The Songs of the Fifty States: Ohio

Winter Evening in Lawnfield (c.1887) by Ohio artist De Scott Evans, depicting
Ohioan President James Garfield at home at his Ohio home.

Ohio!

Size: 116,096 km² (34^th)

2018 Population: 11,689,442 (7^th)

Population Density (new!): 109/km² (10^th)

Statehood: 1803 (17^th), although due to a procedural error Ohio's statehood wasn't formally ratified until 1953.  No, really!

American Human Development Index: 4.78 (36^th)

Art Mecca:

I have been in Ohio only three times, never for more than ninety minutes at a stretch, and all three times with the explicit goal of being able to say I had "been in Ohio."  In all three trips, I stopped at a convenience store at least once to make a purchase and thereby really, truly establish that I had been in Ohio, but still I don't feel like I've experienced everything the Buckeye State has to offer.  It is easily my most superficially experienced state.

Meanwhile, we've got longtime friend of the blog Christine M smack dab in the center of the state in Columbus, doing artsy things and working in an artsy job, so I naturally figured the best way to research the Ohio arts scene would be to ask her.  Here's what she said:

I would say the top art museums are the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Toledo Museum of Art and the Cincinnati Art Museum somewhat behind, but nonetheless quite good. Our museum in Columbus is nice, but was not the recipient of robber baron largesse since we had no robber barons at the time. We have Les Wexner now, so we're good with the contemporary art.

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Michael 5000's Ohio

First Visited: July 10th, 2005 (45^th)
Most Recently Visited: September 9, 2019 (12^th)

First Run In: n/a
Best Run: n/a.

Raced In: No.

Have Admired the Visual Arts In: No.
Have Slept Overnight In: No.

Counties Visited: 6/88 (tied for 47^th)
% Complete: 6.8% (50^th)

Mrs. 5000's Counties Visited: 18/88 (tied for 23^rd)
% Complete: 20.5% (39^th)
Mrs.5000 First Visited: 1966 (order unclear)
Mrs.5000 Most Recently Visited: August 1990 (approx. 40^th)

Atlas of All Roads Traveled

Plans and Aspirations

Obviously at some point I need to get out there and wallow in some Ohioness.

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The Fifty States Index

The Songs of the Fifty States: South Dakota

Harvey Dunn, Dakota Woman.

South Dakota!

Size: 196,350 km² (17^th)

2018 Population: 882,235 (46^th)

Population Density (new!): 4.42/km² (46^th)

Statehood: 1889 (39^th or 40^th).

American Human Development Index: 5.09 (27^th)

Art Mecca:

Well, there's no reason to be coy about it, you know as well as I do that there's no city in South Dakota that attracts art fans in the way that a Paris or Florence or St. Petersburg does. What South Dakota has is Brookings, home of the University of South Dakota, home of the South Dakota Museum of Art.  Brookings is dead center north-to-south, and about fifteen miles from the eastern border.  I checked.

The SDMA collection focuses on South Dakota artists, Native American art, and, if I'm reading this right, linens.  I'm sure it's great!  I'd probably visit if I were spending the weekend in Brookings, if I weren't distracted by other attractions in the "Brookings Great Eight" such as the Children's Museum of South Dakota, the Brookings County Outdoor Center, the SDSU Dairy Bar, or Nick's Hamburger Shop.  In fact, it would definitely be my second pick of the Brookings Great Eight!

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Michael 5000's South Dakota

First Visited: September 5th, 1993 (16^th)
Most Recently Visited: October 22, 2018 (17^th)

First Run In: 10/21/18 (25th).
Best Run: 4.46 miles, Big Stone City (by night), 10/21/18.

Raced In: No.

Have Admired the Visual Arts In: No.
Have Slept Overnight In: Yes.

Counties Visited: 25/66 (20^th)
% Complete: 37.9% (32^nd)

Mrs. 5000's Counties Visited: 13/66 (tied for 32^nd)
% Complete: 19.7% (41^st)
Mrs.5000 First Visited: July 2, 1973 (order unclear)
Mrs.5000 Most Recently Visited: October 22, 2018 (8^th)

Atlas of All Roads Traveled

Plans and Aspirations

I like the Dakotas pretty well.  I don't have any immediate plans to visit, but they are certainly fetchingly along the route of any really epic road trip to, say, Minneapolis, Chicago, or the Canadian cities.

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The Fifty States Index

The Songs of the Fifty States: Georgia!

Hale Woodruff, Georgia Landscape, c.1935.

Georgia!

Size: 153,909 km² (24^th)

2018 Population: 10,519,475 (8^th)

Population Density (new!): 65.4/km² (18^th)

Statehood: 1788 (4^th).  Succeeded 1861; Readmitted 1870.

American Human Development Index: 4.88 (32^nd)


Art Mecca:


I recently flew into Atlanta and went on a driveabout through ten states and collecting new counties -- 93 of them, in fact.  But who's counting.  It was my first chance to put some of the museum-scouting I've done in these state write-ups to good use, as I visited South Carolina's art Mecca -- which was, you know, pretty good.  
 
Now, Georgia.  The unambiguous top-ranking art Mecca of Georgia is Atlanta's High Museum of Art.  I didn't go there.  For practical considerations -- if it makes sense to talk about practical considerations when I am on a driving excursion -- I went instead to The Columbus Museum.  We're talking about the art-and-history museum of Columbus, Georgia, and not The Columbus Museum of Art, which is in Columbus, Ohio.  Another way to tell them apart is that the Georgia one is dot-com, and the Ohio one is dot-org.

I usually snub mixed-mission museums, figuring they'll be neither fish nor fowl.  But you know what?  I was impressed with the Columbus Museum's art collection and historical content both!  I mean, it's not the Chicago Art Institute, of course.  Columbus is a small city, a bit on the gritty side, and you would not expect hot and cold running Botticellis.  But they've got a small collection of very nice American pictures, with foci on landscapes and American impressionism.  Although the historical part of the museum has a local focus, the art collection does not, and is mostly from the northeastern states.  They also have some unusually well-chosen stuff from the last 25 years.  And it was all free!  Free!  Highly recommended.  Worth the side trip if you're heading up I-85. 

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Michael 5000's Georgia

First Visited: May 31, 1994 (25^th)
Most Recently Visited: September 14, 2019 (2^nd)

Run In: No
Raced In: No.
Have Admired the Visual Arts In: Yes (see above).
Have Slept Overnight In: Yes.

Counties Visited: 57/159 (4^th)
% Complete: 35.8% (33^rd, up from 44^th last month)

Mrs. 5000's Counties Visited: 7/159 (45^th)
% Complete: 4.4% (49^th)
Mrs.5000 First Visited: c. 1980 (order unclear)
Mrs.5000 Most Recently Visited: May 15, 2003 (36^th)

Atlas of All Roads Traveled

Plans and Aspirations

Except for its gargantuan airport, I didn't see much of Atlanta.  It's a major American city that might be fun to visit, especially if there was a conference or something (one visits it so often when playing Pandemic).  Plus, there's the High Museum to see.  Plus, I need to run there.  And if Mrs.5K gets her blood up for counties, Georgia is obviously a state where she could make a lot of hay.  Finally, I have the idea that it would be jolly someday to fly out to Miami and take the train home, and that would necessarily involve some Georgiaing.

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The Fifty States Index

The Fifty States: Wyoming

Harem Garden, by the astonishingly versatile Wyoming artist Harry Jackson.

Wyoming!

Size: 253,600 km² (10^th)

2018 Population: 577,737 (50^th)

Statehood: 1890 (44^th)

American Human Development Index: 5.10 (25^th)


Art Mecca:


When I enter "Wyoming museum" into the ol' search engine, it autofills with "of military vehicles," which hints that we might be barking up the wrong tree if we're hoping to find the Louvre this month.  But, as there's a dusting of population across the least populous U.S. state, there's a dusting of art, too.  Several of the towns have arts centers, and some may sneak a little art into their local historical museums.

The National Museum of Wildlife Art, in a shambling faux castle in Jackson Hole, looks like fun.  I mean, paintings of animals, am I right?  They've got lots of the bigger names in American painting in their collection.  And yes, they have a Landseer.  I wondered too, so I checked.  

Do they have anything less... thematic?  Well, at the opposite corner of the state, in cosmopolitan Laramie, we've got the University of Wyoming Art Museum.  It shares a building with an archive and rare book library, and it couldn't really go head-to-head with the collection of your average New England liberal arts college, but it's clearly got some good stuff to look at.  It's got pieces by a handful of Tournament artists -- Thomas Hart Benton, Maillol, Rauschenberg, Signac -- and some interesting special collections, like Persian and Indian miniatures and 20th century Haitian art.  Hats off to 'em for not being all "Go Cowboys!" despite being in the heart of the Western Art Belt.

The UW Museum is free, y'all!  Free!  Whereas, Jackson Hole is tourist country and they are awake to the opportunity of generating revenue accordingly.  It's also child-friendly, obviously a bit of a drawback unless you are planning on bringing children.

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Michael 5000's Wyoming

First Visited: May 2, 1992 (14^th)
Most Recently Visited: August 6, 2013 (34^th)

Run In: No
Raced In: No.
Have Admired the Visual Arts In: No.
Have Slept Overnight In: Yes, I'm pretty sure.

Counties Visited: 12/23 (37^th)
% Complete: 52.2% (23^rd)

Mrs. 5000's Counties Visited: 12/23 (34^th)
% Complete: 52.2% (20^th)
Mrs.5000 First Visited: Infancy (order unclear)
Mrs.5000 Most Recently Visited: July 20, 2014 (17^th)

Atlas of All Roads Travelled

Plans and Aspirations

If I ever have the chance to take a slow drive across the country, which is not impossible, I might mosey down the central tier of Wyoming.  The Avatar enjoyed it a lot when he did it.

The Songs of the Fifty States: Nevada

(What is "The Songs of the Fifty States"?)

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Nevada!

Size: 286,382 km² (7^th)

2018 Population: 3,034,392 (32^nd)

Statehood: 1864 (36^th)

American Human Development Index: 4.68 (37^th)


Art Mecca:


Let's face it, you don't go to Nevada to look at art.  You go to Nevada because you need to get to someplace on the other side of Nevada, or to test your atomic weapons, or to wallow in the cess of cultural decay that is Las Vegas, not that I judge anyone's choices.

The Nevada Museum of Art is in the city of Reno, which is basically the same thing as Las Vegas except smaller and without as much intellectual rigor.  The museum has a very cool looking building and they are clearly giving it the old college try, but it has been an uphill struggle: founded 1931, hired staff in the 1970s, got accredited in the 1990s.   

The collection is divided into Art of the Greater West, Altered Landscape Photography, Contemporary Art, and, um... well, the Work Ethic in American Art Collection, whatever that is.  What that is, is hard to say, as NMA is conspicuously coy about what's actually in its collection.  If I'm not mistaken, their website does not offer even a single image to try to get us hooked!  This defensive vibe continues right into the mission statement:

We are a museum of ideas. While building upon our founding collections and values, we strive to offer meaningful art and cultural experiences, and foster new knowledge in the visual arts by encouraging interdisciplinary investigation.

Ooooh now we get it, you've never been able to afford much art!  Well, dang.  It's super-cool that Reno has an arts institution, and I sincerely wish them the best.  But unless I was spending the weekend in Reno anyway -- which, fat chance -- I don't know that I'd go too far out of my way to plunk down ten bucks for this show.

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Michael 5000's Nevada

First Visited: May 1, 2005 (7^th)
Most Recently Visited: September 14, 2017 (11^th)
    ...although I was awfully close last weekend, too.

First Run In: 9/14/17 (23^rd)
Best Run: 3.07 miles.  Truckee River Trail, Sparks, 9/14/17.
Raced In: No.

Have Admired the Visual Arts In: No. Although this could be considered found art.
Have Slept Overnight In: Yes.  I stayed with my father at an extremely economical motel in Elko many years ago now.  I realized it was adjacent to the airport runway, but he did not.  When a 737 started its takeoff roll at 6 a.m. a few hundred feet from our room, he tried to leap out of his bed as a natural reaction to the soul-crushing noise and ended up sprawled on the floor in a tangle of bedding.  This is not his favorite father-son roadtrip story. 

Counties Visited: 14/17 (31^st)
% Complete: 82.4% (13^th)

Mrs. 5000's Counties Visited: 8/17 (tied with Connecticut for 44^th)
% Complete: 47.1% (22^nd)
Mrs.5000 First Visited: Summer 1993 (46^th)
Mrs.5000 Most Recently Visited: May 26, 2006 (30^th)

Atlas of All Roads Travelled

Plans and Aspirations

I'd like to take the train from San Francisco east, which would be a very scenic way to go through Nevada.

The Songs of the Fifty States: Minnesota

(What is "The Songs of the Fifty States"?)

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Mill Pond at Minneapolis by Alexis Jean Fournier (1888).

Minnesota!

Size: 225,163 km² (12^th)

2018 Population: 5,628,162 (22^nd)

Statehood: 1858 (32^nd)

American Human Development Index: 5.90 (6^th)


Art Mecca:


Mrs.5000 and I were in Minneapolis in October, and our hotel was a half mile or so from the Minneapolis Institute of Art.  They call it "Mia," which is cute.  They've got all sorts of good stuff, 90,000 pieces of it, in fact.  Insider, whoever they are, "used data provided by Foursquare" to rank the Institute as the sixth best museum in the United States!  That seems a bit aggressive to me, but then I wouldn't have put the Baseball Hall of Fame in fifth position, either.  But still, awfully good.  After a few hours of wandering about what seemed like a very strong collection, we kind of stumbled on a back half that we hadn't noticed before.  So, we came back the next day.  We got lost and had a hard time finding our way out, which is a good sign in a large museum.  In a lot of states, I talk about their museum being a solid regional collection; in Minnesota, perhaps we have a minor national-class show.

One of the most interesting exhibits was the office of a former curator that had accidentally been walled over and then uncovered decades later, in 2013.  It was a fascinating little time capsule, and really had us on! 

The second game in town -- there are actually quite a few games in town -- is probably the University of Minnesota's Weisman Art Museum.  It's is a very substantial and respectable university art collection, housed in one of those goofy, exuberant Frank Gehry buildings.  Which is all fine and good, but it did feel a little bit like when you opened the biggest, most beautifully and elaborately wrapped present under the tree, and it ended up being, like, a nice sweater or something.

Both museums are free, which is really super cool.

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Michael 5000's Minnesota

First Visited: May 1, 2005 (7^th)
Most Recently Visited: October 22, 2018 (7^th)

First Run In: 10/16/18 (24^th)
Best Run: 7.09 miles.  Minnehaha Trail, Minneapolis, 10/20/18.
Raced In: Yes.  Jack's Run 6K, Minneapolis, 10/19/18.

Have Admired the Visual Arts In: Yes.

Have Slept Overnight In: Yes.

Counties Visited: 43/87 (8^th)
% Complete: 49.4% (24^th)

Mrs. 5000's Counties Visited: 32/87 (tied with Idaho for 11^th)
% Complete: 36.8% (24^th)
Mrs.5000 First Visited: November, 1963 (probably 3^rd)
Mrs.5000 Most Recently Visited: October 22, 2018 (7^th)

Atlas of All Roads Travelled

Purple indicates travel by rail; orange by car; green by bus!.

Plans and Aspirations

No particular plans to return anytime soon.

The Songs of the Fifty States: North Dakota

(What is "The Songs of the Fifty States"?)

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Crawling Shadows, by North Dakota
artist Sarah Hultin. 

North Dakota!

Size: 183,843 km² (19^th)

2017 Population: 755,393 (47^th)

Statehood: 1889 (39^th or 40^th).

(Cute story there, apparently: "North Dakota and South Dakota became states simultaneously on November 2, 1889. President Harrison had the papers shuffled to obscure which one was signed first and the order went unrecorded.")

American Human Development Index: 5.23 (19^th)


Art Mecca:


Mrs.5000 and I had occasion to try to scope out the North Dakota art scene in October, when we journeyed roughly southeast to northwest across the state.  That meant that we didn't catch the North Dakota Museum of Art, which certainly seems to claiming the top-dog position with a name like that.  NDMA is a semi-independent college-campus museum at the University of North Dakota, and that's in Grand Forks.  We were pulled sleeping through Grand Forks in the middle of the night -- on a train, that is -- but we didn't pass through on the more flexible return trip.  The NDMA, which was founded in the 1980s, focuses on work from the 1970s forward, as well as on regional pieces.  I applaud this in principal, but I can't say it lures me in, which may be why we veered west before we got to Grand Forks.


There's also the Plains Art Museum, probably the #2 show.  It's in Fargo, which we did visit, but we didn't go there.  I think because we were in town on a Monday, when it's closed?

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Michael 5000's North Dakota

First Visited: July 13, 2005 (48^th)
Most Recently Visited: October 23, 2018 (5^th)

First Run In: 10/22/18 (26^th)
Best Run: 4.07 miles, Carrington, 10/22/18.

Have Admired the Visual Arts In: No.

Have Slept Overnight In: Yes.

Counties Visited: 24/53 (30^th)
% Complete: 45.3% (24^th)

Mrs. 5000's Counties Visited: 28/53 (14^th)
% Complete: 52.8% (18^th)
Mrs.5000 First Visited: November 1963 (2^nd)
Mrs.5000 Most Recently Visited: October 23, 2018 (5^th)

Atlas of All Roads Travelled

Purple indicates travel by rail; orange by car.

Plans and Aspirations

North Dakota was a pleasant surprise in the crisp October light.  No active return plans are on the calendar, however.

The Songs of the Fifty States: Indiana

(What is "The Songs of the Fifty States"?)

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As I mentioned a few weeks ago, the Avatar is back on the move and moving towards the heart of Indiana.  Naturally, he's interested in checking out the arts scene.

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It's hard for an artist to get more "Indiana" then Robert Indiana (born Robert Clark in
1928, in Indiana).  The "Love" stamp is probably his best known, and certainly
his most licked, work.  Mr. Indiana currently lives, disappointingly, in Maine.

Indiana!

Size: 34,418 km² (38th)

2016 Population: 6,633,053 (16th)

Statehood: 1816 (19th).

American Human Development Index: 4.56 (38th)


Art Mecca:

From a perusal of the usual internet sources, it seems pretty clear that the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) is the big show in Indiana.  I mean, no less a source than "ranker.com" has it as the 12th best museum in the United States, and perhaps more relevantly it is the "8th largest encyclopedic art museum" in the country.  It has a lot of gallery space, and lots of famous paintings, including plenty by brand-name artists whose names you would recognize!

The IAT is also the museum where occasional voter Rebecca used to be associate curator!  So it would be really fun to drop by and look at some art and say "Hey, we've never met in person, but I'm Michael5000!"  I mean, it would be fun for me.  It would just be weird if you did it.  And besides, it's too late, since Rebecca has jumped ship for a place you may have heard of called the "Art Institute of Chicago."

Another thing to love about IMA -- its URL is, intentionally or no, as cute as a bug: "imamuseum.org".

The little sister to IMA is probably the Eskenazi Museum of Art, on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington.  Most major colleges have an art museum attached, of course, but the Eskenazi looks to be a few cuts above the average here.  It's big, and it has a deep collection which looks, at a glance, like it includes a lot of pretty and interesting art objects.  We like that!  Plus, it's housed in a building designed by I.M. Pei, so you get some architecture cred just by stepping in the door.  And admission is free, which you gotta love.

Since the Avatar is visiting Bloomington and then heading east towards Cincinnati, he's going to visit the Eskenazi and pass on IMA.  But! that route will take him through Columbus, Indiana, where he can visit the Miller House, an IMA property considered a real hallmark of modernist American residential and landscape architecture!  It was designed by Eero Saarinen, for all love -- the architecture cred is really starting to stack up on this tour of Indiana. 

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Michael 5000's Indiana

First Visited: May 24, 1994 (20th)
Most Recently Visited: July 10, 2005 (42nd)

First Run In: n/a
Best Run: n/a

Have Admired the Visual Arts In: No.

Have Slept Overnight In: Yes.

Counties Visited: 15/93 (29th)
% Complete: 16.3% (72nd)

Mrs. 5000's Counties Visited: 24/92 (14th)
% Complete: 26.1% (30th)
Mrs.5000 First Visited: Unknown
Mrs.5000 Most Recently Visited: August 1990 

Atlas of All Roads Travelled

Plans and Aspirations

I'd kind of like to visit Indiana again one of these days.  The place is packed with architectural heritage, apparently! 

The Songs of the Fifty States: Missouri revisited

(What is "The Songs of the Fifty States"?)

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It's only been four months since I did a "Songs" post on Missouri, but last week I had an opportunity to spend a few days kicking around the state, which I hadn't visited since 1999.  Missouri from the freeway is, alas, pretty awful: glimpses of farmland peeking out from behind huge signs, most of which tell you either that you should purchase a huge sign or that the signowner's beliefs and values are better than yours.  Once off the freeway, it's a mixed bag of pleasant town and rural landscapes and grim town and rural landscapes, depending on local conditions.

The final score for the road trip, incidentally, was: 19 new counties in Missouri, 2 in Illinois, 2 in Arkansas, and 2 in Tennessee.  Also, 4 in Kentucky, which had been the state that I hadn't visited in the longest time; Florida takes over that spot now. 

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Thomas Hart Benton, Truman Library Murals, Independence.

Missouri!

Size: 180,533 km² (21st)

2015 Population: 6,083,672 (18th)

Statehood: 1821 (24th).

American Human Development Index: 4.60 (36th)


Art Mecca: Last November, I wrote about how the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art was the museum where I really became interested in art for the first time.  I thought that the Nelson Atkins must be the coolest museum in the world, I said, and I suppose for me, at the time, it was....  I wonder if I'd still love it now that I've seen a lot more museums, or if I'd be all jaded.  So, knowing I would be back in Missouri, I made it a priority to revisit the Nelson-Atkins.

Unfortunately, and replicating a mistake that I made in 1999, I forgot that it's closed on Tuesdays.

Fortunately, I was able to try again and pull off a short visit on Saturday, before my flight home.  

And the answer is, the Nelson-Atkins has a really terrific collection!  It is particularly strong in the Impressionist/Post-Impressionist era, and has some very nice medieval stuff, and I bet that's why I thought for quite a few years that I was mostly interested in the Impressionists and medieval art -- my fine arts tastes were forged in Kansas City. I was surprised that they seem to have no Modern Art collection at all, but eventually figured out the problem: they are deeply confused about what the word "contemporary" means:

Bottom line: If you have the chance, visit the Nelson-Atkins!  It's free, even!  But closed Tuesdays!

Now, in the comments last time Christine M. volunteered that "St. Louis also has a lovely art museum, and it's free, too."  I was a little underwhelmed with the St. Louis show when I visited in 1999, but what the hell did I know?  So, I gave serious thought to remedying the situation this time in order to give you a fair and balanced treatment of the Art Meccas of the Show-Me State.  Unfortunately, the lure of randomly exploring rural backroads was too much for me.

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Michael 5000's Missouri: March 2016

First Visited: April 1, 1991 (5th)
Most Recently Visited: March 26, 2016 (2nd)

First Run In: 2.62 miles, Cape Girardeau, March 23, 2016
Best Run: 3.63 miles, Bolivar, March 25, 2016

Have Admired the Visual Arts In: Yes.
Have Geohashed In: No.
Have Slept Overnight In: Yes.

Counties Visited: 75/115 (passes Colorado to take 2nd place)
% Complete: 65.2% (18th, passing New York, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania)

Mrs. 5000's Counties Visited: 22/115 (15th)
% Complete: 19.1% (39th)
Mrs.5000 First Visited: c. 1969 c. 1967 (date suggested by even more recent research)
Mrs.5000 Most Recently Visited: August 1989 (date suggested by recent research)

Atlas of All Roads Traveled

Plans and Aspirations

It will probably be quite a few years before I return to Missouri.