Are you a member of the Taubman Museum of Art? Why or why not?
The Taubman Museum of Art in Roanoke has been open for a little over three years now. I have a question for Southwest Virginia residents: if you’ve joined the museum, why? (About 3,200 of you have.) And if you haven’t joined the museum, why? Tell me in the comments.
 A bonus extra, HT Matt Chittum: the Taubman as seen by Google. |
December 18, 2011 - 10:00 AM
Although the museum structure is certainly impressive, the art that it houses holds no appeal. The only exhibit that was even a bit interesting was the tech interactive “hands” exhibit. The museum should showcase the art of Virginians… not just the modernists. Modern art is not appreciated by the general public. Perhaps sharing exhibits with the Fine arts museum in Richmond might help. For the most part, the museum is a waste of admission…I’m surprised anyone goes back after the first disappointing visit.
I am not a member mostly because I’m recently out of college and broke. However, I think the Taubman is really a great place. I have been to quite a few of the free Saturdays they offer and very much enjoyed the experience.
For those who think it is too much modern or non-local art I would suggest checking out the contemporary gallery which features a large number of regional artists right now including some of the professors I had at Virginia Tech. Also the Roanoke Times exhibit right now is great and has a lot of interesting local history.
I’m with jo-anne on this one; one visit was enough.
I am a student member and like to go when time allows. I love the special previews of being a member before the exhibit opens to the general public. They are doing a great service to Roanoke City and Roanoke County by providing culture and resources to students that they would not normally have due to budget cuts.
I think the major problem is that they don’t need to be doing a regular mail campaign to the surrounding area. They don’t use Twitter or Facebook as much as they should. An update on Nora’s specials is not going to cut it. In order to bring the community into the museum, they have to step out of the museum.
One thing they can do is create an Outreach program to Salem, Bedford, Floyd, and surrounding counties. Much like programs that go to the schools and do classroom activities and presentations. You can also do this with senior centers who can’t go out to the Taubman. Art is supposed to be very therapeutic for seniors. They have several rooms for new artists. Why not mix it up with a featured local artist in one of those galleries and change it out? Local artists and people support each other, not always outsiders. That is why the Animal Exhibit was such a huge hit.
What they are doing right is the free Saturdays to get people in and these are sponsored by local businesses. And the programs that are currently set up with the local school systems.
But the Taubman needs to do more and quickly. Before funds begin to bottom out again. If you want the community to come out to you, you have to go out to them with these true Outreach programs and by engaging followers of social media more effectively. They are greatly missing the boat on that.
I wish I could do more for the museum, but sadly, being a Math/Science major in college is not going to allow for that kind of time.
Thanks for the excellent comment, Amanda.
I have never been, and I refuse to ever set foot in the place. Every time I pass it, my blood boils. And this is coming from someone who began her college career as a music performance major. What ridiculously out of touch group of people thought the residents of this city could/would sustain a $66 million building to house a bunch of stuff that the vast majority of people have either never heard of or don’t care about? Who on earth thought, ‘Oh, yes, they will come from hundreds or thousands of miles away to ROANOKE for an ART MUSEUM’?!?! If I want to take a vacation to go to an art museum, I’m going to New York. And so is everyone else.
I hope those donating to the museum will contribute more wisely: directly to the area’s schools’ arts and music programs. We don’t need a multi-million dollar building to teach our kids the value of art.
@Keely
It’s here, make use of it. Making direct contributions to the public school systems will not ensure that the money is used for that purpose. Unless you donate directly to the parent organization that ensures the continuance of those programs which they can not do.
If you don’t think it should be an art museum, what do you propose that the City Market do with the building? Tear it down? That costs money and environmental hazards. Turn it into a community center? Roanoke City has spent plenty of money upgrading the Market itself and you have Jefferson Center and Roanoke Civic Center for the performing arts. So if not an art museum, what are you going to do with it?
It gets tiring to hear people complain about something and not do anything about it, i.e. come up with solutions not just quips.
I may be in the minority, but I have been a fan of the building all along. It has the potential to be a grand attraction to and for Roanoke and the region.
I have also been a member since its opening.
But I agree with many of the other comments. The content and events are very narrow in their appeal to people. Especially in this region.
We don’t have to have all rock or country music, or all folk art. But we DO need to have a broad spectrum of interesting and exciting art and performances. This along with open events with local and regional artists.
In an area of this size and demographics, having a permanent exhibit of classical art and lectures on the interests of art scholars won’t pay the bills. There is plenty of great local art, music, literature and theatre in this area, if the museum would only bring them in. People would come.
Such strong objections to the Taubman really bug me. For one, I find the rotation of exhibits to be remarkable. Every few months the museum changes at least one of its exhibits and most of the shows feature really inventive and exciting works. Perhaps some would prefer oil portraits or relaxing pastoral scenes, but I for one would find that boring beyond all measure. Be not mistaken, I love figurative art and have enjoyed many afternoons in the National Gallery’s East Wing; but our collection will never be able to rival so many other museums in that regard. What we can do is expose people to emerging artist that are toying with new media and modes of expression. Some of the art is whimsical and some profound, but it is all engaging. I agree that the Taubman will not draw tourist, and perhaps it is a failure in that regard. However, the Taubman is a museum made for members. It has a great open space for people to gather and enjoy music and discussions. It has small exhibits that are made for brief moments of respite. It often features interesting work by local artist and students. It has (or had but will soon again have) a wonderful art playground for children. It has a performance space that host a local and remarkable children’s theatre. It host frequent lectures and art discussions. It has a wonderful (and locally owned) bistro. It has ample outdoor seating. It does a great deal of community outreach. It often features community based installations. This is OUR museum. People who automatically reject it because of its cost or design (I share their view on that point, but so what) are closing themselves of to some great enrichment opportunities.
@Rucker,
I think they need to explore that route as well. They need to collaborate with local artists through the various supporting groups. Southwest Virginia Artists is a huge group on Facebook that they need to tap into more. Her blog and website probably see more hits in one day than the Taubman does in a month. Which tells me that they aren’t marketing for the 21st century.
I am a member and am very grateful to the Taubman for bringing art and artists and opportunities to grow artistically to me, to my students, and to my community. It is a treasure to have in our own backyard, and i hope folks will give it another visit. It doesn’t hurt to step out of your comfort zone once and a while, and the Taubman gives us all a chance to open our minds to new ways of thinking and creating without having to drive to Richmond or D.C..An art museum is not a gallery with the intention of showing and selling local art, that isn’t the role of a museum. That is the role of the galleries! But the museum can help all of us stretch and grow and continue to mature creatively. join the museum- then share your perspective, and help it grow and reflect the needs of the community it serves!
Katherine Devine
Well said Katherine! I just think that many artists and the Taubman could market themselves better! Like more web pics through FB… more tweets… more talk and more show!
The first time I visited the Taubman I purchased a day pass. After 20 minutes I came back and upgraded to a membership. David Mickenberg and his smart, friendly staff consistently bring exciting exhibits and events to the museum and have always been accessible, dynamic and thoughtful partners. They generously host the Hollins Playwrights Lab Guest Series for us every summer. I feel incredibly fortunate to have such a remarkable museum downtown, and I plan on continuing my membership even after I move away from Roanoke.
We moved to Roanoke by choice. Why? The Taubman!! (& Studios o’ the Square). My thanks to the Taubman’s for investing in Roanoke with this awesome architecture. This sculptural structure alone put Roanoke on the International Museum Map. Their diverse exhibits (national, regional and local) are an added bonus. The 2010-11 exhibit philosophy of Mickenberg and his curators include the local and regional arts. What more can be done? Sorry, but it’s up to the people now to show support.
In retrospect, maybe the Taubman’s would have located this incredible facility in Lynchburg or Charlottesville where it would have been appreciated by the majority? Can you imagine making an investment of this magnitude only to be criticized left and right?
Even now the museum’s iconic urban facade is missing from photos that identify Roanoke’s skyline. Instead we only see a bank tower (Wachovia-Wells Fargo). Why does WDBJ, WSLS, Chamber, etc censure this arch-art?
We seem to forget that the original cost ($35M) of the museum doubled immediately after the commitment was sealed. Why? Katrina!!! Remember? The same reason 12/2 electrical cable doubled ($35 to $70) at Lowe’s. And why do the critics continue to ‘nail’ the museum after the second economic burst? The real estate bubble.
Regional economic support of Roanoke’s cultural communities has taken multiple beatings. Let count some of them. Shenandoah Life, once a major arts contributor, rolled the real estate dice and lost. Wachovia did the same. Advance Auto moved its headquarters out of Roanoke and Luna’s lawsuit emerged. Freight Car American, Roanoke Times and others downsized.
It’s probably too late to expect Jenny Taubman to move back to Roanoke (regrettably), but it is not too late to support the museum.
I purchased a family membership when the museum first opened but did not renew. I was disappointed in the children’s area and did not feel that the limited activities were worth the money. When my daughter gets older and can appreciate the other exhibits I will reconsider. For the money spent, I think a lot of people feel the museum should be larger. I do appreciate the effort the Taubman has put into community collaborations and the addition of Free Saturdays.
I am a member, but have not stepped into the museum for quite some time. I personally, find the building to be quite impressive, but I continue to be disappointed with the utilization of its space – particularly the fact that the administrative offices are on the 3rd floor – leaving alot of the architectural details off limits to the general public.
I would like to see more commitment to showcasing local artists, especially in the atrium. I would also like to see the Taubman get some of the traveling exhibits – such as the Andy Wharhol exhibit that is going to Radford University. Why are we not showcasing some of the art from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts?
I have been a member of the Taubman Museum since it opened, and I attend most of the exhibits. I have travelled throughout the world to view art. I find the aesthetic direction of the museum to be quite limited. Frankly I am very tired of Leah Stoddards’ view of contemporary art. She selects exhibits that are redundant, often cardboard art that use box-cutter aesthetics that portend to be folk art but in fact are mostly pseudo-cliche’s. I feel that her selections often parody the idea of ‘southern artist’ as unsophisticated and rather corny. She seems to promote a ‘hee-haw Beverly Hills Hillbilly’ attitude that I find condescending to southern artists and also to the intellectual underpinnings of sophisticated art. Many exhibits seem like roadside attractions, making the Taubman less serious than it could be and less a location of fine art rather than an entertainment venue.