UT-Dallas gets art collection, new museum

[itsjrd1964]

Richard Barrett and his late wife, Nona, collected around 400 pieces of Swiss art over the years. The decision was made to donate this collection to UT-Dallas, where a museum will be built to house and display it. It will take 3-4 years to build, and span around 50,000 square feet.

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/phi ... new-museum

[Tivo_Kenevil]

That's cool. They should've just donated to DMA. But whatevs.

[cowboyeagle05]

That certainly helps the university buy its way into a more respectable arts position.

[I45Tex]

Harwood funder/founder Barbier-Mueller is Swiss (Geneva?) as well.

I don't see the value of trying to make DMA a kind of Southern comprehensive Metropolitan Museum of Art, so it's fine with me to specialize, especially if an institution hasn't earned someone's trust, which institutions even more than individuals have to do since institutions try to self-perpetuate.

The Arts District has no dibs on one-stop art viewing here, even were that halfway desirable -- we've probably gone too far in that direction already. As has the Met. Why keep trying so hard to get a name donor for your own new modern art wing, just to dig in your heels against rival collections that are specialized and must-see on the same island?

[exelone31]

I'm really stoked for my alma mater to get this collection and museum. I have no clue about what other universities have in terms of art collections (aside from the Meadows Museum at SMU), but I wonder how this stacks up? It'd be really cool to have a revered art destination up north, besides the Art Barn (RIP).

[Tivo_Kenevil]

I'm really stoked for my alma mater to get this collection and museum. I have no clue about what other universities have in terms of art collections (aside from the Meadows Museum at SMU), but I wonder how this stacks up? It'd be really cool to have a revered art destination up north, besides the Art Barn (RIP).

I really don't get it, it's a nice thing but completely irrelevant to the school. UTD isn't an institution that is known for the arts. To my knowledge they don't even have an Arts or a Music program.

They're known as engineering and business school. Building a museum doesn't do much to promote the universities mission, which is to be a leading research University in STEM.

This gift makes more sense in SMU (private college that already has a collection) or UNT (a renknown college for the performing arts).

I would have rather seen this gift be given to the DMA, for the simple reason that the Meadows museum is generally invisible to most people.

Its bad enough the collection is only limited to Swiss art (talk about a niche segment) now couple that with UTDs campus layout ,a maze of hidden buildings with a fortress like entry way, I can only imagine how much of a ghost town this museum will be.

To be honest this gift seems nothing more than a legacy type of deal. A rich person gives their art away and in return they get a fancy new building named after them.

But nice gesture nonetheless.

[ContriveDallasite]

You seem to have a personal vendetta against UTD Tivo?

The campus really truely has changed in the past decade. You should go check it out.

UTD started as a research school for engineering. The fact that UTD has expended the way it has, is entirely due to the fact that the school is trying new things. I am happy to see UTD expanding in to the arts, it will help provide a fully rounded University experience.

[Tivo_Kenevil]

You seem to have a personal vendetta against UTD Tivo?

The campus really truely has changed in the past decade. You should go check it out.

UTD started as a research school for engineering. The fact that UTD has expended the way it has, is entirely due to the fact that the school is trying new things. I am happy to see UTD expanding in to the arts, it will help provide a fully rounded University experience.

No I don't have Vendetta lol..I want UTD and UNT to both be the best they can be. Which is why I have made donations to these institutions in the past.

I believe the better these Public Universities are;a better place DFW becomes. In a way DFW's long term success is dependent on these schools ability to staff our jobs in NTX.

I simply believe building a Swiss Art Museum does not do anything to help UTD. Are they interested in expanding to the Arts? If so i'd be okay with it. I just have not read anything about that. This seems like a vanity project for a rich person. Just my opinion, I don't really care though to be honest.

I'll have to revisit UTD soon. To be fair, last time I went to UTD was last year for an analytics seminar; lots of construction was going on.

[The_Overdog]

My opinion: they seem to be legitimately interested in becoming a 'university' and not just a fancy engineering trade school. I wouldn't be surprised if they had long-term plans (~20 years) to open a more liberal-arts esque college on campus, and this may push them along.

[Matt777]

The School of Arts and Technology (ATEC) has seen a ton of investment over the years. They have their own massive newer building right on the student mall. Arts has been a focus for a while, but not in the traditional way. In a more modern, useful way. Still requires an appreciation for the old, but I doubt they will ever focus on a traditional old-school arts program which is of little use to most people these days. Getting a a traditional "arts" degree is a surefire way to have problems finding employment after college in this modern world.

And UTD is a "real university." Would you say MIT is not a "real university" because they don't focus heavily on the liberal arts?

ATEC homepage: https://atec.utdallas.edu/

ATEC Building:

[cowboyeagle05]

My understanding is they have been pursuing more technology-driven arts program at UTD. Aka New Media degrees and the like. Having a traditional art collection to backfill a new age arts program could be a game changer for them though. It will allow them to hire art directors that are experienced in more traditional art teaching and they study the Swiss art along with what else in DFW.

Look at UTA they hired an architecture journalist to teach Architecture criticism as part of their architecture program and they hired him in a joint hire with the DMN so he would write for them as well. Having the Swiss Art Collection just means the possibility of attracting new staff that before might have ignored them without something more traditional to back up their digital arts programming.