02
Aug
2005
As Development Director Margaret Babbitt led me up the Figge Art Museum's wide stairway to its second-floor galleries, I was momentarily stunned by Sol LeWitt's enormous drawing that occupies most of the north wall. Internationally acclaimed artist LeWitt, a pioneer of the Minimalist movement, created Wall Drawing #402, but one of his assistants flew out to Davenport to oversee its execution. LeWitt's assistant was in turn helped by three area artists - Les Bell, Pete Schulte, and Ben Estes - to execute the drawing at the Figge. (For two decades, it was housed in the RiverCenter but rarely noticed.) A stunning, geometrical design of squares within squares, it is black, charcoal, and white and is drawn in ink that has been applied directly to the wall.
The Figge, as I'm sure readers know by now, is a sophisticated example of modern architecture (an awesome 100,000 square feet) designed by David Chipperfield, and LeWitt's drawing is but one of the features that makes it so classy. As Babbitt led me through the art galleries, I was absorbed by the color and texture of the floors, another elegant feature of the new museum. Made of black smoked oak from Germany, they have a lovely grain and a dark brown/black color that makes the walls look blindingly white.
And the art - well, it's never looked better in my opinion. I remember the Davenport Museum of Art as being cramped and dark. According to Museum Director Linda Downs, the best of the permanent collection is displayed (250 objects are up out of 3,500), and the exhibits will remain in this configuration. Now that the art is mounted in space and light, it sings. The Haitian art, especially, is joyful to behold with its myriad bright colors and cheerful subject matter.
As we entered the permanent collection galleries, we walked through a large room that runs the width of the museum. The south end (to the left) features a Mexican Colonial altarpiece displayed against a warm, egg-yolk-colored wall. The north end features a Haitian voodoo altarpiece that was installed by a voodoo priestess. We went through the south end first, which houses the Mexican Colonial collection, internationally renowned and, outside of Mexico City, the largest collection of Mexican Colonial art in the world.
We continued through the Asian gallery, European gallery, Regionalist gallery (featuring Midwestern art), and the Contemporary gallery (featuring art from 1945 onward). We passed through the Voodoo Pantheon (Babbitt assured me a gallery guide would explain in detail the aspects of "good" voodoo to museum visitors) and ended up in the Grant Wood Gallery, featuring his famous - and only - self-portrait. Equally famous is his Fall Plowing landscape painting on loan from the Deere & Company corporate art collection. Total floor space devoted to the permanent collection is 11,400 square feet.
There is also a 2,200-square-foot print gallery, currently showing a recently acquired pastel wall installation entitled F5 (referring to a tornado) by regional artist Ellen Wagner.
Visitors walk through this gallery to enter the 180-person auditorium. The auditorium will be used for a variety of events and activities, including classic films shown by the Open Cities Film Society on Friday evenings. As part of the museum's Third Thursday monthly program, art films and films associated with special exhibitions will be shown here and discussed afterward.
To ensure that museum curators won't have to take down the permanent collection to make room for touring exhibits, the museum's central tower was designed to house two special-exhibition galleries on the third and fourth levels - 7,000 square feet altogether.
We took the elevator up to the fourth floor. Babbitt was excited to "show" me the Judy Cardiff sound installation on loan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. This exhibit, entitled 40 Part Motet, has not even been installed at MOMA yet; the Figge got it first!
I put the word "show" in quotation marks in the above paragraph because, as a sound installation, it is an aural rather than a visual experience. Forty small box speakers, mounted on tall stands in groups of five, are situated around the spacious room. From each speaker emanated an individual voice in a 40-person choir singing a 15th Century religious choral piece. As I walked around and listened to the rich bass tones and ethereal high notes, I felt chills run down my spine. The effect was thrilling.
Partnering with the community is part of the Figge's mission statement, and the museum offers a plethora of educational classes, art camps, and workshops on a regular basis. To this end, the building design has integrated 15,300 feet for educational purposes. These include four orientation galleries, 4,000 square feet of studio space (five studios altogether - and they are huge), a family activity center (having a yearly theme - this year's being architecture), the Learn to Look gallery (to help adults "see" art), the library and resource center (open by appointment only), and a community gallery where elementary-school-student art will be exhibited from February through May.
Downstairs, once I got over the vastness of the 3,500-square-foot lobby with its soaring ceiling and transparent walls, I was able to take in the vividly painted coral wall and brightly upholstered coral-colored barstools of the Restaurant 225's bar area on the west side. Through the bar to the south side of the museum is the actual restaurant (chrome and white), overlooking River Drive.
The lobby will be available for rent to the public for special events such as weddings and fundraisers. These events will be catered by Restaurant 225 at the Figge, operated by Steve and Nancy Rosetti of Le Claire's Faithful Pilot. The 225 will be open for lunch only during August, then, in September, it will begin serving dinner as well.
On the north side of the lobby (the Second Street side) is located the museum gift shop, which will feature branded items pertaining to the Figge's permanent collection. The 35,000-square-foot outdoor plaza and sculpture garden is located on River Drive. There is also 38,000 square feet of parking for museum visitors' convenience.
The lobby, gift shop, restaurant, and plaza are all public spaces (free of charge). There is a reasonable admission fee to visit the galleries and educational facilities: Adults pay $7 and children $4. I can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday or Sunday with the family. It's cheaper than the Showcase Cinemas and far more inspiring when you consider the multitude of exhibits and activities the Figge makes available. I challenge our readers to see and do all of them in the time it takes to watch a movie.
For more information on the Figge, visit (http://www.figgeartmuseum.org).
The Figge, as I'm sure readers know by now, is a sophisticated example of modern architecture (an awesome 100,000 square feet) designed by David Chipperfield, and LeWitt's drawing is but one of the features that makes it so classy. As Babbitt led me through the art galleries, I was absorbed by the color and texture of the floors, another elegant feature of the new museum. Made of black smoked oak from Germany, they have a lovely grain and a dark brown/black color that makes the walls look blindingly white.
And the art - well, it's never looked better in my opinion. I remember the Davenport Museum of Art as being cramped and dark. According to Museum Director Linda Downs, the best of the permanent collection is displayed (250 objects are up out of 3,500), and the exhibits will remain in this configuration. Now that the art is mounted in space and light, it sings. The Haitian art, especially, is joyful to behold with its myriad bright colors and cheerful subject matter.
As we entered the permanent collection galleries, we walked through a large room that runs the width of the museum. The south end (to the left) features a Mexican Colonial altarpiece displayed against a warm, egg-yolk-colored wall. The north end features a Haitian voodoo altarpiece that was installed by a voodoo priestess. We went through the south end first, which houses the Mexican Colonial collection, internationally renowned and, outside of Mexico City, the largest collection of Mexican Colonial art in the world.
We continued through the Asian gallery, European gallery, Regionalist gallery (featuring Midwestern art), and the Contemporary gallery (featuring art from 1945 onward). We passed through the Voodoo Pantheon (Babbitt assured me a gallery guide would explain in detail the aspects of "good" voodoo to museum visitors) and ended up in the Grant Wood Gallery, featuring his famous - and only - self-portrait. Equally famous is his Fall Plowing landscape painting on loan from the Deere & Company corporate art collection. Total floor space devoted to the permanent collection is 11,400 square feet.
There is also a 2,200-square-foot print gallery, currently showing a recently acquired pastel wall installation entitled F5 (referring to a tornado) by regional artist Ellen Wagner.
Visitors walk through this gallery to enter the 180-person auditorium. The auditorium will be used for a variety of events and activities, including classic films shown by the Open Cities Film Society on Friday evenings. As part of the museum's Third Thursday monthly program, art films and films associated with special exhibitions will be shown here and discussed afterward.
To ensure that museum curators won't have to take down the permanent collection to make room for touring exhibits, the museum's central tower was designed to house two special-exhibition galleries on the third and fourth levels - 7,000 square feet altogether.
We took the elevator up to the fourth floor. Babbitt was excited to "show" me the Judy Cardiff sound installation on loan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. This exhibit, entitled 40 Part Motet, has not even been installed at MOMA yet; the Figge got it first!
I put the word "show" in quotation marks in the above paragraph because, as a sound installation, it is an aural rather than a visual experience. Forty small box speakers, mounted on tall stands in groups of five, are situated around the spacious room. From each speaker emanated an individual voice in a 40-person choir singing a 15th Century religious choral piece. As I walked around and listened to the rich bass tones and ethereal high notes, I felt chills run down my spine. The effect was thrilling.
Partnering with the community is part of the Figge's mission statement, and the museum offers a plethora of educational classes, art camps, and workshops on a regular basis. To this end, the building design has integrated 15,300 feet for educational purposes. These include four orientation galleries, 4,000 square feet of studio space (five studios altogether - and they are huge), a family activity center (having a yearly theme - this year's being architecture), the Learn to Look gallery (to help adults "see" art), the library and resource center (open by appointment only), and a community gallery where elementary-school-student art will be exhibited from February through May.
Downstairs, once I got over the vastness of the 3,500-square-foot lobby with its soaring ceiling and transparent walls, I was able to take in the vividly painted coral wall and brightly upholstered coral-colored barstools of the Restaurant 225's bar area on the west side. Through the bar to the south side of the museum is the actual restaurant (chrome and white), overlooking River Drive.
The lobby will be available for rent to the public for special events such as weddings and fundraisers. These events will be catered by Restaurant 225 at the Figge, operated by Steve and Nancy Rosetti of Le Claire's Faithful Pilot. The 225 will be open for lunch only during August, then, in September, it will begin serving dinner as well.
On the north side of the lobby (the Second Street side) is located the museum gift shop, which will feature branded items pertaining to the Figge's permanent collection. The 35,000-square-foot outdoor plaza and sculpture garden is located on River Drive. There is also 38,000 square feet of parking for museum visitors' convenience.
The lobby, gift shop, restaurant, and plaza are all public spaces (free of charge). There is a reasonable admission fee to visit the galleries and educational facilities: Adults pay $7 and children $4. I can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday or Sunday with the family. It's cheaper than the Showcase Cinemas and far more inspiring when you consider the multitude of exhibits and activities the Figge makes available. I challenge our readers to see and do all of them in the time it takes to watch a movie.
For more information on the Figge, visit (http://www.figgeartmuseum.org).
