By By: Sujata Dand
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-573982.mp3
Dallas, TX –
Sujata Dand, KERA Reporter: When I walked in to see Raymond Nasher, he was slowly straightening each of the chairs along the long conference room table - making sure they were perfectly aligned. Behind him - through the full-length glass windows - you could see his legacy: The Nasher Sculpture Garden.
Raymond Nasher: My feeling is that we started collecting in the 50s and have been for a long period of time. The museum directors all were very interested in having our collections. They felt it was that important and they were willing to build sculpture gardens for our collection. And, so I realized and knew that what we had was one of the most important collections in the world. And, therefore, it was the time to give back to Dallas, having good fortune here, living here and the rest of it. I felt that this was the opportunity to give to Dallas something that no other city could have.
Dand: Raymond and Patsy Nasher, who died of cancer in 1988, created an amazing anthology of modern sculpture. But, Nasher said that wasn't exactly his intention. For him, buying art was like a love affair. First he felt the desire, and then he found love. He said he knew he made the right choice when after 30 years, he found his sculptures to be more stimulating. In our conversation, he said he felt the same way about his marriage to Patsy. He often slipped into the present tense when talking about her.
Nasher: We only - my wife and I- we only bought things if they were significant and meaningful and really had a relationship to the way we could love and want to live with it and see the piece and really give us butterflies every time we did and good fortune has it that that's occurred. It has not deadened, in other words, our interest in it.
Each of the works have a meaning and a history of thought, creativity - it's nothing that we want to eliminate or get rid of. Each of them is more powerful, today, than it was when we purchased it.
Dand: Nasher believed that art changes everything, including how we perceive the world and ourselves. He said his exposure to arts and culture as a child opened his eyes to the possibilities. And, his business insights allowed him to pursue those passions.
Nasher: From a business point of view, I didn't want to be blocked by being in major companies. I wanted to always have a relationship so that I could do anything. I went to the UN, I went to the Johnson Admin, I taught at Harvard for a while. I always did things that I thought were so meaningful. I always felt that business was important, but it was kind of a secondary situation to how one could be involved in public service. My feeling was I needed to be able to do whatever I wanted to do without having to ask a lot of questions, which I did. So it was a combination of contributing on a cultural point of view and on a political point of view and environmental point of view. Doing all of those things that made it a full life.
Dand: The Memorial Service for Raymond Nasher is at 10 this morning at Temple Emanu-El. For KERA, 90.1, I'm Sujata Dand.