You know me… I can’t resist an art museum when I travel. Des Moines has two from the Art Center; an outdoor sculpture garden and the main museum. Here’s what I thought…
Pappajohn Sculpture Garden
The Pappajohn Sculpture Garden is one of those places that makes you stop mid-step, look around, and think… “Wow, Des Moines is showing off.” The park opened in 2009 with more than 30 works donated by the Pappajohns (no relation to the pizza guy, though I did briefly wonder if breadsticks were involved). According to the website, “its space has become a gathering place for locals and tourists,” and might I add… overheated road-trippers like me.
Yes, it was hot that day… Midwest summer hot… but scattered trees gave just enough shade to keep me from melting into modern art myself.
I snapped a ton of photos (because how could you not)… but a few pieces really grabbed me:
Keith Haring, Untitled (Three Dancing Figures, Version C) … Haring’s radiant little figures are instantly recognizable, and here they’re dancing in a joyful circle. I’ve always loved Haring’s work. His self-portrait sculpture in Chicago greets folks heading into Boystown, and this one had the same playful, welcoming energy.
Nomade by Jaume Plensa … From a distance it looks like a giant figure curled up, knees to chest. Get closer, and you realize the whole thing is built from letters. It’s tall, it’s striking, and it makes you feel like you’ve walked into a living alphabet. (Plensa also created the famous Crown Fountain in Chicago’s Millennium Park.)
Robert Indiana’s LOVE … The classic red and blue block letters, tilted “O” and all. It’s one of only 70 in the world, and we’re lucky enough to have one back home too… on the Wichita State campus. Seeing it in Des Moines felt like running into an old friend on vacation.
Willem de Kooning, Reclining Figure … If you’re squinting and thinking, “I don’t see a reclining figure,” you’re not alone. De Kooning was an abstract painter, in the same orbit as Pollock and Rothko. Let’s just say it’s less about the nap-taking body and more about the vibe.
Gary Hume, Back of Snowman (White) and Back of Snowman (Black) … Adorable. They looked like giant minimalist snowmen turned away, as if they’re plotting something mischievous. I now firmly believe the world needs salt and pepper shakers shaped like these.
Mark di Suvero, TB, I just loved this piece. It’s simplistic and complicated all at once. For those familiar with his work, he does love that bright orange-red color. He felt it helps add contrast to the blue sky. Of all the pieces in the park, this would be the one I would most love to own.
Yoshitomo Nara, White Ghost … Big, bold, and slightly unsettling in the best way. To me it looked exactly like the creepy red light green light doll from Squid Game… only cuter and less likely to eliminate you from life.
Here are some of the other pieces, not all of them. You need to go and check out the park yourself and see everything.
Des Moines Art Center
The original museum wing… a mix of Art Nouveau and Art Deco… was designed by Eliel Saarinen in 1945 and opened in 1948. Then came I.M. Pei’s Modernist addition in the ’60s. The final wing, added by Richard Meier in 1985, lets in so much natural light you might actually need sunglasses to admire the art.
The main exhibit I saw is gone now, but it was too good not to share. The artist… Firelei Báez. I used ChatGPT to take the museum’s official write-up and rework it as if a slightly bored teenager were describing it. Here’s what it came up with:
So yeah… this is Firelei Báez’s first big U.S. show. She’s a Dominican American artist born in 1981, and her huge, colorful paintings remix history… especially colonialism and the African diaspora. She layers bright patterns, Afro-Caribbean symbols, and paint over old maps to prove history’s never as tidy as we think. Her figures… half human, half mythical… are mostly powerful women breaking free from the past. Some pieces you can even walk into. It’s like stepping inside her imagination. She’s not erasing history… just rewriting it in color
One of my favorites was Can I Pass? Introducing The Paper Bag To The Fan Test For The Month Of July from 2011. Báez began by tracing her own shadow each day for thirty-one days… creating a series of self-portraits showing her eyes and silhouette like a living calendar. The title nods to the old, racist “paper bag test,” where skin tone decided who was allowed in. Each day’s portrait matches her own skin tone from that day… tracking the subtle shifts across the month. It’s powerful, personal, and full of meaning.
There was also a lovely exhibit featuring Iowan artist Ben Millett. His medium is mostly quilt and textile work… bright, textured, and full of care. I’ve included a few photos here because his pieces deserve a little spotlight too.
As I wandered the galleries, I was thrilled to spot some familiar names… Roy Lichtenstein, Edward Hopper, Claude Monet, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Alexander Calder.
For my Wichita friends… Calder’s the one who made the big mobile that once hung in the Fourth National Bank… later Bank IV… Boatmen’s… Bank of America… and now the Ruffin Building. It was recently sold back to the Calder Estate and taken out of public view, which makes me even more grateful I got to see one of his works again.
For other interesting treks around America check out Road Trips