ArtsWatch

One of the least talked-about aspects of the Philadelphia Museum of Art's re-do of the former Reliance Standard and Life (office) Building into the Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman (art) Building is a planned structure to be added over the entrance of the historic building: an enormous sign. The LED sign won't be there when the building opens in the fall, says George Ross, the museum's manager of capital projects. And so it probably won't be factored into architecture reviews and other coverage of the building's opening. Plans are still under development. But the 20-foot-high white lighted sign will use advanced technology to change its message - from words, to something more artistic. A rendering shows it with the letters "PMA," but any image is possible, suggesting that if done well the sign could do both the traditional job of advertising of what's inside, and be, in and of itself, a piece of art. The city was a pioneer in the concept of signage-as-high-design with the erection of the landmark PSFS Building. Though many spaces in the Perelman building are already named, this one is still looking for funding, says Ross. The price tag is somewhere between $800,000 and a million, he estimates.