The show on display at the UNM Art Museum, "Highlights of the Collection," is too rich to see in just one visit.
In spite of the depth of the collection, on many days the museum is almost empty.
"More people nationally and internationally know about this collection than people on campus," said Michael Certo, curator of the education and public programs for the museum.
Certo explained that the UNM art collection is the largest in New Mexico and it is a teaching collection. Anyone can make an appointment to use the print study room and view some of the thousands of prints and photographs in storage at the museum. Original prints that can be viewed include artists like Georgia O'Keefe, Francisco Goya, Pablo Picasso and Rembrandt van Rijn.
The impossible spatial relationships in Max Beckmann's 1921 drypoint, "Das Karussell," suggest a society about to fly apart. The bottom of the carousel presses toward the edge of the paper, and its roof is askew. Among the people and animals spinning around in this out-of-control ride are a woman in a print dress riding a pig, a wolf and two couples in a cup. The movement of lines in the composition is sickening and ominous.
Another German print of the same era hangs nearby. "Head of a Woman No. 2," by Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, uses a horizontal format and close cropping. The woman's chin touches the bottom edge of the paper.
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A stark black form next to her face could be a distant mountain, but it is more likely her shoulder. Every shape in this black-and-white woodcut is pared down to pure simplicity yet, the woman appears beautiful and in motion.
In 1937 Beckmann fled Germany, after the Third Reich declared his art degenerate. Schmidt-Rottluff spent years living in the countryside forbidden to paint. These artists captured the unease and violent undercurrents of the times and paid a price for it.
"Composition #216," by Paul Kelpe, uses geometry and a subtle palette to explore the relationship between music and shapes.
Fairfield Porter plays with geometry and rhythm on a larger scale in "The Big Studio." In this 1951 oil, ellipses, rectangles and lines are played against a warm but grayed palette.
The simplified realism and slightly out-of-whack perspective sing. A yellow book sitting on a table at the center of the composition provides the note that holds it all together.
Works in the show span many cultures and centuries. They are arranged in the order in which they were acquired by the museum. Museum professionals may find this arrangement interesting, but for everyone else, it's confusing.
People who read the wall texts will understand the system and know why modern lithographs are displayed next to 19th century photographs. But for the rest of us who would rather look at art than read labels, the installation is frustrating -- a small complaint when there is so much to see.
UNM Art Museum is in the Center for the Arts. Admission is free.
