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There
has been a trend toward two contradictory ideas in the design of
modern museum buildings—the museum as a blank wall or neutral
space on the inside that does not compete with the art on display
and then the museum building as an object of art or sculpture in
itself. The New Museum of Contemporary Art succeeds on both
counts—its stacked boxes are perfectly neutral, white, and plain
on the inside, and on the outside the building is a sculptural
object much like the Guggenheim or the Whitney.
Designed
by Sanaa, the Japanese team of Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa,
it is a series of staggered boxes of different sizes–a form in
motion, irregular and asymmetrical. The exterior skin of
aluminum mesh adds to the unstable or dynamic nature of the
building, changing in appearance with the light and time of day.
We
walked up through the floors and particularly liked the current
show ‘After Nature'. Despite the natural light that
tentatively peeks in where the stacked forms are staggered, we did
feel a little boxed in, dying for a window or a glimpse of the
outside—until finally—we walked out onto the roof terrace—with its
marvelous view and its clean glass and white walls and we let out
a sigh of delight—what a perfect spot! |
