02
Aug
2005
"We just unpacked Grand Wood's palette," a worker told Figge Art Museum Director Linda Downs on Monday, while she was giving me a tour.
Such are the details that the museum's staff is attending to in the days leading up the Figge's grand opening on Saturday. A display of the painter's personal effects - a hand-made palette box, eyeglasses, business cards - is being set up to augment a selection of his works in the permanent-collection gallery.
But even though Downs has watched the Figge rise from the ground - the museum's groundbreaking nearly three years ago coincided with her arrival in the Quad Cities as the museum's director - she, too, is seeing the facility for the first time. For Downs, the Figge came to life last week.
Until then, the floors and artwork were covered by cardboard for protection. "It was still very much a construction site," she said. Crews finally removed the cardboard for an event last week. "Overnight, it turned into a museum," she said. The artwork was a big part of that, obviously, but the revelation of the polished floors changed the building. "The floors give a lot of depth to the space," she said, "a sense of endless space."
When Downs was hired three years ago, the Davenport Museum of Art had much different quarters. I suggested that the transition from Museum Hill to the Figge was like starting with a one-bedroom apartment and - she finished the thought for me - moving into a palace.
"It's much more than I ever imagined," Downs said of the finished museum. She expected that the construction of interior walls would make the museum galleries look smaller, but it had the opposite effect, she said. "There was a sense of larger space," she said, mostly because of the high ceilings; although the building only has four levels, it has the height of a typical 10- or 11-story building.
The director noted that seeing the art in the context of the Figge has been enlightening, both because of the setting - with its full-spectrum light - and the arrangement. She pointed out a "salon hanging" (created by curator Michelle Robinson) of 12 American landscapes from the 17th Century; instead of each painting being hung separately, with plenty of space dividing them, they're clustered close together. "They reinforce each other," Downs said, referring both to the paintings and their frames. "This was a revelation to me."
There are other interesting groupings. The permanent collection is organized, chronologically and geographically (Haitian art, Baroque art, e.g.), in galleries that are oriented east-west. But to explore the galleries from north to south creates some fascinating energy. On one wall hang three figurative works spanning three centuries, and the contemporary piece is perfectly at home with one from several hundred years earlier. "I think people should just follow their eyes," Downs said.
The director said she presented Robinson with a series of questions as they were beginning to lay out the galleries: What objects work together best? What are the best objects in the collection? What stories have to be told? Robinson said she tried to "dwell on themes." One section of the Mexican colonial gallery, for instance, deals exclusively with the life of Christ's mother.
Robinson added that "some things have been in this position for three years," while other works have been moved (or removed) recently.
I commented to Downs that the layout of the galleries is airy, but sometimes at the expense of displaying more artwork; dividers would allow for more art.
"We're showing off the architecture right now more than the art," Downs said. "When you come back in September, it will be filled."
Public Events for the Figge Grand Opening
The first official event for the Figge Grand Opening will be an Indian blessing by Larry Lockwood on the plaza at 8:45 a.m. on Saturday, August 6.
Things really start to get moving at 11 a.m., with a ribbon-cutting in the plaza and Bob the Builder greeting children.
In the lobby at 11 a.m., 11:30 a.m., and 2 p.m., Steinway artist Dan Knight will play a Steinway designed by Dale Chihuly. The Quad City Symphony string trio will perform at 5 p.m. in the lobby.
Artist demonstrations begin in the studios at 11 a.m. and continue through 9 p.m. Saturday. On Sunday, they run from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wood-turning demonstrations will be offered by Steve Sinner on the plaza at 7 and 8 p.m. Saturday.
Docent tours being at noon and are available through 6 p.m. Tours by museum staff will be offered Sunday on the hour from noon to 5 p.m.
Performances by area arts organization will begin at 11: 15 a.m.
The third-floor gallery will include performances by Iowa/Illinois Youth Ballet (11:15 a.m.), liturgical dancer LaKeisha Holloway (noon), Quad City Ballet II (1 and 6 p.m.), Mullane Irish Dancers (2 p.m.), CLB Dance Academy (3 p.m.), Arthur Murray Dance Studio (4 p.m.), and Ballet Folklorico (5 p.m.).
The permanent galleries will feature poet Dick Stahl (11:30 a.m. and noon [with cellist Natalie Raney]), harpist Sarah Javaux (1 p.m.), poet Rebecca Wee (2 p.m.), and flautist Mythri Reddy (6 p.m.)
In the auditorium, visitors will have the opportunity to see the First Street jazz vocal group (2 p.m.), Westbrook Singers (3 p.m.), Hersong (4 p.m.), the Jay Walkers men's ensemble (5 p.m.), poetry readings by Dr. Lisa Arbisser, Maureen Brown-Wallner, and Dale G. Haake (6 p.m.), the Grace Notes flute quartet (7 p.m.), and classical Indian music ensemble Manthan (8 p.m.).
The Winter Garden will offer poetry readings by Dick Stahl (1 p.m.) and music from classical guitarist Ken Kline (5 p.m.).
And the Davenport School of Yoga will offer yoga demonstrations at 8 p.m. Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday in the museum's second-floor library
But even though Downs has watched the Figge rise from the ground - the museum's groundbreaking nearly three years ago coincided with her arrival in the Quad Cities as the museum's director - she, too, is seeing the facility for the first time. For Downs, the Figge came to life last week.
Until then, the floors and artwork were covered by cardboard for protection. "It was still very much a construction site," she said. Crews finally removed the cardboard for an event last week. "Overnight, it turned into a museum," she said. The artwork was a big part of that, obviously, but the revelation of the polished floors changed the building. "The floors give a lot of depth to the space," she said, "a sense of endless space."
When Downs was hired three years ago, the Davenport Museum of Art had much different quarters. I suggested that the transition from Museum Hill to the Figge was like starting with a one-bedroom apartment and - she finished the thought for me - moving into a palace.
"It's much more than I ever imagined," Downs said of the finished museum. She expected that the construction of interior walls would make the museum galleries look smaller, but it had the opposite effect, she said. "There was a sense of larger space," she said, mostly because of the high ceilings; although the building only has four levels, it has the height of a typical 10- or 11-story building.
The director noted that seeing the art in the context of the Figge has been enlightening, both because of the setting - with its full-spectrum light - and the arrangement. She pointed out a "salon hanging" (created by curator Michelle Robinson) of 12 American landscapes from the 17th Century; instead of each painting being hung separately, with plenty of space dividing them, they're clustered close together. "They reinforce each other," Downs said, referring both to the paintings and their frames. "This was a revelation to me."
There are other interesting groupings. The permanent collection is organized, chronologically and geographically (Haitian art, Baroque art, e.g.), in galleries that are oriented east-west. But to explore the galleries from north to south creates some fascinating energy. On one wall hang three figurative works spanning three centuries, and the contemporary piece is perfectly at home with one from several hundred years earlier. "I think people should just follow their eyes," Downs said.
The director said she presented Robinson with a series of questions as they were beginning to lay out the galleries: What objects work together best? What are the best objects in the collection? What stories have to be told? Robinson said she tried to "dwell on themes." One section of the Mexican colonial gallery, for instance, deals exclusively with the life of Christ's mother.
Robinson added that "some things have been in this position for three years," while other works have been moved (or removed) recently.
I commented to Downs that the layout of the galleries is airy, but sometimes at the expense of displaying more artwork; dividers would allow for more art.
"We're showing off the architecture right now more than the art," Downs said. "When you come back in September, it will be filled."
Public Events for the Figge Grand Opening
The first official event for the Figge Grand Opening will be an Indian blessing by Larry Lockwood on the plaza at 8:45 a.m. on Saturday, August 6.
Things really start to get moving at 11 a.m., with a ribbon-cutting in the plaza and Bob the Builder greeting children.
In the lobby at 11 a.m., 11:30 a.m., and 2 p.m., Steinway artist Dan Knight will play a Steinway designed by Dale Chihuly. The Quad City Symphony string trio will perform at 5 p.m. in the lobby.
Artist demonstrations begin in the studios at 11 a.m. and continue through 9 p.m. Saturday. On Sunday, they run from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wood-turning demonstrations will be offered by Steve Sinner on the plaza at 7 and 8 p.m. Saturday.
Docent tours being at noon and are available through 6 p.m. Tours by museum staff will be offered Sunday on the hour from noon to 5 p.m.
Performances by area arts organization will begin at 11: 15 a.m.
The third-floor gallery will include performances by Iowa/Illinois Youth Ballet (11:15 a.m.), liturgical dancer LaKeisha Holloway (noon), Quad City Ballet II (1 and 6 p.m.), Mullane Irish Dancers (2 p.m.), CLB Dance Academy (3 p.m.), Arthur Murray Dance Studio (4 p.m.), and Ballet Folklorico (5 p.m.).
The permanent galleries will feature poet Dick Stahl (11:30 a.m. and noon [with cellist Natalie Raney]), harpist Sarah Javaux (1 p.m.), poet Rebecca Wee (2 p.m.), and flautist Mythri Reddy (6 p.m.)
In the auditorium, visitors will have the opportunity to see the First Street jazz vocal group (2 p.m.), Westbrook Singers (3 p.m.), Hersong (4 p.m.), the Jay Walkers men's ensemble (5 p.m.), poetry readings by Dr. Lisa Arbisser, Maureen Brown-Wallner, and Dale G. Haake (6 p.m.), the Grace Notes flute quartet (7 p.m.), and classical Indian music ensemble Manthan (8 p.m.).
The Winter Garden will offer poetry readings by Dick Stahl (1 p.m.) and music from classical guitarist Ken Kline (5 p.m.).
And the Davenport School of Yoga will offer yoga demonstrations at 8 p.m. Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday in the museum's second-floor library
