| Show The Salt Lake Tribune Sunday September 13 1987 Ell Smithsonian Institution’s two new museums are down under Continued From outside still dominate with picturesque bits of the Castle framed by the diamond-shapewindows of the Sackler and the circles of the African Both have complex classically patterned pink granite floors I spent 10 years at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts- ” said Carlhian 67 speaking of the Pans school that codified Greek and Roman precedents into a system for designing 19th- - and buildings “I know how to design a floor ” The granite stairs with their bronze railings and richly colored Pompeian green balusters have an almost exaggerated air of dignity Skylights admit natural light far down the staircases of the two museums each of which has a reflecting pool at the bottom The museums were designed in a sense as Siamese twins Each would have its own set of galleries one level below the garden and they would share another large gallery two levels down This space was intended for large dramatic shows that would sometimes be mounted by one of the two museums and might sometimes be unrelated to either Large international shows sometimes have more to do w ith diplomacy than with curatorial considerations This facility was intended to give the Smithsonian a way of accommodating such exhibitions involving cultuies much as the National Gallery does for countries who share a European-basetradition This idea has been abandoned at least for now and a temporary wall has been built down the center of the large gallery wuth each museum getting half Because the space thus created was awkward and high and the objects in their collections tend to be small both museums have tried to make the space seem less large than it 0 two-stor- y d ‘ 20th-centur- y n d is In the African this is done with a black grid suspended well below the main ceiling while the Sackler has closed off the lofty spaces of the gallery with a solid ceiling Also abandoned has been Carlhian s desire to make the two museums' galleries evoke the traditional museum experience as a sequence of rooms with wood floors moldings coffered ceilings to hide lighting and some natural light from skylights discreetly tucked into the garden The Sackler uses some natural light to good effect while the African has covered its skylights completely The ceilings of both museums are flat with a dense stubble of track lighting Floors are carpeted There are no moldings Carlhian has made no secret of his disappointment with the way these galleries have been installed He believes that they accentuate the sense of disorientation that people are like- - feel when they know they are underground a feeling he believed his traditional design minimized At the same time it is easy to see why these two museums v hose collections consist almost entirely of small scale works of a kind unfamiliar to the majority of visitors would use a strategy that seeks to make every work seem a treasure Still the shell that Carlhian has de signed makes its own demands I" each museum the elevators and steps reach the gallery floors in different places This implies some sort of linking space which both museums have suppressed If you walk down while a friend rides you’ll never find each other downstairs There is also a link at the gallery level between the two museums which happens where vou ly to would least expect it Each museum has its own exhibition design staff which designed the interiors That of the African is most emphatically based on brightly illuminated objects floating in the dark usually in glass cases that stand on platforms or are attached to the wall and jut into the space The visitors path is a bit like the wav through a suburban housing development curving wavs that often end in cul de sacs Its major opening exhibition installed in the large high gallerv has many dangerous shallow steps which are intended to divide and organize the exhibition The Sackler s installation while similar in its overall outlook is considerably more varied in its colors light levels and overall feeling The galleries are a bit larger than those of the African but they feel much larger because of their display styles Even though a few of the installations are considered to be permanent the interiors of both museums are temporary Even the portals in the Sackler that appear to be made of granite turn out to be nothing more than a clever coat of paint This means that anything that has been done can be undone and redone It mav never be known though whether Carlhian's classical Is Having A Opening IFor People Starved IF or Pnn CM-CM- V rtititif i 4 i A f ' ‘ fvv Vti r I LI B m W V Wy tK y i W 4 IB Ir sir I U y P I BiIB1 fti B4 ItV I varapk Jr m VA fcrV V V B- - JH He-Gran- k it """"‘" - jk v v 1 — BK mm m — 'rir¥Vr y iv fTf t- Vi m M -- m ? § § 4 4 4 d 4 4 4 4 § § 4 4 4 4 ouisp ecial iVcUvity I play and center w eC Biio Bxlo ' UWe id ' 4 I I J : Seafood Salad ShnmpChdiitds J I9ini 4 4 Kids Eat Eor 99$ 4 4 4WTT We have just added a new dining area to our restaurant in Midvale and to celebrate all kids under 12 can order anv item from the childrens menu and it costs only 99C (Limited time onl) ) TOYS & ADVENTURES “The Toy Store like never before” When you feel a little Mexican I Midvale RAMSEY GROUP 6 8 or Contact Linda Wolcott Decorated Models Open Dally Noon to 7 pm 2400 East 3900 South 467-668- LUXURY CONDOMINIUM HOMES 272-887- Layton Provo ap- proach to the showing of buried treasure would have been an appropriate way to show the two collections He prefers not to make the descent into the galleries Instead he stood recently and watched a little girl playing with the water in the African garden ‘ That s a pleasure to me" he said ' It s exactly what I intended " Logan |
