MUSEUMS AND ARCHITECTURE:

NEW DESIGNS FOR ART

-BY TAMARA MOSCOWITZ-

Despite economic woes, the debut of new museums and elaborate expansions of existing buildings continues apace, thanks in large part to the magnanimous gifts of wealthy art enthusiasts—and artists. The new structures are physical indications of the growing recognition of just how important museums are to cities, by putting them on—or emphasizing their importance in—the cultural landscape. Dubai, for instance, recently announced that it will have ten new museums by 2015, only to be trumped by Shanghai, which aims to open sixteen. Following are some notable openings from the past few months:

All photos courtesy of Clyfford Still Museum

The low-hanging cantilevered second story shades the entry into the reception area. The floor is made of crushed and polished cement

Photo by Jeremy Bittermann

Detail of Clyfford Still Museum ceiling.

Photo courtesy of Crystal Bridges Museum

The new Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas (population: 35,000).

Photo courtesy Crystal Bridges Museum

A view of the dining bridge from the museum’s main lobby.

Photo courtesy Crystal Bridges Museum

Interior of Crystal Bridges Museum.

Photo: Sheila Griffin, courtesy James Cohan Gallery

Installation of Roxy Paine’s Yield near
museum’s entrance.

Rendering: Platt Byard Dovell White Architects.
All images courtesy New-York Historical Society

New York Rising Installation in the main gallery of the
New-York Historical Society.

Rendering: Platt Byard Dovell White Architects

Keith Haring’s Pop Shop ceiling hangs over the admission desk.

Rendering: Lee H. Skolnick Architecture + Design Partnership

New-York Historical Society DiMenna Children’s History Museum.

How does an artist get a museum dedicated solely to his work? Clyfford Still—a genre-defining artist of Abstract Expressionism who died in 1980—stipulated that his estate be bequeathed to an American city prepared to give a permanent home to his art and archival materials. Fast forward to 2004, when the city of Denver stepped up to the challenge and commissioned Allied Works Architecture to design the museum. The result: a 28,500-square-foot, two-story structure of textured and resurfaced concrete. The museum houses 94 percent of the artist’s output—some 2,400 artworks spanning sixty years. “The artist’s estate sold a quartet of Still’s abstract paintings recently at Sotheby’s for a record-breaking $114 million, an act which provoked some debate and which will go a long, long way to creating an endowment for the museum.

CLYFFORD STILL MUSEUM
1250 BENNOCK STREET, DENVER, COLORADO
WWW.CLYFFORDSTILLMUSEUM.ORG

Wal-Mart heir Alice Walton is determined to make the small city of Bentonville (where Wal-Mart opened its first retail outlet in the 1940s) a big name in the art world. The lifelong art collector commissioned the world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie to design the museum. Situated on 120 acres of forest and gardens, six wood and glass pavilions (totaling 200,000 square feet) surround, and in some cases span, two ponds. Inside are galleries, a library, meeting and classrooms, and a large enclosed gathering hall. The focus here is American art, from the colonial period up to the present: Charles Willson Peale, Thomas Eakins, George Bellow, Romare Bearden, Jackson Pollack and Chuck Close are just a few iconic artists whose works will be on view. Walton—who amassed the collection over the past five years, with the advice of art historian John Wilmerding—also commissioned Roxy Paine to create Yield, a 45-feet-tall stainless steel sculpture that welcomes visitors as they approach the museum. With an $800 million endowment from the Walton Family Foundation, not only is this one of the nation’s most important museums in a generation, but it’s also one of the richest.

CRYSTAL BRIDGES OF AMERICAN ART
600 MUSEUM WAY, BENTONVILLE, ARKANSAS
WWW.CRYSTALBRIDGES.ORG

The New-York Historical Society has just reopened after a three year, $70 million renovation, and the 207-year-old institution is looking decidedly fresher, younger and more accessible, with large windows and doors opening out to Central Park and the neighboring American Museum of Natural History. “It’s an opening of the vault,” said NYHS president and CEO Louise Mirrer, referring to the 1908 building’s bank-inspired design. The society’s mission—to chronicle the history of New York State within the context of American history—has shifted slightly to emphasize America’s ideals and the struggles to achieve those aspirations. Platt Byard Dovell White Architects reconfigured display space, creating an expansive entrance gallery with informative touch-screen kiosks. A state-of-the-art auditorium will be used for lectures and screenings (currently it is showing New York Story, commissioned specially by the society), while downstairs, the DiMenna’s Children’s History Museum, designed by Lee H. Skolnick Architecture + Design Partnership, offers a new, interactive experience for the younger set. Another bit of playfulness: Keith Haring’s Doodle, which used to hang in the artist’s Pop Shop, now serves as the black-and-white ceiling above the admissions desk.

NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
170 CENTRAL PARK WEST, NEW YORK, NEW YORK
WWW.NYHISTORY.ORG

The new $55 million Herta and Paul Amir Building, designed by Preston Scott Cohen, chair of Harvard’s architecture department, is a bright and lively addition to the 1971 Brutalist main museum. Composed of 465 interlocking, precast concrete panels of varying shapes and sizes, the 195,000-square-foot wing wraps around a soaring 87-foot-high spiraling light-filled atrium (called, appropriately, Lightfall). Ramps and stairs lead off to a library, an auditorium and galleries. With 40,000 square feet of gallery space, the wing is home to the world’s largest collection of Israeli art.

TEL AVIV MUSEUM OF ART
27 SHAUL HAMELECH BLVD, TEL AVIV
WWW.TAMUSEUM.COM