Dallas Fort Worth Urban Forum

I don't think the vaulting comments included in the DMN article overstate the importance of this gift.

Margaret McDermott rocks!

https://www.dallasnews.com/arts/visual- ... museum-art

Works by Monet, Degas, Renoir, Picasso will live at DMA, thanks to 'transformative' McDermott collection

Michael Granberry, Arts Writer

“In one fell swoop, you just became a much more important museum.”

“truly transformative” collection, one that sharply elevates the Dallas museum and the cultural profile of Dallas-Fort Worth “one of the most important collections of impressionist and modern art in the United States .... It gives the area great strengths in impressionist and modern painting,” Lee said. “People interested in that art will come from all over the world to see the collections here. This is a wonderful thing. It is extraordinary.”

“will bring shape and give international importance in a particular way to the DMA’s existing collection of impressionist and modern art.”

As Brettell noted: “The DMA now has four paintings by Monet, and, with the McDermott [collection], it will have seven. ... Its four wonderful major works by Degas will be joined by two masterpieces.”

This museum is climbing the ladder, it's remarkable. 20 years ago I pined for the DMA to come up with a combination of art {like this gift from MMcD with The Kier Collection of Islamic Art}, but would have only been able to hope it would happen. IT HAPPENED, this is a big deal, maybe not in the world, but certainly in the country.

Some might think this part of the country could hold one sorta-all right museum... but no. We are much more fortunate--we have several good--well, dare I say *great* museums in the area. And now, even more impressionist pieces in a collection here. IMO, you can't have enough of those! Sincere thanks, Mrs. McDermott. Your wonderful gift just made downtown Dallas--and our little corner of the art world--an even more beautiful place.

Speaking of beauty, jrd... hate the game, not the player, I suppose, but will Dallas have ever "arrived" before a discussion like that one actually includes the word beauty? I read the article; I sure noticed profile, impact, importance, check box, check box, extraordinariness, tourism magnet, endowment, blah de blah. The first time in the party it occurred to anyone to remember something like humanity or beauty was in the comments thread, where someone said it about the philanthropist herself. We're so attracted to touting our relevance we forget what would be relevant.

Great art and beauty is more often about giving than getting. A person's taste can be a good and truly laborious, if enjoyable, endeavor for them to develop in themselves, but having a really big cache of great and thoughtful art around hasn't been able to bring tasteful people closer to reality and thoughtfulness so far. Dallas is super hung up on getting.

We almost seem to like art that *doesn't* change our taste in that regard, or threaten our conception of our worth and relevance. That starts to neuter it and us. This's a grief.

I45Tex wrote:Speaking of beauty, jrd... hate the game, not the player, I suppose, but will Dallas have ever "arrived" before a discussion like that one actually includes the word beauty? I read the article; I sure noticed profile, impact, importance, check box, check box, extraordinariness, tourism magnet, endowment, blah de blah. The first time in the party it occurred to anyone to remember something like humanity or beauty was in the comments thread, where someone said it about the philanthropist herself. We're so attracted to touting our relevance we forget what would be relevant.

Great art and beauty is more often about giving than getting. A person's taste can be a good and truly laborious, if enjoyable, endeavor for them to develop in themselves, but having a really big cache of great and thoughtful art around hasn't been able to bring tasteful people closer to reality and thoughtfulness so far. Dallas is super hung up on getting.

We almost seem to like art that *doesn't* change our taste in that regard, or threaten our conception of our worth and relevance. That starts to neuter it and us. This's a grief.

I know that's right.

It's part of the Texas Way, selling to everyone else that what we've got is just as good or better as what they've got. Self-conscious because of immensely high standards?

I would be worried or at least concerned about the art scene except for two things, Dallas Contemporary and the Dallas Arts Fair. Both show the evolution of the culture of art appreciation beyond the well hung museums.

Another great step for the Dallas Museum of Art.

https://www.dallasnews.com/arts-enterta ... rican-art/

By Dan Singer

10:17 AM on Aug 31, 2019

The Dallas Museum of Art announced this week the appointment of Dr. Mark A. Castro as its first curator of Latin American art.

I keep wondering if the DMA has a gallery expansion plan. The starchitect will cost a bundle and so will engineering the addition of couple more floors, rooftop sculpture garden and library....

Land acquisition around the Latino Cultural Center in Old East Dallas is mandatory at this point.

They def seem limited on expansion options without tearing down and totally regearing an entire section of the original building. The Ross side seems like the most easily modified room for change.

I'm under the impression the newest section, near the park, was built to accommodate additional floors.

tamtagon wrote:I'm under the impression the newest section, near the park, was built to accommodate additional floors.

I thought I read that somewhere also. If they can add on enough height, there would be room for a piece of Sanger Harris mosaic...
(yes I know, but let me have my moment and dream... besides, they managed to get "Genesis, the Gift of Life" before it went to rubble like its office building did)

https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2021/11 ... ion-report

Caillebotte masterpiece goes to Getty and four artists smash records at Christie’s New York sale of Edwin Cox’s Impressionist trove

The vaunted Impressionist art collection of Texas oilman and philanthropist Edwin Lochridge Cox, who died in Dallas last November aged 99, fetched a massive $332m at Christie’s New York last night.

The total (calculated with fees) for the 23-lot white-glove sale soared beyond pre-sale expectations...

What a shame this collection didn't find a home at the Dallas Museum of Art.

An "Impressionist Trove" sounds like a nice shot in the arm for the DMA. Too bad.

I've daydreamed about this since the Opera house opened! I would hate to lose the lawn on Ross, and as much as I want more art in Fair Park, building up is the only way to go with this facility.

My opinion, FWIW, which I admit isn't much... I'd demolish the whole building and start over. We have an art museum that looks like a mausoleum, walled off on all sides from the city and the usually-dead arts district that it should be a centerpiece for, and also separated from a signature public park.

Like all streets descending up and down from KWP, we just have a 500 to 800 feet of blank walls and parking garages - when KWP was supposed to link Uptown and Downtown. It's not the fault of the original planners of the DMA, but the direct proximity of KWP and the need to enliven the arts district demands a completely different approach.

I'll keep an open mind, but I'm not sure how expanding what is there will solve these problems. Building on top sounds like another situation where Dallas elevates something that could be interesting to keep the hoi polloi at the street level away.

Umm since Art should not be exposed to natural light so you have to be careful about opening up the building too much. Keeping in mind when it was designed Downtown was a massive crime and homeless encampment back when the vision for the Dallas Arts District was imagined. I am sure there are examples in the world that do have more open like designs but many museums like Department stores or Vegas casinos are not full of actual windows or too many access points. Museums instead focus on being giant sculptures in their urban landscapes sometimes breaking out of the cities traditional urban format with parks surrounding them or collecting old buildings into massive mall like structures of galleries and atriums. I welcome anyone to provide examples of Museums buildings that they would like to see here in Dallas so we can set expectations around what usually is done in the Architecture for Art.

Just came across this and found it interesting. Ties into the DMN story and comments above in this thread.

https://competitions.malcolmreading.com ... useumofart

Thanks Mike
Here's another link about it: "Dallas Museum of Art launches design competition for campus expansion project"

https://www.archpaper.com/2023/02/dalla ... n-project/

Sweet

I45Tex wrote:Thanks Mike
Here's another link about it: "Dallas Museum of Art launches design competition for campus expansion project"

https://www.archpaper.com/2023/02/dalla ... n-project/

‘This will be a fascinating architectural challenge for the competition finalists. The campus needs to have a strong presence and be an inviting space. But also, be less complex internally, easy to navigate and use,” Reading added.

"Fascinating architectural challenge" for sure.. Given how peculiarly this building is shaped and laid out, that's a pair of goals very difficult to achieve with renovations rather than a complete tear down and rebuild. I'm super interested to see how this turns out. There is certainly lots of room for expansion, and certainly every entrance to this building could be significantly improved.

But there is a massive risk of turning it into a frankenstein building whose new elements are not copacetic with the old. And even the most picture-perfect proposal renderings can't totally account for how a renovation will look when it finally materializes. The more a building is a singular artistic vision, the greater the risk is of any modification causing the structure to get lost in the visual noise. More often than not it inevitably feels exactly like what it is: two different voices trying to reconcile each other. Fascinating challenge for sure.

If I were to get to enter, I honestly think I would split the existing superblock building between the DMA and a sidecar institution and then simplify their two circulations completely separately, one as part of a vertical DMA vision.

DMA competition finalists

https://competitions.malcolmreading.com ... rt/gallery

Wow wow wow.

It will take some time to really dig into all the details of each of them, but I will say I think they are all significant improvements so I will be happy regardless of the winner.

Edit: lol after looking at them for a while I take it back. I really don't like the Diller Scofidio + Renfro (NY) design. It feels like it's talking to a moment that has already passed, and it will feel even more dated by the time it would ever finish construction.
I really like the rest of them for the most part. They each do something that I really like, but I don't think any one does all of those things.

Speaking purely aesthetics, I like the Johnston Marklee (LA) design most.
It also happens to look like the most affordable and least destructive option, so I would not be surprised if that one ends up taking it.

DS+R can get an honorable "Headless Horseman" mention for worst ever rendering model of 2200 Ross

There are physical models of all the entries in the DMA. If any of yall get there before I do this summer, some pictures would be great.

Finished looking over all of the documentation provided and if I had to rank them by personal preference I would say
1. Johnston Marklee (LA, USA)
2. Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos (Madrid, Spain)
3. Weiss/Manfredi (NYC, USA)
4. David Chipperfield (London, UK)
5. Michael Maltzan (LA, USA)
6. Diller Scofido + Renfro (NYC, USA)

I mean, just look at this absolute beaut.



Generally they all expect to keep the sculpture garden where it's at, and they all expect Harwood between Flora and the freeway to become pedestrianized. Lots of rooftop access and "green roofs" across all of them. We'll see how much of that actually makes it through completion.

I think I appreciate efforts to bring the museum closer to the streets more than the attempts at huge open spaces, but I'll admit the Nieto plaza across from klyde warren looks mighty appealing. There is something so inviting about this over the other plazas that I can't quite explain.

I think some of those look great from the aerial view, but won't some of them look bland/boring from the pedestrian perspective?

The only one I think has a huge impact to someone standing outside is this one:

There's that headless 2200 Ross on the back left!

IcedCowboyCoffee wrote:...look at this absolute beaut.
dma1.JPG
dma2.JPG

Generally they all expect to keep the sculpture garden where it's at, and they all expect Harwood between Flora and the freeway to become pedestrianized. Lots of rooftop access and "green roofs" across all of them. We'll see how much of that actually makes it through completion

Non-street-level plazas in Texas don't have pedestrian density that allows for convivial "eyes on the street" -- the Theater District in the Houston north end of downtown is ripping theirs out and Tranquility Park near their central library is not always safe either. I think that the Johnston Marklee one to my grandkids would look merely as though Renzo Piano had at some point renovated the Richardson City Hall to kick its brown brick habit.

https://www.cor.net/our-city/city-contacts

TBH I think this consultant is overrated and is better at managing relationships with philanthropists and execs than they are at getting civic commitments to pair well with good intentions or design ideas, regardless of what you think is the ethics of their "reverse freemium" offer to professional architects (work for free and if we want to upgrade you to a paid account then you can have a stipend and a glorious press release), which definitely stinks from both an economic and a future-training-of-a-talented-industry perspective.

I45Tex wrote:

IcedCowboyCoffee wrote:...look at this absolute beaut.
dma1.JPG
dma2.JPG

Generally they all expect to keep the sculpture garden where it's at, and they all expect Harwood between Flora and the freeway to become pedestrianized. Lots of rooftop access and "green roofs" across all of them.

Non-street-level plazas in Texas don't have pedestrian density that allows for convivial "eyes on the street" --

Today I just stumbled across this nice photo (the final one on this page: link https://www.ramsa.com/projects/project/ ... rming-arts ) of Houston's Tranquility Park, which is also the lid of a dark multistory public garage. Those beautiful wide sight lines also make you feel too isolated to be quite sure of what's going to happen when you're out there and it's not crowded at a given hour downtown.

If the DMA were done up like this but treated as a POPS (privately owned public space) it would have tighter access hours but also even less civic function beyond being a piece of new green garnish on the Arts District's shiny placesetting: More Of The Same Thing Billed As Silver Bullet

I think the DMA might want to keep looking. Do any of those designs know where they are?

Matt777 wrote:I think some of those look great from the aerial view, but won't some of them look bland/boring from the pedestrian perspective?

The only one I think has a huge impact to someone standing outside is this one:

Are those outdoor escalators that will always going to be broken? (In 10 years, have I ever been to the City Place Station when the escalators were working?)

Developments need to realize our climate isn't mild. There aren't thousands of people milling about due to the heat and cold.

Maybe these proposals are for thousands of sculptures to mill around on a sculpture of a broken escalator. These helicopter architects pay attention after all!

Some good work in there.

I think the most important part of this project is understanding how the city has changed around the existing museum. As I see it the absolute most important piece of this project is how it will dialog with Klyde Warren Park. We should be able to stand in KWP and look up at the DMA and have an iconic, strikingly beautiful piece of architecture to enjoy, a perfect photo opp. After that, they need to consider the summer heat and the winter cold of Dallas, TX. After that, just impress me with the general ascetic of the new design. I'm thinking less monolithic, more dynamic, ethereal and organic. Give me air conditioning and tons of natural light with water, trees and plants abounding.

With all that in mind, if I had to rank them in my personal order of preference I'd go:

1. Weiss - Great design that I'd be thrilled to see selected. I think it's a home run. It's monumental but not garish. It's dynamic, ethereal, organic and takes into account heat/cold/hvac and sunlight. It will look like a diamond from KWP and create and instant monument and sense of place for the city. From the inside you'll have an outstanding view of the park and the social dynamic below. I love this design.

2. Diller - Does much of the same as Weiss but it's more garish in my opinion. I love the corten steel and it's certainly a monument but it doesn't interact with KWP as well as Weiss. I'd be excited if this was selected though. Definite upgrade.

3. Maltzan - Neat design. Does what I want in many ways but guys... we're not in LA. We're in Dallas. It's hotter than Hades, this just isn't very practical I don't think.

4. Chipperfield - Meh. It's just okay. So why even bother.

5. Nieto - Meh. It's just okay but worse. Too blocky, too monolithic for my taste, there's no elegance to it, it's just brutish.

6. Johnston - Blah! I'm sorry but this is just absolutely awful. Mailed it in and you can tell. Really didn't achieve any objective. It's significant downgrade from what we have now.

Nice writeup. Weiss' reminds me of NYC's cultural acropolis model of Lincoln Center, but I don't think that this layout can make it a crossroads since the daytime flow from KWP towards Field Street District is so much less than on the Upper West Side of Manhattan

And the win goes to Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos.

https://www.dallasnews.com/arts-enterta ... expansion/

Sweet! This was my second favorite design so I'm happy with this choice.
I know some folks are skeptical of it but I do think that this is the sort of design that will come across better in person than in renderings.

My only concern with this one is the garage entrance by klyde warren. The renderings go out of there way to avoid giving you an idea for how that feels next to the plaza. It does seem to suggest some sort of wall that visually detaches the garage entrance from klyde warren. In the aerial rendering that space doesn't look too great, but so long as the visualized trees get planted on that 'wall' I suppose it will look pretty decent.
But at the end of the day, I'm super excited to see this new pedestrianized section of Harwood.