Columbus Monthly / October 2010 / Arts preview: A new look for CMA

 Email  Print

Arts preview: A new look for CMA

A makeover of the nearly 80-year-old home of the Columbus Museum of Art meshes with a new way to experience the art.

One year after closing half its doors, the Columbus Museum of Art is in its renovation homestretch. On Jan. 1, the Broad Street entrance to the 1931 Italian Renaissance Revival building will reopen to a museum that is certainly recognizable, but with updated facilities, some aesthetic pluses, a few historic nods and a collection that is familiar, yet reimagined.

Known as Phase Two (Phase One—a rehab of an auxiliary building—was completed in 2009), this is not a rebuild or a wow-the-critics revamping. While in the recent past, the art world has focused on “extraordinary buildings with signature architecture and blockbuster exhibitions,” says executive director Nannette Maciejunes, this renovation hinges on a goal that is not only appropriate to a community-based institution, but one that also is moving to the fore in museum studies, generally: enhancing the visitor experience.

Though the renovation does end this year, the expansion is set to begin in 2011. Phase Three will see the fruition of the longtime plan to grow the footprint of the museum. A new wing will be home to more galleries for revolving exhibitions and a permanent cafe. (The 1931 building is for the permanent collection.) No longer cloistered in a basement, the new cafe will look out onto the (moved) sculpture garden. Much of the funds for Phase One and Two were raised before the economic downturn. Yet, last year, “one of the toughest years yet,” according to Maciejunes, the museum raised $5.5 million. Although CMA is $29 million from raising the total of $80 million needed for all three phases of the project, Maciejunes is optimistic that fundraising goals will be met.

As for the current renovation, “It is the building you’ve always loved made better for the 21st century,” Maciejunes says. “At each step, we asked: Is this welcoming? Is this easy to use?” The result: everything from a new family restroom that can accommodate a stroller to exhibitions redesigned for “enjoyment, comfort and engagement,” she says. (And the structure has been named the Elizabeth M. and Richard M. Ross Building to honor two of the museum’s major benefactors.)

All this focus on brass tacks doesn’t mean there is not a bit of wow to be found. The most dramatic architectural changes lie just beyond the Broad Street doors in Derby Court. The once flat beige ceiling is gone, replaced by a raised glass canopy. Bright, open, expansive and reminiscent of the days before 1953 when Derby was an open courtyard, it is, says Maciejunes, “The best of the outside without sunglasses.”

The other big surprise lies below. The floor of Derby Court not only is newly designed and retiled, but it also is significantly higher. “From the beginning, we knew we had to adjust the floor some,” explains Maciejunes. “The stairs have always been an accessibility problem.” Yet, when the lead architect on the project, Bob Loversidge of Schooley Caldwell Associates, suggested an adjustment of nearly four feet, Maciejunes was nervous. But the result, she says, is “fantastic.” She believes museum-goers will be happy with “the flow in and out of the court and the galleries.”

There have been a few nice surprises. Construction revealed a previously unknown staircase. Sealed inside was a Citizen-Journal from August 1973, a clue perhaps to the date of its last use. And, hidden under decades and decades of paint, workers uncovered remnants of a pattern that once decorated the vaulted ceilings in the hallways surrounding Derby Court. Though far beyond the point of restoration, the design has been partially re-created, transforming what visitors will remember as a neutral beige into swaths of soft blue and patterned borders that effectively bring to life the building’s historic grandeur.

Another touchstone to the past, Maciejunes says, is in galleries 1 and 10. At one time, all the galleries had skylights, but to return to this original design would have been too costly. Instead, the ceilings in the two galleries adjacent to Derby Court will be designed to feel “luminous,” she says. In all 10 galleries, the walls—newly colored after much deliberation—will continue to display the museum’s permanent collection, but rather than the standard European over here, American over there, they have been reimagined thematically. This means different mediums, different movements and different eras may be side-by-side. Though the curatorial staff is still discussing the various themes, one that appears to be a sure bet is Love & War. “Deciding on the color of the walls in that gallery was easy,” says Greg Jones, exhibition designer and production manager. “Red. Red. Really, really red.”

Also new to the galleries will be something the staff refers to as connectors. Designed to enhance interaction with the art, these are prompts and activities such as puzzles and hands-on drawing stations—as well as so-called “join the conversation” kiosks, where visitors post reflections and responses, says Merilee Mostov, manager for creative initiatives. These conversations often become layered, says Mostov: “Like a blogging board, but old-school with Post-its.” There is an element to art that can be daunting and elite, Maciejunes says, and the purpose of the connectors is to offer a way into the “wonder and enjoyment of art.”

Mostov elaborates: “Art is meaningful if we make a connection to it—whether that is looking closely and noticing, or on the level of social issues, human issues, emotions, history, there are many ways art relates to life.” But most important, she emphasizes, is that visitors have an enjoyable experience. “It’s OK to come and just have fun,” she adds.

Connectors, and the philosophy behind them, are central to the organization of the first floor (and now visitors can move from the permanent galleries upstairs to the downstairs via a new elevator brought back to life after more than a quarter century of dormancy). Besides a shifted wall or two, the downstairs looks familiar, yet it has been completely repurposed. Where it once served a variety of functions, it is now integrated under the moniker Center for Creativity and described as a hub for museum experiences that “foster imagination, creativity, and innovation.” Here, according to museum literature, “People of all ages will explore, think, imagine, collaborate, play, learn, problem-solve, wonder, design, and create.”

In the Center for Creativity, you’ll find the auditorium, still in its old spot, but minus the torturous seating and obstructed views. In the updated, wired and expanded (though still 300-seat) theater, Maciejunes promises plenty of leg room and no more “pokey springs.”

Next to the auditorium, in roughly the site of the former Palette Express, there now is a family gallery, featuring rotating shows designed for all ages. The inaugural exhibit, Don’t Eat the Art, will remain open through most of 2011. Down the hall, to the west, the interactive children’s exhibit Eye Spy is no longer. Now there is the Wonder Room. Carefully designed to engage the imagination and critical thinking of both children and adults, this space combines great works of art with hands-on activities. For instance, there will be an Alexander Calder mobile and mobile building, as well as pre-Columbian sculptures and clay-making.

When asked how the museum will attract adults to the Wonder Room, Mostov, who doesn’t buy into the “mythology that children only like primary colors,” says a “sophisticated design aesthetic” is one way. Also, furniture is sized and activities are designed for a mix of ages, and much thought has gone into sightlines. At different heights, there is something to see and engage, “even for a crawling child,” Mostov says. “At eye-level there is artwork, in a plexi-box, to see.”

The Center for Creativity also includes a Ready Room to welcome the busloads of schoolchildren and other large groups that visit the museum; an updated art-making studio; an innovation lab with fully equipped computers and electronics; the Forum, a gallery featuring Ohio artists that doubles as a small events space, and two new galleries. One is a curated community gallery highlighting creative projects from schools and community organizations. The other is the Creativity at CMA Gallery, which will showcase the museum’s wide-ranging role in the state through its various outreach programs.

Some important changes to the museum may go unnoticed by visitors—better lighting, for example, and improved heating and cooling. The latter will expand greatly the works the museum can borrow. When asked what visitors might miss in the new incarnation, Maciejunes makes a prediction: “They are going to ask: ‘Where’s the cafe?’ ” The details have yet to be worked out, but the working assumption is that Derby Court will serve as a makeshift eating area until the next phase—set to break ground in a year’s time—is finished.

The museum will open all of its doors to the public on New Year’s Day (a preview for members is slated for the last week in December). Maciejunes is calling the celebration “a giant community day.” The inaugural exhibit will be the re-envisioned permanent collection, and, though exact plans for the celebration are still in the works, there is talk of a “paper wizard” and a “Japanese candy artist.” Music is definitely on the agenda, along with hot chocolate, roasted chestnuts, lots of confetti and, of course, plenty of art.

Kendra Hovey is a freelance writer.