May 08, 2009|By Angie Leventis Lourgos, SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNE and Tribune reporter Mark Caro contributed to this report.
Two tourists at the Art Institute of Chicago craned their necks as workers carried paintings inside the Modern Wing, the museum's $294 million addition that opens to the public May 16. Most of the artwork was covered, protected from the gaze of potential sneak-peekers.
But Cindy DeNitto of New Haven, Conn., and Karen Kun of Pittsburgh got a glimpse at one piece, what they thought was a depiction of a nude man lying on the ground. Yet it was hard to tell, they say, because the painting was upside-down.
The two women pause, suddenly uncertain.
"Or maybe it was right-side-up," Kun said laughing.
It is, after all, modern art.
These visitors are self-proclaimed art novices, yet their intrigue and excitement were palpable. The reaction is fitting, experts say, since the Modern Wing is designed to provide greater access to art, reconnecting the museum with the surrounding city.
"It's about letting everyone know they belong here, and that the building belongs to them," said Dirk Denison, associate professor in the College of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology, who designed the addition's restaurant.
While the main Art Institute building looks quite formal and stately, Denison said, the Modern Wing's walls of glass are intended to engage passersby -- eliminating a physical barrier between people and works of art. Potential patrons can reach the public access restaurant, sculpture terrace and Ryan Education Center well before they enter the museum, he said. And a pedestrian bridge across Monroe Street, near Michigan Avenue, will connect third floor of the new wing to Millennium Park and serve as a personal invitation to everyone walking below.
"You don't have to buy a ticket, you don't have to have a degree in art history," Denison said. "Everyone has access to it."
Justin Fuller, 33, works a few blocks away from the Art Institute. He often strolls through Millennium Park on his lunch break, yet rarely enters the museum. The building always seemed like an island on its own block, somehow separate from the rest of downtown, he said.
He suspects the new bridge will lure him inside more often. The exhibit halls will seem like a natural extension of the walk he was already taking, he said.
"It's not just a bridge to get people across the street," said Art Institute Director James Cuno. "It's saying that we are part of the experience of the park, and the park is part of the experience of the museum."
Some are enticed by the 264,000-square-foot building, especially because they can't see the exhibits within yet. Students on field trips to the Art Institute whisper "cool" and "awesome" as they pass a miniature display of the new wing and they snap pictures of it with their cell phones, as if the replica were a painting or sculpture.
Jennifer Olsen, 33, of the Streeterville neighborhood, said she is eager to see the view of Millennium Park from the new structure's windows and bridge. Though Olsen has seen the park on ground level, she said she thinks the elevation and lighting will give the scene a new lure.
"I just think that would be a really nice environment, a great atmosphere," she said.
The view is essentially an ever-changing work of art, said Bob O'Neill, president of the Grant Park Conservancy. From the new height, the expanse of the landscaped 2.5-acre Lurie Garden, which O'Neill deems a living aesthetic treasure, will be more visible. He likens the garden to a painting that evolves with the seasons, providing new exhibits throughout the year.
The bridge also gives visitors a rare opportunity to interact with the work of a prominent artist, Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano.
"It's like walking on sculpture," O'Neill said. "You're walking on a piece of art."
Not everyone sees the need for the bridge. Wesley Surta, 22, stared quizzically at the bridge as he walked past. He found the new wing interesting. He loves the Art Institute.
"But I don't see why you need a bridge," he said. "You can just walk across the street."