Thoughts on Museum Architecture - Libeskind's ROM and DAM

For as long as I can remember I have been fascinated by architecture. However, it was in 1976 when Arthur Erickson's Museum of Anthropology opened on the University of British Columbia campus in Vancouver, that I first became aware of the integral relationship between the building form and the use of the space.

Arthur Erickson, Simon Fraser University, 1963
Burnaby, BC
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/8880112.jpg

I have to admit that I have had a long-standing love affair with Arthur Erickson's work. It began when I first visited Simon Fraser University as a child, was rekindled with the opening of the Museum of Anthropology and the Law Courts and Robson Square. I spent a year working for my father selling seating to food service and hospitality clients. One of my responsibilities was updating literature files for architects and interior designers. I admit - I became somewhat of a stalker. I am sure the librarian in Arthur Erickson's office was on to me, as I dutifully found any excuse possible to visit the office to just check in to see if they needed any information or additional literature. Could I drop off samples, colour swatches, etc.? I wanted to see what they were working on, but mostly I hoped to just happen to meet Arthur Erickson.

The Museum of Anthropology at UBC is still one of my favorite museum buildings. The setting is extraordinary and I still find the majestic quality of the Great Hall breath-taking. As an art history and anthropology student the open visible storage system made research and study so much easier and much more interesting.

Arthur Erickson, Museum of Anthropology, 1976
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC
http://www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/facultystaff/photos/images/08ubc.jpg

As a graduate student I did most of my research in museums and art galleries. I began to understand the unique needs of museum buildings. How they have to meet the needs of the public, while safe-guarding and displaying the art and other collections; but at the same time house the research, administrative, storage and other back-of-house needs of the staff and institution.

My first art museum job was with OneWest Contemporary Art Centre, now the Fort Collins Museum of Contemporary Art. Housed in a beautiful 1912 Second Renaissance Revival former post office the building had its share of challenges. However, the public loved the building, and artists continue to be inspired by the grand historic space.

Paul Merrick, Canadian Craft & Design Museum,
Vancouver, BC
http://www.findfamilyfun.com/craftmuseum1a.jpg

Each museum I have directed has had its share of building issues and concerns. There is never enough storage, the gallery spaces could always be a bit bigger or a bit smaller, the offices are too small, the roof leaks, or the work spaces are inadequate. Simply put our needs change, buildings get old, and budgets are limited.

Arata Isozaki, Entrance to Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, 1986
Los Angeles, CA
http://radio.weblogs.com/0101365/images/photos/mocaEntrance.jpg

I remember the excitement within the Denver art community, in 2000, during the final selection process for the architect for the Denver Art Museum expansion. The pool had been narrowed down to three: Arata Isozaki, Thom Mayne, and Daniel Libeskind. It seemed as if the entire Denver art community came out to hear the three finalists speak. Of the three, I was most familiar with Isozaki's work and loved how the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles functioned as a contemporary art space. Every show I had seen at MOCA looked fabulous. The architecture supported the art, it did not compete with it. The spaces were simple, elegant and easy to flow through and the public seemed to engage with both the museum and the surrounding public space.

Daniel Libeskind, Denver Art Museum, 2006
Denver, CO
http://www.daniel-libeskind.com/typo3temp/pics/6d72ef2f81.jpg

Thom Mayne was passionate, direct, honest. He had that confident, but laid-back west coast air about him. I felt you could trust him to build a really great space for not only the art, but for the city and people of Denver. Arata Isozaki was just as I imagined he would be. He was eloquent, gracious and humble. He understood that the art museum was about 'ART.' He spoke of creating a space that would allow the art to breathe, to be seen, to be contemplated and appreciated. The curators amongst us, all knew that his was the kind of space we wanted to curate in. The artists we were sitting with, all wanted to exhibit their work in the space Isozaki described. Daniel Libeskind's presentation was diametrically opposed to Isozaki. Libeskind was charismatic, engaged and excited. He talked about his work, his vision, his building, his art. How he was inspired by the Rocky Mountains and how his building / his sculpture would capture the essence of the mountains and bring them into the city. He talked about angles and shafts of light.

Daniel Libeskind, View of Roof from 4th Floor Hallway, 2007
Michael Lee-Chin Crystal
Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, ON

The selection committee seemed mesmerized. No one could deny the charismatic confidence of Libeskind. The images of the Jewish Museum in Berlin he showed us were captivating. As sculpture, Libeskind's designs are brilliant. But we all looked at one another and wondered "But where do you hang the art?"

Daniel Libeskind, Bloor St. Entrance, Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, 2007
Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, ON

Last Friday, I visited the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) and the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal for my first real serious visit since it re-opened two years ago. I have to admit that I still have not gotten past the comments Libeskind made that day in Denver - that his buildings don't need art, they are art. So, in fairness, I have not given his Crystal much of a chance. I also have an issue with how closely the Denver Art Museum (DAM) expansion and the Royal Ontario Museum expansion resemble one another. According to the DAM website the "... design recalls the peaks of the Rocky Mountains and geometric rock crystals found in the foothills near Denver. "I was inspired by the light and the geology of the Rockies, but most of all by the wide-open faces of the people of Denver." For the ROM, Libeskind was inspired by the museum's gem and mineral collections.

Daniel Libeskind, Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, 2007
Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, ON

The Michael Lee-Chin Crystal has generated discourse and debate across the city. Everyone seems to have an opinion about whether they love it or hate it, with few individuals being ambivalent. I was leaning more to the "hate it" camp, until I visited it last fall to take photos for a presentation I was giving. I needed images to illustrate the point I was making about "starchitects." I did not have time to visit the museum that day, so restricted my photographic exploration to the exterior.

Daniel Libeskind, Bloor St. Entrance, Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, 2007
Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, ON

A curious thing happened as I took the photos - I started to appreciate how the mirrored surfaces reflected the street-scape. The Crystal, which from some angles appears to be attacking the original building and encroaching on the street, is actually animating the street at some level. As I stood there with my camera, strangers approached me and asked me what I thought about the building, and shared their opinions with me. I found it fascinating that this building, this Crystal, was making complete strangers discuss architecture with one another. I wondered, how can that be a bad thing?

ELICSER / Elicser Elliot ( 4 x 4' Tall House), EGR / Erica Gosich Rose (4 x 4' Tall House), GENE STARSHIP / Gene Pendon (4 x 4' Tall House)
DSTRBO/ Dan Buller (6 x 6' Medium House), EVOKE / Patrick Thompson (Expansion / Contraction) 2008
Housepaint Phase 2: Shelter, Institute of Contemporary Culture
Roloff Beny Gallery, 4th Floor
Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, ON
December 13, 2008 - Juy 5, 2009
Curated by Devon Ostrom

So, last Friday I decided it was time to experience the space for myself. Okay, in actual fact, it was the last weekend of Housepaint Phase 2: Shelter which I had wanted to see, but it was also a good reason to really check out the space.

Daniel Libeskind, Stair of Wonders
Michael Lee-Chin Crystal
Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, ON

As I wanted to experience the space, I decided to take the stairs up to the 4th floor galleries. I have to admit that I was put off by the title over the doorway - Stair of Wonders. It just seemed a little too forced. The staircase did feel a bit like being inside a crystalline form, and from certain vantage points the angles were interesting, if not stunning. Embedded in the walls of the landings were elongated crystalline forms that contained various collections of insects and toy soldiers.

Patricia Harris Gallery of Textiles and Costume
Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, Level 4
Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, ON

Navjot Altat, Untitled, 2002
Sir Christopher Ondaatje South Asian Gallery
Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, Level 2
Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, ON

The ROM houses a number of very impressive collections. There are some absolutely outstanding works in the Patricia Harris Gallery of Textiles and Costume, as well as in the Sir Christopher Ondaatje South Asian Gallery. However, I could not get past how the architecture of the space competed with the objects and artifacts on exhibit. I found it difficult to focus on the stunning objects as they competed for attention with the strong geometric angles of the walls and ceiling.

James and Louis Temerty Galleries of the Age of the Dinosaurs
Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, Level 2
Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, ON

I have never been a fan of the diorama school of museum display, however the dinosaurs housed in the James and Louis Temerty Galleries of the Age of the Dinosaurs looked awkward and out of place in the contemporary geometry of the gallery.

Daniel Libeskind, Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, 2007
Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, ON

As a work of sculptural architecture, Libeskind's Michael Lee-Chin Crystal is rather stunning. As an event space it would be dramatic and it was easy to find vantage points that allow for fabulous photographic images of the space. However, I had hoped to find a space that really worked for me as a gallery. An area where the work or objects were complemented, or enhanced by the architecture.

FAUXREEL / Dan Bergeron

One of Twenty digital portraits from The Unaddressed 2009
Housepaint & CONTACT 2009
Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, ON
December 13, 2008 - Juy 5, 2009
Curated by Devon Ostrom

With the exception of Dan Bergeron / FAUXREEL's figures from The Unaddressed series, I did not find one. Bergeron's figures placed in awkward corners, and unused spaces of the ROM, enhanced the experience of his work which deals with poverty and homelessness. In this vast, sculptural space Bergeron's figures felt small, out-of-place, and forgotten. How different is this from how the homeless and poor are treated outside the walls of the museum?

Alsop Architects, Sharp Centre for Design, 2004
Ontario College of Art & Design
Toronto, ON

I am thrilled that Toronto is getting excited about architecture. I love Wil Alsop's Sharp Centre for Design at OCAD. It is fun, creative, bold, and imaginative, just as one would hope an art school would be. Diamond and Schmitt's Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts sits like a glass jewel on the corner of Queen and University. The space is elegant, simple and functional. Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg built on the architectural strength and modernist tradition of the original Gardiner Museum creating a beautiful minimalist addition with inviting and functional interior spaces. Great architecture is more than just great space, great ideas, great form and fabulous materials, it is also about creating an interesting, exciting and usable envelope for the activities that must function within.