Queensland Art Gallery Presscuttings Book 1 : Presscuttings, 1959-1962

4.1y st.i.- planning-and with hcqut d v1,11a1 a:Kt filo Alle .,,M)) extra ac- stimulants. subtly coaxing him water and iiiidei the trei, ails discus- from each Intimate space towards aide is a tall wing of the museum. annul of I the next enticing vista. a "People's Art Centre," added in 1931 be Philip Johnson. the archi- tvotoral director of the M.M.A. and I designer with as muchinfluence. in younger architects in Australia is in America. His style Ii, icily pre- cise. Formal lines of black steel encase grey brick panels on the upper floors and n ground floor of glass. served, Exhibits are ever changing, so rt world. Excellent Cafeteria Overlooking the garden from be- hind the glass Is the most gracious cafeteria In the world. Everything down to the elegant table acces- sories reflects the standards of Mr. Johnson. a bachelor of exact tastes, find museum visitors look almost embarrassed to be carrying a tray In such refined surroundings. The finest Stria gallery of recent rears is about tf0 miles north of New York. In New Haven, Connec- ticut. It is the new wing of Yale University's art gallery and design centre, designed In 1933 by Douglas Orr and Louis Kahn. The broad, open galleries here have been 'constructed without in- ternal supports. The necessarily thick ceiling structure of each floor is exposed. a deep, orderly, tri- angular trellis of chunky concrete. In the pockets of this are secreted the various types of lighting reflec- tors, which may be turned any- where, focussing attention where lesired and dramatising the island ,culptoral exhibits. The positions of the subdivisional partitions within the big rooms are varied frequently: they may be at- tached to the ceiling grid anywhere and at ally angle the director de- sires for a particular show. Unquestionably, the most elabo- rate, imaginative and controversial gallery of the century will be the Guggenheim Museum of non- objective art., now about to be con- structed after more than 10 years' planning. Its site Is marked by a builder's hoarding round a hole in the ground, opposite the Metropoli- tan Museum, a few blocks up Fifth Avenue. The architect is Frank Lloyd Wright, and when the design ' 1,11 Well r" ,ecutid-best to the thing. Color Photographs of the originals are enlarged to life size An glass. The Laht:ug concealed behind is controllable in intensity and color so that any imperfections in the chemical photographic process may be corrected by visual adjustment until a perfect simulation of the original is theoretically, obtained. In this way a view of the masters may be enjoyed by people who can- not tour the U.S.A. to visit all the scattered galleries, Besides, some famous paintings are still in Europe. "It is a distinctly modern ap- proach to teaching and learning," says All official. A lot may be sail, for the Idea and a lot is being said against tt, mainly that there is a danger of the super back -lit repro- ductions becoming "beeped up" or stet:Wad up to a vitality which would surprise the masters. In the crowd around the chestnut roadster on the cobbled court in front of the Metropolitan Museum another current edges away from tile building, satiated with art. The hands projecting train the woollen coats are pink now from the con- centrated heat of the galleries, and the faces are drawn now not by cold but by the exhaustion of ab- sorbing even the most popularly presented paintings. Lacking in Comfort One word that was not in the specifications of the 19th century's gallery builders was comfort. Whatever the delights of their endless salons and lofty flights of stairs, they did nothing to ease the strain of museum fatigue, a complaint which is even more no- ticeable today to a generation used to ,taking its culture sitting down. At first everyone was thrilled by this fascinating invention of one of the true geniuses of the 20th cen- tury. As the City Building Com- missioner said, "Wright's architec- tural conceptions do not rely on the architectural sophisticates alone for appreciation, but appeal to some- thing in the imagination of almost rrj.,1,111, µear it t ,lied regl r 11,1) at some millet ;cal details if the building. Bome suggest that, a new race of New Yorkers wilt bstguto , tar I bred with one resit other as they sidle down viewing the paintings. But the slope is so gradual that it is unlikely to be no- ticeable and the museum officials are convinced that the spiral will be a success. They are not so certain on some other details. An oficer of the mu- seum stood with Mr. Wright one day before a tall painting as they discussed the low calling -height of , co: 44,44. 4. Nati. Wright, demonstrating of his c.o.. Tee tie of tete can canvas and a flake of tie d Mr. at lif.P the hear. An assistant look 1.tyma picture and the divot dawn to the repair shop. Recounting the incident the of. neer remarks: "Mr. Wright is not obsessed by a love of painting." Even so, neither he nor anyone else questions the prediction that the gallery, when it opens about two years from now, will be the moist beautiful thing In the big city. Facade of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.