NOW/THEN/AGAIN: Contemporary Art in Dallas 1949-1989 Page: 15
85 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this book.
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This 1984 installation photograph
of part of the permanent collection
illustrates the beautifully propor-
tioned, monumental spaces de-
signed by DMA architect, Edward
Larrabee Barnes.temporary exhibitions.
For that purpose, Gary Cunningham designed and technical designer Larry
Harmon fabricated a series of wall structures that can be moved, painted, and altered
to form spaces appropriate to all varieties of works of art. The beautifully propor-
tioned, spaces designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes will thus become the setting for
smaller, more intimate spaces so that works of art of a small scale or works that
require a low level of natural light can be introduced into the major galleries of the
museum. These new wall systems will also make it possible to display more works of
sculpture and decorative arts in the galleries by subdividing the monumental spaces
into manageable units.
The process of installation design relates ultimately to the difficult judgments of
quality made by the curatorial team. Since the DMA has far too many works of
contemporary art to exhibit the entire collection at once, several criteria were
established in order to guide the process of selection. The first, and most obvious, is
esthetic quality and historical importance. Decisions about such matters are relatively
easy when dealing with such well-studied movements as Abstract Expressionism,
Color Field Painting, Pop Art, or even Minimalism. Yet, many contemporary works in
the collection do not fit comfortably into these movements, and certain decisions,
especially about art produced during the past decade, were made as a result of the
firm conviction of the curators rather than on the basis of an established system of
value. This very fact lends an element of risk and experimentation to the installation,
an element which is, in the end, its most exciting aspect.
Likewise, visitors to this installation will be able to assess the quality of each
work of art in the collection. In making these individual judgments, however, we
should remember the golden rule of Alfred Barr, the venerated first curator of the
Museum of Modern Art. Barr recognized the experimental nature both of collecting
and of presenting contemporary art in a museum. Virtually unprecedented among his
professional colleagues, he acknowledged that his decision about the quality of an
individual work of contemporary art might or might not be an "enduring" one. Yet
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Brettell, Richard R. NOW/THEN/AGAIN: Contemporary Art in Dallas 1949-1989, book, 1989; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth307668/m1/20/: accessed May 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Dallas Museum of Art.