Ugarte Goes Soft: Brooklyn Museum Renovation ReconsideredI was quick to criticize the renovations at the Brooklyn Museum based on the view from my daily walk-by to the subway. After yesterday’s opening I’ve been able to see the work up close and have to make a major mea culpa - I spoke too soon. The renovation is fantastic.
First, there were features that I didn’t appreciate from across the street; it is a design best viewed from up close. I wish I could tell you more about the renovations, but the lecturer damn near put me to sleep talking about the history of the building’s architecture, so I didn’t last until the part about the new entrance. Here is what I didn’t notice before yesterday: The walkway above the entrance with a view into the well-lit lobby with the orignal brick support beams. The tiered grass sitting area in the plaza. The gorgeous cherry trees. The stands to view he fountain and its choreographed spray .
Mostly, it turns out, what I didn’t see before were people, and people made all the difference (the faces on the kids watching the fountain even softened this surly bastard’s heart). I still feel that the new facade is a bad match for the preexisting building, but I have to give the new entrance a big thumbs up. (For a differing view of the attractiveness of the combination, see person-who-knows-something-about-architecture Herbert Muschamp. The New York Times has a great slideshow of the renovation, as well as panoramic views of the inside and outside of the new entrance in a sidebar to Muschamp’s article. Check it out before it ends up in their pay-per-view archives.)
As part of the grand opening festivities I got to see Brian Dewan’s indescribable I-Can-See filmstrips, which range from the hysterical to the utterly inscrutible. See them if you ever get a chance. I almost met Dewan after the show while I was talking to Francis and Rose, but the traffic swept him up before Francis could introduce me. All for the best, I suppose, as I wouldn’t have known what to say to him after I said “Great show!” and I actually wanted to talk to Francis and Rose. I can’t say it often enough: read Francis’ blog. Today, in the spirit of his play We’re All Dead, Francis posted a summary of Pericles - you don’t need familiarity with the original to find it hilarious.
As for the rest of my weekend, the weather was fantastic, and the Pirates
did their part to make it worth the trips out to Queens. That the Red Wings finished off the Predators and the Lakers won game one from the Rockets just made the weekend an embarrassment of riches.
