There's a change in the air surrounding the Barnes Foundation's proposed move to Center City. Some part of that feeling, admittedly subjective, is hard to pin down. Other aspects of a possible change are more tangible. For one thing, Judge Ott has told Barnes trustees that they have some explaining to do.
And in a classic Philadelphia way, though Inquirer art critic Edward Sozanski has written repeatedly that moving the Barnes from Merion is a mistake, now the New York Times has weighed in, calling the proposed move "a crime," which means Philadelphia's stealth cultural and philanthropic leadership will probably pause to think twice about subverting what appears to be a growing public will to keep the Barnes where it is.
I keep waiting for this sensible truce to emege: Keep the Barnes where it is, build a Barnes interpretive center on the Parkway downtown with the compulsory gift shop and bookstore and a theater preparing visitors for the Barnes experience with a 20- or 30-minute documentary. Then bus visitors from the interpretive center out to Merion to see the Barnes.
Is $150 million really raised toward this project? If so, take $50 million to build the interpretive center, and put the other $100 million in endowment to save the Barnes from its ongoing financial troubles.
There. Is everyone happy now?
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The Wind Began to Shift?
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The Author
Peter Dobrin has been writing about classical music and the arts for The Inquirer since 1989. He earned an undergraduate degree in performance from the University of Miami, and received a master's degree in music criticism from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University.
He’s grateful for news tips, willing to engage in a certain amount of back and forth with readers, but is unfortunately unable to remove old LPs from your basement or post photographs of your cat.
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This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on September 22, 2007 10:23 AM.
The previous post in this blog was Things About the Good Old Days We Don't Miss .
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Comments (4)
interesting idea! Is there an example of the proposed "interpretive center" in another city around the world? If there is, does it work? Will visitors want to be "prepared" before experiencing the art in Barnes? Wouldn't that be against the original will of Dr. Barnes?
Posted by Mete Civelek | September 24, 2007 12:43 AM
Posted on September 24, 2007 00:43
While I often disagree with your comments about Phila. Orchestra concerts, you're right on the mark with this one regarding the move of the Barnes Foundation. It is a terrible mistake for an institution as rare and unusual as the Barnes to be moved from the tranquil setting which has been its home for more than eighty years. Today's Inquirer discusses the impact of arts and culture on the economy and the desirability of thinking regionally. What better way to "think regionally" than to keep the the Barnes where it is and run a shuttle from the Parkway and along the Drive to visit it. How very stupid to waste that enormous amount of money to replicate an inferior version of what already exists and yet deprive the Philadelphia School District of music and art programs for lack of funds.
Posted by Jmflaks | September 24, 2007 2:36 PM
Posted on September 24, 2007 14:36
Great idea! Here are some links to interpretive centers.
Links to interpretive arts sites:
http://www.vwrl.com/projects.asp?categoryName=MUSEUM%20AND%20INTERPRETIVE%20CENTER&clientName=BETHEL%20WOODS%20PERFORMING%20ARTS%20CENTER&alpha=1
Right here in Philadelphia we have the Water Works Interpretive Center
http://www.fairmountwaterworks.org/
and the National Constitution Center. Although these are not about art they certainly are examples of the latest in high tech dramatization of a subject.
Posted by nancy Herman | September 24, 2007 2:43 PM
Posted on September 24, 2007 14:43
There is something poetic about your workable solution for the Barnes. As a music critic, you are sensitive to the interrelationships of different parts of a work of art.
When describing the foundation he created, Albert Barnes explained that the art gallery and the arboretum were “two aspects of one and the same purpose that cannot be separated: they are one and indivisible and both are educational in their essence…. In short, the Foundation as it exists at present may be compared to a composition by Titian or a symphony by Beethoven; that is, every unit was studied in relation to what was the ultimate composite entity…”
The Barnes Foundation is more than an art collection. It is a unique institution that has recently been deemed eligible for National Historic Landmark status. Moving the art collection to Philadelphia is wrong and unnecessary.
Thank you for coming up with a common sense solution that preserves the Barnes and ties it to Philadelphia as well.
Posted by Sandy Bressler | September 24, 2007 10:46 PM
Posted on September 24, 2007 22:46