Three Cities, 16 Years And $1 Billion Later, 'Defiant' Lucas Museum of Narrative Art Opens To Mixed Reviews (artforum.com) 40
It looks like a spaceship hovering over South Los Angeles, writes CNN, with futuristic tube-like elevators and an exhibition of Banksy murals. There's a room featuring Luke Skywalker's X-34 Landspeeder, but in its gardens there's a 19th-century cast of a sculpture showing David conquering Goliath — and then a bronze statue of Princess Leia strangling Jabba the Hutt with a chain. Next to Rosie the Riveter. CNN argues it's the museum's message that "all forms of art and mythology on display here — from comic book illustrations and 'Star Wars' concept art to Impressionist masterpieces and reproductions of the Sistine Chapel — are worthy of equal consideration within the long arc of human history."
More than 16 years after first proposing a cultural institution dedicated to visual storytelling, filmmaker George Lucas and his wife, businesswoman Mellody Hobson, will open their long-awaited museum in Los Angeles on September 22. The project made two false starts — plans to construct it in San Francisco and Chicago were both eventually abandoned — and has cost Lucas around $1 billion of his own money to build... Inside, visitors will find a significant slice of Lucas' private collection, amassed over five decades and spanning art, costumes, movie props and memorabilia, with more than 1,300 objects currently displayed across 30 galleries...
Many fans will come for the "Star Wars" vehicles and sculptures of Yoda and Grogu, but the sci-fi mega-franchise only occupies about 7% of the museum. Lucas and Hobson are betting those visitors will stay for artworks by Frida Kahlo and Norman Rockwell, photographs by Gordon Parks, comics by Frank Miller and Cowboy Bebop anime, which will be screened in one of two theaters alongside early silent movies, Lucas' own student films and productions by famed historical artists like Man Ray... [M]ajor art institutions like New York's Museum of Modern Art and London's Tate Britain have reconsidered the cultural canon by rehanging their permanent collections, exhibiting overlooked or marginalized artists alongside more widely celebrated names. The Lucas Museum appears to follow a similar philosophy, contending that the gravitas of an artwork is not just determined by its display in space but by what it's in dialogue with. Lucas has even called his namesake museum "a temple to the peoples' art," elevating the work of illustrators and other underappreciated art forms...
The museum defines narrative art as any art that tells a story, and, moving through the space, one feels the enormity of the task of organizing and presenting such a broad vision... The open-plan, curvilinear design means the galleries are not fully divided, reinforcing the all-encompassing nature of the collection, though altogether the vast array of exhibits sometimes struggle for cohesiveness. Disjointed curation may reflect turbulence in the museum's management ahead of the opening. Last April, former director and CEO Sandra Jackson-Dumont departed, with Lucas himself assuming responsibility for "content direction." A month later, the museum laid off 15 full-time and seven part-time staff before chief curator Pilar Tompkins Rivas resigned in December, with no replacement planned...
After failing to secure a site in San Francisco, Lucas faced public opposition and a lawsuit in Chicago, with nonprofit Friends of the Parks arguing that his lakefront proposal would essentially privatize public land. Amid the delays and setbacks, simply opening the museum may feel like a victory to its founders.
Lucas's wife said she'd watched the awe-inspiring activity of genius at work, reports Variety. "And he was fanatical at times, but the thing about a fanatical person is they're a fan. He was a deep fan of these illustrators in this work, and he wanted them to be represented, and I became a deeper fan of his." Hobson teared up as she continued, "I was a fan already, but I saw something, the inspiration, the unwillingness to compromise, the determination, the lack of sleep, the lack of rest, the doggedness that actually taught me so much more than I ever could have imagined." The museum, which features 1,200 pieces from Lucas's private collection, has been in the works for about 20 years... "I thought I was tough. I thought I was strong, I thought I had a will, and then I saw George, and I was like, 'Oh, that's why you could only do six of those movies,'" Hobson said. "Any more would have killed you."
Artforum magazine notes the museum received "mixed reviews" before its September 22 opening: The billion-dollar, 300,000-square-foot museum, which opens to the public on September 22, encompasses 100,000 square feet of gallery space housing the collection of Lucas and Hobson. Intended to highlight storytelling in art, it presents the work of comic book artists John Romita Sr. and R. Crumb, illustrators Maxfield Parrish and Norman Rockwell, and fantasy painters Boris Vallejo and Frank Frazetta alongside masterworks by Artemisia Gentileschi, Lucas Cranach the Elder, and Pieter Brueghel the Younger, as well as Mary Cassatt, Frida Kahlo, and John Singer Sargent. All the works on display were chosen for their ability to tell a story, frequently in a single frame, Hobson told members of the press on September 2...
"Some visitors may be scandalized by the collision of so-called 'high' and 'low,'" wrote Min Chen in Artnet News. "But there's something liberating about watching those hierarchies collapse, seeing the breadth of human creativity arrayed beyond the bounds of genre or canon." Notably, most of the works appear without didactics, which is intentional. "We're encouraging people to have their own individual encounters with works of art and take away what they feel like speaks to them," Lucas told The Guardian.
The tactic did not land for everyone. "Without [didactics], I left the Lucas without a clear sense of how the museum is positioning itself or, frankly, without learning much about anything beyond what I already knew...." wrote Maximiliano Durón in Artnews. "The Museum of Narrative Art lacks any kind of narrative." Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times was unfazed by the lack of information, calling the institution "gutsy" and "defiant."
"Critics will roar," wrote McNamara, "but the Lucas Museum is a win for 'the people's art.'"
Even the museum's web site is a visual extravaganza (and impossible to scroll). Reportedly there's two restaurants, including the rooftop Skywalker Grill, which offers offering everything from striped bass and ragu bolognese to lobster corn dogs and Skywalker ranch Waygu burgers.
Many fans will come for the "Star Wars" vehicles and sculptures of Yoda and Grogu, but the sci-fi mega-franchise only occupies about 7% of the museum. Lucas and Hobson are betting those visitors will stay for artworks by Frida Kahlo and Norman Rockwell, photographs by Gordon Parks, comics by Frank Miller and Cowboy Bebop anime, which will be screened in one of two theaters alongside early silent movies, Lucas' own student films and productions by famed historical artists like Man Ray... [M]ajor art institutions like New York's Museum of Modern Art and London's Tate Britain have reconsidered the cultural canon by rehanging their permanent collections, exhibiting overlooked or marginalized artists alongside more widely celebrated names. The Lucas Museum appears to follow a similar philosophy, contending that the gravitas of an artwork is not just determined by its display in space but by what it's in dialogue with. Lucas has even called his namesake museum "a temple to the peoples' art," elevating the work of illustrators and other underappreciated art forms...
The museum defines narrative art as any art that tells a story, and, moving through the space, one feels the enormity of the task of organizing and presenting such a broad vision... The open-plan, curvilinear design means the galleries are not fully divided, reinforcing the all-encompassing nature of the collection, though altogether the vast array of exhibits sometimes struggle for cohesiveness. Disjointed curation may reflect turbulence in the museum's management ahead of the opening. Last April, former director and CEO Sandra Jackson-Dumont departed, with Lucas himself assuming responsibility for "content direction." A month later, the museum laid off 15 full-time and seven part-time staff before chief curator Pilar Tompkins Rivas resigned in December, with no replacement planned...
After failing to secure a site in San Francisco, Lucas faced public opposition and a lawsuit in Chicago, with nonprofit Friends of the Parks arguing that his lakefront proposal would essentially privatize public land. Amid the delays and setbacks, simply opening the museum may feel like a victory to its founders.
Lucas's wife said she'd watched the awe-inspiring activity of genius at work, reports Variety. "And he was fanatical at times, but the thing about a fanatical person is they're a fan. He was a deep fan of these illustrators in this work, and he wanted them to be represented, and I became a deeper fan of his." Hobson teared up as she continued, "I was a fan already, but I saw something, the inspiration, the unwillingness to compromise, the determination, the lack of sleep, the lack of rest, the doggedness that actually taught me so much more than I ever could have imagined." The museum, which features 1,200 pieces from Lucas's private collection, has been in the works for about 20 years... "I thought I was tough. I thought I was strong, I thought I had a will, and then I saw George, and I was like, 'Oh, that's why you could only do six of those movies,'" Hobson said. "Any more would have killed you."
Artforum magazine notes the museum received "mixed reviews" before its September 22 opening: The billion-dollar, 300,000-square-foot museum, which opens to the public on September 22, encompasses 100,000 square feet of gallery space housing the collection of Lucas and Hobson. Intended to highlight storytelling in art, it presents the work of comic book artists John Romita Sr. and R. Crumb, illustrators Maxfield Parrish and Norman Rockwell, and fantasy painters Boris Vallejo and Frank Frazetta alongside masterworks by Artemisia Gentileschi, Lucas Cranach the Elder, and Pieter Brueghel the Younger, as well as Mary Cassatt, Frida Kahlo, and John Singer Sargent. All the works on display were chosen for their ability to tell a story, frequently in a single frame, Hobson told members of the press on September 2...
"Some visitors may be scandalized by the collision of so-called 'high' and 'low,'" wrote Min Chen in Artnet News. "But there's something liberating about watching those hierarchies collapse, seeing the breadth of human creativity arrayed beyond the bounds of genre or canon." Notably, most of the works appear without didactics, which is intentional. "We're encouraging people to have their own individual encounters with works of art and take away what they feel like speaks to them," Lucas told The Guardian.
The tactic did not land for everyone. "Without [didactics], I left the Lucas without a clear sense of how the museum is positioning itself or, frankly, without learning much about anything beyond what I already knew...." wrote Maximiliano Durón in Artnews. "The Museum of Narrative Art lacks any kind of narrative." Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times was unfazed by the lack of information, calling the institution "gutsy" and "defiant."
"Critics will roar," wrote McNamara, "but the Lucas Museum is a win for 'the people's art.'"
Even the museum's web site is a visual extravaganza (and impossible to scroll). Reportedly there's two restaurants, including the rooftop Skywalker Grill, which offers offering everything from striped bass and ragu bolognese to lobster corn dogs and Skywalker ranch Waygu burgers.
Now I want to go (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Now I want to go (Score:5, Insightful)
"Good at getting quoted" is an orthogonal skill to "being a good judge of art," and it's apparent that Lucas did not appropriately kowtow to the establishment in the way necessary to get promoted. The critics can't outright say it's bad, because if it's popular, then people won't trust them.
Re:Now I want to go (Score:4, Informative)
The critics can't outright say it's bad, because if it's popular, then people won't trust them.
We wouldn't want to damage the public's trust that what critics says is bad is, with absolutely certainty, good. And vice versa. A good critic is very reliable that way.
Re:Now I want to go (Score:5, Funny)
Is anyone surprised that someone named Maximiliano Durón wasn't happy with the didactics of a Star Wars museum?
Re:Now I want to go (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Why (Score:5, Insightful)
All the works on display were chosen for their ability to tell a story, frequently in a single frame, Hobson told members of the press on September 2...
and
I left the Lucas without a clear sense of how the museum is positioning itself or, frankly, without learning much about anything beyond what I already knew...." wrote Maximiliano Durón
It's positioning itself as a display of art that tells a story, frequently in a single frame. I would give Maximilliano a break if he'd written his article on September 1, but he wrote it on September 3. That's on him.
Re: (Score:2, Flamebait)
architecture (Score:5, Informative)
It was originally intended to look like this [newatlas.com], but I think the final design is an improvement.
Re: (Score:3)
But in empty spaces, as here, outrageous buildings like this can be beautiful and amazing.
Re:architecture (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
You didn't even read the whole comment?
>But in empty spaces, as here, outrageous buildings like this can be beautiful and amazing.
Re: (Score:2)
There was a parking lot there before. And LA has plenty of other examples of similar architecture, some of it considered LA landmarks
Re: (Score:2)
That is really cool. Looks like it came straight out of The Orville.
Re: (Score:2)
Shoulda gone full Sailbarge.
Re: (Score:2)
Weird but kind of cool (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Weird but kind of cool (Score:5, Interesting)
I gotta give to Lucas that while much of his work is of questionable qualities across many metrics they could be judged on, he still spends his energy and more importantly money on things that make him happy and attempt to bring something he finds cool and interesting into the world, instead of trying to usurp platforms to further his fave political agendas and stroke his ego, which cannot be said for many/most pepole of his status. Can't say he's my favourite creator, but at least he acts like a human being, rather than turning into a monstrous hollow husk chasing profit or worse, trying to make other people's life worse actively like certain individuals
I certainly agree, and find teh whole high and low art a bunch of BS. Some people like one thing and another a different thing, neither is better just different. The only thing the distinction is good for is for some pretentious critics to pontificate about things most people never read.
that give many a slashdot commenter raging hardons.
You saying /. is good for foreplay?
Re: (Score:3)
that give many a slashdot commenter raging hardons.
You saying /. is good for foreplay?
No, I'm saying the second line in my hosts file is:
104.18.4.215 www.pornub.com
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Weird but kind of cool (Score:4, Interesting)
defiant is name of star destroyer (Score:4, Interesting)
Star Wars was a fluke (Score:2)
The original 1st film. It was successful because of the people involved keeping Lucas in check, only has to look at the following trilogy of films as an example of hubris and unchecked ego.
An entire museum dedicated to his "thoughts" is just icing on the cake of his run amok self-inflated sense of importance.
Re: (Score:3)
Lucas is capable of making good scifi, look at THX 1138 as an example. High level story with a very stylish look. I watched it sometime in the early 00s and decided to watch it again recently not knowing it had undergone the "Lucas treatment". You're going to see a proto C3P0 head being created and then during the tunnel chase scene we go from an empty tunnel to some cartoon cityscape with spaghetti roads and hundreds of cars buzzing about. Then back to the deserted tunnel again.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Gary Kurtz, Richard Chew, Paul Hirsch and primarily Marcia Lucas - who fixed it in the edit.
Re: (Score:2)
My thinking is more that he just went off the rails with excessive enthusiasm for CGI and forgot that he also needed to write a good script. That's why Episodes I-III stunk; the scripts weren't good.
Mixed Feelings (Score:2)
I very much like the building. It is striking, pleasing, and very stylish.
The artwork, as much as is pictured here, does not appeal to me in any way.
I have it in good faith (Score:2)
that Harrison Ford did not agree to being one of the displays, in particular the depiction of perfect hibernation He would be the first to tell you it's just a movie, here's your lunch box.
Dated already! (Score:2)
A whole floor dedicated to Banksy, a meme artist from 2018! Sorry, I'm open to new or whimsical architecture, but at least from the outside, the building looks stupid.
This museum is basically "Star Wars exhibit with some other stuff for some reason." After the initial rush of Star Wars fans, who wants to go? And in 30 years when the last kid who saw star wars in the theater is dead, will anybody care at all?
Re: (Score:1)
Banksy's been around since the 90's.
Amusing ourselves to Death :o (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
Jesus, guns, and Nascar
The building is almost as big as Lucas's ego (Score:2)
That's an object example of how bloated his ego is. He consciously eliminated the physical media history of motion pictures because he thought digital was superior.
Lovely building, great short film exhibits (Score:2)