SFMOMA will be shutting its doors next month for three years during construction of a huge new addition to the museum, which can be seen in a series of cutout models in the lobby.
The reason for the reconstruction of the fairly new building is because the Fisher Collection was donated to the museum by GAP founder Donald Fisher while on his deathbed, with the proviso that the institution display his trove of huge paintings and sculptures on a near permanent basis. The collection is a great gift to San Francisco, and it has gone to the right place, rather than to a proposed new, ungainly modern museum in the middle of the Presidio, which was Donald's original plan.
The Norwegian architectural firm Snøhetta won the commission for the new space, and after reading a fascinating profile of the architects in a January New Yorker article by David Owen, I am eagerly looking forward to its completion.
I hope they retain the rotunda over the 3rd Street lobby, if only to continue displaying united nations--babel of the millenium which was was created for the space in 1999 by Shanghai-born, New York-based artist Wenda Gu.
I will also miss seeing the Filipino security guards fiercely standing watch in front of Andy Warhol silkscreens. "You should consider that hairstyle," I told the gentleman above, but like a member of the Queen's Guard in front of Buckingham Palace, he did not crack a smile.
2 comments:
Only in New York City are cops allowed to openly reveal a sense of humor with the public. In my experience, at least.
I covet that model - it has reawakened my childhood love of dollhouses and buying or making all the furniture, rugs, etc. I could have a BLAST with that one. And yes, most of the guards at SFMOMA are seriously lacking in both grace and graciousness. But maybe he thinks that hairstyle just isn't his "think."
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