Roanoke art museum in trouble. (Hollins, Shenandoah: loan, hotel, school)

[NomadStephanie]

Different strokes for different folks...

As long as I have enjoyed art, I have gravitated toward modern and experimental art, pieces that startle and challenge the way you think and see things. I'm interested in the study of consciousness and a lot of good modern/postmodern/experimental art is an excellent gateway for the exploration of consciousness. One of my favorite art experiences was an art installation piece done in a vacant building in lower Manhattan titled "Psychic Vacuum." It really did capture the anomie and alienation of modern life I love weird video installation performance art pieces like you can see at more experimental museums...

So I'm thrilled to read this description of the Taubman, it makes me even happier about moving to Roanoke!

And even though I agree that the EMP building is butt-ugly, I actually sort of like the design of the Taubman. It looks like it would come across better in person, that wherever you happen to stand around the building gives you a different view, a different juxtaposition of shapes and angles.

Don't get me wrong, I like the pretty brick buildings too, just as I also like simple traditional landscape paintings sometimes, but what makes art that is merely "pretty" any more than just "decoration"? IMO the most important function of art is to open a gateway to a new subjective state, to startle you out of your normal perceptions and challenge your usual worldview. It looks like the Taubman has succeeded in doing so for people who haven't even walked through the front door!

[roanoker 4]

I agree, the Taubman museum design is indeed a work of art. I have walked around it many times and the experience of seeing the odd shapes, angles at times is overwhelming. I have seen more people taking pictures of the building outside than actually entering the museum. The architect was trying to capture the surrounding scenery of mountains, natural bridges, archways and earth tones. To others, the shiny metallic outer sheath of the building reminds them of an alien encounter and I believe eventually it will be welcomed . I remember as a kid my folks took us kids to NYC to see the Guggenheim, I was so impressed I never forgot it.
With all NYC has to offer, the Guggenheim is always my first love. After all of these years, I still don't know how the Guggenheim was built!

[Kreutz]

Originally Posted by NomadStephanie

Different strokes for different folks...

As long as I have enjoyed art, I have gravitated toward modern and experimental art, pieces that startle and challenge the way you think and see things. I'm interested in the study of consciousness and a lot of good modern/postmodern/experimental art is an excellent gateway for the exploration of consciousness. One of my favorite art experiences was an art installation piece done in a vacant building in lower Manhattan titled "Psychic Vacuum." It really did capture the anomie and alienation of modern life I love weird video installation performance art pieces like you can see at more experimental museums...

Soooooo....you'll buy my cup, I mean, groundbreaking critique of modern fascism disguised by proto-Capitalist Hobbesian norms?

[NomadStephanie]

Originally Posted by Kreutz

Soooooo....you'll buy my cup, I mean, groundbreaking critique of modern fascism disguised by proto-Capitalist Hobbesian norms?

No, but I might pay $5 to look at it and think about it, if it's in a cool museum with lots of other stuff for me to look at and think about

[Kreutz]

Originally Posted by NomadStephanie

No, but I might pay $5 to look at it and think about it, if it's in a cool museum with lots of other stuff for me to look at and think about

Man, I have all kinds of crap laying around my apartment...I mean, projects in my green zero waste solar powered studio. My mismatched tool set which extols the faux-virtue of Soviet Union statist industrialism, my pet snake (Steve-he's quite the cool fellow!) displaying the biblical dichotomy of original sin as personified by a vaguely phallic animal, a collection of bills I have no real intention of paying portraying the depravities of modern finance, I can fill the place up a day, two at the max.

[NomadStephanie]

Do you have a cute little café where I can pay $20 for a ham sandwich and contemplate the profundity of what I have just seen?

[j1n]

I like the way the Taubman looks. And if it ever does "go under", it'll make neat loft living.

[Kreutz]

Originally Posted by NomadStephanie

Do you have a cute little café where I can pay $20 for a ham sandwich and contemplate the profundity of what I have just seen?

"Ham sandwich"? How pedantic. I would only serve $60 imported hand massaged carob beans in a delightful citrus glaze that is fair trade organic certified vegan not tested on animals zero carbon of course.

You could also buy 100 centiliter bottles of locally sourced solar purified water too for $20 a bottle-recyclable of course.

[roanoker 4]

Much to the dismay of many locals, the Taubman is not closing! It just got off on a bad start from the recession and poor leadership. Now that the capital campaign of rasing money is winding down(lead by Jenny Taubman) planning for the future and how the Taubman will function is being discussed. I think we all have to remember the Taubman is a national museum not a public museum funded by state taxpayers. I know the local press has never been comfortable with such an elite member of our community but it is hoped the museum will elevate the Roanoke communitys' image and therefore encourage more business development here through the Arts. It has happened in other "slow growth" areas, not just the U.S. Be Kind to the Taubman it is here for the future!

[540_804]

First of all I have to say that, while I don't necessarily agree with him/her, I can really appreciate the fact that Kreutz approached the situation with civility, intelligence and quite a bit of humor, to boot. (And that goes for everyone who has posted in this thread, thus far).
I have been on many, many internet forums and rarely do these type of threads avoid deteriorating into shouting matches and name calling.

That being said, I will admit that my taste in art is a bit....ahem...low-brow. I'm more likely to visit an exhibit hosted at a tattoo studio or an old fire station than at an art museum. I would spend more time looking at a piece of street/guerrilla art (graffiti for example) than a Picasso. I don't really have much experience inside of art museums. I often feel really uncomfortable in them.

However, I do LOVE architecture. All kinds of architecture. And I like the Taubman Museum of Art. A lot of people claim the museum is out of place in its location (or in Roanoke, for that matter). But as so many have said previous, I quite enjoy the juxtaposition. It is quite, "out there" and definitely different than anything else in the city, but I wouldn't necessarily call it out of place. I have seen far less architecturally adventurous buildings that were far less successfully integrated with its surroundings than this building (e.g., that newish parking garage downtown).


RE: " from what I understand the museum is trying to align itself with either the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts or Va Tech Foundation to gain more long term exposure and possibly state funding(Good Luck on that score!). "

I really hope this is true, particularly some type of agreement with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The VMFA is fairly well-known and well-respected within the art community, regionally and nationally. Not to mention it has some very generous, deep-pocketed friends. It not only has a pretty respectable collection of its own, but also has the clout to attract truly "world-class" exhibits (for instance, the upcoming Picasso exhibit [the exclusive East Coast showing for the U.S. and one of only 7 stops of the exhibits world tour]). An association with the VMFA could bring some of these types (though obviously not of that scale) to the Roanoke region.