Drive Thru Art Museum~Eastland, TX

I have such a soft place in my heart for small town USA.  Perhaps it is because I grew up in the kind of small Texas town where everyone knew everyone.  That town has since sold out to Starbucks et al, so when I have a chance to cruise through a town that feels a little like my childhood home, I take it.

My kids don’t share my love affair, so anytime I want to take a long, slow drive through a small, sleepy town; it involves some form of bribery.   This week was my birthday so I used that as my trump card to indulge in my small town exploration.   We chose Eastland, TX, a big oil boomtown of the past in north central Texas.  Eastland, it seemed, had a trump card of its own.

A sculpture in the style of metal sculptor Jack Barrington

The small town of Eastland, like many small towns, does not have a permanent facility dedicated to the arts or culture.  But through the vision of a former Eastland art teacher, the Eastland Outdoor Art Exhibit was born.  Currently, forty-three famous art reproductions are on display throughout the town.  The goal of the exhibit is to offer visual literacy to the inhabitants of Eastland, giving them an opportunity to experience art in their everyday world.

Grant Wood’s American Gothic~ A picture of a farmer on the Farmer and Merchant Bank

Each reproduction offers an artist’s biography and a brief explanation about the importance of the art style in the history of art.   Artworks were contributed by a variety of painters, from students at the local high school to the mayor and his wife.  Visiting artists from around the state were also on hand to lend their expertise to many of the projects.

Materials are donated by the local hardware stores and education is ongoing through the high school art department.   A local framer takes on the task of framing each finished piece, while the town maintenance center hangs the final work.   The entire project is a labor of love infused with the small town mantra that everyone helps where they are able and everyone benefits in the process.

The Kiss at the Beauty Parlor~Starry Night at the Bed and Breakfast~Georgia O’Keefe at the Football Field

Armed with the map for each child, we set off to explore the grand scale drive through art museum.  The map served a visual scavenger hunt, allowing the kids to mark off each painting as it was discovered and anticipate the hunt of the next painting.  Each sighting was an exciting conquest, as we pulled over to read the artist’s biographies and take a few pictures before speeding off to the next painting.

Not only did we get to look and learn at various important pieces of art, but this trek gave us a delightful tour of the city, taking us to places we might have otherwise overlooked.    To make it even more fun, we quickly discovered that the paintings had been placed purposefully on buildings with some kind of connection.   Reproductions of Norman Rockwell’s baseball images were hung at the baseball fields, and the Italian Mona Lisa can be found at the Pizza Inn.  A Degas painting would only be appropriate on the local dance studio.  Of course, Michelangelo’s “Hand of God” is located on the First Baptist Church at the center of town.

First Baptist Church and Michelangelo~ Pizza Inn and da Vinci

The staggering heat made it preferable to stay in the car, which made for a great hot summer day activity.  In different weather, it would have been enjoyable to walk the square and surrounding area to see the paintings and the town in a leisurely stroll.   The plans to add to the exhibit are ongoing, so perhaps we will return when the weather is cooler to see what’s new, adding to our own visual culture and enjoying small town Texas.