Crystal Bridges by Al Sikes

Well, that was interesting. As I write, the plane is gathering altitude as my wife and I leave Northwest Arkansas on an American Airlines flight for Washington. In a sense, we are going from one museum to a home of museums—the ones funded by the federal government.

The most interesting moment was at Crystal Bridges, a museum in Bentonville, Arkansas, founded by Alice Walton. You might know Bentonville as the home of Walmart, founded by Alice’s father, Sam. Sam and his family and key associates made a lot of money.

Alice decided to use her considerable wealth and talent to create a museum in spring-fed ponds, with the artistic/architectural assistance of Moshe Safdie, an Israeli-Canadian-American architect. I suspect Sam Walton would be proud, as his daughter’s work is as singular as his. American ingenuity is amazing.

The Museum’s collection, American artists of a wide range of styles, is impressive, but the museum itself is even more so. Most major museums are surrounded by concrete in big cities. Crystal Bridges structures are imaginative and woods and water highlight its spaces.

I cannot imagine—all in—a more spectacular museum—yes, the most significant structural expression of art in the world. And it is in Northwest Arkansas. Some of my East Coast friends are confused. “Why would you create such a museum in Arkansas?”

Considerable commentary has been written about amassing wealth and how it is used. Some would suggest that quite large increments of profit should go to the government. Given the extraordinary debt load of the United States, it’s not a difficult argument.

Yet, Crystal Bridges is not an expression of a committee or of a government agency. And Sam Walton’s success was directly tied to offering products at low prices. It is impossible to know how much he saved shoppers with modest resources.

But let me close with the surroundings of Crystal Bridges. Aside from roadways to parking spaces, there are art trails with beautiful fusions—earth and art in harmony. One notable stop was at a James Turrell Skyspace. Turrell has, from time to time, lived on the Eastern Shore, Oxford to be specific.

So now a suggestion. Take a road trip or a plane and spend some time in Northwest Arkansas. Sure, the concrete meccas of New York, San Francisco, London, or Paris offer great museums, but they are, for many, a long trip away and surrounded by concrete and security apparatus. Crystal Bridges is free and in a world often characterized by intense security, almost carefree.

Al Sikes is the former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission under George H.W. Bush. Al writes on themes from his book, Culture Leads Leaders Follow published by Koehler Books.