Art Institute's new wing a modern test of the times -= Museum confident in success of $283 million new wing despite economy, admission fee increase

Art Institute's new wing a modern test of the times -= Museum confident in success of $283 million new wing despite economy, admission fee increase
By Mark Caro
Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune
April 27, 2009
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0427-artinstituteapr27,0,3713961.story


Plans for a "rather modest" 75,000-square-foot addition began in 1999, but later developed into the museum's largest addition at 264,000 square feet. (Tribune photo by Michael Tercha / January 2, 2009)

Picasso, Hockney and Lichtenstein are already here, and every day someone new arrives, such as Joseph Cornell's beautiful collage boxes or Cy Twombly's whisper-thin sculpture, the sole artwork in a dramatic double-height atrium.

But the most important arrivals will begin May 16, when the Art Institute of Chicago's new Modern Wing opens to the public. The anticipation is great for the most significant, expensive addition to Chicago's cultural landscape since Millennium Park bowed five years ago.

Millennium Park, however, is free, while the debut of the $283 million, 264,000-square-foot Modern Wing comes just a week before the Art Institute raises its general admission price from $12 to $18 -- all while the country is mired in a deep recession, and museums nationwide are retrenching.

So the new Modern Wing -- and, really, the new Art Institute, because everything is being reinstalled -- presents a test case. Is this lavish offering, to be unveiled at a May 9 gala, a misreading of the times and people's willingness to pay a premium to view great art in a stunning new building?

Or is the world-renowned art museum making a statement: that temporary economic conditions can't thwart Chicago's ambition and commitment to its cultural life?

"It's an indication that Chicago can still do things," Art Institute director James Cuno said. "It can dream ambitiously and deliver on that dream."

The project began in March 1999, when the museum, then led by current Getty Trust president James Wood, hired Pritzker Prize-winning Italian architect Renzo Piano to design a "rather modest" 75,000-square-foot addition to bridge the railroad tracks on the building's south side. But with Millennium Park emerging to the north and the Goodman Theatre vacating its space in the museum's northeast corner in 2000, Wood relocated the project and upped its scale.

After Cuno became director in September 2004, the plans continued to expand, with a bridge added to stretch from Millennium Park, over Monroe Street to the new building's third floor, where visitors can enjoy the open-air sculpture garden and dine in the restaurant without paying admission.

The Modern Wing became the museum's largest addition, supported by its largest capital campaign, $400 million. It weathered two national economic crises, the first triggered by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. "It's good news that we got it done when we did," Cuno said.

"I don't think you're going to see museums starting any big capital projects during this economic downturn," Bell said. "The donors simply aren't there right now."

But not everyone is so thrilled with the timing of the price increase, which the Art Institute planned almost a year ago and the Park District approved last month.

"I'm a member, but I think it's too much," said Deann Schuler, an 83-year-old Chicagoan visiting the Art Institute. "Who's going to be able to go to it?"

But Lara Pierson, visiting from Bushnell, Ill., with her 16-year-old son Duncan, said she'd tour the Art Institute even if the price increase already had taken effect. "This is such a once-in-a-lifetime experience," she said. "We're absolutely starry-eyed."

"I think it should be cheaper, because all people should be able to see it," Duncan chimed in.

"He doesn't make the money," his mother said, "and I'm more pragmatic and understand that funds have to come from somewhere."

Ald. Ed Burke (14th) has been pushing a City Council resolution to urge the Chicago Park District to reverse the price hike, though he didn't call for a vote Wednesday despite giving a long speech.

Art Institute officials defend the increase, the first since 2004, as overdue and appropriate. "Eighteen dollars is half a cab ride to O'Hare," Cuno said. "It's not very much to pay for the extraordinary experience of these great collections of art and the museum education programs that we offer."

Cuno noted that the $18 fee is all-inclusive, with free entry for kids younger than 12. A visitor now might pay $12 admission plus $8 for a special exhibition (such as the just-closed Edvard Munch show) plus $2 to check a coat and bag for a total of $22. As of May 23, the museum won't charge extra for special exhibitions or coat checking.

Museum officials also stress the increased commitment to free public space. Aside from the bridge, restaurant and sculpture garden, visitors who don't pay will be able to use the Ryan Education Center, which has double the space of the museum's current basement education center (which does require museum admission). Meanwhile, the Art Institute will continue to offer 401 free hours per year, including Thursday evenings, Friday summer evenings and all of February.

The museum is so confident of a favorable response that it has not adjusted its attendance projections despite the economy. It expects annual attendance to jump from the recent 1.4 million average to 1.9 million over the next fiscal year and 1.7 million the following year.

Museum figures indicate that attendance was not adversely affected by previous price increases and has risen during troubled economic times. Janet Landay, executive director of the Association of Art Museum Directors, said most museums are reporting a slight uptick in admission during the current recession.

But endowments have been hit hard, most down 30 percent to 40 percent, said Ford Bell, president of the American Association of Museums in Washington, D.C. Institutions such as The Getty in Los Angeles, Boston's Museum of Fine Arts and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City have been enacting significant cutbacks.

Cuno said the Art Institute is somewhat insulated because the endowment, which is down 23.7 percent, covers just 23 percent of its revenue stream. Gifts make up 25 percent, admissions 12 percent, membership 8 percent, the Park District 6 percent and shops and special events 23 percent. So although the museum is projecting increased ticket revenue to help cover operating costs, it also is counting on gift-giving to continue at a high level despite many people's financial struggles.

How the museum fares should send a signal to the county's other cultural institutions. "We'll really see the quantification of a fabulous new building even during a down economic time, even with an $18 admission price," Bell said.

Even as the Art Institute dominates attention, its perceived competitors are offering public support.

"The more spaces that we have in Chicago featuring contemporary art, the greater and better our public's engagement and understanding of the art of our time," Museum of Contemporary Art director Madeleine Grynsztejn said. "Art has a very long view, and to the Art Institute's credit, it is creating a wing for the public of Chicago to enjoy forever, in good times and bad."

mcaro@tribune.com