In what ways and for what reasons have the architecture and designs of art museums and galleries evolved since the mid-twentieth century?
In exploring and understanding this subject, one must study the history and development of individual museums and galleries, observing the exterior architecture as well as the internal design, and the reasons behind any developments or renovations done to the buildings. In addition to this the location of the museum must be considered, to see if the surrounding architecture influences any modernisation or extensions taken out on the buildings, as well as considering the expectations and ideas of different cultures, and how they might manipulate the evolution of such places over the past fifty years.
For an example of how a medieval building has evolved into a modern day art museum, the Louvre is an ideal illustration. Once a medieval fortress in the 11th century, then renovated into a luxury dwelling in 1528 by François Ier, was extended under Henri II and Charles IX with the addition of two new wings which occupy two sides of the old strong castle. Now the Louvre is a massive building of classical architecture which offers approximately 60 000 m² showrooms.
The Louvre is also a symbol of how art viewing has become accessible for all people, whatever their class or education level. Many years ago, when art was considered elite, the royal collection of art was not viewed by just anyone, only a privileged few entered the doors of the palace on invitation of the king to view the artworks held inside. Now, it is of the uppermost importance for the Louvre to be as welcoming and to display the huge collection of art to its best for all the public, local or tourists. A sy...
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...pe, but totally unsuitable for another. For example trying to display contemporary art in the Grande Louvre would just not work, such a building of age, history, ornamentation and architectural detail, needs in turn to lend its surroundings to artworks of similar magnitude. What all museums have in common, in the past fifty years is that they are trying to make art more approachable, and to leave its elitist characterisation behind. The evolution of art museums and galleries has run parallel with modernist attitudes towards art itself, and it materialises that it was unavoidable that such changes took place. Although in doing this they have not in anyway lost sight of what is appropriate in displaying various works in a comfortable environment for both the artworks and the visitors. Art, architecture and design reflect changing attitudes and run together hand in hand.
Many might have been working on Good Friday, but many others were enjoying The Frist Museum of Visual Arts. A museum visitor visited this exhibit on April 14, 2017 early in the morning. The time that was spent at the art museum was approximately two hours and a half. The first impression that one received was that this place was a place of peace and also a place to expand the viewer’s imagination to understand what artists were expressing to the viewers. The viewer was very interested in all the art that was seen ,but there is so much one can absorb. The lighting in the museum was very low and some of the lighting was by direction LED lights. The artwork was spaciously
It is the new decade after the end of world war two and modernism is a well-established practice. Its pioneers and spearheads are prevalent figures looming over the new architects and designers who are trying to make their mark in the shadows of such historically influential people. With new technologies and materials emerging from the world wars the next era of modernism had started to evolved, bringing with it philosophies and ideas which seemed far removed from those of the pioneers of modernism “What emerged in the late 1940s and 1950s was an expanding synthesis of questions utterly removed from the confident statements of the pioneers.”(Spade 1971,10) Two significant buildings were designed in the 50's, both of them for educational institutes and to house students of architecture, there were both designed in completely different styles and methods. The first is Ludwig Mies van der Rohes' Crown Hall, finished in 1956 and designed as a part of a campus master plan for the Illinois Institute of technology in Chicago. Mies' design for Crown Hall is one of his most realised expressio...
The St. Louis Art Museum is one of the United States most renowned art museums that is located in our very own St. Louis. It has over 30,000 pieces of exquisite art that I had the privilege to witness. While there, I mainly examined the art pieces that were modern art, since that is of what I have a good working knowledge. There is a wide range of art that I also got to witness including the sculptures and the museum itself. In the past year, they have recently installed a new sector of their establishment that has done nothing less than enhance the entire museum’s overall beauty. The St. Louis Art Museum, there are many beautiful works, but there were three special projects that caught my eye while I was there. The Contemporary art periods, Modern art periods, the American art periods, and the museum itself.
In the article of “Exhibiting Intention: Some Preconditions of the Visual Display of Culturally Purposeful Objects”, the author, Michael Baxandall mainly discussed interrelationship within the group of three agents upon their influence and reflect of the artifacts in the museum, and the understanding of culture elements behind the display. In the first part of this paper, I will identify the points of view of the author. In the second part, I will analyze the layout of the gallery, “Imagining the Underground” in Earth Matters in Fowler Museum in UCLA. Several discussion related to the settings of the museum and the article will be discussed interactively. In general, this paper tries to show the robustness and the weakness of Baxandall’s model, which will specified.
As the tour of the museum began, it was easily noticed that all of the objects on display were placed behind thick glass cases. Many plaques inside of the case provide the visitor with information about the specific case that is being looked at. In most cases the plaques didn’t so much provide an elaboration on the pieces, but rather expand upon the historical context of the pieces. Also, the plaques shed light onto muc...
The Metropolitan Museum of Art came about as an idea from Jon Jay in Paris, France in 1866 with the idea of “national institution gallery of art” within the United States. Once this idea was proposed, it was immediately moved forward with his return to the United States. With the help of the Union League Club in NY they began to acquire civic leaders, businessmen, artists, and collectors who aided in the creation of the museum. For over 140 years, the visitors who go here have received everything the mission of the institution states.
With exhibitions of the most thought-provoking art, The Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago is one of the Nation’s largest facilities devoted to the art of our time (“About the MCA”) . The mission of the MCA is to offer a direct experience to the public of modern day art and living artists. German architect Joseph Paul Kleihues designed the new building with seven times the square feet of its previous facility (“The Building”) . October of 1967 the museum opened its doors to the public for the first time. The Museum of Contemporary Art is a symbol of modern art, culture, and the artist of our time. It is a stepping stone in history and will leave footprints in the heart of Chicago for many generations to come.
In all, both the Glasgow Art Building and the Goldman-Schwartz Art Building have a surprising number of similarities. Although they are located on two different continents, the styles are remarkably similar especially considering their function. Their similar goals to promote creativity by designing an open and free environment are perhaps, the most significant and interesting features of the structures. By comparing these features, it gives an indication of the serious dedication to art that has existed across the world regardless of history.
Items displayed in museums hold historical significance and are representative of society’s culture. Preserving valuable collections for education and enjoyment is a primary role of museums. While fulfilling this role, the architecture of the museum is also an important factor. Historical buildings are converted into museums and architects must consider the use of the space and the museum’s purpose during their initial design. Other museums are built with a clear purpose in mind. As museums are designed, many characteristics are determined. Display and storage spaces as well as visitor services impacts museum’s functionality. Based on the function of a museum, architectural requirements are different.
...f structure, a museum. The one contradiction in the contemporary design theory that Libeskind dares to fight is that to work in the upcoming century means to work with reduced means. His works pose optimism in the sense that architecture, if filled with a satisfactory amount of reasoning, and justification with the help of the advancement in material technology, and the foremost, creativity, will be able to address the profound of any project seeking for poetic embodiment. While modern architects have tried hard to eradicate the traces of history from the forms, postmodern architects like Liberskind would embody the traces of history in between the forms. In Lisbeskind’s Jewish Museum, the invisibility, the implication, and the embodiment come first, then the advancement of material methodology assists the build of the visibility, and the physical infrastructure.
Modernists longed to recreate the world through new ideas and contemporary techniques to design structurally and provide unprecedented buildings. Architecture took a turn and progressed from total works of art to industrialization during the 20th century. Advancement with technology due to the machine age brought new materials and new tools. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was one of the many architects of this time to not only envision new structural systems, but was able to apply modern style concepts to numerous designs throughout his career. Through the design of the New National Gallery, Mies van der Rohe achieved an unprecedented modern language of architecture with the focus on light, transparency and organization of space to utilize all structural qualities, as well as the relationship to nature through designing from the inside out.
The essence of modern architecture lays in a remarkable strives to reconcile the core principles of architectural design with rapid technological advancement and the modernization of society. However, it took “the form of numerous movements, schools of design, and architectural styles, some in tension with one another, and often equally defying such classification, to establish modernism as a distinctive architectural movement” (Robinson and Foell). Although, the narrower concept of modernism in architecture is broadly characterized by simplification of form and subtraction of ornament from the structure and theme of the building, meaning that the result of design should derive directly from its purpose; the visual expression of the structure, particularly the visual importance of the horizontal and vertical lines typical for the International Style modernism, the use of industrially-produced materials and adaptation of the machine aesthetic, as well as the truth to materials concept, meaning that the true nat...
The German Pavilion, more commonly known as the Barcelona Pavilion, is one of the most recognizable buildings of the modern period during the early 20th century. It encapsulates every element of modern architecture in one structure. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, one of the fathers of modern architecture, was the architect of this beautiful building. In this essay I will explore how Mies impacted the modern movement in architecture through his groundbreaking ideas using the Barcelona Pavilion as a case study.
New museology is the modernisation of museums. New museums are made to be more interactive and more interesting for the visitors. Displays in the museums are no longer covered in glass and people are encouraged to look more closely and interact with displays. The museums are brighter are the displays...
The Louvre was originally built as a fortress in 1190, but was it reconstructed in the 16th century to serve as a royal palace, then during the French Revolution, the National Assembly decreed that the Louvre should be used as a museum to display the nation's masterpieces. The museum itself actually opened to the public on August 10th, 1793 with an exhibition of 537 paintings, the majority of the works being royal and confiscated church property. Since then it has continued to expand over the years collecting rare and priceless art and masterpieces from all throughout time and from all over the world. Today the Louvre is the most visited and one of the most diverse museums in the world. Containing more than with 70,000 pieces of art spread across more than 650,000 square feet of gallery space it hold the title as the largest museum in the world. However, not many people know the history of the museum itself. The wonders, the sights, and the feel of the museum are unlike anything ever felt before.