Stewards of the land
Agrarian is “of or relating to fields or lands or their tenure.” According to Brian Donahue, author of “The Resettling of America,” agrarian values are land, beauty, food, work and community.1 “In 1790, 90 percent of American households were farm households. In 2004, farmers made up 2 percent of the U.S. population.”2 America has resettled to urban communities and agrarian values are being forsaken in the process.
The selections from Great Plains Art Museum, currently on exhibition at Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art, hope to capture and raise awareness about the current issues facing agrarian culture. Agrarian culture is at risk as agribusiness replaces agriculture. The artworks portray the benefits of being a good steward of the land. Each of the exhibiting artists depicts the agrarian theme in a unique way that reflects their personal experience. This exhibition encourages local communities to begin conversations that support an evolution of agrarianism for the benefit of all citizens.
The agrarian images in the collection were summarized by Amber Mohr, curator of the Great Plains Art Museum, “as landscapes that inform viewers of the history and present condition of our rural lands.” The crops and livestock activities on the land of the Great Plains are varied. Each of the artists represented has a unique story to tell, reflecting a personal experience with the land. These artists each show something not typically recognized as significant, but is actually an important part of what is known as agrarianism. This collection captures defining moments that are often taken for granted by rural people and not recognized by urban populations.
Social realism is a theme among some of these paintings. Industrialization of farming has had a profound effect on agrarian culture. The change in culture is followed by a visible impact on the land. Each artist has been impacted and impressed enough by these changes to make a significant work of art about their experiences. One of the strongest ways that the land speaks to the observer is through association. Our minds, through our memories, have a deep connection to place. Across the flat plains, what may often be known as “fly-over country,” people’s lives and heritage are deeply connected to place.
Land affects people’s lives. Whether a painting has strong social commentary or is quiet and pastoral, the land is a source of inspiration for these paintings that is often connected to our personal associations and memories. For example, Ted Kooser, poet and artist, has found a significant message in the agrarian landscape. “Old Snow” depicts the subtle passage of time. The fence line with melting snow and colorful grass speaks of a vanishing moment frozen in the frame. This scene could be quiet and serene or it could be loud with the coming of spring. Regardless of personal impressions and interpretations, it is clear that the artist has had a personal experience, being deeply impressed with the beauty of the melting snow, simple repetition of fence posts and cast shadows.
“Nebraska Farm” by Kady B. Faulkner depicts the vanishing family farm. Chickens are pecking the ground outside the barn where dairy cows are being milked. A mother is in the kitchen canning the garden’s vegetables. This scene may look customary to many, but is now only intimately familiar to a few. This intimate closeness to nature is the central theme of agrarians. Maurice Telleen defined it this way in her essay “The Mindset of Agrarianism”: “Industrialism is multiplication. Agrarianism is addition and subtraction.”3 The closeness to nature shown in this painting implies an understanding of nature’s laws and limits. This painting fosters dreams of a time when people had a personal connection to the land. This painting reminds us that farming is not just about food production but is also a part of an agrarian culture responsible for taking care of the land. The theme of this painting speaks of a livelihood far beyond food production.
Fostering renewal of the agrarian tradition is becoming increasingly important as societies have transitioned to urban residences. Fast-paced urban culture has no connection to natural cycles of life, the changing of seasons and the growth of food. Repercussions to the ecosystem are rarely considered, as the responsibility has been given to the larger entity of agribusiness. However, agrarian culture teaches responsibility to protect, preserve and celebrate life.4 Individual families and local communities can work together to consider the effects of their actions on the environment. Urban society now needs to rediscover some of this agrarian heritage.
“An agrarian mind begins with the love of fields and ramifies in good farming, good cooking and good eating,” said Wendell Berry. Many people in metropolitan areas might wonder if anything “agrarian” would be relevant to their life. One would only have to ask such person if they enjoy eating to affirm that they should have a vested interest in the current agrarian landscape. Food is the most direct link between culture and nature, city and farm communities.5 Agrarian goes far beyond food, but food is a good place to start. Food is grown from the land. Agrarian is anything pertaining to fields, or lands or their tenure. There is a culture adjoined to land cultivation. This culture is under equal threat as that of the land.
Agrarianism is not solely the actions of times gone by. Agrarianism is very much alive today. It is not unsophisticated. However, many view it that way, as if land cultivation was something that was only necessary in a civilization’s infancy. On the contrary, the agrarian mindset holds values that preserve the land and current practices while always striving to make them better. Agrarianism is the opposite of industrialism, according to Wendell Berry. Industrialism says that you “cannot use the land without abusing it.”6 An agrarian mentality instills value to the land. The value is measured by the amount one puts back into the land with which what has been taken out. The agrarian conscious person knows that land “is worth as much as life is worth,”7 which is to say that if we destroy the means by which we live, the act reflects the value placed on life. Because life is valuable, agrarians seek preservation of land, access to clean water, sustainable practices, low-impact mechanization, etc. At times this seems increasingly difficult because of the demands and regulations that institutions and our economy place on the farmer. For this reason, ingenuity has kept the agrarian mindset resilient. The land and the agrarian mindset are vital components to the success and preservation of our current culture.
In conjunction with “Simply Agrarian: Selections from Great Plains Art Museum” is a rarely seen monumental painting by nationally known American artist Dale Nichols, “Platte Valley Summer,” on loan from Central Community College. This painting hangs in connection with the prized “Four Seasons” paintings in the Bone Creek Permanent Collection.
Through the fine art exhibited, Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art strives to remind and educate viewers of the value that the land holds, preserving the heritage and history of our agrarian roots for future generations.
“Simply Agrarian: Selections from Great Plains Art Museum,” runs from May 13 to Aug. 30, 2009, at Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art. The museum is located at 575 E Street in David City, Neb. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, call (402) 367-4488. The museum gives their great appreciation to the guest curator of this exhibition, Amber Mohr, museum director and curator of Great Plains Art Museum, for all of her assistance and expertise.
Notes
1. Donahue, Brian, “The Resettling of America,” “The Essential Agrarian Reader” (Lexington, Ky.: University Press of Kentucky, 2003), 37.
2. Smoot, Frank, “Farm Life: A Century of Change for Farm Families and Their Neighbors” (Eau Claire, Wis.: Chippewa Valley Museum Press, 2004), 14, 15.
3. Telleen, Maurice, “The Mindset of Agrarianism,” “The Essential Agrarian Reader” (Lexington, Ky.: University Press of Kentucky, 2003), 60.
5. Wirzba, Norman, “Why Agrarianism Matters, Even to Urbanites,” “The Essential Agrarian Reader” (Lexington, Ky.: University Press of Kentucky, 2003), 15.
6. Berry, Wendell. “The Agrarian Standard,” “The Essential Agrarian Reader” (Lexington, Ky.: University Press of Kentucky, 2003), 24.
7. Ibid.
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