whether we can guess what might have value for future patrons of the arts. Whether Simons' work is "amateurish" or of such poor quality that art dealers wouldn't want it is something Laura Hutson can speak more expertly on than me.

The Tennessee State Museum has a large art collection. I have heard from a number of people that it's one of the largest publicly owned art collection in the Southeast. And it is a kind of travesty that most of that collection can't be out where the public can see it. But the Tennessee State Museum isn't an art museum.

Maybe it's time for Tennessee to have an art museum. And then Ashe and Walker could sit around and worry over whether the things in it are "real art."

But that's not why things are in the Tennessee State Museum. The State Museum's job is to tell us the story of the state of Tennessee. Who are we? How did we find ourselves in this place? What did we do with our short time here?

Those questions aren't answered by a collection of "real art." In fact, frankly, often times, that question might be answered with really shitty art. Think of it this way. What if Eliza Allen, a woman there is but one possible image of and whether that image is her is still hotly contested, had a cousin who was a terrible painter? But what if that cousin painted a portrait of Eliza Allen and Sam Houston on their wedding day? And say now, after all this time, the Allen family came forward and was like "Hey, maybe the State Museum would like to buy this portrait?"

We all could look at it and be like "Whoa, damn, did the painter have some depth perception problems?!" Art gallery owners might cringe from it. Art museums across the world might be like "Yuck, you can have it, Tennessee." It could be objectively the worst painting ever painted.

But I think we can all agree, if such a painting existed and we can find a way to swing it, it should be in the State Museum. It's value to us is not because it's great art, but because it is a part of Tennessee history.

Aesthetic concerns are the concerns of art museums. A museum such as ours has ugly things in it. It has broken things. It has fragments of things that, even when you're looking straight at it, if you didn't have the sign to tell you what you were looking at, you wouldn't know. It has a thumb. People. It has a dried up thumb. Hell, if you count the ones on the mummy, it has three dried up thumbs in its collection. Ugly, broken, confusing, gross—all stuff in our museum.

Walker's aesthetic judgment might be right, but he's wrong to think that means she shouldn't be in the museum. Simons might be a bad artist, but she's ours. And our artists belong in our museum.





