2023 Road Trip: University of Wyoming Art Museum (5/25/2023)

Thursday, May 25, 2023

St Helen Church is a non-denominational church
out on the range in Crowheart, WY

Mormon Handcart Sixth Crossing Visitor Center (2017)
at Sweetwater Station (PO Lander), WY is not to
be confused with the Mormon Handcart Visitor Center
on WY-220 (PO Alcova)

The Handcart Pioneer (smaller copy of 1926 sculpture
by Torleif S Knaphus)

Here we learned about the Handcart Companies, which
provided a faster and less expensive means of heading west
across the United States for the Mormons (Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-Day Saints) escaping religious persecution

In 1856-1857, many Mormons traveled by ship from Europe, then by train to Iowa City, at the time the farthest railhead west in the country. From there, the immigrants would walk 1,300 miles to Salt Lake City (those who could afford it went by wagon train).

Each person was allowed 17 pounds of
personal luggage to be carried by the
handcart, anything more had to be
carried on his/her person (KSS)

Replica of a handcart used, following the Sweetwater River
because they needed a water source (wagon trains
carried their own supply of water)

The Handcart Companies crossed the Sweetwater River nine
times, and we were near the site of the Sixth Crossing (KSS)

This Visitor Center tells specifically the story of the Willie Handcart Company, which along with the Martin Company, left Iowa City much later in the season than recommended for the two-month journey. They were caught and slowed by winter storms, so that they were running out of provisions and were exhausted. When Brigham Young heard about these two companies, he rallied the citizens of Salt Lake City to gather food and warm clothing. Volunteers in horse-drawn wagons headed out to meet the two companies and bring them to Salt Lake City by wagon. Both companies lost many people to death, but the actions of their fellow Mormons saved most.

View of the Sweetwater River, which has overflowed its banks

Beaver lodges

We needed gas, and the Mormons at the Visitor Center
told us about the gas pump in Jeffrey City that
we would miss if we blinked; we kept our eyes open
and found the unattended fuel pump

Kent is going to pump gas in the middle of Wyoming

Then we had to find a place to eat: Cactus Jack's in
Rawlins, WY; we had a long wait for our meal because we
arrived after the group of Red Hats (a bit closer to civilization!)

Centennial Complex (1990-1993, by Antoine Predock) is meant
to represent a town at the foot of a mountain, and houses the
American Heritage Center and the University Art Museum 
located at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, WY

Another already- free reciprocal museum with
our Tyler Arboretum memberhsip; Kent
stands by Ashnest (2011, by Anton Ginzburg)
that is made with mammoth tusks and
oversized artificial human bones

Special Exhibit: Oronzo Gasparo: People, Places, and Things:

WPA Artist at Work (1943); Gasparo
was himself an artist with the
Works Progress Administraion

Still Life in Rhythm (1960) show the
humor injected by Gasparo in his works

Double Portrait of Oronzo Gasparo and Jessica Millman
(1962), Millman was a friend and benefactor to Gasparo

Special Exhibit: While navigating the distance around the sun: Works by Jenene Nagy:

mass 17 (2018) using 3-D graphite paint on torn paper

Special Exhibit: Cosmic: Works from the Collection:

Hekenukumai Busby and the Polynesian Triangle
(2017, by Faith McManus); Hekenukumai Puhipi aka
Hector Busby was a New Zealand Māori navigator and
traditional waka (watercraft) builder; two of his ocean-going
waka traveled 10,000 nautical miles from Auckland, NZ
to Rapa Nui/Easter Island and back to Doubtless Bay,
completing the third side of the Polynesian Triangle

Since then waka built by Busby have navigated each side of the Polynesian Triangle, defined by Aotearoa/New Zealand, Hawaii and Rapa Nui/Easter Island, using traditional sea navigation techniques based on the stars, sun, moon and swells.

Spring 2023 Pat Guthrie teaching Gallery:

Acoma Seedpot (undated, by Grace Chino); each seedpot
of the indigenous people held a specific seed type, and
were smashed in the spring for planting, with the pot
shards returned to the earth from where the materials came

Le nettoyage du café/Coffee Sorting
(undated, by Michel M Obin, Haiti)

Frog sandwich (1977, by David Gilhooly)

Next: Cheyenne Botanic Gardens.