Location, Location, Location

The three most important things any successful business owner or museum director needs to know. But is location the only important thing when planning a museum or museum expansion? This is a question posed by today's NY Times article on the Whitney. As we continue toward the reopening of our expansion, it is interesting to read the commentary by author Roberta Smith about what she refers to as the "recent museum debacles" of our time when it comes to the lack of attention paid to the whole purpose of these buildings, the art and the viewer's experience with it. Isn't it more about the space, the light and the way one experiences the art within that space than it is about impressive (or in Smith's opinion, not so impressive) architecture? One would think that is the main objective, but Smith reminds us that little is done during the process of building a museum to gain the perspective of those who know art the best, the dealers and the artists themselves. Or is it as important to have the structure that houses the art be a work of art itself?

Picture by Julien Jourdes for the New York Times