125 years of culture

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The Detroit Institute of Arts, Michigan USA
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"Cycles", acrylic on canvas, © 1985 Norval Morrisseau
~ Collection of The Detroit Institute of Arts, Michigan USA
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'125 years of culture' by Ted Shaw
/Published by The Windsor Star in June, 2010/

-She's the grande dame of culture in the Motor City, and at 125 years old she's enjoying a new lease on life.
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The Detroit Institute of Arts has come through the recession with flying colours, boasting a profit and healthy attendance.
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The recent US$158-million facelift and expansion, completed in 2007, along with shrewd management, popular exhibits and aggressive marketing have maintained the museum's high profile. The DIA is among a handful of North American cultural institutions that operate in the black.
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Relying on the largesse of donors and endowments rather than government handouts, the DIA is a true people's museum. And at US$8 for an adult admission, it's the best bargain in town.
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The DIA is basically on our doorstep -- a mere 10-minute drive from the tunnel. So we here in Windsor and Essex County have always had a fondness for the place.
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With 140 galleries, more than 60,000 works of art, antiquities and crafts from around the world, educational programs, an internationally famous film theatre and occasional music events, the DIA is in the front ranks of the world's museums.
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Keeping the doors open, however, is a full-time job for Annmarie Erickson, DIA's executive vice-president in charge of administration and planning.
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"We have been fortunate in attracting many benefactors over the years," she said. "But in today's economy we can never let down our guard."
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Here are some highlights of the DIA's 125-year history:
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• The Michigan state senate enacted a bill for the "formation of corporations for the cultivation of art" in 1885. The first Detroit Museum of Art, designed by Hamilton, Ont., architect James Balfour, opened on Jefferson Avenue in 1888.
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• In a daring one-day purchase by the Detroit arts commission in 1922, two contemporary works were acquired -- Vincent van Gogh's Self-Portrait (1887) and Henri Matisse's The Window (1916). At the time, many Detroit museum patrons were shocked, but the works are considered masterpieces and are mainstays of the DIA's permanent collection.
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• That same year, 1922, the museum bought Auguste Rodin's famous sculpture, The Thinker. The contemplative nude has done his thinking in four locations over the years.
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• The current DIA structure, designed by French architect Paul Philippe Cret, opened in 1927. William H. Peck, in his book The Detroit Institute of Arts: A Brief History, said the location at 5200 Woodward Ave., four kilometres from the city centre, was a residential area where many of the city's well-to-do were building mansions "removed from the noise and smoke of downtown Jefferson Avenue." Ironically, that area has become one of bustling urban renewal in recent years.
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• The floor plan of the 1927 building was featured in the 1929 edition of Encyclopedia Britannica as the ideal museum layout. In fact, the DIA's inclusion of ancient artifacts alongside great works of art was revolutionary at the time, and inspired many copy-cat museums around the world.
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• The 1,150-seat auditorium in the west wing, home to Detroit Film Theatre since 1974, also opened in 1927. It was one of the first movie theatres in North America dedicated to showcasing film as an art form.
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• Diego Rivera was commissioned to produce wall murals in the gallery's Garden Court in 1932, sparking more controversy. In an illustration that times change but attitudes don't, Michigan artists complained that a Mexican had been hired to depict the Detroit auto industry. Others called the Detroit Industry mural a blatant advertisement for the Ford Motor Co. -- Edsel Ford paid Rivera's $10,000 fee after the city defaulted on the contract. For his part, Rivera regarded the mural as one his crowning achievements. The space was subsequently renamed the Rivera Court.
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• Among the best attended exhibitions over the years were those of Rembrandt, Tutankhamun and Jim Henson's Muppets. The 2000 exhibit, Van Gogh: Face to Face, attracted 315,000 visitors, the highest total in DIA history.
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• From the beginning, the DIA was determined to display the full range of human creativity. Its inclusion of a 16th-century French chapel, including the later addition of stained glass, was a breakthrough among larger art museums. The main floor's Manoogian wing today also contains recreated rooms from an 18th-century Philadelphia home. The Dodge family in 1977 donated furnishings from the music room of their Grosse Pointe home to recreate an 18th-century French parlour. The effect of viewing these exhibits is like walking back in time.
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• There have been some happy accidents over the years. In 1925, the Detroit Museum purchased a small eight-by-five-inch Flemish work by minor artist Petrus Christus. Upon further study, it was discovered to be Saint Jerome in His Study, a 1430-31 painting by Jan van Eyck, one of the great names in art history. In the '30s, then-DIA director William Valentiner discovered The Wedding Dance (1566), a major work by Pieter Brueghel the Elder. It was so obscured by varnish, dealers were unaware of its true value. Today, it is one of just two works by this brilliant Flemish painter on display in the U.S.
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• The DIA's African collection represents 100 cultures dating from the fifth century BC to the 20th century. Currently, a major exhibition, Through African Eyes: The European in African Art, is on display through Aug. 8.
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• The museum is also home to one of the largest collections of North American native art in the world. In fact, when recent renovations were being mapped out in 2001, the North American collection was deemed important enough to be situated just inside the new main entrance off Farnsworth Street. It houses several Canadian artifacts from Kwakiutl and Haida cultures, as well as a magnificent canvas by the Ojibway artist, Norval Morrisseau, titled 'Cycles'.
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A recent visit to the DIA revealed many more intriguing treasures.
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• Three generations of wood-turners, the Moulthrops of Georgia, are beautiful examples of craft as art.
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• Kehinda Wiley's 2007 work, Officer of the Hussars, depicts a 21st-century American black with a sword and riding a stallion, a copy of the 19th-century painting by Theodore Gericault hanging in the Louvre in Paris.
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• Fumio Yoshimura's detailed, life-sized carving of a motorcycle will have Harley lovers drooling.
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• There is an intriguing interactive display of four works by Pablo Picasso. Picasso's Women is worth a trip to the gallery on its own.
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• Among the great contemporary artists on permanent display are Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, Frank Stella, Marisol, Ellsworth Kelly and George Segal. Don't miss Pakistani artist Shahzia Sikander's gorgeous digital animation work.
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• Don't ignore feeding the body as well as the soul. The Cafe DIA near the John R exit in the museum's west wing offers delicacies like a roast beef baguette with ricotta cheese and sauerkraut, or a vegetable lasagna plus side order, both for under $10.
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The museum is easy to find. Just head up Woodward out of the tunnel and watch for it on your right. There is ample parking in and around the museum grounds. You can park all day in a lot off John R for just $5.
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tshaw@thestar.canwest.com
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© Copyright (c) The Windsor Star-
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Source: The Windsor Star
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