Roanoke art museum in trouble.

[Mr_Jonas]

Banksy or Picasso, I do not care. Art is fun.
Central Virginia has very few museums of this caliber.

[Kreutz]

Originally Posted by 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.

I've got the male bits. Why would I get into a fight over something as highly (purely?) subjective as art. Pointless.

Would I visit the Taubman now that I know it's core exhibits? No, modern art to me is kind of what I parodied; commercially exploitative and lacking substance.

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.

Good on you. We don't have to agree on what and where to look at art (I could easily wander around the Met well past closing-turns out they really discourage that sort of thing) and frankly, people appreciating art of any kind is GREAT. It really tunes you into the beauty of the world around you and makes you a better person.

"high brow" and "low brow" are entirely constructed terms. I can show you hand carved X rated reliefs from 12th century India that are masterful sculptures but definitely low-brow by our modern standards.

I hit many of the great galleries of Europe, and after awhile, all those Madonnas really do look the same. Luckily they have a wide variety (sculpture, reliefs, different subject matter) to keep you from being burned out. To this day I am furious the Raphael gallery at the Vatican was on loan to the British Museum when I was there. Wanted to see the School of Athens in its original form, but oh well.

However, I do LOVE architecture. All kinds of architecture. And I like theTaubman 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).

Architecture is as subjective as art, which is appropriate since architecture is just big art you can live in if you want. My first impression (having never been before to Roanoke) was, "What the hell is that shiny thing"?

Later I saw a brochure with said shiny thing in the hotel lobby and saw it was an art museum, which I was happy to see existed in Roanoke.

The building itself is definitely bold and uh, luminous, so yes, it does not match the general "vibe" of Roanoke, but it doesn't have to, the large St Andrews cathedral I also saw further along the way stuck out like a sore thumb too, but its not nearly as controversial I imagine.

Hope the Taubman is successful (and maybe adds some what I would consider "real" art in the future) if only because it really is important to have something unique and conversation provoking around. Hell, it provoked this nice little chat here didn't it?

[Periwinkle04]

I have news for the people of Roanoke: seeing that building when driving through town is a "wow" moment and it makes Roanoke look like it has some *serious* cool in a southern city, ala Asheville. Just seeing that building gave me the opinion that Roanoke was not slow or sleepy, and had a fun edge with interesting folks. You should do whatever you can to support that place. I loved it because it was different and stood out.

[happygal0000]

Wait! Stop! Don't panic. The museum isn't in trouble.

Jenny Taubman didn't resign in a huff. She didn't resign because she had or has issues with the museum, or its staff. Her mother is ill and she has been trying to split her time between NY and here. AND her term was up this year, anyway.

AND there are plenty of art museums in the Roanoke area. Center in the Square hosts the History museum, the Science museum, the Harrison Museum of African American Culture. Hollins has a museum, Randoph-Macon has one, Sweetbriar College is the only liberal-arts college in the US to have an artist-in-residence community on campus. There's also the O. Winston Link (the Transportation) Museum on Shenandoah Ave.

But I need to take issue with the chatter about the Taubman building itself. I will say I'm pleased that people are still talking about its appearance. When Randall Stout designed it, he wanted something that would make people discuss it, feel something, elicit a reaction. His goal was to have something that stood out. And, guess what? It worked! People are still talking about it. Good or bad, they're still talking.

And you should definitely check it out when you are in Roanoke. It has rotating exhibits so there's something new all the time.

The Taubman has a wide variety of art: traditional, avante-garde, culture-based. It may be startling for some on the outside, but inside, it is a light-filled space with a wonderful gift shop and several gallery spaces. It isn't huge, but, with a membership, you can visit regularly and see all the new exhibits.

It is in a great location to visit and then check out the rest of downtown Roanoke. Go down and tour, then have lunch or dinner at any one of the great restaurants within walking distance.

And keep talking about it! That's what it was designed for.