|
 |
|
|
By Karin Moody
Paul Ha, director of the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, recently received an interesting e-mail. A colleague wrote that while she waited in line to enter the 2004 Whitney Biennial at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, she overheard a couple discussing the art scene in St. Louis.
“That’s my goal, that anywhere in the world where people talk about contemporary art, they talk about St. Louis,” Ha says. “I want us to be part of the daily dialogue in contemporary art.”
On the brink of its one-year anniversary, the Contemporary is an increasingly popular subject among artists, critics, curators and collectors across the nation—and the world. Since its Sept. 20, 2003, debut, more than 25,000 people have visited the 27,200-square-foot space designed by award-winning architect Brad Cloepfil in Grand Center.
 Spring 2003, at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis. |
|
“We didn’t know what to expect when we opened and went from a small, not-for-profit alternative space to a full-fledged museum,” says Ha, a native of New York. The opening exhibit was “A Fiction of Authenticity: Contemporary Africa Abroad,” which Ha says generated a high amount of media attention: “Not just about the opening, but also the institution and our impact on the revitalization of the St. Louis area. And the coverage hasn’t died down.”
The museum’s second exhibition featured an installation by Polly Apfelbaum and works on paper by Yun-Fei Ji, both from New York. “For the third show, Paris-based Michael Lin created this living room, and visitors would ask, ‘Where’s the art?’” Ha remembers. “And we said, ‘You’re sitting in it!’” The museum also presented a 15-year retrospective of video work by noted performance artist William Pope.L.
None of these artists had shown their work in St. Louis, and most had not been seen in the Midwest. In fact, for many of the exhibiting artists it is their first major
solo show. Perhaps for that reason, the Contemporary is getting a solid reputation as a discoverer of great contemporary artists.
The museum also dialogues in its own hometown, where, Ha notes, “there is
definitely an art community, because I
heard about it before I got here.” The Contemporary, in collaboration with the Gateway Foundation, established the Great Rivers Biennial Awards Program to support local artists. Submitted works were judged by curators from the Seattle Art Museum, the Whitney and the Renaissance Society in Chicago. Three artists—Jill Downen, Adam Frelin and Kim Humphries—were selected, each receiving a $15,000 grant and the opportunity to exhibit at the Contemporary. (The first Great Rivers Biennial Exhibition runs through August 22.)
Humphries, whose “Collection” installation combines common objects, such as interactive art puzzles, vintage furniture, and the intriguing dichotomy of high art/low culture, says, “The Contemporary is the center of it all. It’s the temple.” He believes being selected to participate in the Biennial “is a leg up, and it goes farther than the grant. It’s a very important exhibit that will be well documented.”
Frelin’s work, “Spotlight/White Heat/ Airborne,” deals with three energy sources: wind, heat and light. “Winning the competition is a great opportunity for me personally, because I often have to work very frugally. This grant allows me to be more ambitious and complete my work the way I really want to,” he says. “So many museums in other cities ignore the local artists because they don’t necessarily attract the attention of New York or Los Angeles. I think it takes a good deal of courage for the Contemporary to promote local artists so professionally and respectfully.”
That was the intention, Ha says. “We had about 270 entries, which shows there’s a buzz in the air and people want to interact with us. Above all, it shows while we are striving to become an internationally respected institution, we’re committed to the local scene as well.”
That commitment to the local arts community also translates into local dollars. The Contemporary’s new building cost $10.5 million, and the museum has an annual operating budget of between $1.5 million and $2 million. “That primarily comes from generous individuals. It covers 14 employees for whom we pay city earnings tax,” Ha says. “Also, I’ve had local hotels call and say, ‘We have visitors coming specifically to see your museum and we don’t know where you are!’”
Ha believes that sort of excitement is good news for the St. Louis region. “I feel like we’ve reached one level, which is to open the museum and become part of the local fabric,” he says. “Now I feel like we’re at the beginning of the next level, where we get the nod from our colleagues and peers saying, ‘They’re doing great things in St. Louis.’”
|
|
|
|
|
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|
