Contemporary Museum Trends

Trends: Outdoor Art and Landscaping

Art, from installations to digital projections to sculpture, is showing up outdoors on a frequent basis. Public engagement with art from the outside is becoming a key design element for new museum programs. 

Sculpture gardens, light shows and transforming the landscape into art is becoming very popular amongst institutions, old and new.

Art installations along with the transformation of landscapes into art pieces engages the public from a distance, evoking interest in the institution and allowing interaction with the user prior to the entry into the building.  This also embodies all people of different social classes to enjoy and interact with art. Some claim that there is a basic public right to experience culture and arts, and it should not only be enjoyed as a luxury to those who can afford it.“Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.” (Brett Bailey, Curator, Infecting the City Festival). 

Many museums are embracing the idea of outdoor art, to give a small sample of museums participating in outdoor art include the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art in Virginia, Museum of Outdoor Arts in Colorado, Kansas City Museum and the Cleveland Museum of Art.  

Cleveland Museum of Art

Mark Reigelman: White Cloud

American artist Mark Reigelman was commissioned by the Cleveland Museum of Art to create an installation outside of the museum.  He installed 100 eight-foot weather balloons outside in such a configuration that it represented white clouds.  This installation was in accordance with a particular event, the annual Summer Solstice Party.  

The magnitude of the installation embraces the public eye from multiple distances, allowing several levels of engagement with the installation.  The public user has an instant experience with the installation from a distance, and the experience changes as the user moves closer to the museum. 

The outdoor art creates a link from the concealed exhibitions located inside the building to the outdoors, showing some character and bringing the public into the institution.

Can the WAG and other cultural institutions within Winnipeg benefit?

The Winnipeg Art Gallery could benefit from engaging the outside of the building in order to engage the public users from the outside and create an experience as they pass by.  This could also increase success of exhibits and shows held at the WAG because it creates cultural awareness amongst passerbys that wouldn’t necessarily think of stopping in at the WAG on a regular basis.  It also engages the general public, allowing more people to be involved in public art.

LOCATION

The location of the WAG is very central, and is located on a very busy street which gets a huge amount of exposure on a daily basis.  It is also located very close to other significant institutions and attractions such as the MTS centre, the legislative building and the Univeristy of Winnipeg.  Outdoor art could incorporate the other institutions around the area and create a more unified community amongst the downtown area.

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE FACADE

The actual facade of the WAG presents itself as a blank canvas.  This could be used as a screen for projections and as a fantastic background for other installations to inhabit. 

APPEAL TO YOUNGER GENERATION

Some people may think that the WAG is more old fashioned and traditional, which may not appeal to the younger generation.  Outdoor installations could engage the younger generation on a more personal level, increasing popularity and attendance at the WAG.  If younger people see there are new innovative and contemporary art installations at the WAG, it may appeal to them and encourage their age group to participate in events and even want to hold events at the venue.  

INCORPORATE ON A MUNICIPAL SCALE

On a much larger scale, it would be interesting to see Winnipeg have more outdoor art installations and landscapes designed as art.  Incorporating the concert hall, Manitoba Museum, Planetarium and the Human Rights Museum into this idea of a utilizing the exterior of the space to create public engagement could be extremely successful.  It may create a more inviting feel to the cultural institutions around the city, removing the stigma of culture and arts being enjoyed by the higher class of society only.