While museum expansion is currently a hot-button issue, especially in Philadelphia where the famed PMA continues to mount its immense expansion plans in the face of unfavorable economic circumstances, this New York Times article tells of a museum that might have found another solution. The Hirshhorn has always been one of my favorite art museums, (second only to the Pompidou Center) so this idea caught my attention.
The article explains that the huge inflatable meeting space will, among serving many other purposes, make the architecture of the Hirshhorn less, well, ugly. Personally, I disagree that the original architecture is so undesirable and find that the drawing of the 'bubble' makes the place look kind of like one of those 'pooping pig' toys crossed with a can of facial lotion.
Beyond aesthetics, however, the director of the project, Richard Koshalek hopes that the new meeting place will facilitate a change in the nature of the discussion of contemporary culture -- a move from aristocratic self-indulgence to a real, meaningful discussion in which the public are not only welcome but necessary. The article says, "The project could become something Washington has never had: a real democratic forum for the debate of cultural issues as varied as, say, Hollywood morals and the impact of fundamentalism on the arts. It could also, of course, become a political punching bag."
I'm skeptical that a bi-annual meeting in Washington, inflatable bubble or no bubble, will bring any significant numbers of new voices into the discussion. My initial instinct is that it will just be another party spot for the same old crew that dominates every other discussion of culture.
At any rate, it's too soon to say how this will work out, but I hope the lotion bubble will serve all of Koshalek's idealistic dreams.
No comments:
Post a Comment