Hasta La Ideas

Arguably the most eagerly anticipated new museum opening this year in one of the most unexpected places, is the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, which will officially throw open its doors on November 11th. The first the museum started getting a notable amount of press was around this time last year, when it played a part in the controversy over Fisk University‘s attempt to sell its Georgia O’Keeffe collection. Since then, attention (of a far more positive sort) has ramped up considerably, with news of construction of massive Moshe Safdie-designed complex, the hundreds of millions of dollars poured into the project, its gigantic collection, and even a New Yorker profile of its founder, Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton. Now as we’re just a month out from its opening, the Washington Post‘s Philip Kennicott has gotten a sneak peek at the new museum and has filed a review of the space. He certainly doesn’t like the Crystal Bridges name, calling it “unfortunate,” though his view of the building is a bit more positive (though just a bit). Writing that there is “a substantial ‘wow’ factor” to the museum, nestled deep inside an Arkansas forest, he finds Safdie’s design “often sloppy, with elements that feel provisional, afterthoughts or improvisations,” and that’s largely the theme of the whole review, that the nice elements are far overshadowed by its flaws. This being the first major architecture review, we’re looking forward to more (reviews of its art as well), as the museum is sure to be flocked to as its opening date nears.

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